|
I had three great conversations with three different artists this week, and I’ve established one universal truth... nobody is the same, and the answers to their strategic challenges are as unique as their creative work.
However, some broader truths overlap, which I’m digging into today because y'all need help.
This edition is in partnership with Creative Market
|
|
|
How to Talk to Your Ideal Customer
I often discuss using social media to attract people to our email lists, and the first follow-up question is almost always, “But what do I write about?”
Coming up with topics that are interesting to read on a regular basis still takes work, even for me. However, knowing exactly who my readers are and how to write to their wants and needs has helped me find topics I know readers will appreciate.
Your ideal customer is as unique to you as your work, and establishing who that person is to you is an essential part of knowing how to talk to all potential customers. Understanding who that person is takes effort because it’s not as simple as picking someone who has bought from you in the past. Instead, you need to create a persona based on what you know about your buyers and what you perceive as their wants and needs.
Grab a sheet of paper, a journal, or even a blank document, write “My Ideal Customer” at the top, and then, without overthinking anything, write down every single thing you can imagine about that person that helps define them. Use these suggestions to help picture them in your head, adding as much specific detail as you can.
IMPORTANT: Do NOT imagine past customers, but who the perfect customer would be for you.
- What is their name, gender, and age
- What do they look like, and how do they dress?
- Where do they live?
- What is their family and economic status
- What does their home or business look like?
- What would your art look like in their spaces?
- What issues do they have when finding creative work to match their tastes?
- Why do they appreciate creative work?
- Why would they become a patron of your work?
- How did they find you?
- What about you made them fall in love with your work? (Essential)
- What does your relationship with them feel like?
If you’ve answered all those, go back and read them. Eliminate anything that doesn’t feel like it leads to them becoming your best customer ever. Take what’s left and personify that information. Imagine them walking up to you and handing you a fat wad of cash for your latest work and the pleasant experience it is to sell to someone who loves you and your art.
Now, anytime you write anything, whether that’s a newsletter, blog post, social media post, or any promotional copy for your website and marketing, picture your ideal person and write to them. Every message you put into the world should be as if you were talking directly to that person.
At first, this will feel a little foreign, mainly because you’ve never done this before, or you may feel like you're disassociating yourself from your past customers. However, when you start talking to your ideal customer in a way that appeals to them, it will have the added benefit of affecting your current fans, followers, and past customers. It may inspire them to be bigger supporters of you.
|
|
|
[Partner]
Who Doesn't Like Meeting New Friends?
Have you ever hung out with an old friend you appreciate but have grown apart? Then suddenly, someone you’ve known about but never met comes to the table and starts talking to you. They're similar to your old friend, but they dress better, have more exciting stories, and they make you laugh, and you instantly want to spend more time with them.
That’s how I feel about Creative Market because I’ve used a similar service for years and have been happy with it until I took a closer look at all the products Creative Market has available.
Long story short, I have a new friend now, and for as little as $10 a month, you can get at least 5% off all your downloads (some restrictions apply).
|
|
|
|
What Type of Creative Are You?
Yes, you are a unique butterfly with all your color and nuance. Still, after talking with hundreds of creative people in the past several years, I think it’s safe to categorize people into these areas because it may help you better identify your purpose and ideal customer.
The Purist
These are the creatives who focus on craft and rely on mastery to drive their attention. They share their process but in a way that demonstrates their skill in hopes that the right dealer/curator will pay attention.
Ideal Customer: Gallerists, museum curators, art directors, and art/design publications. The Teacher
These people love to share their process and open the gates to others. They may sell courses or training, but often, they haven’t executed yet. People love them for who they are as much as for what they share—personality is everything.
Ideal Customer: New artists/designers, people looking to update their style, or casual observers wanting fun. The Explorer
This is the person who is fearless in their pursuit of new ideas. They may lack focus, but they will chase down opportunities to find new ways to make things, and they are fun to watch. Explorers are perfect for video, short or long form, even if they don’t want to show their faces.
Ideal Customer: Voyeurs who love watching others make things and want to be entertained—viewers who will eventually pay for exclusive content on Patreon. The Entrepreneur
These are the hustlers, the hard steppers, and the people you look at and wish you could be them. They don’t see obstacles but opportunities and will put sweat equity into everything until they find the best solutions. Once they do, they capitalize and take big money stacks to the bank to spend it all on supplies.
Ideal Customer: They may have many, and they’ve done the work to segment their customers into categories with specific marketing channels aimed at each group independently. The Yeah, Buts
We’ve all seen them, and maybe you are one. They call the Entrepreneur a sellout, the Explorer is flighty and unfocused, and Teachers are shills who can’t make a living with the art. The Yeah Buts have excuses for everything and accountability for nothing. Avoid at all costs!
Ideal Customer: They don’t have one. Nobody really wants to buy from them. Nobody is just one thing, and we often are a combination of each. The beauty is we get to decide which one we want to be and who we want to serve.
|
|
|
Art Snack: Emily McDowell
I met Emily several years ago at a local handmade conference. Along with her towering stature, she’s also a dynamic and empathic individual. She started her independent creative pursuits selling finely illustrated greeting cards and has turned that into a cottage industry of stationery, books, and gifts, sharing the work of several creative friends.
Instagram | Website
|
|
|
Small Bites
📙 - Chris Guillebeau, author of the $100 Startup and founder of The World Domination Summit, published a new book late last year, which I missed. Gonzo Capitalism—How to Make Money in an Economy That Hates You sounds exactly like the book we all need. Added to cart!
🇬🇷 - I don’t know why I love these Mediterranean-style illustrations on Creative Market* so much, but I do, and I might have to find a way to use them because they’re just that cool.
👫 - Are you looking to land a lucrative collaboration with local interior designers? Artist TB Murphy explains how he did it, and you can do it, too.
✏️ - You just published a new item on your e-commerce shop or marketplace but don’t know if your product description is up to snuff. This guide by Squarespace has your back with this guide. Remember to make sure you’re dialed in with your ideal customer before publishing.
🗞️ - If you ever subscribed to the New York Times newsletters, you know how quickly they could clog your inbox with stories you don’t care about. I guess they learned their lesson...even if the content now comes after the paywall.
📝 - Newsletter Recommendation of the Day: Sunday 9 Things. I subscribed to Emily Ryan’s weekly newsletter about a month ago, and if you’re interested in making your newsletter work for you, I recommend checking her out. She’s also active on Threads.
🎮 - Minecraft, the popular 8-bit style game that your kids play and you don’t understand, invited several artists and designers to interpret the game in their own style, and the results were surprising.
💲 - I’ve been reading up on effective online advertising, and this guide by Hubspot helped. I’ll give you one guess what the first bullet point is on the list.
🖼️ - Where some see a craft, I see a money-making opportunity: DIY Upholstered Frames! Get on it before someone else does.
🔥 - Finchi McQueen might be my most favorite performer ever. She’s wild, fun, and bold, and not for everyone, but I am in love with how fearless she is. I dig her so much that I paid 10x for her single on Bandcamp.
Dessert
You made your greatest masterpiece, and now you're waiting for the customers to flock to you because that's how it works, right?
Did you enjoy this edition of The Hungry?
👍 or 👎
|
|
|
|
* The Hungry sometimes features affiliate links to products we recommend and use ourselves. There is no additional cost to you for using these links.
Did someone forward this to you? Don't miss the next one—Subscribe today!
The Hungry, 386 Obispo Ave., Long Beach, CA 90814
Are you not into all this awesome anymore? That's okay; we can still be friends if you Unsubscribe.
Update your profile: Preferences
|
|
|