As someone who loves making things and has recently opened their own little Etsy store to sell my creations, I have a love for supporting other local businesses. Many people think the best way to support these businesses is through buying their products and/or services, but there are many ways you can support us non-financially.
I spoke to a couple of my favourite creator friends, who have provided, along with myself, some great ways of supporting your favourite local artists!
1. Follow, Like, Comment and Share
The easiest thing you can do to support local artists is to follow, like, comment and share posts on their social media platforms. Follow their Instagram pages, like their Tiktoks, comment on Giveaways and share their creations on your page, such as when you buy our products, so we can reach a wider audience. This is a quick way to support us and trust me, we appreciate it loads!
Marianna, who creates stickers on RedBubble speaks about how important it is to be able to get support from people who can’t financially. She is particularly appreciative of those not personally interested in her work, but still shows support by sharing them.
2. Favourite Shops and Leave Reviews
Even if you haven’t bought anything from us, a way to support it is to favourite our shops on Etsy, RedBubble, Facebook Pages… It costs nothing to leave a wee heart and it allows others to see the popular products on our sites!
If and when you buy from us, leave a review! This also boosts our page and gives other viewers an incentive to buy, knowing other people have bought and liked our goodies!
3. Suggesting Ideas
As one person with so many ideas, I love when my friends suggest ideas of what I could potentially make. I have an entire list of ideas which will take a lifetime to get through, but I love gathering ideas so I have an endless number of things I can create.
4. Word of Mouth
As well as sharing on social media, another way of spreading the love is through word of mouth. Talk to your friends who you think may be interested about our work, because you never know. You may not be able to always support financially, but maybe someone else can!
5. Having Patience
As three of us happen to be university students and for many small local artists that are just starting out, we have to balance our passions with other things to survive. We have to juggle our creative time with university work, jobs and volunteering. Followers having the patience to understand this at our slower times is such a rewarding thing to know the continuous support is there.
Heather, who is currently on hiatus talks about her loyal customers who she is thankful for constantly engaging with her posts. Only being able to make things in her spare time, she is grateful for those who continuously show support through sharing and resharing her posts, even when she doesn’t have the time to show new content.
As my way of supporting my friends, I hope you will support them like I do and check out their shops and pages linked below!
Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hmaxwellart/
Marianna’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marianna.creates/