We all know the drill. You finish a session, wipe down, snap a photo, edit it, and post it to Instagram. For 99% of tattooers, that is the entire marketing strategy.
And for a long time, that worked.
But we need to talk about the danger of building your entire house on rented land. Algorithms change. Accounts get shadowed-banned. And let’s be honest, scrolling fatigue is real.
I previously wrote about marketing for tattoo artists and touched on the basics, but today I want to look at something deeper: the power of having a permanent digital footprint that exists outside of an app.
The Problem with “The Feed”
Instagram is fleeting. You post a masterpiece, it gets likes for 24 hours, and then it’s buried. Unless someone is doom-scrolling through your profile from three years ago, that content is effectively dead.
More importantly, it’s not easily searchable. If someone goes to Google and types in “traditional Japanese style tattoo artist [Your City],” your Instagram post from last Tuesday probably isn’t going to show up.
You Need to Be “Googleable”
This is where the concept of a digital magazine or blog feature comes in.
When you are interviewed for an article or featured in a spotlight, that content is indexed by Google. It sits there, permanently. It has text, context, and keywords that search engines love.
Five years from now, that article will still be there. It creates a level of legitimacy that a social media profile just can’t match. It signals to clients (and Google) that you are an authority in your field, not just someone with an iPhone.
How to Get Featured
So, how do you get off the feed and into the search results? You have to start treating yourself like a brand that deserves press.
- Look for Niche Blogs: Don’t just aim for the massive magazines. Look for smaller creative hubs that cover art, design, or local culture.
- Have a Story: “I do tattoos” isn’t a story. “I specialize in horror realism because I grew up watching 80s slasher flicks” is a story.
- Use High-Res Photos: Editors love easy work. If you have a Dropbox link with clean, high-res photos of your work ready to go, you are already ahead of 90% of the people pitching them.
A New Opportunity
I’m putting this into practice myself. I’m currently launching a new section on my site called Feeling Inked. It’s designed to be a creative hub specifically for artist spotlights, interviews, and features on the craft.
We aren’t looking for pay-to-play promos; we are looking for artists who want to talk about their process, their struggles, and their wins…and it’s FREE.
The Next Step
Don’t delete your Instagram. It’s still a great tool. But don’t let it be your only tool.
Start looking for opportunities to get your name in actual text on actual websites. Whether it’s a local news outlet, a tattoo blog like HBTat2, or a digital magazine like Feeling Inked, building those backlinks is the best insurance policy for your career.
We are currently curating the launch lineup for the Feeling Inked creative hub. If you want to start building that digital footprint—and get your work seen by a new audience—come say hi. We’d love to see what you’re working on.
