How to build followers/views? Nsfw artist

[ShadetheRedWolf]

Hi everyone. Might not get many responses or any to this, that's okay. I was just wondering on how getting seen as an artist works in general in the community.

I've been on FA for about 9 months now and have a half dozen followers (which I consider a good start tbh). I was just wondering if im going the right direction if followers and views are my goal atm.

For starters, what's the best way to go about FA posting? Saving art to post at regular intervals or posting when it's done? Should I focus on fetish work, or try a variety of content? (Most of my views and follows are from vore, but I dont see myself as a vore exclusive artist). And how long will it roughly take to get an okay following, even with bad luck? Im expecting a few years, should I expect longer?

I was also wondering what other platforms, if any, I should try. Twitter largely seems dead to me (virtually no views or follows in the same amount of time as FA) and ive heard mixed things about Instagram. I used to have great results on Tumblr, before the purge on there (which sucks). Are there any other good options, or is sticking to FA alone the better plan?

Again, it's okay if I get no responses. Id understand if the word wall is too much lol. Just figured id ask, since making semi known furry art is a dream of mine, whether I ever get commissioned or not. Thank you if you read and/or respond

 

[Noctis123]

I have no idea. I just take pity on you because you have no replies.

 

[ShadetheRedWolf]

I have no idea. I just take pity on you because you have no replies.

I appreciate the thought. Thanks

 

[oappo]

I appreciate the thought. Thanks

Hey, just wanted to say that this question seems more suited to the Art and Illustration section. Right now there's even a thread answering questions roughly the same as yours. The OP is still active in it as of yesterday.
forums.furaffinity.net: Answering Art Business Questions

 

[ShadetheRedWolf]

Hey, just wanted to say that this question seems more suited to the Art and Illustration section. Right now there's even a thread answering questions roughly the same as yours. The OP is still active in it as of yesterday.
forums.furaffinity.net: Answering Art Business Questions

Really? That would explain it. I wasnt sure where to post since I dont do it very often on here. Thanks!

 

[SkyeLegs]

With the viral nature of the internet, it takes followers to make followers, so it can be pretty hard to get the ball rolling. Twitter is especially bad for this, but it's also where I see the largest numbers when things do pick up.

Posting often and at peak hours is the main way to get noticed naturally. I usually find around both 11:00am and pm EST are some of the best times to post. Using something like PostyBirb to schedule posts can be helpful and save time. It also makes cross-posting to all the major furry sites a breeze so there's no harm in trying them all, but most other furry sites are dead. I just stick to FA, Twitter, and Weasyl these days. But even then, it's still likely to take many years to build up a dedicated following.

Then there's easier but less organic ways to get noticed, like posting lots of fan art of whatever is popular at the moment, doing meme art, offering free art, etc. These can jump-start things and get some followers, especially on Twitter, but this doesn't necessarily attract people who will care about and support you like building followers more naturally would. I was going to mention fetish stuff like vore is also an easy way to get noticed, but I think you have that covered already.

Just putting my two cents out there based on my experiences, I'm no professional. I've been on FA for almost 10 years and I'm still under 1k followers, but then I've also had some roadblocks. Just keep improving, posting, and interacting with the community and you'll get there eventually.

 

[ShadetheRedWolf]

With the viral nature of the internet, it takes followers to make followers, so it can be pretty hard to get the ball rolling. Twitter is especially bad for this, but it's also where I see the largest numbers when things do pick up.

Posting often and at peak hours is the main way to get noticed naturally. I usually find around both 11:00am and pm EST are some of the best times to post. Using something like PostyBirb to schedule posts can be helpful and save time. It also makes cross-posting to all the major furry sites a breeze so there's no harm in trying them all, but most other furry sites are dead. I just stick to FA, Twitter, and Weasyl these days. But even then, it's still likely to take many years to build up a dedicated following.

