Are you an Artisticpreneur? Are you someone who is very creative as well as has a home business that they oversee? This could mean that you are an ArtisticPreneur. Even more so if your product is creative in some manner.
Who Are You and What is Your Business?
You are seeking someone who is exactly right for your business so that they will buy from you. Or you are looking for an individual who will at least subscribe to your newsletter so that they can be converted to customers down the line.
Looking for the “Right Fit.”
Seeking positive outcomes can be a very confusing and seemingly futile thing for a businessperson just starting out in online marketing, let alone if you are very experienced in your industry but still cannot figure out how to be more successful. And if using the hit and miss conventional approach, you can end up trying keyword after keyword with no success. And the scary thing is, you are paying for all this research to find the right online visitor. Tremendous amounts of money can be gone through trying to discover the “right fit.”
Will You Weather the Storm?
Examining Your Revenue Model
It can be a painful and scary process seeking out customers for your small business, especially with the turbulence we are experiencing in the USA today. Questions arise such as how will you weather the storm, especially for those who have businesses that can only bring in revenue through meeting in person?
Can You Add Digital Components?
The businesses that have done the best in our current period of uncertainty, are companies that can do their marketing and delivery predominately online. It is recommended that to survive, those factions that rely on being in the same room as client, figure out a way to “digitally transform” their enterprise, adding at least one or more digital components.
It’s a simple concept, but very important. How are your mission and vision working out for you? Chances are that it might be overly complicated. Nothing personal, but most are. The reason usually is because of trying to be all things to all people. This isn’t really necessary. In fact, the more specific you get about who you are trying to reach, the better.
The Importance
Think about who and why you have come up with the mission and vision you have. Generally speaking, vision is your big picture of your organization and mission is how you are going to get there. Thinking long and hard is important. In fact, this might be the most important thing you do for your group.
Think in Terms of the Present
For example, we recently started a new organization that was following in the footsteps of an old one. The gauntlet was being passed from one collective to the other. The older faction was closing in the process. It only took a few tweaks to bring the existing org into the present.
Just about anything that you may want to do, can likely be broken down into steps. And steps allow you to have a measured and for most, easier, approach to learning a new skill or implementing new information.
Specific
DIYdigi, a relatively new addition to the blog galaxy, posted an entry that you may be interested in. The article goes into the method for being able to make and market your blog. Although not heavy on steps throughout, it does offer an overview of 3 specific steps regarding implementation, that make a lot of sense.
In this week’s marketing tip we are going to take a look at what a slider is, how to use it and what it can do for your artisticpreneurial business or career.
Sliders are Everywhere
If you’re not quite sure what a slider is, chances are you’ve seen them in action without really knowing it. Have you noticed that quite a few websites these days now have multiple large images on the homepage, each picture being shown one at a time automatically? Well my friend that’s a slider!
Achieve Your Goals with a Slider
And the good news is sliders can help you achieve your goals. If you put a slider on the front of your website you can more easily describe to the visitor what the benefits are of clicking as well as what they will get in return. Because it is a moving thing, it tends to catch the eye more quickly.
Give Your Web Visitor a Gift
And it’s a good idea if your slider doesn’t just stress a benefit for the visitor such as clicking through to read an article. It’s also a results oriented strategy to actually GIVE them something they can download instantly such as a PDF eBook that is on a topic of interest to your niche audience.
Check out Our Slider
And as luck would have it, we just put a slider up on our website ArtisticPreneur as can be seen here. We did so to get more folks to sign up for our ArtisticPreneur.com Newsletter and it’s working like a charm.
For Those of You Already Receiving Our Newsletter
If you are already a member of our newsletter and want to give our new slider a spin to see how it works, unfortunately the email acquisition system knows that you are already on our email list so it won’t send you the email to download the eBook entitled: “35 Easy Tips for ArtisticPreneurs to Get New Customers & Fans Online.”
A Special for Our Existing Subscribers
For this reason, for the next week, if you are one of our existing subscribers and you want the eBook, just hit return on the slider email and we’ll send you one. Otherwise, you might just be interested in checking out what the slider looks like and how the succession of images lead to a CTA (Call to Action). So if you’d like to see it click here.
