Is this the death of the follower?
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You know that meme where the woman says, "Say the weird thing." And all sorts of people say weird stuff, and those videos go viral?
I don't do trend hopping like that, but there's something to the idea of speaking your truth because I did that this week, and boy, did it get people riled up. And it brought a lot of new people to The Hungry.
💰 This edition of The Hungry is in partnership with Shopify 💰
Instagram's Big Announcements
Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram and Threads, made two big announcements this week about Instagram changes. Both seem to be focused on helping small accounts get seen.
The first was about how they will treat aggregator accounts in the future. The second was about how they are helping small accounts get found by being shown to more new viewers as recommendations, and it's that one I want to talk about.
Small accounts have huge potential to be seen more and grow their audience on the platform, but it's a double-edged sword.
Your Reels will get seen more by new accounts
Your Followers will be shown more new accounts and may see less of yours
Also, you're being fed more ads than ever before. I scrolled through 100 posts on Instagram, and these are the numbers:
Followers: 52
Recommendations: 26
Advertisements: 22
I saw more followers than recommendations, but I saw only 1.5% of my followers, and I saw one of them twice. Also, the split was even between followers and recommendations/ads. That's today, and as the new algorithm changes run their course, I'm guessing the recommendation numbers will be higher in the future.
Having followers is great, but if we want to sell more of our work, it's important to get it in front of new people as often as possible. However, if those new people end up becoming followers, how often will those new followers see our posts, based on these new metrics?
If we're fighting for attention against all the other accounts, someone follows, and the ads and recommendations are pushed at them, how are we to compete?
The clear answer is to do what you can to move people off the platform and onto your email list so you can talk to them when and how you please. Getting people to click off the platform is tricky, though (and algorithmically discouraged by Instagram). The best answer I can come up with now is Stories.
Stories are the only way for people to see content in timeline format. When you post on Stories, your bubble moves to the front of the list on a follower's home feed. The more often you post, the more likely you'll stay at the front of the line.
Stories are also the only place you can put an external link within a post that isn't a direct link to your connected shop. I can link to any of my Shopify listings in any post I make, but I can't directly link to other websites except within Stories.
So, my recommendation is the same as I shared last week: Make your Reels and share your posts, and then share various content within your stories, including real-time recordings of you and your work, so followers get a sense of who you are and what you're about.
I like to share funny memes of other people's art and music, and I pop my fat head into frame once or twice a day to remind people why I am worth following. And it's in those posts where I add links to the newsletter.
And if you don't have a newsletter or email list set up yet, don't worry. I got you down below.
Art Snack: Alanx
I don't know how to adequately explain Alanx's work except to say hold onto your seat because you're in for a ride. As bold as these static posts above are, they pale compared to his animated imagery. Think what you want about AI art, but creators like Alanx are using it to reinvent the medium.
Start an Email List Today!
I'm nothing if not subtle, right?
Many people have been asking about my email service recommendations for newbies, so here is a simple breakdown of the services I've tried and my current recommendations.
Aweber
Aweber was my first email service provider back when pickings were slim. It did the job, but the interface was very clunky and hard to manage. Although they are still one of the most economical options, I haven't seen anything about them in many years and couldn't give them a solid recommendation.
Mailchimp
I moved from Aweber to Mailchimp when the app was relatively new and completely free for the number of subscribers I had. Their functionality has grown but has become more challenging for most people. Their pricing ranks with Aweber, but compared to others in this list, they don't have a competitive advantage anymore.
Substack
I've voiced my opinions about Substack loudly in the past, mainly from a socio-political standpoint. Still, I won't discuss that today (if you want to know, reply to this message, and I'll answer you directly). As a platform, I think Substack is fantastic. They're not a traditional ESP but more of a connected network that allows for blogging, podcasting, and sending newsletters. It's free to use and has proven functional for accounts with 1 to 1 million subscribers. You can get paid through memberships, but if you're trying to sell products, you must incorporate an external shop to handle that.
This is a Good Time to Talk About Shopify
If you need a shop to sell everything, you can open a Shopify account for $1 a month for a limited time and start selling as quickly as this afternoon. It's really that easy, and I also highly recommend the platform.
Beehiiv
If you need a robust email service provider with professional tools that also give you real opportunities to earn money from your efforts, Beehiiv* is a fantastic option. I've used it for months on The Dave, my personal newsletter. They recently allowed me to place ads from their network, get paid for recommending other newsletters, add paid memberships, and have one of the most lucrative affiliate programs. I do all that with less than 30 subscribers on that list!
In addition, the service is top-notch, and you can get started for free (up to 2,500 subscribers).
ConvertKit
I've been running The Hungry on ConvertKit* for nine months now, and I can't see myself returning to anything with less functionality. Beehiiv is excellent, but you cannot sell digital products or services through it (yet).
ConvertKit is both feature-heavy and easy to use for anyone. They also have a tremendous archive of knowledge to help navigate the platform and tons of information on how to succeed. It's the costliest of all the options but well worth the investment.
• • •
The best advice I can give here is don't overthink the decision. Pick one and start sending people to it. The beauty of email lists is that you can take the list with you if you grow too big for one platform.
Small Bites
✍️ - Our friend and former Art Snack Showcase, Erica Whiting, asked me about blogging and if she should start. I'm also going to send her this guide on how to get started for newbs.
💡 - Seasoned sales pros will tell you that you always lead with benefits, but now you want to know if there's a better way? Why do you ask?
🛑 - Stop trying to sell art. Tell stories instead!
🛍️ - Need a website where you can sell any product you can think of (except contraband, silly), and you don't want to pay a lot upfront to figure it out? How about 3 months of Shopify for $3? Is that within your budget?
📰 - If you're starting a newsletter, your landing page is essential, but what makes a good one? GrowMyNewsletter just dropped one of the best resources ever on the subject. Find a solution and get to work.
🔪 - Want to get a piece of Damian Hirst at a radical discount? MSCHF just destroyed one and is parceling it out on the cheap.
📸 - Don't know if you can trust my hot take on the Instagram changes? Ask Creative Boom what they think about it.
