If you want to share your art with the world, social media is a great place to do it – and it’s free! But when it comes to writing the perfect artist bio for Instagram, where do you start? In this post I’m going to provide you with examples, prompts and tips to make your profile stand out so people press the follow button!
Why is an Instagram bio important?
Your Instagram bio is important because it’s one of the first things a user sees when they land on your profile. It’s your chance to tell them who you are and what you do. You need to make that first connection to your audience – you don’t want them to leave before they’ve even looked at your artwork!
What should I put in my art account bio?
We’ll start by looking at the things artists should include in their Instagram bio. This should give you some ideas that you can apply to your own account.
Tell Everyone You’re an Artist.
It should be clear to someone who lands on your page, what your profile is about. The first line of your bio should make it obvious. You don’t even have to get creative with this bit, just keep it simple.
Examples:
Sketches | Portraits
Watercolour Artist
Sketches | Portraits
Digital Artist • Nature
German based mixed media artist
Artist | Sculptor
Use Keywords
Including relevant keywords in your artist bio will help you rank higher in search engines for those words. If you’ve already told the audience what you do, you should already have some good keywords in your bio such as “artist” or “mixed media artist”.
Top Tip: Use a keyword in your name or username. When you fill out your profile there is a box for your name which appears above your bio and a username which appears at the top of your profile and is your @name. Inserting a keyword here will help you appear higher in Instagram search for that keyword.
In this artist’s Instagram profile, you can see that the keyword “art” was added to the nickname. She has also added two extra keywords “Artist” and “Illustrator” alongside her own name.
Think about what words apply to your profile – what keywords would you like to appear for?
You can use short tail keywords like “artist” or long tail keywords like “landscape watercolour artist”.
Show Your Personality
So now it’s clear you’re an artist, you can add some personality to your bio! It’s a great way to connect with the person viewing your page – make them press that follow button. One of the most difficult things about this is keeping it short and sweet. Not only is a person likely just skimming this information but you only have 150 characters to work with.
Ideas for things to include:
○ Something unique about your work.
○ What inspires you.
○ Interests and hobbies outside of art.
○ A favourite art quote.
Examples:
Inspired by nature.
Obsessed with dogs.
Introvert • Daydreamer • Wanderer
To be an artist is to believe in life.
Add a Link
Instagram allows you to add a single link to your Instagram profile – this could be your website or your Etsy shop for example.
Choose where you want people to go. If your main goal is to sell your art, then the link should be to your shop. If you’re promoting a sale or a specific collection, link to that collection.
If you have multiple links, like a website and an Etsy shop, there are services you can use. Apps such as Linktree and Campsite.bio provide landing pages which show a list of links. Both have free plans.
You can also do this on your own website – why not create a page of links yourself? I prefer this option because it gets people onto your website quicker. You can display your website URL in your Instagram bio rather than an app link and can customise the page to fit your brand better.
Use a Strong Call To Action
Sometimes you just need to tell people what to do and that’s exactly what a call to action (CTA) is.
The most common call to action is to click on a link. So a clear CTA would be “Shop now” or “View my work”.
The link appears as the last line of your bio and some people will highlight the link with an emoji.
Example:
Shop now 👇
www.thecaptionlibrary.com
Use Emojis
Using emojis not only adds a bit of personality to your bio but they can make it easier to read. They break up the text and can be used as bullet points.
Example:
🖌️ Landscape Painter
🌊 Inspired by the ocean
📍 Bournemouth, UK
Shop my latest collection here 👇
The bullet points make the text easy to skim when a person lands on your page. They immediately have an idea about who you are and what your art is about.
Tips for a Stand-Out Artist Bio
Now you have some ideas of what to include in your artist bio for Instagram, let’s look at some extra tips and tricks to make it stand out.
Get to the Point Quickly
You have a character limit when it comes to writing your bio and it’s only 150 characters. This means you have to get straight to the point. It might take a bit of work to cut down on what you want to say, but one way to do this is to focus on short sentences and use bullet points.
Focus on Your Goal
Why did you create your page? Is it to sell your artwork? If so, it should be clear your work is for sale. This could just be through a “Shop now” CTA and a link to your shop.
If your goal is to get the attention of local galleries you might want to include your location. My favourite way to do this is with a 📍 emoji.
Don’t overthink it
If you feel stuck, don’t worry! You can come back and edit your bio anytime you want.
You might even want to change it regularly and let people know about a new collection or the date and location of an upcoming exhibition.
Artist Bio Examples on Instagram
It can be very helpful to look at other artists’ bios on Instagram. Obviously, you don’t want to copy their content, but you can see what you like or don’t like and apply it to your own account.
Here are some examples of good artist bios.
I’m a big fan of Hannah Willow’s work and she has a great example of a good artist bio. As soon as we land on her profile page she tells us exactly what her artwork is about. This is a good example of a bio that doesn’t use emojis, instead, she uses three simple short sentences. She uses the keyword “artist” in her nickname and she links to a particular collection on her website that she wants to promote.
Amy McKimm produces stunning pet portraits, which is clear in the first line of her bio. She uses clear sentences with good formatting which make it easy to read. Amy includes her location but adds that she offers her portraits worldwide. Her bio highlights that she is open for portrait bookings and makes her link obvious with an emoji. The goal of this bio is very clear – she sells pet portraits and you can purchase them. She also addresses a common question people have when they get to her page and that is where to find her prices.
Eloisa’s work is bold and colourful and she portrays this perfectly in her bio. She uses colourful emojis that match her work, and every sentence gives you an idea about Eloisa’s energy and her art. You immediately know her work is going to be positive and vibrant. She also uses her own website to provide a list of links.
Prompts for Your Artist Bio for Instagram
If you’re still feeling a little stuck, here are some questions to think about when writing your bio.
○ What does your artwork say?
○ Why do you make art?
○ What inspires you?
○ What is your main goal?
○ What medium do you work with?
○ What do you want people to feel when they look at your work?
10 Artist Bio Ideas
Landscape watercolour artist.
Painting the English countryside.
Shop my new collection ⬇️
Fairytale artist capturing the magic in the everyday. Latest Exhibition: Whitechapel Gallery. Prices on website.
✍️ Pet Pencil Portraits
🐶 Drawing your best friends.
📖 Books now open.
👇🏽 Book your portrait here
🇺🇸 Digital artist based in the US.
🍂 Inspired by nature & wildlife.
⬇️ Find me on Etsy.
Artist. Drawing dreams. The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless. See my work ⬇️
Artist who likes to see the world 🌎 Capturing the world on canvas. Follow to see where I end up next.
🎨 Artist • Teacher
📅 New tutorials every Tuesday
👇🏽 Learn how to draw like a pro.
Artist. Spreading joy through art. Add a little happiness to your life. ⬇️
Artist with a love of colour. Brighten up your walls. Shop the neon collection available now.
Artist. Cake in one hand, paintbrush in the other. Buy my work here 👇🏽
Conclusion
Your artist bio for Instagram should be about you and your work. It doesn’t have to be over complicated or witty – just tell people what you do! Due to the character limit you only need to think of 3-4 short sentences, and then you can let your artwork do the rest!
Lindsey is the creator and writer behind The Caption Library. She’s worked in social media marketing since 2011 and has worked with a range of magazines, small businesses and bloggers. She enjoys being creative, whether it’s writing for her blogs or running her Etsy store!