Are you an artist of any kind or a small business owner who wants a simple no cost way to promote yourself and your business? Then keep reading for a possible solution.
The Question
We are told by our friends at Artist Steps that they get asked almost every day the question: “what are the best steps to become successful as an artist?”
The Challenge
The inherent difficulty here is that the term “artist” can mean any art form. And each art form has its own unique steps to take to become successful.
The Solution
Therefore there is not a one size fits all solution. That is unless you use YouTube. Becoming a YouTuber can help you with your artistic career regardless of the kind of artist you are. Why? Because YouTube is a marketing solution unto its own and is based on self promotion which is the keystone for any creative person who wants to build visibility and earn at the same time.
To learn what the 10 steps are to become a YouTuber, please visit the site ArtistSteps.org.
We designed as well as currently manage 29 blogs for which we bring on guest bloggers as well as interviewees. A question we often get asked again and again by ArtisticPreneurs is “How do you get new customers, clients and fans?”
Subsequently, this is the first installment in a five part blog entry series for ArtisticPreneurs on the topic of “How to Get New Customers.”
In this week’s course we examine in our bullet point list the step by step approach of using Podcasts and Blogs to increase your reach. All it takes is a little bit of preparation and you can bring in lots of fresh clients and fans.
As with everything artisticpreneurial, you need to be clear on who your audience is. The great thing is that the clearer you are about this, the more likely you are to uncover customers who are a perfect fit for your services and products.
As an ArtistPreneur you need to be able to monetize what you do. It makes no sense to bring in buyers who aren’t in the market for what you do. In this week’s bullet point step by step tutorial of “How to Get New Customers” we discuss how to reach your perfect customer, client or fan.
And in keeping with the topic of promotions, today we are trying out a new slogan for our ArtisticPreneur blog, newsletter and freelance business that we think more accurately describes what we do. It is “Web Designing, Digital Marketing and Blogging Services for Creative People Who Own a Business or Want to Start One.”
We specialize in creating WordPress blogs and if you don’t want to write your own blog entries we have content-making services as well. In short, we’re an online one stop creative marketing solution for creative people. Hey, I didn’t get my B.A. in Media Entrepreneurship and my (soon to be) M.A. in Arts Management for nothing.
Now that the commercial is done (yes even in blogs and newsletters there are commercials) sigh) without further ado, let’s empower you to dive right into your big, beautiful pool of new customers, clients and fans.
• Who, what, where, how – this can be a starting point for how to get clients. First look at who you are, what is your company and what is the solution to a problem that you supply to clients?
• In short, design a paragraph that answers the “who” question that is going to be desirable to your perfect client.
• Be sure to also answer what you stand for, what are your beliefs?
• Get clear on what kind of service or product your company or you offer.
• Make sure on your website is what you do and what you are about.
• So you need to be aware of what your clients want and what their pain points are.
• What is it that is painful to them that they want relief from?
• Chances are your future clients spend time online reading blogs, listening to podcasts, visiting videos and so forth. Instead of focusing on all these things (although they are important) you need to do the “where” and go to where your clients are. Make a list of all the podcasts that you think your clients will listen to.
• Now make a list of all the YouTube channels that you think your clients watch.
• Also make a list of all the chat rooms your clients frequent.
• Regarding podcasts be sure to focus on the ones with the most listeners. Your goal now is to become a guest on those podcasts.
• The reason is that you are going to position yourself as an authority.
• Next you want to go to the blogs on your list as well as other categories you’ve collected and become an authority on them. How? By contacting the person in charge and providing them with links to what you do.
• Why does being featured in other people’s media work? It is because you have validated yourself as an expert and someone people your future clients can trust.
• Prepare a list of some of your talking points. And/or find out if you can get a list of questions to be asked.
• Have you put together an email collecting system on your website? If not, it is suggested you do it now.
• This means having a free eBook that your future clients can get in exchange for providing you with their email address. You will mention this book on all the categories you have collected contact data for.
