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#071: How To Make Money By Giving Away Art For Free

Artist and thought leader Kevin Kelly famously said that all any creative needs to make a living from their craft is 1000 true fans— 1000 people who would buy anything you make because you made it.

In the era of social media, many artists are leveraging organic marketing tools like Instagram or X/Twitter to take advantage of algorithms and get their art in front of more people in hopes of finding those 1000 true fans… but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

For your art to sell, it needs to be seen. To take someone from a follower to a fan, your art needs to be valued. Today’s article is about understanding what you invest into your creative business to get just one fan, and how you can get the most out of that relationship by strategically hedging your bets that giving a follower something for free could turn them into a forever fan.

Okay, artists. Let’s talk numbers.

Understanding the Cost of Doing Business

When we talk about growing your audience to find the 1000 true fans who will financially support your work, it’s important to understand customer acquisition costs. Customer acquisition cost refers to the total cost spent to get a new customer. For example, if a company spends $10,000 on advertising and gets 100 customers, that means that their customer acquisition cost is $100 per customer.

However, money is not the only thing that artists invest to get their work in front of new people who hopefully go from strangers to supporters.

Obviously, there are expenses like art supplies, software subscriptions, computer devices, studio spaces, and more. However, a common mistake that many early-stage artists and creative entrepreneurs make is acknowledging that money isn’t necessarily your most valuable resource: your time, energy, and talents are.

In the same way an artist might research what kinda of paint or program will help them make their best kind of art, you can use the same kind of thinking to invest your time, energy, and talent into a social media strategy wisely grow your audience and find your 1000 true fans… and that’s where giveaways come in.

Giveaways Work As A Growth Strategy

From small businesses to global brands, giveaways effectively attract new audiences and strengthen bonds with existing ones. One of the most viral examples is MrBeast, who has built a massive fanbase through strategic generosity.

Artists may hesitate to give away their art for free, and understandably so. However, when viewed as a customer acquisition strategy and thoughtfully executed, giveaways can help build up to your 1,000 true fans.

Most of MrBeast's viewers will never win a giveaway, but by spending $1 million to reach 216 million people, his customer acquisition cost could potentially be just $0.004 per person.

Like MrBeast, your goal for your creative businss should be to maximize the return on what you spend and get back as much as possible from what you give. For instance, investing $10 to create a tote bag you usually sell for $20 and giving one tote bag away could introduce your work to new buyers and potentially result in ten, twenty, and even more sales.

Okay, now that we understand how giveaways play into customer acquisition, here are are two of the most common strategies that artists can use.

1️⃣ Promotional Giveaways

The goal of a promotional giveaway is usually to introduce yourself to as many people as possible, with the hope of finding your 1000 true fans among them. Promotional giveaways work best when you do your homework first. If you plan on hosting a giveaway on Instagram, you have to tailor your post to Instagram features that maximize reach and engagement. This most often looks like:

• Deciding between posting a static image or a reel

• Asking people to follow your account

• Asking people to tag 2 friends in a comment in order to enter

By driving viewers to intentionally engage with your social media, the algorithm not only introduces your content to new users, but also promotes it to existing followers who might not have seen your posts in a while… think of it as customer re-acquisition.

2️⃣ Relationship Building Giveaways

Not all giveaways are about manipulating social media and appealing to an algorithm in order to get your art out into the world. Whlie it is necessary to get your artwork in front of new people, it’s arguably more critical that you remind those already in your reach why they should stay as one of your 100 true fans.

An easy way to do that is through surprise and delight. A common tactic many artists take is when a customer make a purchase, an artist may throw in other items for free to find when their package arrives. You can also look to loyalty and reward programs, and potentially giveaway discounts on future purchases.

Below is an example of artist Jack Prettyman who gave free stickers and handwritten Thank You note to everyone who purchased his pin collection.

Closing Thoughts

While it may sound crazy at first, you can in fact make money by giving stuff away for free. It’s an investment and bit of a bet on yourself, and it’s up to you if that’s a bet worth making.

In the age of social media, finding your 1,000 true fans can be challenging but immensely rewarding. By strategically using giveaways as a customer acquisition tool, you can grow your audience, strengthen connections, and turn followers into dedicated fans.

Remember, investing your time, energy, and resources wisely can yield significant returns. Whether through promotional giveaways to expand your reach or relationship-building giveaways to delight existing supporters, these strategies can help you make a living from your art. So, be a beast and experiment with strategic generosity, and experiment, iterate and watch your creative business thrive.

Artist Grants and Opportunities

• 🗺️ Exhibit art with impact at the United Nations: Submit art supporting the UN SDG Action Campaign and their vision for a hopeful future.

• 🦋 $250 Artist Grant for the AI Art Excellence Award: HUG Ambassador Faedriel is seeking creatives who are innovating and inspiring with AI.

• 🇰🇪 Tour Your Art Across Africa: NFT Afrika is seeking art for a traveling exhibition that will visit Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

• 📚 Publish your own art book for free: Snap Collective is making publishing more accessible, and they’re looking for visual artists to publish with them, no financial investment necessary.

• 🖼️ Solo Show Opportunity: Showcase your art in a solo exhibition with SUPPERCOMMUNITY 06 in their oncyber gallery.

• 💸 $100 Artist Grant for Media Feature: Spotlight your art in the first community newsletter from Bronx-based art collect, Bluecalf

• 💰 HUG is giving away $12,000 USD annually in artist grants in support of emerging artists.

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.