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The Hungry

By Dave Conrey

Practical and actionable information, news, and insights to grow your creative business. Join thousands of other artists, designers, and other creative types looking to demystify marketing strategy, selling techniques, and the technology necessary to run a thriving business.

Featured Post

How to use writing to build your art business without the headaches

This is a hill I will die on. An email list and a newsletter are hands down the single best way to grow and maintain an engaged audience. You may repel away from that statement because writing a long-form newsletter gives you the scaries, but stick with me because I share my thoughts on all the most common objections by the end. Before I dig into that, though, you need to know something about me. I was a writer before I was an artist. Creative writing was my minor in college (before I dropped...
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4 days ago • 7 min read
The Hungry's Small Biz Boost 2023

100+ creative businesses you need to see!

Welcome to The Hungry's inaugural Small Biz Boost! I was originally going to skip today's email because I'm certain you've gotten more than you wanted. Instead of checking out, I decided to spread some holiday joy by sharing a list of creative small businesses taken directly from Hungry subscribers and social media friends. There are over 100 artists, designers, and makers of all sorts listed below. I personally vetted each link shop. If you cannot find the perfect gift for your friends and...
8 days ago • 7 min read
outward series by dave conrey

This is the single greatest tool I've ever used to gain attention

How I Use Writing to Grow My Following Quickly and Painlessly Below is one of my most recent pieces. It’s an 8x10” mixed media collage on board. It’s one of my favorite pieces, and it’s quite lovely. Do you want to buy it right now for $200? That was off-putting, wasn’t it? If you're new to The Hungry, you don’t know me or my work well enough to drop hundreds of dollars on a piece just because I told you about it. Maybe you’re bold enough to take that chance, but it's more likely I haven’t...
18 days ago • 12 min read

Breaking News! Meta wants your attention and your customers - Hungry Friday #41

Today's Hungry starts with a battle and ends with cake. It couldn't get any better than that. Enjoy! Meta Wants Dominance of Our Attention and Shopping On Thursday, Meta announced that Amazon shoppers can purchase products on Facebook and Instagram without leaving the apps. This is a huge declaration, and I'm not sure Jeff Bezos is happy about it because Amazon also wants your undivided attention. That is the goal of every platform you use, but Meta is making the hard play to keep people...
22 days ago • 5 min read

How to grow on Threads without being overwhelmed by another social app

Dave's Unofficial Guide to Growing on Threads Without Losing Your Soul When I first joined Threads, I started with approximately 560 followers that came directly from Instagram, although most did not interact. It took me three weeks to hit 600. After nine weeks of being on the platform, I hit 700. Things went stale for a bit, and it took three months to hit 800. 900 came two weeks later, and 1,000 three days after that. It's been a week now, and I'm over 1,300. I'm not sharing this to brag...
25 days ago • 7 min read

🧵 You're sleeping on Threads, and that's a mistake - Hungry Friday #40

It's been a nutty week, and if you're not following me on Threads, you should because, WOW, I have stories to share! My Unofficial Guide to Threads When I first joined Threads, I started with approximately 560 followers that came directly from Instagram, although most did not interact. It took me three weeks to hit 600. After nine weeks of being on the platform, I hit 700. Things went stale for a bit, and it took three months to hit 800. 900 came two weeks later, and 1,000 three days after...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read

This artist turned his grief into a thriving art business

Art Heals and Creates Opportunity Using art, Danny Gregory turned tragedy into healing, healing into a community, and a community into a thriving creative business. Still, if you told him as a young man that he'd go on to hundreds of thousands of artists, he might have laughed in your face at the thought. Like most young creatives, he found himself drawing and doodling any chance he could get. After moving through many countries around Asia and Europe and finally landing in the United States,...
about 1 month ago • 10 min read
surf's up art on canvas by michele morgan

After this, I'm saying NO to everything!

By the time some of you read this, I'll be standing in my studio, talking with droves of people about my artwork, hoping to sell every last piece. That's right, it's the Long Beach Open Studio Tour, and if you're anywhere near me on October 28th or 29th, between 1-5 p.m., please stop by. After that, I'm saying NO (more on this later). Artist Tears This week, Society6 announced their new tiered structure for sellers on their platform, and though there was some backlash, it wasn't nearly as...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
nope graffiti

My Season of No

On November 1st, I'm closing my gate and locking myself inside (proverbially). Please do not call the authorities to check on my mental state—I promise this is a good thing. Over the last several years, I have tried to be many different things to many different people. I shared graphic design work for my design friends. I shared collage art with my art friends I made videos on two different YouTube channels I had multiple Instagram accounts I sold work on my Shopify store, Etsy, RedBubble,...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
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