The Artist Success Project

If you are an artist reading this, you have no doubt wondered “How are those other artists so successful?” That was me too. I was enormously frustrated about the myth of the ‘starving artist’ and I was tired of stumbling around in the dark testing ideas on how to grow a reliable career. I knew a reliable art career was possible - lots of other artists had already done it. I just hadn’t figured it out yet. The Artist Success Project was how I discovered what all of those artists already knew.

Why did I create The Artist Success Project?

I had a part time art career for 7 years. In 2022, I committed to being a full-time artist. But - I didn’t know how to ensure my own success. I knew that there were lots of artists with amazing careers - and I wanted to know the common things that contributed most to their career success. I wasn’t really interested in the ‘big name’ artists that sell work in the millions through Sotheby’s. I know every artist’s definition of ‘success’ is different, and success certainly doesn’t have to be commercial success. I wanted an art career that created reliable income for me, so that was the focus on the project. I was interested in artists that are regularly producing work, they are earning between US$60,000 - $150,000 per year from art sales (some were earning more), and are investing in their future profession.

I found artists who had already figured it out, and asked them how they did it.

I designed a global research project asking 30 artists how they were able to design and sustain a reliable career. Then, I ran a survey going into more detail on what contributes to success. More than 300 artists later, I found some common threads that connected every successful artist.

Here are the top three things I learned.

Instagram is not how artists get sales

Instagram is not how artists get sales. Instagram is built for relationships and building trust.

This is important because we can focus SO much on attracting followers, (hands up if you’ve been dancing for Instagram?) but they aren’t what gets you reliable art sales.

I was SO focused on Instagram as a platform, and trying to desperately figure out the algorithm and spending way too much time on it, and quite frankly, not enough time in the studio. I felt a bit like a a hamster on a wheel.

But when I did the research on what actually counts, and I found out while professional artists do use Instagram to attract and communicate with people, that’s not actually the end game. There were so many people who talked about this in the research. Its only part of the process and I learned what is actually important. I also learned how relying on Instagram can be really dangerous for my career.

Successful artists know their Ideal Art Buyer

What is an Ideal Art Buyer? This is the type of person who will love buying your art.

The main thing to understand here is it is easier to sell to a small, niche audience of art buyers than trying to sell your art to everyone.

This means finding exactly the group of people who love and want to buy your art is fundamental to a thriving art career. We have to get this bit right.

This was a MASSIVE shift for my career. I was sitting in the back of an entrepreneurship class in the Netherlands, and we were talking about what makes a difference for any business – its having the right customers. And this applies to art businesses too. I was only focusing on my art, and had totally forgotten to focus on my customer. And this is SO easy to do as an artist, because it is what we are taught to do. But by shifting my perspective, I entirely shifted my career.

To help artists with this, I created a short course: Discover your Ideal Art Buyer.

Successful artists focus on growing their email list

An artist’s email list of Ideal Art Buyers is their golden ticket to reliable art sales and a Full Time Career as an artist. This was Number 1 in our research and keeps coming up when we talk to successful artists.

The main thing to understand here is that your email list is what you need to focus on building, not your Instagram followers.

When I put my first email list together, I was so worried about emailing them. What would I say? Would it feel really salesy? Which is just awful. But because I had an email list of exactly the people I knew would love my work, I took the leap and sent my first email. And it was fabulous. I had some amazing responses, started getting orders, and I was in business!

Your email list is important because regular, thoughtful emails to people who really love what you do is what will get you regular sales. This was HUGE in the research. Artists with great careers will all tell you this. Your email list is also an asset that YOU control, and no one can take away from you.

Check out this reel by Australian artist Anna Price, who has focused on growing her email list for years. She says: “A couple of years back I got the best piece of advice ever (and I can’t even remember who gave it to me) they said “you MUST build a subscriber list just in case Instagram goes to sh*t”. I hope this doesn’t come across as arrogant and braggy as I know how hard it’s been for many to sell art lately. I just wanted to share how useful a tool my subscriber list has been over the last 12 months. It’s totally changed the way I run my business. It’s a direct line to those who are actually interested in purchasing my work. Today, I had an extraordinary day, selling 6 large paintings in 2.5 hours which is a record for me. I am ever grateful to the lovely buyers for investing in my work and to that awesome human who told me to start a subscriber list way back when…”

Read more about building an email list in this recent blog article: I’m an artist. How do I get more email subscribers?

What did I create out of The Artist Success Project?

I created an online course, The Full-Time Artist Formula, which shares what I learned. What makes this so special is I’ve condensed it into what you actually need to know, rather than including things that will waste your time. It is an incredibly practical, action oriented course that artists can use to finally feel like they know what to do to have a reliable art career.

It has already worked for my first students. Here is a lovely testimonial from Robyn Markey, who recently finished the course.

I recently had the pleasure of taking Sarah Daly's course, 'The Full-Time Artist Formula: 7 Steps to Quitting Your Day Job and Pursuing Your Passion,' and I cannot recommend it highly enough. As someone who had hit a wall in my arts practice and was feeling discouraged, this course came at just the right time.

Sarah's approach is thoughtful, well-researched, and highly effective. She helped me to identify my ideal buyer and showed me how to attract and retain loyal customers. Her advice on marketing and sales is invaluable, and I have already seen a major improvement in engagement and commitment to my art practice.

What sets Sarah apart is her generosity in sharing her knowledge and her wonderful sense of humour. She made the course fun and enjoyable, and her positivity and enthusiasm are infectious.

But perhaps the most significant benefit of this course has been the renewal of my artistic energy and creativity. I now have a clear plan for moving my practice forward, and the anxiety and stress that were holding me back are gone. I am excited to get back into the studio and create beautiful art that I know will find a home with my ideal buyers.

In short, if you're an artist looking to turn your passion into a full-time career, Sarah Daly's course is an absolute must. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your knowledge and inspiring me to take my art practice to the next level!

Rather wonderfully, Robyn sent me a message saying the previous week she had 3 art sales and was sending a collection to a new store.

Are you an artist who would like to create a reliable career?

Join the online course, The Full Time Artist Formula. The course provides you with the seven step formula you need to transition from feeling stuck as an artist to knowing how to have a thriving art career. This course includes what actually works and leaves out the time wasting stuff that you don’t need.

Here is what other students said:

“I now have a clear plan for moving my art practice forward, and all of the anxiety and stress is gone.”

“The most significant benefit of this course is the renewal of my artistic energy and creativity.”

“I’m finding the course amazingly helpful, and it’s nice to know where I should put my energy to get results.”