How Vulnerable Should You Be Online As An Artist?

As early as 2007 on Tumblr, I’ve been keeping an internet diary documenting my life with complete randos on the internet.

Lately, as I’ve been processing the passing of my dad, it’s been harder and harder to keep myself from being vulnerable online. I think that’s mainly because grief essentially takes over your entire life, so it’s hard to talk around it.

In today’s Content Creation Support Group newsletter, I wanted to talk about the pros and cons of being honest and vulnerable online, so you can decide if that’s something you should embrace in your own work and social media channels.

At a certain point, being too emotional/vulnerable online can feel juvenile, but I think that as artists, our work reflects our lives and lived experiences — and sharing that online is no different than sharing it in our artwork.

For me, I present a lot of my work online, so it’s only natural that I get vulnerable with my online audience through all my posts, not just my artwork. Personally, I would feel odd to post such a personal comic and then never speak about the topic again. Plus, I think showing both the positive and the negative experiences of life can be truly healing, but only when you’re ready for it.

How do you know if you’re ready to share?

It totally depends. Like anything personal, you need to gauge who you’re comfortable sharing the information with. Keep in mind that once you post something online, you must assume everyone and anyone can read it for eternity, so you have to be comfortable with that.

My tips for being vulnerable online:

🧠 Process privately first: Take some time to collect your thoughts on what you’re experiencing first. There’s no need to rush through all the emotions. I highly recommend going to therapy for help with this, too!

⛔️ Set personal boundaries: Look inward and decide what you’re truly willing to share at this moment, and stick to that. Don’t feel pressured to share more than you’re ready for because you can always share more in the future, but you can’t take it back retroactively.

📢 Decide who you want to tell: It’s okay not to be vulnerable with everyone. In our offline lives, we tend to share information with select people, and you can do the same online. Do you want to tell just your close friends on Instagram? Those in your Patreon community? Or is it for everyone and anyone? It's up to you to decide your audience!

⏳ Post on delay: I recommend posting about something vulnerable a while (1 week? 1 month?) after the event has happened. I think it helps to feel less tender or vulnerable about it, even if it’s still a sensitive subject at the time of posting.

All in all, I think it can be really healthy to share your emotions online, but there’s a fine line between oversharing to a fault and just being honest and open online. If you’re not sure if sharing too much is for you, let me outline why I’ve found it to actually be quite healing.

🥹 Benefits of being vulnerable with your online audience

• Championing Authenticity: It’s easy to only show the highlight reel with your online audience, but it can be really refreshing to show up as your authentic self — while holding onto the tips listed above! ⤴️

• Fostering Community: Sharing about something personal, whether positive or negative, can help you find a community of peers who have gone through the same thing. This can really help with feeling alone in the experience, especially if you don’t have close friends who can relate.

• Encouraging Support: A beautiful aspect of being vulnerable online is that some of your real-life and long-time internet friends can help support you through this moment. Sometimes, we forget or feel uncomfortable directly asking for support, and sharing online can be a step towards that. Note: I would also encourage you to ask for help from your friends directly when you can!

😥 Drawbacks of being vulnerable with your online audience

• Feeling Exposed: It’s easy to feel like exposed when you share personal info online, that’s why I recommend going through my tips beforehand. This way you’re consciously being vulnerable vs. having regrets about it later on.

• General Criticism: When you openly share experiences and feelings online, you're opening yourself up to criticism from complete strangers online. Sometimes people leave weird or rude comments, so you have to have thick skin.

• No Takebacks: Unfortunately, once you share something personal online, you can’t really take it back. Even if you archive or delete a post, there’s always a chance someone will screenshot it or just tell someone about it. You have to accept & be comfortable with that BEFORE you share.

I think, if you’re truly eager and excited, it can be really healing to share. I know sometimes it feels like oversharing for the sake of engagement, but I think there’s a fine line that only each individual can set for themselves, and if it comes from a genuine place, people will be able to see that!

coming soon:

Get My Notion Content Calendar Template & Video Workflow

One of the biggest ways to stay consistent with content on Instagram — and elsewhere! — is by using a robust and organized content calendar. I’ve been tinkering with my personal Notion content calendar for about a month now getting it just-right for you and I can’t wait to share the template with y’all soon.

✹ Vote in the poll below in order to join the waitlist for my Notion template! The waitlist will get early access and an early discount, so be sure to vote below to stay up-to-date! ✹

🎥 CREATIVE TREND 🎥

🎶 TRENDING AUDIOS 🎶

Thanks for reading this little reflection with me and I’d love to hear what your experience with being vulnerable online has been! Feel free to reply, DM me on IG, or start a thread.

If you received this email from a friend,
be sure to subscribe to get the next one!