I have always had a strong connection with the arts. My mother raised me on classic musicals and a love of music. I have been an actress, a designer, a comedian, a jazz singer, a dancer, an anime artist, an artist’s model, a photographer, and a costume designer. However, everyone has always reminded me that you cannot make a good living in the arts. The arts are great for a hobby or a side gig, but they should never be pursued as a full-time job. Artistic passion cannot be your only option. You should always have a backup plan. No matter how many times I told people I was different or that I didn’t care because of how much I loved my artistic pursuits: the words still lingered long after my conversations had ended. I was going to have to suffer for what I loved, and I shouldn’t have to.
When I was in college, I originally planned to major in theatre. I got my Associate’s Degree in it, but after years of being told there was no money in theatre, it got me feeling very negative about the whole experience. It made me feel negative about the rest of my life. When I transferred to a university, I saw it as a new start. I was accepted into business school to pursue my bachelor’s degree in marketing. At my university, I became connected with artists from all walks of life throughout the Charlotte, North Carolina community. I was passionate about creating with them, and I delighted in their successes. I delighted when they made money. Some of them started joking that when I graduated, I would have to help them all sell their art. For awhile it was just a joke, but it got me thinking…
What if I COULD help people sell their art?
What if I could help people understand how to market themselves and find the patrons that want their art and want to give them money?
What if I could help art be seen as a viable income source for people?
How could I do that?
I couldn’t shake the thought out of my head. I considered lots of different avenues, including starting a marketing agency that catered specifically to artists. But I hated the thought of asking for money from people who were literally labeled “starving artists”. It made me sick. About this same time, I wanted to start blogging. Since I was a marketing major, it made the most sense for me to blog about marketing. After all, blogs are great for being seen as a thought leader in your industry. But every time I sat down to write about marketing, I was bored. I couldn’t think of anything to say that hadn’t been said a million times before. It was uninspiring. I felt most inspired when I was with my artists. Their energy and hopefulness fueled me.
Flash forward to another time with some of my artist friends. One of them mentioned they wanted to learn more about marketing, but they felt intimidated of where to start. This is completely understandable. Marketing is such a wide field. Marketing is research and content creation and design and search engine optimization and communication. I talked to them for almost an hour, enthusiastically explaining you can do as much or as little as you want with marketing, but that finding your voice and your market didn’t have to be difficult. Or at least it shouldn’t have to be difficult. We talked social media, branding, research, and analytics, and I felt inspired to be able to give someone something useful that they could use to continue making the art I loved.
That was when it hit me: a blog specifically for artists who wanted to learn more about turning their creative pursuits into a more lucrative business.
I could give back to the arts community that I love with useful tools artists for artists to find the people that want to give them money and move away from the idea that it is impossible to make a living from the arts. It is certainly difficult to make your art your full-time job: but it is not impossible. Not by any means. I’ve made very decent money at some of my artistic pursuits and not so great money at others, but I have always known that the money is there for the arts. Your patrons exist, but finding them is the real challenge.
Enter YourCreativityBusiness.com, my newest endeavor. Here I will always strive to provide essential tools for the artist looking to learn more about marketing and business. This blog is a combination of thoughtful problem-solving articles, interviews with some of my artists friends who are going through the same struggles and wanting to learn the same lessons, inspiration to keep you going, and whatever else is valuable content for artists trying to make money from their art. I plan to not target one kind of artist specifically. I have been involved in all kinds of art, and there is so much cross-over in promoting yourself in any artistic field. My inbox is always open to answer your questions and help you grow. I am always eager to hear other ways that I can help artists promote themselves and sell their work. My hope is that artists will see this is a one-stop resource for explanations about not just promoting their art in creative ways but also how to turn these promotions into sales. Artists tend to be pretty good at creative promotions, but they feel lost on how to turn their “hustle” into conversions. Even though marketing is way more than just sales, ultimately you want to be able to make money. YourCreativityBusiness will help you do that.
I want to help you sell your art.
I want to help you understand how to market yourself and find the patrons that want your art.
I want to help art be seen as a viable income source.
We can do that together.
Thank you for joining me.