I’m pretty sure you didn’t get into art for the love of marketing.
If you’re like most creatives I know, you may even have more of a love-hate relationship one has with a toxic ex when it comes to marketing.
So today I thought I’d give you one quick marketing strategy (that I’m sure you know about but pretend you don’t because it feels as appealing as picking up the phone and speaking to someone as opposed to messaging or sending them a lengthy voice note. Just me?).
Marketing yourself as an artist or creative can be much easier than you think.
At its simplest, marketing means telling people about what you do.
Easy, right?
The trick is to do it often, and to the right people. Although that doesn’t always matter, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
First up, a bit of tough love: if you’re only posting on social media, you are not marketing yourself.
Yes social media has a place, but it is a tiny (and very whimsical at that) drop in the ocean of marketing your amazing work. You cannot solely rely on social media as an artist. There are exceptions, sure, but I’m talking about most of us.
What I have found can make a huge difference in your marketing as an artist is to expand your audience. Cast a wider net if you will.
In short: you need to get your work (and face) in front of real life people who don’t know you or what you do yet.
I know, this is scary AF for me too.
We all know people who are natural at peopling (is that a word?). My husband Tim is a great example. He can walk into any room and start conversations, make friends and sell them cheese even if they’re dairy intolerant. We call him the Otter in the family because he makes friends with anyone absolutely anywhere.
I, on the other hand, not so much. But guess what. You can practice, you’re allowed to suck at it first, learn from it and get better.
I’m living proof.
Just yesterday I was chatting to one of my studio colleagues and he said:
“You know, I’m never quite sure what it is you do exactly.”
This was revelatory for me. We often assume that others know everything about our work already (because we do), but they’re actually not that invested (sorry).
Anyway, my colleague and I ended up chatting for close to an hour, and long story short, he is starting coaching with me next month.
Boom. If I wasn’t out in the real world, talking with real people this might never have happened.
And now he might even tell others about the work we do together.
All it took was for me to proudly and confidently (ok still working on that one) talk about my coaching work and why I’m so freakin’ passionate about it.
So how can you market yourself in the real world?
- Can you attend events, conferences, exhibitions where your potential customers hang out, or where you could meet potential peers or business partners?
- Can you speak to one person a day about your work? It can be at the hairdresser, at the school gates, with family, friends. If there’s one thing to remember from the story I just told you, is that you may know someone for over a year, work next to them and they may not fully understand what it is you do and how you could help them.
- Can you network with places or businesses that are aligned with what you do? If you’re a photographer, can you reach out to the local surf school to see if they can advertise your services? If you’re a musician, can you check which of your local pubs or restaurants might be interested in live music? If you’re a visual artist, can you introduce yourself to local shops, galleries, hotels who might be interested in hanging your work on their walls?
I could go on. I’ve also linked to a podcast episode in the FYI section that can help you with introducing yourself.
And look, you might very well be an introvert or neurodivergent human, or you may have some serious self-doubt about stretching your extroversion muscles. Most of us sensitive creatives do.
But like any skill, you really can practice and get better over time.
And if that really stands in the way of your sharing the work that you do, you could always reach out to someone like me to get a little help from a friend (wink wink).
That being said, I also know you are resourceful and creative AF, and with a little nudge and some daily practice, you can make sure everybody who comes across you knows about what you do. I know I need to follow my own advice when it comes to my photography practice 😬
Now over to you: since you started as an artist or creative, have you had any fortuitous experiences or chance encounters just from talking about what you do?
I’d love to hear about it, so feel free to comment below and share (don’t leave me hanging please 😂).
And while I’m at it, thank you for sharing your journey with me. It means a lot that we’re in this together.
Talk soon I hope! You totally rock.
Much love, and creativity, always.
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