I have been toying with the idea of changing my business name for quite a while now. The thing that has held me back is the fact that I love the romantic story feel of ‘The Peacock & The Printmaker’. The trouble is that I want to expand my repertoire of media and experiment a little but that means shedding the niche of printmaker.

I don’t think there was one specific moment that prompted me to make the decision - I can’t pinpoint it at least. I just know that there has been a lot of change in my life - change with me, disruption in my family and generally things that have made me look at life and business a little differently. I feel braver and more adventurous and that makes me want to create larger pieces with a range of materials that will enable myself to express my ideas and emotions in different ways.

Many artists undercharge for their work or price their work well but then give discounts because they don’t believe in the price. What you need is a solid strategy so that you feel confident in asking for the price.

Artists, here’s what’s working well for me on insta…

Over the last few weeks, the following things have been successful in my artists social media…

• Showing my face

• Movement

• Short reels

• Close ups

• Dreamy slow-mos

1. Choose a platform - It’s so easy to put together a mailing list now. I started with the free version of Mailchimp and it was a great place to start. They gave me space for up to 2000 subscribers So easy to use and I knew I was GDPR compliant.

   There are loads of providers to choose from and I now pay to use Kit because of the automations and audience growth tools. My business is growing and building my email list and email funnels is a massive part of that.

2. Decide what your subscribers get out of it - Are you sending them inspiration? Discounts? VIP tickets? Think of 3 perks that add value and tell people about it. Remember, a lot of people will associate emails with work so what happy mail are you sending them that makes it worth their while.

3. Invite people - Whether it's …

I'm looking at you - yes you, the artist who wants to 5x their income, start charging their worth, get into more galleries and finally start living the life they’ve been dreaming of.

I know it sounds too good to be true but hear me out. I used to charge £40 for my 40cm limited edition Lino prints, now I charge a minimum of £270. So what changed?

There were a number of things - artists and collectors told me I was charging too little, I wanted to sell through galleries but I was going to be losing money and (and this is the biggest thing) I started to value what I was doing and take myself seriously as an artist.

When you want to create a sustainable art business rather than a hobby that pays for itself, you have to think seriously about the numbers. It’s no good plucking a number out of the air or simply charging what someone else does. That’s not going to ensure you cover your costs and make a decent profit. Do you think that’s what the likes of Frida Kahlo or Georgia O’Keefe would do? Hell no!

Being an artist is a ‘real job’. It can pay you a comfortable income but you have to be strategic.