The Hungry

By Dave Conrey

The Hungry serves up practical and actionable creative business news, information, and insights twice weekly. Join thousands of other artists, designers, and creative professionals looking to demystify marketing, strategy, selling techniques, and the technology necessary to run a thriving business.

Should you be worried about this popular marketplace closing its doors?

This edition is dedicated to Shane McGowan, the tortured soul responsible for the gritty, melancholy vocals of The Pogues. I think we owe it to him to make Fairytale of New York the most popular holiday song this season. I swear, if one more Irish music legend dies this year, I'll start to wonder about the fate of the universe. Can someone please check on Bob Geldof? Fairytale of New York (feat.... The Pogues, Kirsty MacColl PREVIEW PARTNER People often ask which is my favorite...

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5 days ago • 4 min read

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...

8 days ago • 7 min read

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...

12 days ago • 7 min read

Do you want your shop to be featured this Friday?

I know I said I wouldn't send any emails this week because I didn't want to be part of the flood of BFCM emails you're already getting, but I woke up this morning with an epiphany. Many of you would love to support other small creative businesses, and many of you operate small businesses. So, I figured I would help by sharing some of you with the group. If you want a boost from The Hungry this season, complete this Google Form (5 simple questions), and I will add you to the list. This...

15 days ago • 1 min read

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...

22 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...

26 days ago • 5 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...