Just a quick announcement to tell you that I've decided to make the growth missive monthly!

If you haven't already, you can also:

• Read all the previous Growth Missives 

• Join my IG broadcast channel to get your daily ✨growth gems for artists ✨.

• Discover The Art Missive, my art newsletter read by +20,000 creatives.

But why, Léa?

If you're a dedicated little demon, you're likely familiar with The Art Missive, a newsletter I started long before the Growth Missive, where I share my artistic endeavors and with nearly 25,000 readers now. 

Initially, when launching its counterpart, the Growth Missive, I had intended to follow the same weekly format. After just two editions, however, I realized that for Growth Artists, I aspire to deliver something more impactful.

I aim for precision.

Depth.

Utility.

Therefore, I've decided to experiment with a new approach: instead of sending a light missive every week, I'll transition to a monthly format. But don't be fooled, each missive will be a comprehensive growth gem, offering actionable insights to carry you through the weeks ahead!

I hope you'll find this new format enriching.

Stay tuned for the trial phase in a few weeks' time.

That’s all for me, 

Léa

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Welcome to the first edition of the Growth Missive! We are already 2,943 artists with big dreams in this newsletter. Thank you for reading 💪. 

If you haven't already, you can also:

• Read all the previous Growth Missives 

• Join my IG broadcast channel to get your daily ✨growth gems for artists ✨.

• Discover The Art Missive, my art newsletter read by +20,000 creatives.

In today’s Missive: 

1/ Introduction
2/ You already have all the answers.
3/ Vanity metrics
4/ Relativity
5/ 3 major relations
6/ The exception that proves the rule
7/ Conclusion
8/ ✨Growth gems of the week ✨

1/ Introduction. 

One morning in April 2020, I finally reached the 100 followers necessary to unlock my creator analytics (I know, it's cute...). I was so excited, thinking I'd discover some magical data to boost my art account.

At the time, I had already understood something important: creating good art is necessary to grow, but not sufficient.

I needed to learn to understand Instagram's algorithm to make it work for my art.

And for that, I had to learn to dissect these analytics.

However, when I finally got to explore my dashboard, it was a disaster: I found lots of numbers that didn't seem to mean much to me. Among all this information, which ones were really relevant to help me grow?

Over the past 4 years, I've tried many things, fallen into many traps, and pursued the wrong metrics many times... but thanks to that, I can write this missive for you today.

Welcome to edition #02 of the Growth Missive, where I help you decode your Instagram analytics and use them to grow your art account.

2/  You already have all the answers.

One might criticize Instagram for being secretive about its algorithm, but the platform gives us almost everything about the performance of our art account.

So, no matter what question you have about your growth, the answer is probably in your dashboard.

The challenge lies in interpreting it.

Personally, I spend an average of 10 minutes on my dashboard every day. Non-growth artists might think I'm just obsessed with numbers.

But for those who have cracked the code, analytics are no longer just numbers but answers to our questions.

• Why did few people like this art Reel?

• Why am I not growing anymore when last month I gained quite a few followers

• Why aren't people subscribing, is it because they haven't seen my profile or have they seen it and not liked it?

All the answers are right in front of you. In your analytics.

You just have to learn to interpret them to know which metrics are truly important for your growth.

3/  Vanity metrics  

As an artist on Instagram, the first thing we tend to pay attention to is likes.

How many people liked this drawing?
Why do so few people like my work?

Of course, I fell into this trap. I've spent afternoons feeling down because the post I just published got only 10 likes and just one lonely comment, probably posted by a bot.

Yet today, it's the last metric I look at. And to be honest, it's the last thing that helped me grow.

Why? It's simple: the number of likes and comments only has value in comparison to other data. Alone, it means nothing. It's simply the result of other truly important factors that you should focus on.

And these kinds of analytics, which everyone thinks are important but in reality tell you nothing about the health of your art account, are called vanity metrics.

Because on their own, they are in vain.

Because 700 likes on a small art account means something different than 700 likes on a big art account.

So from today on, I want you to stop vain comparisons and focus on what truly matters: yourself. 

