The following is from the Stop The Starving Artist newsletter - "heART and Business."
Every week you'll get a little bit of "H.E.A.R.T." to help you grow your art business.
Highlight đź’ˇ
(A key creative business insight I'm currently seeing.)
We're wrapping up our content sprint inside our community this week. For the past 27 days, our artists have been given prompts each week, telling them exactly what to post, with examples of how to do it... all with the goal of not only showing up, but showing up intentionally.
And we're doing this, because social media is changing. A new report from metricool just came out on short form video, and it states that there's more of it than ever before.
Last year, short videos went up 70%, and the number of creators making them jumped 50%.
And here's what that tells us…
Some people are finally showing up. But so is everyone else.
The average person now decides whether to watch your video in under 4 seconds. Four seconds... that's less time than it took you to read this sentence.
And I already know what's running through your head…
"So now I have to be louder, trendier, more entertaining." "So now I'm even more behind than I thought." "Great. Another thing I need to worry about."
But here's the part nobody's talking about when they look at the data. Even though reach is more challenging, engagement is actually going up. People may be scrolling faster, but when something connects? It connects deeper.
Which means the opportunity right now isn't about becoming a better entertainer. It's about becoming a clearer human.
Because the platforms with the strongest results are rewarding focused content, emotional connection, recognizable styles, repeatable formats, and creators who actually know what they stand for. Not just people who post the most.
And that's actually great news for artists.
Because you're not built to win volume games. You're built to win connection games.
Which brings us to what actually moves the needle in 2026… not posting more, but posting with intention.
Execute âś…
(Your action items...)
Here's how to start using short-form video without burning out or becoming someone you're not.
This week, you're not building a content calendar. You're building a trust signal.
STEP 1: PICK YOUR ONE CONNECTION LANE
Finish this sentence: "When people see my content, I want them to feel more __________."
Examples: calm, seen, hopeful, brave, understood, inspired, less alone.
This is the emotional job of your content. Algorithms change. Human needs don't.
STEP 2: CHOOSE ONE REPEATABLE FORMAT
The data shows that creators who grow aren't reinventing the wheel every single post. They're owning a lane.
Pick one simple format you can repeat for the next 30 days:
- A 30-second thought while you work
- A recurring question you answer
- A short story from your life
- A process clip with a message on top
Not forever. Just for 30 days. After that you can see what worked and what didn't, and make adjustments from there.
STEP 3: DESIGN FOR THE FIRST 3 SECONDS
Because attention is tighter than ever, the beginning matters more than you think.
This week, don't change what you're saying. Change how fast people can understand it.
Before you post, ask yourself:
- Would a stranger know what this is about in 2 seconds?
- Is there a clear feeling here?
- Would this stop me if I didn't know who I was?
Sometimes this is a text hook. Sometimes it's a visual. Sometimes it's just starting in the middle of the story instead of explaining your way in.
See what we're getting at here? Not "more" content for the sake of more... clearer content for the sake of connection.
Awareness đź‘€
(The current things you need to know about social media, the creator economy, and running an online business.)
The data shows that even as views drop on some platforms, people are liking, commenting, and interacting more with the content they actually connect with.
That's not an algorithm problem. That's a trust economy... and as an artist, you're totally built for that.
Feel free to check out the report yourself if you want to go deeper. I don't believe you have to check the box that opts you into getting info from them to download.
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Reflect 🤔
(Question to sit with this week.)
If attention is getting shorter but connection is getting deeper…
What part of you is your content really giving people access to right now? And is that the part you actually want to grow your business on?
Thrive 🔥
(This week in this community.)
I got this incredibly kind email this week. I wanted to show it to you all. This is not a client, just someone reading the newsletter.
Thank you all for tuning in each week, and for those of you who read!
Talk to you next week, and as always, feel free to reply and let me know if these are helping. We actually read them.
– Lennon
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