Then there's easier but less organic ways to get noticed, like posting lots of fan art of whatever is popular at the moment, doing meme art, offering free art, etc. These can jump-start things and get some followers, especially on Twitter, but this doesn't necessarily attract people who will care about and support you like building followers more naturally would. I was going to mention fetish stuff like vore is also an easy way to get noticed, but I think you have that covered already.

Just putting my two cents out there based on my experiences, I'm no professional. I've been on FA for almost 10 years and I'm still under 1k followers, but then I've also had some roadblocks. Just keep improving, posting, and interacting with the community and you'll get there eventually.

oh thanks! Im happy to get the advice of an artist who's been doing this a while. It's good to know that Twitter might get good results, ill keep posting there then. And Ill try out regular posting in the future. Thanks again for the advice also, I made sure to give you a watch. Im gay but I love your art style. Great art. Hope you reach 1k soon!

 

[RailRide]

Just putting my two cents out there based on my experiences, I'm no professional. I've been on FA for almost 10 years and I'm still under 1k followers, but then I've also had some roadblocks. Just keep improving, posting, and interacting with the community and you'll get there eventually.

Indeed. It took me 10 years to crack 1k watchers. And I've seen people who capture twice that many (or more) in as little as two or three. If there were a bona-fide formula that anyone could copy to achieve that, you'd be tripping over people with 4 and 5-digit watcher counts all over the place. But because this is an environment chock-full of content creators, most of us will have to just keep cranking out the kinds of material we personally want to see, and over the long-term it'll eventually garner the attention of the like-minded.

---PCJ

 

[FluffyShutterbug]

Hi everyone. Might not get many responses or any to this, that's okay. I was just wondering on how getting seen as an artist works in general in the community.

I've been on FA for about 9 months now and have a half dozen followers (which I consider a good start tbh). I was just wondering if im going the right direction if followers and views are my goal atm.

For starters, what's the best way to go about FA posting? Saving art to post at regular intervals or posting when it's done? Should I focus on fetish work, or try a variety of content? (Most of my views and follows are from vore, but I dont see myself as a vore exclusive artist). And how long will it roughly take to get an okay following, even with bad luck? Im expecting a few years, should I expect longer?

I was also wondering what other platforms, if any, I should try. Twitter largely seems dead to me (virtually no views or follows in the same amount of time as FA) and ive heard mixed things about Instagram. I used to have great results on Tumblr, before the purge on there (which sucks). Are there any other good options, or is sticking to FA alone the better plan?

Again, it's okay if I get no responses. Id understand if the word wall is too much lol. Just figured id ask, since making semi known furry art is a dream of mine, whether I ever get commissioned or not. Thank you if you read and/or respond

Can I have a link to your FA page?

 

[PercyD]

The best way to get followers and views is to engage with people.
Also, think about why you want followers and views. That will determine how you should proceed forward.

In the meantime, it helps to think about how you get people to look at your stuff. FA and Twitter are good since they have a feed of new art that people can look at. Make yours stand out by using different tags, and thinking about how to make your content stand out. People gravitate towards things they recognize, so fan art is helpful. People also like new and original things, so think about the strengths of your style~.

I just joined a group of artists where we talk about this kind of stuff all the time and we promote each others work. c:
Let me know if you want to check it out.

 

[PercyD]

I want to start an online business, how to do it with the help of social networks?

Start with your immediate circle. If you don't have an immediate circle, start building one in your target audience.

This is critical. You learn what their needs are and what they are looking for~. It's more holistic and you'll be more successful in the long run. Look for those "anchor clients" who are enthusiastic about supporting your business monetarily.
Clicks and views are great, but they don't pay the bills. Even if the person saves up to buy your stuff.

 

[Raever]

Generally speaking, there are two things I've noticed that seem to attract viewers:

1. Porn
2. Lore

With the secondary being niche but loyal and the first being many but inconsistent.
The more you post, the more people notice you. Best of luck!

 

[SirRob]

I want to start an online business, how to do it with the help of social networks?

