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How to Build Real Buzz Around Your Art (Without Chasing the Algorithm)

You’ve been posting. You’ve been showing up. You’ve been doing all the things everyone tells you to do. And still, it feels like no one is paying attention.

Here’s what Jodie knows after 23 years in the art industry: how to build buzz around your art is not about luck, and it isn’t about follower count. It’s a strategy, and most artists are either skipping it entirely or doing it in a way that was never going to work.

In Episode 157, Jodie breaks down exactly what actually creates momentum around your work, whether you’re brand new or you’ve been at this for years and feel stuck in a visibility rut. This isn’t a social media tactics episode. It’s about building a presence that compounds over time.

Why So Many Artists Stay Invisible

Most artists treat visibility as something passive, something that happens to them once the work is good enough. But a goal without a plan is just a wish. If you make great work and simply wait for people to find it, Jodie says, you’ll be waiting a long time. The other trap is treating social media as optional, posting only when the mood strikes, then blaming the algorithm when nothing happens. Consistency, not volume, is what the algorithm actually rewards.

Buzz Isn’t About Being Loud

If you’re an introvert, this is for you. Creating buzz isn’t about volume, it’s about intention: showing up in the right places, for the right people, in a way that’s actually aligned with who you are. Jodie shares the story of a Studio Elite artist who was posting consistently but getting no traction, because everything, her videos, her voice, her presence, was too polished to feel real. If you’re waiting for your work or your process to be perfect before you show up, you’re waiting for something that will never come. As Jodie puts it, the cringe stage is simply the price of admission.

Four Ways to Actually Build Buzz

1. Your email list is your most underrated asset. Most artists build their entire visibility strategy on platforms they don’t own. Instagram can disappear tomorrow. Your email list can’t. Even a small list, 50 people, 200 people, genuinely interested in your work outperforms 10,000 passive followers scrolling past you. If you haven’t started yours yet watch Episode 67: Fight Me! Yes, An Artist Needs An Email List With Yasmine Kashefi where we walk through exactly how to begin, even with a tiny list.

2. Local collaboration is the most underused power move. Online visibility gets all the attention, but Jodie has watched artists build real traction through collaborations with wineries, wedding venues, and local businesses, without discounting their work or giving it away for exposure. An in-person opening, a shared evening, a local partnership: these build a kind of trust that a feed scroll never will.

3. Use social media backwards from how everyone else does. Most artists lead with the finished, polished painting. Jodie’s advice: lead with yourself. Collectors don’t follow accounts, they follow people. If you need a refresher on doing this well, Episode 51: Why Your Art Social Media Account Isn’t Growing goes deeper on showing up authentically instead of performing perfection.

4. Buzz needs a sequence, not a single announcement. Jodie doesn’t talk about a new collection the day it drops. She builds a runway: weeks of posts, emails, and anticipation leading up to the release. If you’ve been treating your launches like a single post, this is the piece you’re missing.

The Real Secret: Buzz Starts With You

Buzz doesn’t start with a viral moment. It starts with one person telling another person about you. And that only happens when you show up honestly, because that’s the only thing people can’t help but talk about. This is the entire premise behind Episode 24 on why most artists aren’t making money in their art business: tactics without honesty don’t convert. If your following skews toward other artists instead of collectors, Episode 126: From Scrolls to Sales: Attracting Real Art Collectors on Instagram is a strong next listen.

Jodie also mentions a live, three part workshop, The Artist Who Gets Paid, running August 20th, 25th, and 27th. https://www.jodiekingart.com/artistseries

Jodie also opens applications twice a year to Studio Elite, her flagship 6 month mastermind for artists ready to build a real, sustainable art career. The next cohort begins September 2026. If you’ve been circling the idea of going all in, this episode is your sign.

Resources Mentioned

• Ready to make your art a career for yourself? Join me for a three-part workshop, The Artist Who Gets Paid, Starting August 20th: https://www.jodiekingart.com/artistseries
• Studio Elite is for the artist ready to reach new heights in their art biz. Check it out: https://www.jodiekingart.com/studioelite
• This isn’t a social media episode, but if you’re looking for one, check out Episode 06: How to Use Social Media to Sell Your Art: https://jodieking.com/episode-06-how-to-use-social-media-to-sell-your-art/
• Episode 51: Why Your Art Social Media Account Isn’t Growing: https://jodieking.com/episode-51-why-your-art-social-media-account-isnt-growing/ 
• Episode 67, Why You Need an Email List and How to Start One: https://jodieking.com/episode-67-fight-me-yes-an-artist-needs-an-email-list-with-yasmine-kashefi/
• Episode 24: on why most artists aren’t making money in their art business: https://jodieking.com/episode-24-why-artists-arent-making-money-in-their-art-biz/  
• Episode 126: From Scrolls to Sales: Attracting Real Art Collectors on Instagram: https://jodieking.com/episode-24-why-artists-arent-making-money-in-their-art-biz/ 
• I talk a lot about email strategy in Art Biz For Rebels. If you want more of that, join us: https://www.jodiekingart.com/artbizforrebels

• Have a question for Jodie? Ask it here: https://forms.gle/hxrVu4oL4PVCKwZm6 
• How are you liking the Honest Art® Podcast? Leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform and let us know!    
• Watch this full episode on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMquJfuMsSg0fr46BRdia1cWd-81GThzF

Watch on YouTube

• New to Honest Art®? Start Here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDRbtjrfQyOs
• Painting Techniques: Best Of: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9oZj4G3KkA

Want More from Jodie?

Learn from Jodie:

🎨 The Color Course for Rebels: https://www.jodiekingart.com/ccfr

🎨 ArtBiz for Rebels: https://www.jodiekingart.com/artbizforrebels

🎨 Honest Art® Society: https://www.jodiekingart.com/has

🎨 Studio Elite Mastermind: https://www.jodiekingart.com/studioelite

Jodie’s favorite resources:

✍️ Free guide, 5 things they don’t teach you in art school: https://jodieking.com/work-with-me#free-rescources.0

✍️ Get Jodie’s top 10 studio tools: https://www.jodiekingart.com/10-studio-tools-opt-in

✍️ Free guide, how to hang and wire a painting: https://www.jodiekingart.com/how-to-hang-a-painting

🧘 Guided Meditation for Creative Clarity: https://www.jodiekingart.com/guided-meditation

✍️ See Jodie’s favorite things: https://www.amazon.com/shop/jodie_king_

Follow Jodie on Instagram or subscribe on YouTube.

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