Why is building an email list so critical for artists, even if they plan to create art for decades?

An email list represents attention that you own and can communicate with at your leisure - it cannot be taken away from you. Unlike social media followers which you don’t own, your email list is yours. If you’re going to be an artist for the next 10, 20, 30, or even 50+ years, you need a way to reach people interested in your work that isn’t dependent on constantly changing algorithms or platforms that could disappear. Social sites come and go, but email remains constant. You own your website and you own your list - those are the only two things in digital marketing that truly belong to you.

---

Asked by synthesized from teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2026-05-29