I have a small following. Less then 100 followers.
My goal is to reach 5k genuine followers that actually want to see my content.
I post digital art of witches and gothic characters in an anime art style
I started posting every 4 days at the latest
I leave genuine comments on other art accounts in my niche, to make myself more visible.
I use 30 hashtags in every post with small to medium post counts.
I have begun to use carousel posts instead of just regular posts, and I have started using stories.
I just recently constructed a new art style that will hopefully make it easier for me to post more often
I have been on Instagram for 3 years but started taking it seriously about 2 months ago. Used to have over 100 posts but deleted 95% of it to make my account fit the niche I wanted to go for. I have bought marketing courses, I have watched a ton of videos on how to grow an Instagram account. I feel like none of the advice is really working. Am I just being impatient? Its been demotivating me.
I feel like I am kind of just all over the place. Like I have been posting full rendered paintings but they take 3 days to complete, and I spend every waking hour on them. I don't think it is a viable way to grow on Instagram, because I put so much effort into them with little return, and I end up having no time for anything else. like my life is just me rushing to finish a painting and for what? 20 likes and MAYBE 1 new follower? It is not sustainable. But every problem has a solution right? So my solution is to make art with line art, with simple shading and less rendering time, but I fear I will lose followers for this. What should I do?
I am thinking about changing my strategy completely, and creating a comic series to build a community around. From viewing other accounts, I noticed people like original characters and stories, if they are good. I think this could help my account stand out, because I am no longer just posting cool drawings like everyone else, I am creating a story that make people want to come back to. But this would be a drastic change that might not work, and I will lose followers who are here for the paintings, that have been exhausting me.
Currently I am not creatively happy just posting random art admittedly, and It has always been a dream to make a story people care about, but I also want to grow an instagram account. And so that is why I feel just so all over the place. Confused on what I should be doing with my art and marketing.
Yes I have tried doing reels and I am aware video content is the thing instagram is chasing but I hate doing them, and I'd rather just do Youtube which I am planning on doing soon. I just recently bought a snowball mic and in the process on making an intro. But that is another thing. Point being, I hate reels and I felt like I was just rehashing the same stuff other artists where doing. Little time lapses. I ended up deleting all the ones I made.
Marketing. I am not confident in the strategies I am implementing and I feel like I am just wasting my time. Leaving comments, that are well thought out, do not result in followers and I feel uncomfortable doing it as I do have some social anxiety. I actually end up following them instead XD But they don't follow me back, and no I'm not going to unfollow them just because they didn't in return. I am trying to be genuine and supportive and not fake. It does sting a little. Makes me feel like my art is not good enough you know but I guess it is what it is.
--
SO, my current strategy. I will post a carousel post of a sketch for my next painting, and then I'll make a little story to say hey guys, new post! Then I will go out and comment on other peoples accounts and be social. Then I will just work on the painting. I am trying to get myself to socialize every single night and morning, to get myself in front of people, to let others know that hey, I exist. VERY much so out of my comfort zone but I want this to work so I do it. But again little to no results. Then I will just post a carousel post of the painting with hashtags and all. But I feel like its not going anywhere, or just VERY slowly. I am feeling depressed, demotivated and like, I don't know what to do. What more should I be doing? I will do whatever it takes. I will start doing reels again if I must.
Little personnel background on me. I am 26, will be 27 on the 18th of December. I live at home with my mom. I have all my life because of social anxiety and fear, and self doubt, and feeling lost on what I want from life. I have never even learned how to drive. I spent the majority of my 20s chasing dreams of making money online. I tried Droppshing, I tried selling on Ebay and amazon. I tried making an Etsy store. For a period of time I wanted to be a real estate investor, but you know, social anxiety. I tried inventing a product to help the elderly. I tried writing a science fiction novel with dreams of making a living from it. I put a lot of time and effort into all of these things, and failed miserably at all of them. I wasted over $200 of my moms money on ads and website costs for dropshiping. That one really hurt. I put everything I had into it. I even took a college class on marketing. Did really well in it. Suck bad at it when actually doing it in real life it seems lol. I feel like a complete and utter failure.
Now I am staring to slowly approach my 30s and I have nothing to show for it. I am scared. I don't know if I have a future but I know one thing, I don't want a job. I want to make a living off of my art online. That's the conclusion I have come to. I want to tell stories with my art and I want to have a following. I won't be happy otherwise. I don't want to work at a company. I am so frustrated nothing is working. Instagram and YouTube is it. One of them has to work. I don't know what to do.
I need advice 
Not to sound rude, but I am not here to be told that it can't be done or that Instagram is too crowded or whatever. I am not here for pessimism. I refuse to give up. I see people succeed online, on YT and Instagram all the time. I know it can be done. I just don't know how to do it.
I looked up "dropshipping" and one of the first results:
‘It’s bullshit’: Inside the weird, get-rich-quick world of dropshippingThe kindest thing someone could do for this idiot is give them a short sharp truth bomb; their arts not that good, and they are in fact going to have to get a fucking job if they want the lifestyle they think they deserve.
Or go do one of the few get rich quick schemes that actually work; selling drugs or hooking.
Its a giant fucking red flag that they don't want any advice on improving their art, they just want to know how to make money off it on instagram - there's nothing wrong with making a living as a professional artist, or making it your goal for that to be your job, but its a fucking
job, with a lot of competition, and they can't be bothered with the growing part, they just want to be thought of as "instagram artist" within 2 months.
FOH, you're actually fucking delusional, and if you weren't sponging off your mommy you'd have made a realisation about your life, your expectations, and your commitment to achieving what you want by now, because prides all well and good but you can't fucking eat it or pay rent with it.
