When is an artist ready to start running paid ads?

You’re likely ready when you’re doing over $50,000 in annual sales and selling consistently month in and month out with multiple transactions per month. At that threshold, you’ve proven the market wants your art and you’re already marketing consistently—otherwise you wouldn’t have reached those results. The key to ads at any level is treating them like a monthly utility bill, not a short sprint campaign. Consistency over 12 months works; a one-time $2,000 campaign for a single quarter usually doesn’t. You need to make advertising part of your regular business operations, like studio rent or a power bill.

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Asked by an artist asking about when to start ads · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2023-08-16