• When on a podcast or other kind of media, first do the interview and solve people’s problems and toward the end offer your book.
Art Gush’s latest weekly course is #6 of 6 of the series “How to Make Money as an Artist: Income Streams for Creatives of All Kinds.” This current course takes a look at the freelancer approach as well as contains details on starting a membership website. As an exclusive blog reader and/or member of Art Gush we are bringing you the highlights of this new entry on our blog.
Becoming an online freelancer and providing services that relate to your art form can be a terrific income stream. All aspects of providing the service can be done on the web so you can be a freelancer from any part of the world as long as you have an internet connection.
Another wonderful income stream for artisticpreneurs is starting a membership site that relates to what you do creatively. The thing that is ideal about creating a membership site is that it provides a passive income. Web surfers find your site on the internet and sign up for it without you having to raise a finger. You can sell online individual courses as well as the membership plan which gives the user access to all the installments collectively.
Next week we are going to take a look at a special topic for artisticpreneurs: “How to Get New Customers.” This means attracting fresh clients, customers and fans with ease. Whether you are selling a creative service or your online artistic goods, you aren’t going to want to miss this one.
And now let’s explore the bullet point synopsis of the 6th and final installment of the “How to Make Money as an Artist” Art Gush series.
• Curb you desire to make your idea into a corporation right away.
• Test you idea that is for a business that is related to your art form.
• If you have a useful art related solution to a problem, you will eventually start to make money with the idea and this is when you can incorporate.
• Another way you can make money as an artist is to offer your services that relate to your art on freelance sites.
• The great thing about freelance sites is that they often have their own traffic.
• But you should still focus on getting your own traffic as well.
• On the freelance site you advertise a service that is available for a fee.
• Services for which you can charge a fee include a writer doing writing services, a musician could do beats and music tracks, a filmmaker could do video editing and so forth.
• The key here is to figure out things you can do that relate to your art and can be delivered digitally for a fee.
• Whether we like it or not we live in an age where reviews do exist.
• When doing digital services make sure to communicate clearly with your online client so that when they review you they give you a good review.
• Be sure to share through your website the good reviews you get.
• Another way to make money as an artist is to create a creative membership site.
• This idea is related to doing online education, but the difference is that you charge a monthly fee and provide the user access to a large number of courses that you have created or have gotten someone else to create.
• There are many programs that will allow you to do this online. Check search engines to find them.
• You can still sell the courses separately but the motivation for someone to join your membership site is that she or he will have access to ALL of the courses on the site for a much better value than if she or he was to purchase the courses one at a time.
• Before building a membership site test the idea on friends and by checking forums.
• Once you are equipped with research data in the affirmative, proceed!
• Regarding building your membership site you should do an extensive search for the program that is just right for you.
• For example WordPress has membership plugins.
• To start your membership site take a look online at all the possible vendors. These days you can usually do a monthly fee with a company that will supply you with a template based site.
In our last ArtisticPreneur blog entry and newsletter we talked about how to make money as an artist. We covered income streams for creatives of all kinds including musicians, writers and filmmakers etc.
Today we’re going to continue that train of thought. We’ll be exploring strategies to sell your art online in the form of mp3s, eBooks and even movies etc. It is an exciting time in regards to media access for the motivated creator.
It is assumed you create terrific work and only need help with marketing. Also, you might be a creative person who is thinking of starting or has started a small business possibly related to your art.
We will follow the same format as we have before and provide you with a series of bullet point items to consider integrating into your promotion plan.
The bullet points are in no particular order and for this week include topics such as building your brand, creating a portfolio, getting a job and even starting a business.
These bullet points will ask you questions and provide you with food for thought as well are designed to help get your creative marketing juices flowing.
• How will you get people to purchase your digital art? You can do it by building yourself up as a brand. Think of ways you can build your brand.
• The more visible your brand is, the more likely someone will buy from you.
• To succeed in building a brand you need to keep consistency in every aspect.
• Make sure that everything you do is based on making your brand visible and soon you will reach a stage where people will want to purchase your digital art online.
• Should you purchase social media ads?
