If you’re an entrepreneur, you may not like marketing. If you’re an artist or writer, you may not like business, and in particular, most creators hate sales. We get it. #BeenThereDoneThat. But if you apply creative branding to your business, with the eye of the artist, that reframing can make all the difference to your success.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Audio Article
- Creative Sharing
- Share Your Work in the World
- Creative Branding for Authors and Artists
- Promotion Ideas for Creators
- The Business of Art and the Art of Business
- A Time to Share
AUDIO ARTICLE: Creative Branding
Bring creativity to mundanity and artistry to business. View the things you don’t like to do from the eye of the creator in you.
Business needs more art, and artists need more business.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®
Creative Sharing
Think out of the box and off the page or canvas and share your work in unusual places.
We learned of one author’s work because this photo of his books was on Pixabay, a tremendous resource for free photos. We were intrigued and so searched him online.
Steve Sheinkin writes books of the type that my son enjoys: Historical fiction for young adults.
Share Your Work in the World
We wouldn’t have found Steve’s work if this photo hadn’t been shared and made available for free. Whether or not it was Steve or someone on his behalf that took it, it’s a great idea for any author to consider.
We’re always brainstorming ways to help authors get their work more exposure and sales, but the idea of uploading a photo to a free photo source never occurred to us. What a great idea!
Here we are sharing that photo with you, which is free promotion for Steve. Who knows how many others may see and buy Steve’s books because of the original impetus to take a photo and share it for free. Sure, it’s a small thing, but we can never plan all the many ways our prospective fans and opportunities may find us.
Wings for Your Work
Like the helicopter seeds of the maple and sycamore trees blowing in the wind, you never know where and how far that seed may go. We’ll never know how many will take root and create so many more.
Visual artists can consider their own versions of this scenario.
Your creative branding options are unlimited. Embrace the fun of capturing moments to share.
Creative Branding for Authors and Artists
Online content creators look for images practically every day. These are the people who write and publish articles, memes and other social content.
Sharing your art freely can become a sort of free product placement. Just be sure to watermark with your work so people who resonate with it can find you.
A number of times have we seen amazing art on social platforms. We’ve wanted to share it, to give tribute… to even possibly hire them for commissioned work, but there was no artist’s name or watermark and no way to find them. So watermark your work and include your website URL, brand or social platform name if you don’t yet have a website.
“Art is not in the …eye of the beholder. It’s in the soul of the artist.”
~Seth Godin, author, thoughtleader, founder-AltMBA
Promotion Ideas for Creators
While this next idea has specifics for book authors, anyone creating anything can use it for their genre of creativity.
You’re an author with a new book out. You can take a number of creative photographs that you end up loading to photo sources like Pixabay, Unsplash and Shutterstock. Shutterstock actually pays artists for images. The other two are free sources, that may or may not result in pocket change. However, they can lead to more.
Oh!… and you’ll also share these over time to your social platforms and articles on your website. Eventually, the photos may even earn some revenue for you from these image platforms.
But if you’re afraid to put your work out there… afraid that it means working for free, consider this:
You’re going to be creating anyway. Might as well put your work out there for others to see and those who will pay you for it are vastly more likely to find you.
Attention beats marketing 100% of the time.
~Jesse Cole, founder-Savannah Bananas
Branding Photo Ideas for Authors
Photos for Social Media, PR and Landing Pages
In creating content for writers and authors, many are the times we’ve searched for author type photos that included stacks of books, manuscripts strewn about, author book signings, etc. Photos that are more creative than just a guy or lady at a computer or typewriter. While typewriters make cool photos, they’re irrelevant for today’s writers, so those photos don’t work so well any more.
So if you’re an author who has a book signing, be sure to take lots of photos. You’ll need those for your own social posts and other PR, but also consider uploading a few to some of the online photo resources, both paid and free. Not only might they get shared, but it could even give you positive exposure for your book and brand.
Include variations of shots, such as:
- You signing a book with a stack of the same books next to you –
- it could be at home, at your desk as if signing before shipping
- or at a book store with a line of people waiting to get a book signed
- Opening a box of your books “hot off the press
- Stacks of your books in the foreground and a part with you and friends in the background
- You standing at a podium in a bookstore reading a chapter of your book for patrons
- A stack of your books on a table in a bookstore with a “bestseller” sign on the table (this then also becomes a visioning tool for you)
- Fans holding your book in various settings of their choosing to share on social media
- Photos of your book creatively arranged is various ways, such as:
- on a beach towel at the beach
- a hand holding the book reading it while sipping a cup of steaming coffee with pastry in view
- someone reading your book while on the treadmill
- friends sitting around the dinner table clearly discussing your book
- book visible in the pocket of a traveler’s carry on luggage
- someone reading it on a plane
- These photos can then also end up being posted on your social media platforms*
*Publish your photos with watermarks, such as your name and website URL on your social platforms.
