Enough With The Shoulds
I’m looking at a word scratched in lime green on our office white board:
DISRUPT
I had written it earlier in the day after feeling closed in by conventions and “shoulds.”
- You should get your book back in print.
- You should have a 3-day event.
- You should create a new class.
- You should offer workshops again.
You know how it happens.
It starts with a voice that comes from a position of authority – a coach, mentor, author, or blogger.
Suddenly, you think you have to drop everything and tackle the latest should-bomb hurled at you. (scene: violent internal struggle)
The biggest should on my list every week is to write this newsletter. I am proud that I’ve written and sent it every week, without fail, since March 30, 2002.
But there’s no heart in it if I’m just doing it because I don’t want to break a streak. I’m more interested in sharing juicy material when I have it than in maintaining a record.
Someday soon you won’t get this email in your inbox on a Thursday. You may not get it at all one week. I’ll still be here, but I will be trying on a new story to see if it fits.
What’s Your Should Story?
What are you doing only because you’ve felt that you should do it?
How To Start Your Email List
“How do I start a mailing list?”
It’s a question that I’ve been asked numerous times in the past few weeks. Hmmm … Where to begin?
One thing is for certain. “Start an Email List” is an overwhelming project that might stop you before you’ve even started. Instead of looking at it as a whole, break it down into steps to make faster progress.
Here are the steps to take. They aren’t numbered because you can skip around until you get to the “Finally” section.
(If you have a mature mailing list and you don’t need these steps, please don’t go anywhere. Jump straight to the end and share your experience with others. Your insights and encouragement are sure to be valuable to someone else.)
Start With Who You Know
Make a list of everyone you know who might want to hear about you and your art:
- Friends
- Family
- Neighbors
- Colleagues at a day job
- Other artists
Don’t discount anyone because you believe they’ll never buy your art. You never know how they can support you until you bring them into your art life.
Save the following information for each person:
How to Decide if a Class or Workshop is Right for You
Whenever a new class begins, I receive plenty of questions.
The gist of the questions is: This class looks enticing, but is it right for me?
Most often, my response isn’t a simple Yes or No, but a volley of questions in return intended to help the inquisitor come to a conclusion.
Here’s what those questions look like.
Will you be physically at your home or studio to implement the lessons?
The lessons in Creative Content Camp can be consumed and implemented from anywhere in the world as long as there is connectivity.
On the other hand, the organizing class I previously taught required organizing a physical space. That’s a program you wouldn’t want to be away for.
If you’re going to be on vacation for one or more of the lessons, the decision whether or not to enroll in a class depends on your answers to a couple of (more) questions:
- Are you planning on doing any work during your travels? If you have built in a few hours a week to work, as I do during many of my trips, perhaps it’s doable.
- Can you make a plan – and stick to it – for your return? If you get your affairs in order so that you pick up (and catch up) where you left off, you’re likely to be more successful after the break.
Can you devote the time to the lessons and homework?
I tell students that
In a Cash Crunch? Try These Ideas to Bring in the Bucks
We are officially at the halfway point for 2017. Are you halfway to your financial goals for the year?
As all of my students and clients know, I stress the importance of “doing the numbers” before it’s too late.
Doing your numbers means figuring out where the money is coming in, identifying the leaks, and seeing clearly the best return on your investment of time and resources.
For conducting this process, you are rewarded with clarity like you’ve never had before. What you see might not be the beacon of hope you were looking for, but at least you are armed with knowledge to make sound financial decisions.
When your numbers aren’t where you’d like them to be (a realization we’re all faced with at some point or another), consider options to increase your income quickly.
Focus on how to maximize your return with limited time and resources to invest. This means concentrating on larger sales. It’s not the time to create a new stream of income for a new audience.
The first step is to get extra clear on how much you need to earn and figure out what the path to that number looks like. Specifically: What is your monetary goal and what will it take to reach that goal?
How many students or clients do you need to enroll to equal your goal?
How many artworks do you need to sell in a particular size to equal your goal? And do you have enough inventory?
My first choice when looking for fast cash is to …
Why Hacking Social Media Isn’t The Answer (and Why I Won’t Teach It)
Social media will not fix your broken marketing.
There aren’t enough friends, likes or followers that can help you when you have a weak foundation.
Plenty of online marketers will tell you how to hack social media, by which I mean they will teach shortcuts and tricks for “getting” followers and likes on social media.
There’s nothing wrong with learning this information, but I won’t teach it because I find it terribly uninteresting and, ultimately, unhelpful to the longevity of artists’ careers. The online marketers do it well, so I leave the job to them.
Out of Whack
For most artists, hacking social media is out of alignment with their values and it shows. Many artists are suspicious of gimmicks and tricks that reek of blatant self-promotion.
You can’t make something work for you if it doesn’t jive with who you are as a person.
Let’s start by examining the word “get” as in “getting” new likes and followers. It’s grabby. It’s icky.
What if, instead, we embrace the word “attract,” as in I’d like to attract more fans and followers.
If you agree that this approach is bundled in better energy, stick with me.
This Is More Valuable
When You Think You Live in a Cultural Desert
If I had a nickel for every time an artist told me that their lives would be better if only they lived somewhere else, well … I’d have a lot of nickels!
Some of you have convinced yourselves that your town isn’t an “art town.”
When I hear this excuse, I think to myself:
What is an art town?
Is it a place with galleries on every corner and informed people walking around buying art?
Is it a place that has a strong arts council with lots of support for public art?
Is it a place where museums attract plenty of blockbuster exhibitions?
Do art towns even exist?
I already know the answers to these questions. Except for a handful of places, I’ve come to believe that there is no such thing as an art town brimming with enlightened art buyers.
Not living in an art town is simply another excuse for inaction. Artists who use this excuse think that they would be more successful if they lived in New York or Santa Fe or Portland or, frankly, anywhere else but where they are.
I’ve witnessed plenty of artists grow their businesses and careers in places that don’t show up on the world or even regional map of art towns.
But let’s set aside this argument on whether or not there’s such thing as “art towns.” That’s fodder for a different discussion.
Now we can focus on how to thrive in your supposed cultural desert.