• The benefit is that you can very specifically target who you are trying to reach. Always make certain ads cost you less than what you are making per customer.
• Depending on where you are with your art, one way to make money is to get a job in a field that is related to your art. This is especially good if you are just starting out.
• Make a list of the ideal jobs you would want as an artist.
• Seek out jobs of this kind. You can even make your presence known to those not looking to hire.
• There are some who will say, “How the heck am I going to get an art related job when I can’t even get a non art related job?” And to this we say that it is all in the way you present yourself.
• Remember to build up your online portfolio.
• Make it easy to link to portfolio.
• You do need to have a certain amount of confidence.
• Remember, you can even create a job where one might not exist.
• Present yourself to the person who has the knowledge you want and show them creatively why they should hire you.
• Another way you can make money with your art is to start an art related business that offers some product or service that is going to be of interest to someone.
• A good guideline here is thinking in terms of offering a solution to a problem and your product/service is a part of the solution.
• Write down every single source you can think of where you might make money and where you might find clients.
• Don’t jump right out there though and incorporate. Test your idea first as a freelancer and then build from there.
• Try out your idea on people you speak with.
• Do you get a positive reaction? Which aspect do they seem to be most interested in?
As a subscriber to the NYC Create Newsletter, you know that each week we add another bullet point list installment that provides you with step by step assistance to become the best ArtisticPreneur possible. We are now on entry 3 of 6 of the series “How to Make Money as an Artist” providing suggestions for yet more artistic income streams that can contribute to your career as a creative.
In this entry 3 of 6 we are looking at two more sources for artists of all kinds including musicians, writers, filmmakers and actors etc. The two income streams we are exploring are sponsorship as well as creating and selling creativity oriented eBooks.
As you likely know by now eBooks are selling like crazy on Amazon. Also, for authors the process of self publishing has become the norm. It is no longer necessary to go through a publisher to get your work out there. The internet has created a means for getting information into the hands of those who need it.
So even if you are not a writer by profession, you likely have something to say on the topic of your art form or expertise which would be of value to readers. The key is to first determine the solution you are providing as well as who the audience is that needs it. If you start an ecommerce site you can sell your eBooks directly to your target demographic. And if you are an artist/author who is writing a nonfiction book on how to do something that relates to your art form, you are essentially simultaneously promoting your creative career as well.
Another area that we will be delving into in this current “How To” bullet list is that of sponsorship. This can be a viable income stream, or as you will learn, can also be a way to barter with businesses who have a product or service that you need. Of course, the key here is developing your base so that you have an audience that your sponsoring business desires to reach.
But now, let’s jump right in and get the step by step details on how to publish and sell your eBook as well as secure sponsorship. If you are reading this on our blog and wish to receive weekly updates on empowering your dealings as an ArtisticPreneur, be sure to sign up for the NYC Create Newsletter. Without further ado here are the steps continued from last week…
• In the last installment we spoke about doing merchandising. Hopefully you’ve come up with some good products. If not, please do so now. Just create a list of possible things.
• Clearly these items will be purchased by your fans which if you are a YouTuber that’s a great way to build the fan base to which you sell.
• If you do decide to become a YouTuber remember that even as a YouTuber you are offering a solution to solve the problem of the audience.
• Nurture and develop your audience either through an email list or YouTube channel.
• Even with just a handful of fans or viewers you can move on to an important step.
• You see, another stream you have available to you is through sponsorship. If as an artist you have built up a fan base which is a target demographic that corporations would like to reach, you can get free stuff from those sponsors.
• Getting free stuff means not having to pay for it which is saving you money which is much like earning it.
• You can get things that you need . For example if you are a painter you can get painting supplies. A musician can get music supplies, a filmmaker could get camera gear etc.
• Make sure you have a presentation to show the potential sponsors and be clear on what you want from them. You can also sweeten the deal for them by doing “product placement” in which during your YouTube show or email list you mention you are using their products and services.
• Sponsorships can take a while to land and can come about through emailing or if you’re brave, cold calling.
• Make sure when emailing you have something to link the reader to that is impressive and tells the sponsor how you have an audience that they will want to get their services and products in front of.
