When I ask artists what they struggle with the most, more often than not, their answer is all about knowing what and how to post on social media. The reason that they find that difficult is because they don't know what to post that's going to actually work. Why would someone engage with their content over someone else's amongst all the social media noise, and how to really build a community of raving fans of them and their work. Does that sound familiar?

Let’s talk about how you can show up, stand out, and sell your work online with confidence with something that I like to call your YOU-SPs.

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What are YOU-SPs?

YOU-SPs are your unique selling points. These are the things that set you, your business and your creative work apart and make you stand out.

They are the key to differentiating your creative business, which is vital for attracting, engaging, and converting potential customers. They are the things that you want to be known for.

You need to know what your YOU-SPs are so that you can use them in your messaging to position yourself, and then people are going to learn more about you and come to recognise and remember you for those things.

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Standing out in a crowded market

The illustration workforce alone is currently made up of 2.2 million people, and that is growing by 3.58% every year!

So with millions of illustrators, not taking into consideration whatever your specific industry is, like design or jewellery making or taxidermy or whatever.

The point is, there are a lot of artists out there. So how can you stand out among millions of people?

To think about this, I want you to think about your favourite artist, someone that you love to follow. You can probably list three to five things about that person, about their work, and about their business that makes them stand out and makes them an artist that you love, that makes them YOUR favourite artist.

Maybe it's the subject matter in their art.

Maybe it is the way they talk about creativity.

Maybe it's the issues that they're really passionate about.

Maybe it's their hilarious personality.

Whatever it is, there are probably a multitude of things that make them unique. When those things are combined, they make them someone that you love to follow.

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Why you need to define your YOU-SPs

Defining your YOU-SPs also makes it way easier for people to recommend you.

If I said to you, "Oh, you need to follow this person, Jess Makes Jewellery," that's maybe not compelling enough for you to want to follow them.

But what would be way more compelling is if I said: "Jess is an amazing maximalist designer. She uses recycled beads to make the funkiest necklaces, and every single one is unique, they're really special. And she donates 10% from each sale to a sustainability trust. Plus she always talks about slow creativity, and I love that so much."

I just included in two to three sentences things that make this artist completely unique to every other person who makes jewellery.

So all those things combined, each individually and together, make Jess really easy for me to recommend because I know what makes her distinct and unique.

Specificity equals easy advocacy. It's easy when your brand and your positioning is specific for people to recommend you and become advocates of your brand.

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5 steps to finding your YOU-SPs

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1. Understand you are your niche

You need to understand that you are your niche. This isn't about putting you in a box. This isn't about saying you have to only work for certain people, or you have to only make a certain specific medium. You just have to be yourself

And when I say that, I mean we need to figure out what it is that makes YOU stand out. Tell people what you want to be known for and own those things.

These are also not things that you have to force or make up or pretend like you're somebody that you're not. You are already these things!

You already have things that make you unique. It's just about uncovering those things.

For example, if you're naturally drawn to creating pieces that incorporate elements of your cultural heritage, that's not something you're forcing—it's authentically you. If you have a background in science that influences your artistic approach, that's part of your unique perspective. The key is recognising these elements and deliberately bringing them forward rather than hiding them or trying to conform to what you think the market wants.

Your niche emerges when you combine your skills, passions, experiences, and worldview. When you understand and embrace this, you'll find it much easier to create work that feels genuine and attracts people who truly connect with what you're doing.

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2. Research what makes you unique

This means looking at your work, looking at yourself, doing some journaling, looking at your content that you've posted in the past, and feedback you've had from clients or customers reviews. All the kinds of things that you already know inside are unique about you and your work.

But then it can be really helpful to also get some external thoughts on what people think about you, your brand and your work.

Sometimes it's really hard to read the label from inside the jar. So it's hard for us to see what other people are seeing when we're inside the jar.

You can ask:

• Customers who have bought from you or have thought about buying from you
• Your general audience through polls or question boxes on social media
• People who know you really well - what do they think is unique about you?

