Over my career I’ve spent a lot of money on training. I’m glad I did, it’s made me a great marketer.
But one thing doesn’t sit well with me.
When the expert says “you have to follow this to the letter”. “I’ve tested this, this is the only way it works”.
It always feels to me like it’s a getout. If I were ever to say “it didn’t work” the answer would be “yeah, well, you didn’t follow it to the letter did you!”
So I do the opposite of that.
I want you to develop your own unique marketing process. I want every marketing communications system I inspire to be different.
Everything you send out should be inspired by your values.
That’s what connects us, our values.
If you build a marketing process out of your values, you’ll attract keen fans and buyers who think like you do.
And of course your values are different to others’ so your marketing should be different.
If you’re not sure what I mean by values, don’t worry, I have a way for you to work out what you stand for.
Let’s look at an example. Let’s say ‘family’ is your key value.
If that’s really true, it should show itself in your art.
If that’s true, your art will reflect that. You might paint a nursing mother, or a family picnic, or kids toys, or a car stuffed full of going-on-holiday stuff.
I watched The End of the F…ing World (UK Netflix) and Jessica Barden is noteworthy in it. I was curious how much of the attitude was acting and how much was her. I followed her on Instagram, and it’s mostly her and her new babies and breast pumping and bigger family stuff, her sisters and so on. That’s OK .. your values can come out in all sorts of ways it doesn’t have to be tied to your art. In fact, it seems more authentic if it permeates your ‘real’ life.
What I’m saying is when people discover you and get closer to you, it should be clear what you stand for.
That way the people who continue to get closer to you are really into you, and you put off those who aren’t.
That’s unique to you. That’s the point.
Not just the point of your marketing, to differentiate you. That’s the point of me helping artists, I want more diversity in the world. The last thing I want is for you to follow some cookie-cutter same-as-everyone-else art sales system. That’s not art.
Stay safe, sell art
J