• Again, don’t expect immediate results, this can take time and several sessions with a potential sponsor.
• We’ve covered merchandising and sponsorship, so here is another unique way to create an income stream from your fans and clients: the making and selling of eBooks online.
• Making and selling eBooks online is a great way to bring in money from your art even if you’re not a writer. You can write about your art in a “How To” format and sell your work in the nonfiction area of Amazon.
• You can also offer these books on your ecommerce site.
• You will be successful doing eBooks in direct correlation to how well you are able to drive traffic to your eBook. Or more specifically, the RIGHT traffic. People who are interested in the solution you are providing.
• As we’ve mentioned in past installments, the easiest way to get targeted traffic is to pay for it. Facebook and Amazon for example can sell you targeted traffic.
• Make sure you figure out what your per customer acquisition cost is to determine if it is worth your while to pay for traffic. It should cost you considerably less than what you are selling the eBook for.
• As we’ve mentioned it is not always necessary to use Amazon to sell your eBooks. You could have an online store.
• And the great thing about having an online store is that you could sell someone else’s products.
• If you sell someone else’s products be sure to make an arrangement that you will take a percentage for all items you sell.
The big news is that ArtisticPreneur is more than just a description of someone who is artistic as well as is an entrepreneur. It’s also the name of a website. But then, if you are reading this, you already know this information since you are currently on the ArtisticPreneur site.
The idea of becoming an ArtisticPreneur has long been a popular topic with our NYC Create newsletter subscribers, so we decided to make a website about it.
ArtisticPreneur.com is in its very early phases but already will host the latest NYC Create blog entry that coincides with the latest newsletter installment.
In this blog entry/newsletter, we will take a look at video as a means for those wanting yet another income stream for their career as an artist (including musicians, writers, filmmakers, actors etc).
One way that you can use video for your career as an ArtisticPrenuer is to become a YouTuber. If you enjoy being on camera this could be a natural for you. The topic of becoming a YouTuber plus other areas of interest are explored in the current bullet point section of the blog entry found below. This is part 2 of 6 of the “How to Make Money as an Artist” series.
• Last week we used education to make money as an artist. This week we’re continuing the process, this time utilizing video. You can create video classes and upload them to your online educational site.
• When uploading be sure to create an image that goes along with the entry.
• Plan out your next video.
• If you haven’t already, please set up your online education site. When your student purchases the premade courses it is an automated process to pay for and receive your courses. It’s literally a way for an artist to make money in her or his sleep.
• If you are unable to get a digital camcorder, you can always use your cell phone.
• Speaking of filming, begin to plan out your vlogging career, if you so desire.
• Making money with YouTube. If you are an outgoing kind of a person or even an introvert who isn’t shy of the camera, you can be a vlogger. A vlog is much like a blog except with video, you will be documenting your life or your creative process.
• The idea is that if you develop a large enough audience, you can create yet another income stream which is getting paid for showing commercials.
• Map out a series of videos you would like to make.
• Initially you should make many many videos because the more videos you make the more popular your show will be because YouTube will start including you in their searches.
• Because increasing viewership is a goal, it’s a good idea to create videos that have keywords that people will search for.
• You can enter these keywords when you upload your videos.
• It is important to realize that as a YouTuber you make money based on how many times a promotion is run before your video. In order to make money this way you need to have followers in the thousands so it takes a while to get this up and running.
• Meanwhile be sure to create content that helps promote you as an artist.
• Figure out ways to engage with your audience such as asking them to answer questions in the comments section.
• Using your video network to get people to purchase merchandise can be yet another great income stream. Thus far you have education, ad revenue and now on demand merchandise.
• A useful strategy is to ask your fans or clients what kind of merchandising that would interest them.
• Take the feedback you receive when creating your “on demand” products.
• For a visual artist “on demand” is a natural, but it can work for artists of all kinds as well, where t-shirts and other items such as bags etc. are offered for sale with your picture on them.
• Continually get feedback from your fans and clients regarding what they want.
• Consider setting up an e-commerce section of your website.