Is this a bot? This has to be a bot, right? I mean this topic is over two years old, and then you just post a non sequitur. Imagine, being a bot, posing as a human, on a furry forum. Hilarious! You know, one of the other forums I used to use got overrun with bots. Now the only activity on that forum is bots. And the bots still post there! Thankfully the mods here are on top of their game. Keep doing great work, you unsung heroes.

 

[Raever]

Is this a bot? This has to be a bot, right? I mean this topic is over two years old, and then you just post a non sequitur. Imagine, being a bot, posing as a human, on a furry forum. Hilarious! You know, one of the other forums I used to use got overrun with bots. Now the only activity on that forum is bots. And the bots still post there! Thankfully the mods here are on top of their game. Keep doing great work, you unsung heroes.

Not gonna lie, I almost never notice post dates lol

 

[SirRob]

Not gonna lie, I almost never notice post dates lol

Well, it's an evergreen topic. There are going to be people who stumble into this topic wondering the same thing.

One thing that I think helps, although it's not the most savory thing to do, is to target specific fetishes. You've got people really thirsty for that sort of content and they'll eat anything up. Submitting relevant content under the "Specialty" topics within the "Type" dropdown menu on FA will definitely help build a base. Sounds like TC is already doing that, but while typing this up I did go to their FA page and there actually isn't that much fetish content, at least nothing recent. And they are actively posting art! They're not bad by any means, but with nearly 300 submissions and not even 2k page views, I can definitely understand why they would be interested in building more of a base.

Another thing that might help is making fan art. TC does a lot of original characters and so that's not going to draw in as many people. General NSFW furry art is one of the most common types of art on FA, and so it's going to be harder to make your art stand out, especially if you're using your own characters.

Honestly, the best ways to build an audience have all been mentioned already, so I guess I'm just reiterating. And I'll reiterate another point that has been mentioned: just keep practicing and keep improving your art. If you're at an impasse, then seek outside help, like a mentor, or even a textbook or video tutorial.

 

[Inafox]

Posting frequently can get you noticed, but at same time, people tend to dislike repetitive or lower quality posts.
The trick is to balance it out, don't underdo to make more, but also don't overdo and not get noticed.

Seeking exposure isn't the best idea if you can't keep up a quality consistency and regularity. If that is the case for you, take it steady and work up to that level of confidence.
You do not need to necessarily work harder, just work smarter. Have pieces of moderate quality often, and do also larger pieces over a course of time.
Once you have affirmed yourself a niche of sorts, you can consider things like selling your art if you wish to, just don't expect too many customers before you have custom.

Some artists post "reminders" and then delete them, they do this when selling adopts/ych, but it must be clear to them that keeping these in their gallery will make them seem spammy, therefore that is a good reason to delete the reminder posts.

People who instant-watch observe your portfolio, if they like the quality of the content, they will follow.
Others will follow out of social interest or relatability, this requires socialising and linking on social media often but can also hinder your art-making.
Ideally, but not necessarily, you need to be consistent, unique, of quality, and also regular for best results. Poor confidence shows up in your presentation.
It can also be a slow, but steady climb and that's a good thing. Try not to chase for more watchers than you feel artistically confident with having, it can put a weight of expectation on you.

 

[Fallowfox]

What I usually tell myself when I think about this question is 'do I really want or need followers?'.

If your art is a business, sure.
If your art is for fun, thinking about wanting followers can spoil that fun.

 

[Kellan Meig'h]

I do my writing for myself but I do share it with others. How you gain viewers is you cater to that site's core viewership and post semi-regularly.

I know from experience, FA is strictly people looking for fap-worthy images and short stories. Drive-by (or fap-by) viewership, if you please. I posted a novel in chapter series on FA - forty-six chapters, maybe nine comments total. There wasn't much to fap to, it was mature but not graphic so ergo, not a lot of views or readers. Now, same story on Sofurry - plenty of votes, readers, comments, etc. The members on Sofurry are very different from FA in a number of respects.

So, you do have to decide where your particular artwork will work best for you. Since you said NSFW, FA may be your better choice. I've heard Inkbunny is good for NSFW, too.