You Don’t Need Followers to Sell Zines

Lately, I’ve been seeing more and more photographers on Instagram talking about how their engagement is dropping. They say their likes are way down compared to before. I’m guessing a lot of you feel the same way.

Today, I want to write honestly about how I feel right now—about Instagram, and about zines.

Table of Contents

• NEWS: Monthly Zine with a Darkroom Print Vol.01 — …

• Instagram Is No Longer a Platform for Photographer …

• Don’t Create Photos Meant to Be Consumed

• Convenience Made Our Photo Experience Instant

• Now Is the Time to Show Your Work, Slowly and Sinc …

NEWS: Monthly Zine with a Darkroom Print Vol.01 — Orders Close on January 31

In the last newsletter, I introduced Monthly Zine, what I’d call my biggest project of the year.

To everyone who’s already placed an order—thank you so much. If you signed up for the annual plan, your print will arrive carefully framed. I hope you’re excited.

Orders for Volume 01 close on January 31. If you’re interested, make sure to place your order before the deadline.

👉 See more details 👈

Instagram Is No Longer a Platform for Photographers

I often hear people say—both online and in real life—that Instagram is no longer a platform for photographers. And sure, it’s easy to feel frustrated with it.

But take a step back for a moment. We don’t need to let Instagram control us.

There’s no doubt that Instagram was an amazing tool for photographers to share their work with the world. But a tool is just a tool.

A tool exists to make something more convenient. Instagram was convenient for sharing photos. That’s all.

Before Instagram, people used Flickr, or posted photos on their own blogs. Before the internet, photographers showed their work through exhibitions.

Of course, Instagram helped me reach more people too. But even if my photos don’t get delivered to users because of an algorithm, I don’t think that’s something to be pessimistic about anymore.

Let me explain why.

Don’t Create Photos Meant to Be Consumed

Earlier, I released an interview video on YouTube with Korean photographer Min Seonhong @hikarino.houe. I titled it “Your Photos Are Not Meant to Be Swiped.”

In the video, Min talks about how we look at photos on Instagram, but they’re instantly swiped away. He says we should be looking at photos more slowly, more carefully.

I’ve felt the same way for a long time. On a tiny phone screen, you can’t really experience a photograph properly. You miss the small details.

I’ve always felt a sense of emptiness knowing my photos might just be scrolled past—consumed as content and forgotten. I’m not a content creator. I don’t want to deliver my photos as “content.” I want to deliver them as a form of art.

If you see photography as content, and you want to be a content creator, feel free to ignore what I’m saying.
But if you want your photos to exist in this world as something lasting—something more than disposable content—then you should stop depending on Instagram.

Convenience Made Our Photo Experience Instant

As I said earlier, Instagram made expression more convenient.

Before the internet, famous photographers might have published their work in magazines or photobooks, but most people had to print their photos and hold exhibitions to show them.
If you wanted inspiration, you bought photobooks or visited exhibitions.

Instagram made all of that easier. You no longer needed to hold an exhibition to show your photos, or buy a photobook to get inspired.

But that convenience changed the experience of photography itself.

At an exhibition, you might stand in front of a single photo for several minutes, trying to understand it, or sitting with emotions you can’t fully put into words. Almost no one does that on Instagram.

Photos became instant. The experience became instant.

Now Is the Time to Show Your Work, Slowly and Sincerely

In a society that judges everything instantly as “good” or “bad,” we’re losing the ability to think deeply. Photography is no exception.

If you want people to truly see your work, organize an exhibition. Even if visitors can’t afford a print, give them something to take home—make a zine.

Reach out to bookstores or online shops and ask them to carry your zine.

You can’t say, “I don’t have many followers, so my zine won’t sell.”

What matters is whether you’re actually making the effort to show your zine to people.

If you want to use online platforms, make a YouTube video about your zine. Send your zine to people with a strong voice and ask them to help spread the word.

Follower count doesn’t matter. Simply posting about your zine on Instagram won’t sell it. I know this from experience.

What really leads to zine sales is consistently doing real-world activities—exhibitions, events, conversations.
Instagram shouldn’t be where you show your photos, but where you archive those real activities, like a blog. At least, that’s how I see it.

Instagram is a social network. Its algorithm probably changed because simply showing photos wasn’t enough for “social networking” anymore.

So the real question is: who do you want to connect with through photography?

If there’s someone you want to connect with, go see their exhibition.
If you can’t, buy their zine and tell them what you thought. Those small connections slowly build your own social network.

I hope your creative life keeps getting better.
Thanks for reading all the way through. See you next week.

🦖 Come hang out with me on Instagram → @_nuts.tokyo_

🪐 New videos on zines & photography up on YouTube

🧃 Curious about Japanese and Asian zines? Visit FAR EAST DARKROOM.