1.7X Revenue in Six Months - The Yakir Story
How Yakir, an anime tattoo artist in Houston, went from volatile months he could not predict to stable bookings, his ideal projects and 1.7x the revenue.
By Greg Gelf
Yakir started with us in March 2026. He is an anime tattoo artist in Houston, Texas, and he came in with 28.4k followers.
Yakir is a funny dude with a very serious hand. He is experienced, and his work has its own footprint. You can spot a Yakir piece in the feed before you read the name.
That footprint was a choice. About six years ago, when he was starting out in a very big studio in Israel, the owner told him something he still hasn’t forgotten: drop the anime thing, there is no real demand for it in the country.
Back then there were maybe five anime tattoo artists in Israel, and all of them did panels and manga. As far as Yakir knows, he was the only one who went for big anime pieces as his style, out of a big love for anime and for neo-traditional tattooing.
In his words (translated from Hebrew): “I’m very happy I didn’t listen to the advice, which came completely from a friendly place, and went my own way all the way!”
Or as he puts it: don’t follow the trend, be the trend.
And he came with a very open mind. He told us: do your thing, I’m with you.
What Was Working, and What Wasn’t
The work was there. The following was there. The results were not stable.
One month weak, the next a banger. His bookings were very volatile, and there was no way to know which month was coming.
He had also already worked with a team that does marketing for anime tattoo artists. Big promises, no results. Sadly, that is not a rare story. So we told him upfront that this would take time to build.
The Strategy - Build the Brand on Anime Affinity
Our first goal was simple: stable results, month after month.
Then we built his brand on anime affinity. No face, no talking to the camera. Yakir wanted to keep it professional, so that is what we did.
When you build a brand around anime, you don’t need to invent anything. Show love for the shows your fans love. That is common ground for both sides, and it starts the conversation.
Then the ads brought in a big new audience, at a good pace.
Testing Ads by Anime
Not every anime brings the same client.
So we tested ads by anime, and watched which shows brought the best clients, specifically for Yakir. Then we doubled down on those.
That matters more than the size of the audience. A big following does not book you. The right people do.
A Better Offer
Better leads first, then a better offer.
We improved the offer, so clients would book the projects Yakir actually wants to tattoo. And we added financing options, to take the edge off price objections.
What Actually Worked
If it works, don’t fix it.
Many tattoo artists think every post needs something new and incredible. It doesn’t. Their job is to be tattoo artists, not content creators.
In marketing we want what brings results with maximum efficiency. So with Yakir we ran the same formats over and over: compilation reels and fresh vs healed. Same backdrop, same editing, every post.
What Was Hard
Looking back on the process, Yakir wrote us this (translated from Hebrew):
“The process isn’t hard, but it’s a commitment, and I always have a slight consistency problem (Greg and Hadar can testify).
But yes, it was very, very surprising for me to realize how much I don’t understand, in any way, how the world of marketing works. And if anyone thought that doing boost your post helps with anything, then yes, maybe at the beginning, but you hit a wall very fast.“
And the line he asked us to emphasize:
“A business that doesn’t spend money on marketing doesn’t exist anywhere.”
Results So Far
🏆 1.7X revenue. Six months before he joined, measured against six months with us.
🏆 Stable months, May to September. The swings are gone.
🏆 July 2026 was his best month since April 2025.
🏆 28.4k to 35.1k followers, and the right ones.
🏆 Ideal projects. The anime pieces he actually wants to tattoo.
In Yakir’s Own Words
From a message he sent us about two months into the process (translated from Hebrew):
“I’m starting to feel a rise in the number of relevant leads, the posts and the ads are doing great and everything is working.
…
I’m totally optimistic that we’ll crack the perfect formula, like you said it’s a process and I totally feel that this process is paying off! Have a killer week guys!“
Keep on farming bro.
What This Story Actually Shows
Yakir did not need a new style or a new personality on camera. He needed a brand that speaks the language his clients already speak, ads tested until they found the people who actually book him, and a few formats repeated until they compound.
That is the system we build with every artist. The goal is not a viral month. It is a calendar you can predict.
If you want other versions of this story, read the Igal Alexi case here or the Mark Ink case here.
See Yakir’s work on Instagram: @yakir.tattooer.