How to grow your art business without burnout

You don’t have to be everywhere. Just take a pick and get started

Hey there!

Following the overwhelming wave of relief felt in the comments on my last article “Nothing kills my vibe like an editorial calendar”, where I give away free permission slips to do whatever the F* you please, I’ve been thinking about some more controversial things that I’ve done (and still do) through the years…

For example; I didn’t venture into a new social platform until I mastered the first one.

In other words, I didn’t lift my eyes from Instagram until I had amounted about 150,000 followers back in 2019. I then took on Pinterest, which my husband and I grew to more than 10million unique views/month BEFORE we launched a YouTube channel…

You see the trend?

The point is,

As much as I find an editorial calendar crippling for my creativity, so is the idea of spreading myself too thin across platforms too early equally daunting.

That means… you guessed it…

I have EXCLUSIVELY grown my Substack list right here from 0-1800 readers in about 5 months (I didn’t import my other email list, it’s kept completely separate for good reasons).

Disclaimer; I don’t share readership stats with the purpose of sparking comparison or envy - I genuinely want you to succeed, which is why my main mission is to get you fired up to scale down your focus.

You don’t have to be everywhere to succeed. Certainly not when you first start out.

This doesn’t mean that you have to take it as slow as I did (and ironically, I hardly post to any social media anymore as I now rely on email marketing for my main art business).

The way I see it, based on years of experience;

The time invested on social media that has paid off the most has been on Pinterest and YouTube - Why? Because they are based on search-engines, which means your content can live forever if someone searches for the style of work you do (whereas it dies immediately on a platform like Instagram).

Substack essays (not Notes) also has an inherent search-focus, which means that your content can potentially pick up new readers for an undetermined future.

As a mother of two young toddlers and no external childcare, my number one priority to build sustainability in my business is to know that my time is invested in assets that will bring ROI in the long run.

No matter what happens to Substack tomorrow, an email list is an asset that you can always bring with you and stay in direct touch with. For me that’s a no-brainer (to use my husband’s current favorite expression haha).

Of course, you can always do more.

But you can also choose to do less depending on the season you’re in, and that’s an aspect we tend to forget!

When building our own creative business, we must not forget that it’s not just business…

More than not, it’s a labor of love, which means you’ll probably be better off if you design it with a desired lifestyle in mind.

What do you want to spend your days doing?

Keeping a spread-sheet to be sure to post on every platform available, or hone in on 1-2 of your favorites and become the best at them before looking further?

Ps. A huge (barely rarely mentioned) benefit of growing my readership within Substack is that I don’t have to take the responsibility of teaching the platform… Everyone more or less knows how it works. Relief! That’s one less thing to worry about in my book.

So there you go,

Another big permission slip for the one who needs it. You don’t have to be everywhere at the same time if you don’t want to.

In fact, to narrow your focus may increase chances, efficiency and especially lower the risk of burnout on your chosen platform.

Choose wisely 🥰

Thanks for reading!

I’d love if you can give me a 💗 and restack if you found this insight valuable!

Elin, xx

Ps. Today’s comment section is dedicated to Q&A about creative business for paying members 🥰

And don’t miss that all members also get access to my digital bookshop. The first title is When Will You Get a Real Job, which is a memoir-ish case study of our first couple of years in art business.

Hi there, new here?

I’m Elin, Swedish (expat) artist and mother of two who have plunged into the unknown of Substack as a new writing home. Despite having 500k+ across mainstream social media platforms for my embroidery art, I decided to start afresh here. It’s hard, thrilling and joyful all in one. Come and join me for the ride if you haven’t done so already! You can expect thought-provoking and poignant writing about creativity, life and soulful art business with a touch of motherhood.

You can also check out the how, why, who and what in the post below:

Follow Your Gut & Start here