First Rule: NEVER go through the front door!
In partnership with
Call me Bobby Digital because this physical world cannot contain me anymore.
In this edition, we're talking about:
Can we put our entire creative lives in one box?
How I read between the lines of an article to find opportunities
An artist capturing black culture from new perspectives
What would you do if you found your spouse was your biggest hater?
But first...
Question of the Day
"How do I market my work and make a sustainable living by attracting loyal fans who love my work and are willing to buy it, all while not losing my passion for art and finding time for personal art and creativity." - Erica W.
This is a complex question, and there's no simple answer, but the shortest answer (opinion) is to maintain and grow an email list/newsletter. It's the best way to stay in touch with your loyalists, and if done right, it won't take you much time, giving you back some free time that you usually would spend on social media dancing for your supper. Instead, use a newsletter to reach out to the people who have invited you into their inbox.
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21st Century Digital Boy
I posed a question on Threads asking if people thought a visual creative person could go 100% digital and be successful. Before you answer that in your head (I know you were thinking about it), imagine it cannot include freelance or client-based work.
You can do whatever you want, but I decided this month to experiment with creating a 100% digital career, and I don't mean just writing newsletters. I want to share my creative expression in other ways without producing products.
How does that work exactly? I don't know if it works for me yet, but I can say it starts with One Box.
I Always Enter Through the Side Door
I have this talent that helps me when sharing content with you. It's not an exclusive talent but a sixth sense that not everyone possesses.
Where others see normality, I see opportunity, and I wish I could bottle it because it would make me rich while helping so many people.
For instance, I read an article on Creative Boom titled 16 of the best online shops to buy original art prints for your home. Most people will read that article, follow some of the shops on Instagram, and maybe even subscribe to their newsletter.
When I read that headline, I thought, "That's sixteen places artists should be submitting their work. Let's share it with the readers."
I don't need to read the article to know there is an opportunity in that story. All I have to do is copy the link and frame the story in a way that helps you think about it differently.
When you get to the Bites section below, read what I wrote and then read the story. Sometimes, I'm dead on and straightforward; other times, I take a side door into the story by giving you a perceived framework before you read it so you can see it as I see it.
Now, imagine you could do that for your art.
What can you share within your social media, blog posts, and newsletters that create a framework for your fans and followers to help them appreciate and understand the work beyond the scope of the visual elements?
Maybe you saw that twist coming, or perhaps you didn't, but it's hard to deny that storytelling is a powerful tool to engage your fans and turn them into buyers.
Storytelling also takes practice; sometimes, people can't develop new stories.
Next week, I'll share a tool I've created to help you tell stories that intrigue and inspire others, potentially turning them into your greatest collectors.
Stay tuned and tell friends.
Art Snacks: Kalin Renée Devone
PARTNER
Design Your Way to Independence with Printify
Want to know how much you could make with a free Printify account? They've provided an online calculator to help visualize the possibilities. You could be selling products featuring your designs as quickly as a couple of hours, and with Printify, you don't need a website.
Biz Bites
If you're a Threader (Threadist?), be prepared to have your mom find your posts soon. Meta is testing cross-posts between Facebook and Threads.
I'm not suggesting you should have a YouTube channel (yes, I am), but Nielsen just announced that the video platform now dominates attention on televisions everywhere.
I often get asked which is the best email service provider, and there is no best, but if you need some insight on which might be best for you, Inbox Collective has a breakdown.
Selling art is not like selling widgets, and it cannot be approached the same way, but there are lessons to be learned from proven traditional sales techniques if you're open to seeing the creative side.
The footer of this email is functional, but it's not great. I could take lessons from the pros on how to make it for you.
Art Bites
How do you balance the commercial aspects of being an artist with the creative part? Five outsider artists answer this question, some of the answers are unexpected.
I have wild aspirations to make digital music for fun, but I know it's an expensive hobby. The visual stylings of Keinseier's synth and sampler collection are not making my decision any easier.
Freelancers are having a rough go as companies slice marketing budgets, which can take a toll on their mindset. The positive stories from others may not fix your finances, but they could help get your head right.
Imagine you're hired to photograph a touching moment or a pinnacle time in history. Instead of being lauded for your exceptional work, you're criticized because of snap judgments from headline readers.
Posters are my favorite crossover of art and design. My second favorite is book covers.
What would you do if you discovered that your spouse or best friend was also your most hateful, anonymous critic?
