Promotion on Instagram

Instagram Ate My Money: Why No One Sees Your Art (And What You Can Do About It) 

Hey, it’s Punny.

Are you a beginner artist, blogger, or musician trying to grow your presence on Instagram?

You followed all the advice:

• Created engaging content

• Posted regularly

• Designed a beautiful feed

• Read every SMM guide

• Changed your captions 99 times

• Deleted “unsuccessful” posts
  
  

…And still got 4 views on a post you spent 2–4 hours making?

Welcome to the club.

“Why Does No One Like Me?” — The Algorithmic Gaslight

Let’s admit what many feel but don’t say out loud:
Instagram makes you feel like a complete failure — like you’re invisible, like no one cares.
But you’re not alone. Almost every beginner blogger and artist I know has been through this spiral.

We pour hours into creating a perfect virtual world, only to return to a reality of ignored posts and zero engagement.
And Instagram? It just keeps demanding more: more time, more content, more aesthetic — and eventually… more money.

So, What’s Really Going On?

The short version:
Instagram stopped showing your posts unless you pay.

The platform's algorithm has become a pay-to-play system. Unless you’re already famous or lucky enough to be picked by the algorithm, your chances of organic growth are microscopic.

Meanwhile:

• Twitter (X) gives you 250 views organically

• YouTube Shorts? 600 views easily

• TikTok? 120–600 views with barely any followers

Yet Instagram wants your ad dollars before anyone even sees your content.

Where Can You Go Instead? Artist-Friendly Alternatives

You may be wondering: “What other platforms are left for artists?”
Here’s a list of visual or creative-focused alternatives where users are slowly migrating:

• Reddit — 100M+ downloads
  
  

• Gem Space — 10M
  
  

• Fanbase — 100K
  
  

• Frog — 1M
  
  

• Imgur — 10M
  
  

• Flickr — 1M
  
  

• BeReal — 10M
  
  

• Amino — 10M
  
  

• Pop Social — 100K
  
  

• Bip — 50M
  
  

People want alternatives. The problem?
Most of these platforms are still unfinished, buggy, or run by teams with limited UX and promotion knowledge. Some show promise (like Fanbase and Amino), but they’re not mature ecosystems yet.

Tumblr? Still exists, but organic reach is also restricted unless… you guessed it — you pay.

Success Standards Are Warped

Today’s idea of a “successful artist” is this:
🎯 100 polished posts
🎯 100,000 followers
🎯 No sign of struggle

Once, I asked an artist-blogger how he reached 100K followers in just 2 months — just with pencil sketches.
He said, “I didn’t pay a cent.”

Is it true? Or am I just a loser?

What If We Just Build Our Own Platform?

Buy Me a Coffee lets you create content, offer commissions, and build a store — all in one place.
The only downside: no search engine. So unless you direct people to it yourself, they won’t find you.

But imagine if one person built a plugin or feed-based discovery system — we could literally have a social network for artists + shop.
You’d own your traffic and your audience.

The Harsh Truth From “Marketing Warfare”

In Marketing Warfare by Al Ries and Jack Trout, they explain why market leaders dominate:
70% of the market goes to the top 1–2 companies.
Everyone else fights for scraps.

This is why Instagram wins — not because it's better, but because it's established, integrated, and hard to leave.

If you're not on their yacht, you're overboard.

A Final Plea: Tell Me Your Secret

If you grew from 1,000 to 20,000 subscribers without spending a cent — please, message me.
I’d love to share your story.

Because most of us are tired of shouting into the void.

What's Your Experience?

Have you tried alternative platforms?
Are you still fighting with Instagram’s algorithm?
Reply in the comments or message me directly — I’m building a list of artists looking for real growth, real communities, and fair platforms.

More posts on branding, monetizing your art, and escaping the algorithm trap are on the way