You can also upload to photo sharing platforms as mentioned previously. You can’t place the watermark in that case, however, the name of your book could be visible, as in the example Steve Sheinkin’s books above. Then, each free download is a share that’s free to you, brings value to others and may leads folks back to you.
Creative branding options are unlimited when you marry art and business. They were never meant to be apart. Art puts heart and creativity back into business.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com
For ideas on content creation, distribution and repurposing, you may enjoy these articles.
The Business of Art and the Art of Business
Artists and entrepreneurs who apply artistry and creativity to business will not only thrive but will enjoy all aspects of your work all the more. Consider what outlets you can contribute to and where you can share your work, even for free.
And yes… it’s work, but again, you’re going to be doing your work anyway.
Create like flowers in spring, grow into all that you can be.
Image by Metehan Tanrıverdi from Pixabay
~LeAura Alderson, iCreateDaily.com®
Today’s Marketing isn’t Marketing
This is the era of doing things that don’t scale in order to get to things that do. Today’s marketing is about sharing and giving. The good news is that this is often a perfect match for compassionate creators, but most importantly, it’s about doing and sharing your work freely so that those who want to engage you can find you.
The more work you produce and publish through some of the channels available today, the farther your work will go.
Sharing is the approach that feels most right for creators who just want to create. Yes… you need to learn the business of art as well as the art of business, but you also get to create prolifically, even for free, and it will come back to you over time.
You may enjoy this article of examples of creators who are succeeding from doing exactly this.
Retrain your thinking. It’s just a brain switch. Flip it.
Seek the adventure in doing what you think you don’t want to, but must, and you will grow to enjoy it.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®
A Time to Share
One of the iCreateDaily community members creates art for community fundraising events. She does it for free but it provides free publicity and exposure to charity events in her town, which also naturally leads to exposure to her and her work. Other community members have experienced getting commissioned work or selling paintings by participating in art exhibits in their area.
Today, you can even easily sell your art from your Facebook profile or page.
The fastest and most effective way to build your following is to give and share lots for free. Gary Vaynerchuk, one of the marketing thought leaders we follow, has written about this concept in at least two of his books available on Amazon:
Once you’ve educated yourself on the details of your market and marketing, you can always outsource some of the implementation to reputable service providers.
Social Media Resources and Freelancers
There are scheduling apps for instance that can increase your efficiency with Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest posts. We use Buffer to help in our social scheduling, plus we hire VA’s (virtual assistants) to help in filling the scheduler app.
Social resources and freelancers help us publish more of our content more efficiently, which leaves us free to spend that time creating and interacting with our audience. That’s the ideal scenario for most creators. We want to spend time creating, not publishing on social platforms, marketing and selling.
The most successful artists are those who’ve also built a following by showing up day after day, giving… sharing… and connecting with their audience.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®
It’s About You and Your Fans
Building a following takes time and personal effort. However, in today’s crowded and noisy marketplace where anyone can buy anything, the value comes back to relationships.
Connecting with your ideal customer or client and forming relationships can be as gratifying and fulfilling as the act of creating. Your fans want to speak with you about your art… your books… your business. Your clients, want to know that you have them in mind in the services you may offer and the products you may create.
For a super simple approach to brand building, we’re including advice from one of our favorite mega successful online mentors, Tim Ferriss.
If you’re interested in a course on making money from artistic lettering, check out this course from CreativeLive, or this one from The Abundant Artist.
Branding is about connective and serving… it’s about relationships.
~LeAura Alderson, iCreateDaily.com®
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Hello! I’m LeAura, owner and co-creator of iCreateDaily.com®. As an autodidactic philosopher, generalist, personal development advocate, entrepreneur, writer, editor, author, ideator, media publisher, and podcaster, I’m passionate about helping others achieve their best possible life! Our small family of entrepreneurs, writers, investors, educators and creators own and run websites around topics we enjoy, such as gardening, health and fitness, creativity and pets, with more to come.
While my greatest teacher is Life… my formal training includes certifications in mediation, fitness, and strategic intervention coaching, including marriage and family. Today, the synergy of creating websites, articles and podcasts, brings together all my favorite things: family, learning, growth, creating, connecting and contributing. To share these with you is a privilege, that serves my lifelong aspiration to help others.
My personal areas of creativity are in writing, masterminding, ideation, synthesis and bringing ideas to life through business and entrepreneurship, all with a pervasive spiritual foundation with a focus on elevating the lives of others.
Want to submit your photos, videos and/or article content for publication? We love to consider your contribution for publication! creators@icreatedaily.com