Stories sell
As an artist, one is always looking for ways to get people to experience your art and maybe even buy it. However, the grand majority of artists don’t know jack about marketing or sales, and so their website tells a story something like this:
“I am an artist. This is what I make. Would you like to buy it?”
The fantastic book, All Marketers are liars tell stories, by Seth Godin does a fantastic job of explaining storytelling in the art of marketing and sales.
Hugh MacLeod is an example of an artist that tells a great story! He has a great manifesto here giving you ways to be creative. His story goes something like this:
“I am an artist. I draw cartoons. I draw cartoons that inspire people.They are social objects, and give people a reason to talk to each other. I also love marketing and business. I use marketing and business as a canvas for my art. You can see my cartoons on a business card, or in a cubicle. Or get them for free in your email every single day.”
Guess what? He makes money on his cartoons. He writes books, sells posters, creates drawings that accompany books, and all kinds of stuff you can imagine!
So the lesson is to 1. Be the best in the world at something, 2. Learn marketing or hire someone to market for you, and 3. COPY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS MODELS! If this guy offers a lot of his work FOR FREE it is because IT WORKS. The internet is not the grocery store where people take their free sample and leave. When you have someone’s attention on the internet you are multiplying the chances that this person will at some point want to buy something from you. Especially if they keep coming back for more!
Saludos,
John