4/  Relativity

When I first started dissecting my analytics, I was searching for an absolute truth: which number should I follow, improve, optimize to grow? Until I realized something: the power lies in relativity.

For instance, on Reel 1, I have 327,000 views and 17,695 likes. At first glance, it might seem like a well-performing Reel. However, Reel 2, despite having significantly fewer views, has more interactions.

Connecting these different numbers allowed me to understand that here (Reel 1), I probably needed to improve the caption and/or the storytelling of my Reel to generate more interactions.

You'll understand: no metric is completely useless, but none of them is sufficient on its own either.

Today, I've developed the habit of not reacting emotionally to raw data. Instead, I seek to connect different data points to draw lessons that will help me grow my account.

5/  3 major relations

When properly put in relation, all metrics can help you improve your art account or your content. But there are three correlations that I use every day:

1️⃣ Engagement Rate.

If there's one thing you should focus on mastering, it's this: engagement rate. Instead of just tracking likes and comments in isolation, I advise you to always consider them in relation to the number of people who actually saw your art. The engagement rate will give you an idea of how engaging your content is and how healthy your current community is. Achieving an engagement rate of 10% or above? You're doing super great. 🌟

2️⃣ Follower - non-follower

The second thing to watch closely is the rate of non-followers viewing your art content. It's important to know what percentage of your content's viewers are actually not following you. The higher this percentage, the more your content resonates beyond your current audience; which is extremely beneficial for your growth! Improving your engagement rate frequently helps to increase a low non-follower rate.

3️⃣ Profile visits/follows (conversion rate) 

The last crucial relation is your account's follower conversion rate. This rate is calculated by dividing the number of followers gained by the total number of profile visits during the same period. By determining this ratio, you'll understand the percentage of people who, after seeing your content and visiting your profile, choose to follow you. Naturally, the higher this percentage, the better. You'll find that this ratio is the crux of growth because having millions of views is meaningless if no one decides to follow you in the end.

6/ The exception that proves the rule

I've lied to you a little.

Yes, the greatest quality of a growth artist is being able to put in relation data to understand the health of their account.

But there's one metric that breaks the rule: watch time.

It's the average amount of time that viewers spend watching a content (Reels, Carousels, stories...).

On Instagram, it's the only data that tells Instagram directly, without any relativity, if your content is engaging enough for people to stay on it.

So, when it comes to watch time, I want you to stop overthinking and constantly seek to improve it using these tools:

• Vary the length of your content and see what performs best.

• Add a strong and enticing hook in the first 2 seconds of your Reel.

• Create mini-hooks throughout your Reel 

• Use a satisfying looping effect 

• Write an engaging caption that people will want to read.

Your goal: keep people engaged with your art for as long as possible.

7/ Conclusion 

If I were just another Instagram guru, I'd simply give you a list of metrics to follow.

But I want you to learn to think and grow on your own.

That's why it's important for you to become a growth artist, to distance yourself from conventional wisdom, and to learn to think smartly about Instagram.

It starts with reconnecting with your stats, stopping to hate the numbers you see, and learning to see them as valuable source of information!

Except for watch time, that's something you need to work hard to improve no matter what.

That's all from me.

See you next week.

Léa.

8/ ✨Growth gems ✨ of the week.

Here are this week's topics:

Instagram news // Carousel post within the Reels feed

Instagram is testing a feature that lets you see carousel posts in the Reels feed. This option, already available on TikTok, might become a regular feature on the app. Which is fantastic news for artists! Carousels are a time-saving and enjoyable method for presenting our art, so I’m glad that they are being showcased more prominently on the platform.

Instagram tip // Try out music photo post 

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, recently shared some tips for creators wanting to grow on Instagram. A lot of his advice was about photo posts, which now represent half of all content viewed on the platform. In this post, I'm summarizing his 3 tips to make your photo art posts even better.

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Welcome to the first edition of the Growth Missive! We are already 2,772 artists with big dreams in this newsletter. Thank you for reading 💪. 

If you haven't already, you can also:

• Read all the previous Growth Missives 

• Join my IG broadcast channel to get your daily ✨growth gems for artists ✨.

• Discover The Art Missive, my art newsletter read by +20,000 creatives.

