Every artist understands the imposter syndrome, the urge to compare ourselves to others, and the struggles that come with sharing our passion with the world. Because we are so closely tied to our work, we not only want it to be the best, but we are extra hard on ourselves when it doesn’t receive the reaction we expect. No business is perfect, but building and keeping a healthy mindset is a great way to acknowledge success and learn from mistakes.

Today I want to share a few of the misconceptions I hear time and time again from the artists I work with. I hope you learn something from this post, but also that it gives you a sense of assurance that you are in the same boat with lots of other artists! There is no such thing as perfection in business or art, but after helping numerous artists reach their version of success, I want to set these misconceptions straight for you.

“IF I HAVE MORE FOLLOWERS, I WILL AUTOMATICALLY HAVE MORE SALES”

So many artists reach out about Instagram. Instagram is great for building a community and scaling your business, but what I see time and time again is artists working to grow their following vs. spending time growing their brand. Instagram growth depends on building a strong brand image that will align with your Ideal Customer. If you do this then you will grow a following but also will see more sales. If you just focus on the followers you will not see the results you want.

*Purchase our Ideal Customer worksheet to learn more about your Ideal Customer.

“IF MY ART IS GOOD ENOUGH IT WILL SELL ITSELF”

A lot of artists don’t want to spend the time building a brand, posting on Instagram, or growing their email list, because they think their talent will sell itself. Well, I hate it say it, but there are a lot of really talented people out there not having their artwork seen and a lot of not so talented creatives selling tons of work. Why is this? It is all about marketing and taking the time to find YOUR audience. It takes work, but if you want your art business to be your full time job, then yes you have to work like you would at any other job.

“IF MY SERIES DOESN’T SELL OUT THEN I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH”

This is not true in the slightest! With the rise of social media, we can watch every other artist sell their work and it is easy to try to compare ourselves to others. Just because another artist sells out and you didn’t, does NOT mean you aren’t as talented. There are so many factors that go into sales. Instead, look at what was successful and try to understand why certain pieces didn’t sell.

*If you want to dive deeper into how to host a successful launch or learn from previous launches, sign up for a one-on-one call or buy our ebook Launch Your Art Business.

“I CAN ONLY PAINT ONE SUBJECT OR IN ONE STYLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL”

I think one in three artists ask me about this. It is 100% ok to change up your style or subject matter. What matters is building your brand! Especially if you are a new artist, you should be experimenting, seeing what resonates with your audience, and ultimately learning what you enjoy creating. The best way to push our creativity is to practice and if you only paint one thing forever I bet you aren’t reaching your full potential.

“IF I PRICE LOWER, I WILL SELL MORE”

Lower prices do not equal more sales. This will only attract a clientele looking for a deal and they will not make up the majority of your community. If you brand well and take the time to build your audience, then you should be able to price your work at what you believe it is actually worth.

*Pricing is difficult and there are a lot of ways to price your work. To learn more about how to price your work, sign up for a one-on-one session or purchase Launch Your Art Business. You can also head to our "Free Tip" highlight on Instagram for more pricing tips!

I hope you found this helpful! Follow us @theartcoachingclub for more tips, tricks and access to free information!