So, you’ve made the New Year’s resolution to promote yourself and your work out there more, but it’s been about a month and you’re just not into it, don’t know where to start, and everything feels like a dreary failed attempt at screaming your name into the void. While learning to utilize social networks to your best advantage can be hard at first, there is a handful of Android apps that make promoting yourself, connecting with other artists and reaching out to new audiences easy, simple, fun, and cheap. All the apps on this list are free for download on the Google Play store and come highly rated by the users. With these tools in your arsenal, you’ll have no problems getting your name out there, increasing sales or building up your fanbase!

1. Snapeee

Snapeee is a relatively unknown image editing and sharing app from Japan that is very similar to Instagram. However, unlike Instagram, it gives you more editing options, such as frames, stamps, filters, text, and stickers. It’s entirely in English, although the main user base is still Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, and Chinese. It’s easier to get likes on your images, but harder to gain followers. However, the app is much more fun to use than Instagram, and could help expose your work to a brand-new audience.

2. BlogLovin’

Though not directly an app for self-promotion, Bloglovin is an app that makes finding sites you like and people you’d want to network with a snap. It also makes finding posts on a certain topic, brand, or person very easy, making it a great alternative to trawling Google for reliable blog posts on the content you want to see and interact with. Users can sign up to have websites attached to their names; then, other users will have the option of just following the site’s feed, or following the feed of the blogger and seeing all of the posts that user makes on different sites. It’s definitely a useful option if you post on multiple sites, contribute to different blogs, or just want to find new websites to follow and be inspired by.

3. Scope

Scope is a great app to use if you want to combine Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, Instagram, and Tumblr into one. It allows you to connect the five services into one newsfeed and post directly to all of the social networks at once. You can also follow additional news channels from sites like Reddit and Groupon. While the app is a great idea for seasoned social media veterans, social network novices might at first feel overwhelmed or confused by the amount of information at their fingertips.

4. Chictopia

For those who deal in apparel, Chictopia is a great site to share outfit photos and connect with like-minded fashionistas. You can post photos of yourself (or others) wearing your Redbubble tees with a link back to your shop. Commenting on others’ looks, receiving comments on your posts, and getting new followers results in Chic Points added to your account; you can then redeem your points for free clothes and accessories sponsored by brands in the Rewards section. Chictopia also has an online forum component, which is helpful if you really like interacting with others.

Chictopia is an easy way to build your online presence if you deal in apparel, and will help you build up your backlinks and your following. Just make sure you’re posting crisp, clear images that catch the eye of a casual scroller!

5. Instagram

Instagram is one of the most popular image sharing apps. People from nearly all walks of life use the app daily, and it’s guaranteed that no matter what you’re trying to sell, you will find an audience for your work on Instagram if you search hard enough. Of course, with such a large user base, it is not enough to simply post an image or video and tag it – interaction with other users is key to building up a strong following. Just don’t be that jerk who copy-pastes inane comments on people’s pictures asking them to follow him and like his photos. No one likes that guy.

Conveniently enough, Instagram also allows users to share their photos across several major social networks, including Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. This is very useful, if you want to get an image out to several social networks at once. The only downside is that Twitter followers who want to view the image have to click through to Instagram, as the image doesn’t automatically show up for them on their timeline as it would with other image sharing services.

6. Pinterest

It might seem obvious, but Pinterest is a very useful app to have on your Android. It’s very easy to use, addictive, and simple. Once you install Pinterest on your mobile, you will be able to create new pins of images and posts on Pinterest from any mobile browser as well as a number of other apps. Pinterest is a great place to share your work, as anything you post to the right board and the right category could go viral in the blink of an eye.

Unlike Instagram, it’s not necessary to engage in conversations with others who are pinning the same things you are; simply pin the things you would normally pin, and users will be suggested boards to follow based on how similar those boards are to their interests. A great way to get more views on your work is to create a group pinboard with several artists and designers; that way whenever one of you pins something to the board, all the of followers of all the pinners will see it.

7. Glimmr

For Flickr users, the default Android app may have proven to be slow and annoying to use. It didn’t work so well for me; however, Glimmr is a great, sleek alternative. It has all the functions of the original app, and is very, very easy to use. Also, the little icon it has on the home screen is much cuter than the default Flickr app’s.

8. WordPress

WordPress is a blogging platform used by a great majority of bloggers, big and small. The app version allows you to maintain your blog or site on the go, and has nearly all the basic functions of the desktop version of your blog’s dashboard.

I’ve heard a lot of complaining from my blogger friends about the WordPress app for the iPhone, iPad, and iWhatever. The app doesn’t run smoothly, the photos never upload, the posts don’t post… I’m happy to say that the Android version of WordPress is mostly free from these problems. It’s not as convenient as using the web dashboard for moderating, but it’s very easy to upload images for future posts, approve and reply to comments on the go, or check your site’s stats for the day.

9. Ovvvertime

Dribbble is a very popular portfolio site used by artists and designers all across the web. The Ovvvertime app is a free to use, fully functional, and highly rated Dribbble client that allows you to do most essential tasks. You can browse popular images, everyone’s posts, or debuts section; however, unlike most other free Dribbble clients, Ovvvertime allows you to view your stats and likes, interact with the rest of Dribbble community, and search the entire site.

[Header image: “For today I am a robot” by lisamax]