Transformative Marketing for an Artist: the Shazia Mahmood Case Study
Background
Shazia Mahmood, an accomplished artist with nearly three decades of navigating the business side of her career, faced a common challenge: leveraging digital marketing to its fullest potential for her business goals.
Despite having an established social media presence, Shazia struggled with consistency, especially during busy periods like preparing for exhibitions. This is where our journey began back in 2020.
After our initial discovery call, Shazia commented:
"I feel a lot more positive about things even after our first meeting!"
Artist Profile: Shazia Mahmood
With career sales in 7-figures, a Master of Fine Art, and a 30-year track record of successful exhibitions at prestigious galleries across the UK and global collectors, Shazia Mahmood combines proven commercial success with artistic excellence alongside professional reliability - making her an exceptionally low-risk, high-reward addition to any gallery's portfolio.
Her impressive credentials include:
Featured in 29 major galleries across the UK
13 solo exhibitions at prestigious venues
Permanent collections held at Cambridge Contemporary Art, Castle Gallery Inverness, Gallery Heinzel Aberdeen, and Scotland Art
Shazia's Pain Points
Inconsistent Social Media Presence: Although Shazia had a solid foundation on Facebook and Instagram, her posting was sporadic, often fluctuating between periods of high activity and relative silence.
Time Constraints: Preparing for exhibitions consumed much of her time, leaving little room for consistent digital marketing efforts.
Need for Strategic Direction: While Shazia recognised the importance of marketing, there was a gap in her strategic planning and creative execution.
Dyslexia Challenge: As someone with dyslexia, Shazia found written communication for marketing purposes particularly challenging.
The Solution
Agile Collaboration: Allowing Shazia the freedom to engage with her audience personally (through commenting and DMs), while I delivered curated content to maintain a steady online presence across her primary channels (Facebook and Instagram).
Comprehensive Digital Support: Managing her email marketing via Mailchimp and managing her Squarespace website. I also manage her Google Business Listing to feature blogs or exhibition updates, as well as her LinkedIn Company Page and provide direction and content for her personal LinkedIn profile.
Voice-First Approach: Implementing a system where Shazia leaves voice notes about her work, which I then transform into authentic marketing copy that maintains her unique voice and perspective.
The Implementation
Goal-Focused Content Strategy: Developed content that prioritises Shazia's business goals and audience desires, with particular emphasis on videos where Shazia demonstrates techniques and discusses the importance of en plein air painting.
Evolution of Collaboration: In the early testing phase of our partnership, Shazia would occasionally post herself. Over the past four years, I've managed all content entirely, with Shazia focusing solely on commenting and responding to DMs.
Strategic Planning: Day-to-day communication happens via WhatsApp and email, complemented by monthly in-person sessions to review progress and plan ahead.
Flexible Intensity: Adjusted our efforts based on Shazia's needs (and budget), ramping up or scaling back as necessary—but always working to a minimum, retained contract.
The Results: By the Numbers (2022-2025)
Key Performance Highlights
Consistent Content Publishing: Eliminated the "feast-or-famine" approach, creating steady visibility throughout the year, as evidenced by the activity shown in analytics.
Strategic Content Partnerships: Recent collaborative posts with galleries and content around Shazia's teaching work at a private school have been particularly effective in expanding reach.
Enhanced Professional Image: Created cohesive messaging across all channels (social, email, and website), establishing Shazia as a professional artist with a distinct voice.
The Business Impact
The enhanced digital presence has translated into tangible business outcomes:
Enhanced Online Presence: Regular, engaging content led to increased audience engagement and visibility of Shazia's art and her practice.
Strategic Consistency: The feast-or-famine cycle was broken, leading to a more consistent and professional online presence.
Business Growth: Shazia reported a significant improvement in net profit, alongside greater confidence in her business strategy and long-term vision.
“Debbie, you have transformed my business! I will be eternally grateful for your insight, wise decisions and everything you do for my business. Having been working on my own for 26 years, working with you now is an absolute game changer for my net profit, business strategy and long term vision. I hope to continue with this tremendous relationship.”
Why It Works: The Power of Partnership
This case study highlights the power of collaboration, trust, and respect.
Working closely with Shazia, we have navigated the challenges of digital marketing in the creative sector, leading to a prosperous and fulfilling professional relationship for us both.
Our partnership demonstrates how the right support can allow an artist to focus on their creative work while maintaining a professional, consistent, and authentic digital presence that drives real business results.
By combining Shazia's artistic excellence with my creative and strategic digital marketing expertise, we've developed a sustainable model that continues to expand her reach, increase sales, and enhance her professional reputation in the art world.
I'm here to help if you're:
➰ Looking at LinkedIn™️ (and beyond) thinking "where do I even start?"
➰ Ready to share your expertise, but not sure how to put it into words
➰ Keen to build real connections, not just collect random connections
➰ Want to develop a social media approach that feels natural, not forced
No corporate jargon, no out of the box solutions - just practical, personalised support to help you communicate confidently online with your customers and clients, in a way that feels genuinely you.
