hi it's ash

"No matter what you do, the world is going to have an opinion. Decide if 600 strangers' opinions matter to you over your own" is exactly what I asked myself before starting my art page and my blog and well, here I am.

Okay, you really thought this meant I was going to tell you how to get more followers? HAHAH GOTCHA. That's clickbait. I am going to write about how you grow yourself as an artist by using social media to your benefit. Sorry if I wasted your time, but I would still urge you to go ahead and read. You've got nothing to lose now, have you?

Starting right from the basics, most of us know that the social media algorithms make us swipe, scroll and keep us engaged with the content based on our previous consumption. What we do not realize is that although it does compel us to stay glued to our devices, it could not be the healthiest practice and sometimes be draining and not allow you to be your most creative self.

I believe that daily time limits and weekly day offs work the best for me, and you could try that out too. We often quantitatively measure our work and creativity with the number of followers that we have and not by how far we have come or what effect has it had on our personality. I don't believe that once you have a certain number of followers, or subscribers or even a regular audience database for that matter, "there is no turning back." There is a pattern that we can distinctively observe with every successful social media personality, and that is only consistency and hard work. Some say it also depends on how engaging you make it, for your followers. But is it really about followers?

If your focus is personality development, experimentation, learning and content creation, then I absolutely do not think that the follower count matters. Easier said than done, I often do find myself caught up in the numbers game. Hitting follower milestones like a 1000, a 10,000 and even a million is definitely commendable, but I strongly oppose making your content more "follower oriented" or "audience engaging." Making content is a two way process and unless it is something that you enjoy, your followers won't either. On that note, I present to all of you, 5 tried and tested tips on how to grow along with your content! So, go put on your earphones, play your favorite song, and continue reading.

1. Post Consistently? NO

Post only when you want to. If you don't want to post every hour, or every day or every week, it is completely okay. Take your time, give a post your best and make it worth the wait. You are your own competition. Every time I make a new post, I am always thinking of doing better than my previous one. If you are sure that you want to deliver one great post as opposed to 2 sub par posts, weigh it out and do what you think is best. I do agree that if a certain post does not do as well as you expected it to (how do you know if its doing well btw?? Its always about audience engagement, sigh) it can get a bit demotivating, especially after all the efforts you have put into something; which brings me to:

2. Do NOT seek validation

Like I've said before, content creation is obviously a two way process and unless you're not human, you won't be overflowing with ideas every single day. It is quite natural to not know what you want to do next. This is where you should look at either your favorite artists' work, or some of your previous work to not only find inspiration, but also have time to see how far you have come. This is something I do till date, and I feel there is nothing that it can't fix. Constructive feedback from peers, suggestions and criticism is something that I have started valuing and instead of feeling dejected with having to make certain improvements, incorporating them only makes my content and ideas better. Validation is necessary, but PLEASE don't make it just about that. I do know that it sounds very preachy coming from a 19 year old who has just started out with her page and blog, and it is definitely going to be a challenge for me too, but in the past few months, I have been more honest and confident about the content I generate only because I did pay attention to feedback and make improvements. It has only made me know myself, my strengths, weaknesses and my style better.

One more thing I have very recently started doing is seeking a second opinion about my ideas. I would recommend a sibling or a trusted friend to be able to give you a brutally honest opinion.

Eg- If you are planning to host a live workshop, ask them if they would attend one, before you go ahead with planning it.

3. Participate in a healthy competition with yourself.

In this day and age, it is extremely difficult to grow fast as a content creator, but in my opinion, it is not as tough to start from scratch. Go ahead, explore your capabilities. "Start that blog you always wanted to have, go ahead, make your art public for the world to see." is literally what I said to the mirror (no, I said it to my front camera I think) before asking my close friends if they have any tips/guidance for me before I make an art page. I was and I still am extremely conscious about posting content that has me in it. Quite a hard pill to swallow, but the sooner you do, you'll be able to overcome all your fears. I have the constant fear of being judged for the kind of content make, and I admit that I am afraid. But if it wasn't for 2 failed blogs and 1 failed art account before this, I would have never learnt to admit this and be honest to myself. which brings me to:

4. Don't compare yourself with others.

Everyone on social media has a different journey. What worked for someone might not work for you and vice versa. Embrace your unique journey and focus on getting to know yourself better everyday. Introspection is key. (Specific to art content creators) Ask yourself these questions from time to time-

Do you like the way you paint?

Do you like the way you click pictures?

Do you like the way you edit your pictures?

Do you even like to edit your pictures?

Do you like to post everything you do? the key is do YOU like what you are doing, or are you doing it because you want someone else to like it?

Do what genuinely makes you happy, and not because everyone else is doing it. If you want to be at a party just to post pictures from there, then ask yourself: do you REALLY want to go?

If you want to paint something so that you can post a cute picture of it, then ask yourself: do you really want to paint? Which brings me to: (lol I am sounding like a textbook)

5. Be Original

I do not want to sound like a chapter from a self help book, but that is the best advice I have ever received. Even when you take reference from other artists or try to imitate other creators, let there be an element in the piece that distinctly differentiates it as "yours." Finding what you like, being comfortable in your own skin and even determining your own style is really tough but the sooner you admit that you don't know, the faster you'll learn. Speaking from my own experience, I had been so fickle minded and fragile hearted that every single message and comment would mean the world to me. There is nothing wrong with that, unless it is a balance of both-positive and negative feedback. It is extremely important to know both strengths and weaknesses of the content you create. Out of the feedback you receive, it is impossible to even try to accommodate each person's desire out of your content. And if you do, the piece will be made up of your audience's ideas (which they will love) but since it is not yours, you might or might not like it as much as your other pieces. I would not.

Ending the piece with a story. How many songs did you finish btw? I told you to play music, remember?

I lost the ability to appreciate others and content made by fellow creators. Posts from others would stare at me like competition. I went on an unfollow and block spree. It got so unhealthy at a point that I would actually prefer uninstalling everything and sitting alone with just my art supplies for days.

Now, in just a little over 6 months of self introspection, others' posts bring a smile on my face, motivate me and also make me feel included and a part of a larger artist community.

Well, that's social media for me. Believe in yourself and the algorithm will be forced to believe in you. You, and your content.