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2023 Year in Review - 10 Most-Read Resources for Artists

From 40+ issues of Creator Royalties to growing our subscriber base to over 10,000 artists and art lovers, we have learned a lot about the state of the creator economy.

One thing is clear — creators are here to embrace both challenges and opportunities. And despite the economic uncertainty, creators as a whole are actually making more money each year. Yet, the same questions remain top of mind:

For your holiday reading, we’ve put together our 10 most-read and downloaded resources from this year, so you can make a solid plan for 2024.

#1: An Introductory Guide to Licensing Your Artwork

This is a must-read for all artists who are new to or interested in licensing their artwork, and our most popular article to date. We break down commonly used licensing terms, why you should explore licensing as a revenue stream, and why on the flip side, it may not always be the best fit for your work.

#2: 5 Tips for Maximizing Your Open Call Chances

Over the past few months, HUG has been sourcing exclusive Open Call opportunities for our community. We have even gone on to disburse over $50,000 of artist grants, and place over 600 artists in events and galleries all over the world.

Contrary to popular belief however, submitting to open calls is not akin to entering a lottery. To help you out, here are our top tips for making sure you can maximize your chances for getting selected for an open call opportunity you have been eyeing.

Better yet, apply those tips when submitting your work to be considered as part of our 100 Artists to Watch 2024, featuring a juried panel of curators from the Museum of Modern Art, Christie’s, Society of Illustrators, and more.

#3: The Ultimate Artist Marketing Handbook Vol. 1

Accessible education is extremely important to us. Over the past year, we've worked hard at putting together a series of resources for artists and art lovers. To name a few...

• The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Digital Art Collector

• The Art of Pricing: A Comprehensive Guide

• How to Optimize Your Twitter Profile

• ...and so much more to come!

But, our Ultimate Artist Marketing Handbook continues to be the most popular, because it gives active strategies to improve your marketing game starting from this very moment.

We have made all of these free to anyone with a HUG account, which also happens to be free 😉.

Please don't let all that hard work go to waste, so take a peek and get downloading.

#4: AI as Art and Tool

This was our first issue on AI at the beginning of the year, setting the foundation for an explosive amount of growth in this sector. Without a doubt, AI is taking over the world, but more importantly, is becoming an extremely useful collaborative tool for artists.

Learn how you can get started with AI, while also being mindful of the various ethical considerations, and also check out 3 Ways to Add AI into your Art Practice to dive even further into this constantly evolving topic!

#5: 3 Art Curation Trends to Watch in 2024

As the digital landscape continues to shape the way we consume and interact with art, the role of curation is undergoing a profound transformation. In fact, we believe that the future of curation for both physical and digital art holds exciting possibilities, with accessibility and technology playing a greater role.

This article covers 3 art curation trends we are paying attention to in 2024, and more importantly, how you can benefit from this evolution and increase your chances of your work getting seen around the world.

#6: 4 Essential Tips for Getting Your Art Noticed

Discovery is a challenge for many artists. Unsurprisingly, this is one of our most popular topics, and is also the reason why we have created the HUG Artist Profile.

In this issue, we also include insights from the founder of digital art marketplace Rarible, Alexander Salnikov. We break down various ways to get your art noticed, from having a well-defined artist statement to leveling up your understanding of curation as an art skill and form.

#7: Mastering Time Management for Artists

Do you ever feel like there is not enough time in a day? You are not alone! Our founder, CEO, and Mother Hugger Randi Zuckerberg shares her favorite time management tips for artists who are struggling to find time to both create and promote their work.

From adopting time blocking as a strategy to learning how to set clear goals and priorities, Randi shares insights from her recent experience of training for the New York City Marathon and how these can be applied to our creative endeavors.

#8: Finding Your 1000 True Fans

Here, we talk about how you can market yourself as an artist and start building deep personal relationships to acquire your 1000 true fans.

This is foundational thinking in addition to our article - Social Media Marketing Tips for Artists, which is contributed by TIMEPieces Head of Artist Relations & Marketing, Tameka Bazile.

#9: Diversifying Your Income as an Artist

This issue is a must-read for any artist, because diversifying your income and revenue streams is not just about creating a more stable financial foundation. It is also about encouraging you to expand the way you create, while also exposing your art to a wider audience.

We cover three different ways for you to diversify your income as an artist, from expanding your physical collection of work to monetizing your expertise to offering commissions.

#10: How to Price Your Artwork

And finally, we know that pricing is an awkward topic and that many artists struggle with setting a price on their art, especially when art is something that is so deeply personal, and doesn’t usually have a set market value.

In this issue, we discuss a few different strategies for pricing your artwork, and look at the various philosophies different artists and collectors have. While there isn’t necessarily a right or a wrong way to price your work, we hope that this will help guide your own thinking about pricing.

Need additional guidance? Download our free Pricing Calculator tool on HUG.

Closing thoughts

As we start thinking about 2024, we’re excited to continue helping you grow as a creative entrepreneur.

Part of the reason we built HUG is that we know half of the creator economy works alone. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. We are committed to providing you additional opportunities to connect with each other, and also for your work!

So tell us - what would you like to see? From educational topics of interest to specific opportunities for your art, hit ‘Reply’ so we can fit it into our 2024 planning.

Artist Grants & Opportunities

HUG-exclusive

• ☕️ Calling all coffee lovers We are teaming up with Lion’s Milk Cafe in Brooklyn, NY to bring coffee-inspired art to their walls, so that their hundreds of daily visitors can savor both coffee and your art. Learn more and submit here.

• 🪐 Calling space-themed work for a new blockchain and earn $300-600 Join the Eclipse community, a new L2 blockchain on Ethereum. Selected artists will be commissioned $300-600 for space-themedwork that will be made available as an open edition. Learn more and submit here.

• 👯‍♀️ Seeking awedacious women artists! AWEDACITY Conference 2024 is seeking 30 women artists to display at their upcoming virtual art exhibition, "BEING AWEDACIOUS". Learn more and submit here.

• 🏛️ Take your art into a museum in the metaverse! Muzee Dezentral is curating an exhibition titled “IN DAILOGUE”, which centers on “traditional” artists who are genuinely in dialogue with AI tools as an integral part of their creative practice. Learn more and submit here.

• 💰 HUG is offering $500 USD grants to two artists each month in exchange for unminted artwork to raffle off to our community. Learn more and meet all our HUG Visionaries here.

This Week’s Art Drops

Did you know that these are just 8 of hundreds of art drops on HUG? Get a full list of this week’s art drops from HUG here.