What marketing channels and 'surfaces' should I actually be using to promote my art?

Most artists underestimate how many surfaces they control. You have your website itself, its copy, email pop-ups, announcement bars, shipping confirmation emails, and order confirmations. You have email subject lines, preview text, body copy, and P.S. lines. You have Instagram posts, stories, carousels, reels, and lives; Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Threads, and other social platforms. You also have offline surfaces: snail-mail lists, community bulletin boards, yard signs, car magnets, QR codes on packaging, handwritten cards, and more. Do an honest inventory of every digital and analog touchpoint available to you—you likely have twenty-plus surfaces, not just three. The key is to use as many as feasible with a consistent message.

---

Asked by synthesized from teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2026-04-23