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.
For those of you who miss the “Over 50 USA” vibe we wore for a while, there is now a site LITERALLY called Over50USA.com. We aren’t kidding. Check it out. It’s not that some of us here at ArtisticPreneur.com are not over 50, we are, but we thought that the “Over 50 USA” thing was taking thunder away from the whole artistic meets entrepreneur or artisticpreneur thing.
A Partnership
But for those of you who are worried that this development means we won’t be working with ArtGush.com anymore, worry not. ArtGush.com is still one of our most important and meaningful collaborators. Since the ArtGush.com team is now just focusing on education and creative consulting, they have become more freed up as partners.
The Development of an eBook
The big project we’re working on with them now is the development of an eBook that will be put out by USAcreate.com entitled “How to Get New Customers.” We’re very excited by the promise of this publication which is to help small business owners and artists of all kinds to get more customers, clients and fans for their business and/or career. Including of course those who are over 50!
Say Goodbye to Frustration with Client Acquisition Procedures
“How to Get New Clients” dissects the process as never before. With all the technology that is available, paired with good and stable old school techniques that are evergreen, the eBook will be spot on for those who are frustrated with client acquisition procedures. And we thank Art Gush for their input into making this happen! Their consulting has proven to be invaluable.
New Information is Being Tapped
How are we uniquely equipped to help make this eBook happen? Mainly because we have written on this topic before and have gathered a lot of new information since our last project on the topic.
The Newsletter You Need to be Subscribed To
Also in the news is that the USAcreate.com Newsletter that is concerned with “How to Get New Customers,” are buckling down with their weekly emailing on providing actionable steps that work. How do they know they work? Because they test them all out themselves as well as sometimes reveal their process of getting to a particular method. Art Gush is working with them also, helping them getting up and launched on this endeavor which is known as the USAcreate.com Newsletter.
Yes, there are large ArtisticPreneurial changes in the house! The ArtisticPreneur.com site figuratively moved to a much higher place this past week in terms of serving you, the ArtisticPreneur. There are changes on the surface as well as below the surface and they all come together in the form of one great big concept. This concept is “Sharing your work-in-progress process.” This notion also corresponds with the digital marketing tip for this week which is the suggestion to “Be willing to share your work-in-progress process.”
What Does “Media” Really Mean?
Digital marketing is a part of this idea in that when you are willing to share your work-in-progress process, it is going to be most effective if you use media to document it. The word “Media” in this era of social, tends to connote to the average listener that you mean social media. Social media can certainly be a part of it, but what the word really means is “Media” as in the press, and “Media” as in different mediums (psychics excluded pun intended).
A Domain that Takes You Places
Last week we put into action this week’s tip and suggestion to “Be willing to share your work-in-progress process” We did so by taking a major leap of faith with the ArtisticPreneur.com website. And here, right now, we are willingly sharing our work-in-progress process. There are three major things that we did in conjunction with the site. The first is changing the menu names. The second is creating new content. And the third is registering domains to take the user directly to a specific page in on the ArtisticPreneur.com site.
Too Many Words
There’s actually lot’s more left to share, but it is going to have to wait until next week.
The Takeaway
The takeaway here in regards to the tip is that when you’re willing to share your work-in-progress process, people will listen. As humans we love stories so please tell yours!
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 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?