In today’s Missive: 

1/ Artists with big dreams. 
2/ The turning point. 
3/ My cheap setup. 
4/ The true power.  
5/ Conclusion. 
6/ ✨Growth gems of the week✨ 

1/ Artists with big dreams.

2 years...

It took me 2 years to reach my first 1000 followers.

But in 2022, I finally cracked the code. And since then, I've gained over 300k supporters for my art, I became a full-time artist and achieved my biggest dream: traveling the world. 

For this life, I worked hard. Way too hard. It shouldn't have been so impossible to overcome.

That’s why I decided to share what I've learned.

So that small artists with big dreams like me can achieve their freedom.

Of course, you'll have to work very hard too.

But at least, you won't be alone, and you'll be able to take my shortcuts.

That's the purpose of The Growth Missive.

Welcome to your new life.

And to kickstart this project, I wanted to pass on the first lesson I learned as a growth artist.

This is edition #01 of the Growth Missive, where I share with you the ONE superpower you need to start with. 

2/  The turning point. 

As I mentioned earlier, it was in 2022 that my community really took off. Between February 2022 and February 2023, I experienced my first growth and gained over 100k followers. (Even I couldn't believe it.)

Now, can you guess what the turning point was?

Did I rent an art studio?
Did I buy a €3000 camera?
Did I master the art of creating extraordinary videos?
Did I trade in my little sketchbook for huge canvases?

None of the above...

To be completely honest, I fell into those traps, but none of them worked.

And what truly made all the difference might surprise you:

It was going back to simplicity.

3/  My cheap setup. 

At the beginning of 2022, my mind was all over the place and I didn’t know how I could grow an art community, or even improve as an artist.

At that time, I was still a law student in Paris. I was also managing the business I had created to pay for my studies. At that time, I was severely lacking in both time and space.

Let me tell you, my reality forced me to keep things simple.

So, for 2 years, this was my setup:

With such a poor setup, many artists might have abandoned the idea of growing their art community. So, why did it succeed for me?

The difference is that I refused to wait for everything to be perfect to start. 

Simplicity? That I could manage. Thus, I concentrated on it and pinpointed the essential elements I required to advance in drawing and document my progress:

• My phone camera

• A sketchbook

• Pencils

• Natural light.

That's all it took.

Not only to gain 100,000 followers.

But also to make remarkable progress in drawing:

4/ The true power. 

Let's face reality: just like the little student Léa, not everyone has unlimited means, time, or space.

That's why I want you to cultivate the superpower of simplicity.

Leonardo da Vinci said that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

Because in reality, simplicity allows you to ignore the futile and focus on what truly makes an impact.

To progress in art and build a community, here are the rules of simplicity I've gathered so far:

1. Keep your materials simple: If you can create great things with a pencil and a lousy camera, imagine what you can do with top-notch equipment?
   

2. Keep your content simple: Avoid complex editing or concepts in your art content. Focus on minimalist transitions, editing, and messaging.
   

3. Keep your goals simple: Multitasking is a myth! Focus on one artistic goal and one growth goal at a time.

5/ Conclusion. 

You'll see as you read my missives, simplicity is my obsession (no wonder I'm talking about it in the very first Growth Missive!)

As artists, we often juggle multiple aspects of life. From family and work to art and content creation... It's easy to feel overwhelmed.

So my message for you today is this one: 

Don't forget that you can simplify everything to make it achievable.

All you need to do is start cultivating this power right now...

That's all from me,

See you next week.

Léa.

6/ ✨Growth gems ✨ of the week.

In this section, I'll be sharing updates or reflections on the internet world for artists every week.

Here are this week's topics:

Instagram news // Keeping art real: the fight against AI creations

At the beginning of the month, Meta revealed plans to identify and tag AI-generated images on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to combat fake news and misinformation. This is also significant news for artists! It's a step toward addressing accounts that use AI to imitate genuine artists and protect our rights. While it will take a few months to roll out, it's an interesting move to ensure that your creativity remains authentic and protected. 

Instagram tip // Improve your reach!

Struggling with low views on your art Reels? No problem, I’ve got your back! In this carousel, I'll walk you through step by step on one way to tackle this issue.

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