Then you can pull all of that research together and see what the common threads are, what the themes are across them, and what the main things are that people say are unique and different about you.

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3. Decide on your 3-5 YOU-SPs

I would say you want to have between three to five things so that you can be specific and repeat those things over and over again so people come to know and remember you for those things.

There are tons of ways that you can stand out. Here are just some categories to spur some ideas. Things that could be your YOU-SPs could be around:

• Your visual identity and style
• Your content and storytelling
• Your audience and who you create for
• Your experience and expertise
• Your distribution channels (where and how you create your work and where it's sold)
• Your community and network
• Your vision and mission
• Your service model (what products and services you have and how that works)
• Your philosophy (your approach, beliefs, values)
• Your personality (just who you are as a human)

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4. Weave your YOU-SPs through your messaging

Start weaving your YOU-SPs through your messaging. This can be in your:

• Social media bios
• Artist bio on your website
• Throughout all your marketing content
• Pitches and applications

These are the perfect places to start talking about the things that make you different. You might want to do a reintroduction, tell people "This is who I am, this is what makes me different, and this is why you want to follow me."

The key here is to be intentional and consistent with how you communicate your unique selling points. When someone lands on your Instagram profile or visits your website, they should immediately get a sense of what makes you special.

For your social media bios, focus on the essence of your YOU-SPs in the limited space you have. Instead of just saying "Artist based in Wellington, NZ" you might say "Creating vibrant wildlife illustrations with recycled materials | Sharing my sustainable art journey | Wellington-based."

For your artist bio, expand on your YOU-SPs with more detail. Tell the story behind why you create the way you do. If one of your YOU-SPs is about your unique process, describe how you developed it and why it matters to you. This helps people connect with the person behind the art.

When it comes to your marketing content, think about how each piece can reinforce your YOU-SPs. If you're writing a newsletter, creating a video, or designing a business card, ask yourself: "Does this reflect what makes me unique?" For example, if one of your YOU-SPs is your playful approach to serious topics, make sure your email headlines capture that playful tone.

Even your portfolio and applications for opportunities should showcase your YOU-SPs. Select work that best represents your unique approach and the things you want to be known for.

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5. Share your YOU-SPs consistently

Your YOU-SPs can become your "content pillars." For example, if you want people to know about the sustainability aspect of your work and how you do that really uniquely and differently, that could be a content pillar for you. You want to be repeating these things in different ways all the time so that people know you for these things.

Consistency is crucial because it takes multiple exposures for people to truly remember and associate certain qualities with you. Think about it—your favourite artists didn't become known for their distinctive style or approach overnight. It happened because they consistently showed up with the same core elements that made them unique.

Here's how to put this into practice: If one of your YOU-SPs is your innovative use of a particular technique, share behind-the-scenes videos of your process, write posts explaining your approach, create tutorials showing elements of your technique, and highlight this aspect when you talk about your finished pieces.

Remember, you're not simply repeating the exact same message—you're finding fresh ways to reinforce your YOU-SPs. This creates a cohesive picture of who you are as a creative while keeping your content interesting and engaging.

Over time, this consistent messaging will help you live rent free n people's minds. When someone thinks "sustainable jewellery maker," they'll think of you. When they see recycled beads or hear about slow creativity, you'll come to mind. That's the power of consistently sharing your YOU-SPs.

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Join the FREE YOU-SP Challenge!

If you want to suss out and share your YOU-SPs so you can show up, stand out, and sell your work online with confidence, then I want to invite you to join me and a bunch of other creatives in a free five-day YOU-SP challenge.

You can go to bit.ly/YOUSPChallenge, where we will walk through all of these steps together one every day alongside other artists and creatives and we will figure it all out together.

You'll get:

• A prompt every day
• A community of creatives
• Feedback and support from me
• And so much more!

Head to bit.ly/YOUSPChallenge and join me for the free five-day challenge. I hope to see you there!