Let’s get real.
You’ve already been bombarded with every ‘secret hack’ and ‘magic formula’ for instant social media fame in the book.
Every swipe on Instagram, another self-proclaimed guru or slick ad agency is pitching you their latest trick. But here’s the cold, hard truth—most of that advice is garbage. It’s designed to keep you hooked and them rich.
For what does work, it lasts about 5 minutes before the herd catches on and no one stands out.
Ever notice that?
… Hmm, it’s almost like those people want you to be reliant on their advice so they can monetize your attention again and again.
I might seem like just another voice in the crowd, but I’m here to cut through the noise. Judge for yourself if what follows delivers real, lasting value …
3 Myths Sabotaging Your Success
Today I will talk about the 3 massive myths that are sabotaging your marketing success as a digital artist, writer or content creator. They’re likely keeping you broke too. It will go against the grain of mainstream digital marketing advice.
Read this closely, then read it again.
This may be the article that propels your art business into a new level of huge, recurring success.
Before you go further, please take a moment to mentally commit to taking action if something in this sparks a new idea for your brand. So much free advice online goes in one ear and out the other because we humans don’t value free as much as paid-for content. It’s just a fact. So imagine you spent $50 to read this one article and your goal is to extract $50 worth of useable advice for your creative art brand.
This seriously could be the wake-up you need to transform your artistic passion into a thriving business.
Let’s dive into the first myth: Believing that you must reach a certain popularity level before you can start to make money.
Myth #1: “I need a big social media following before I can start to monetize.”
Here’s the truth: Your social media follower count is nothing but a vanity metric. This myth is a big fat excuse on the road to monetizing your art brand! It’s based on the naive assumption that the fastest (or only) way to monetize your work is to get big companies to sponsor your videos, podcasts, and posts.
True, if that’s your only idea of monetization, then you do need a big following to get sponsors. But then again, that’s a super limited idea of monetization. It’s like a filmmaker assuming the only way to make money with a camera is to get an offer to direct a Hollywood blockbuster.
Successful artists aren’t necessarily the ones with millions of followers. They’re the ones who know how to sell the right product or service to the right audience.
Case Study #1
Jeff Goins, a writer and podcaster, is a great example of this. He has grown his Substack to 70K+ subscribers without an Instagram or TikTok in a few short years. In writing about his creative origin story, he notes:
“In 2010, I started a creative journey where I invited a small group of people to join me in exploring what it means to be a writer. I didn’t know if I had what it took to become a professional, so I cataloged the process as I went, sharing the lessons learned in real-time. The result was a full-time writing career resulting in five books, a couple bestsellers, a number of online courses, in-person events, and other creations.”
Now I want to back up a moment. Does having a big social media following help you monetize your work? Of course!
I’m saying that from day one, offer both free and paid content. This lets an audience member switch at any time.
We are focused on individual audience members. You don’t know if 1 out of your 10 fans is ready to start paying $50 a year for a paid newsletter. Offer it, promote it, and watch what happens.
“But won’t that mean more work for me?”
It’s a fair question. The answer is yes … but it’s work that you can earn real money from. Plus, it scales. Let’s do some simple math to nail the point:
Free Work:
5 hours (make a digital illustration + a process reel) = (10 new followers x $0) = $0
Paid Work:
5 hours (make a members-only process video) = (5 subscribers x $5) = $25 per month
Plus, for every additional subscriber for the paid content, you do the same amount of work and get paid more.
Take Action, Get Paid
I don’t think monthly subscriptions are the most effective way to monetize as a digital artist or writer. But, they’re an easy place to start. All it requires is bonus content on content you’re already making.
… That could be as little as a “process walkthrough” for the YouTube video you posted to the public. Substack and Patron are excellent platforms to host the paid bonus content.
Post-Myth #1 – Action Plan:
- Set up an account on a membership platform site
- Decide what to include as “member’s only” content. It MUST benefit your target audience. And, you MUST be able to sustain it monthly.
- Systematically include “ads” in all your free content. For example, add a 30-second trailer to your podcasts. Or, put a 10-second CTA at the end of your short videos.
If you want more detailed solutions and examples of ways to monetize based on your creative talent (again, without needing a big social media following), then click here to learn about my new ebook: The 7 Deadly Mistakes Killing Your Creative Brand.
(HINT: It comes with 2 limited-time bonuses worth $147. The book only costs $7.15)
Now that we’ve debunked the myth about social media followers, let’s tackle another misconception: Thinking certain creatives are exempt from marketing their work.
Myth #2: “I want to keep my work free, so I don’t have to worry about sales and marketing.”
Wake up! Just because you’re giving away some of your work for free doesn’t mean you can ignore marketing. Most stuff online is free to access … so why on Earth should I look at your stuff over ALL the other similar artists and writers?
The answer ought to be, “You have the best marketing … for me.”
What is marketing (in this context)? The clearly stated benefits and reasons why your work is the answer to my problems.
It’s not rocket science! You don’t have to change your style, motifs, or themes … but you need to explain who your work is for and how it will benefit those people.
You might be thinking, “Wait, Sean, art is art. I make it for whoever wants to see it. Benefiting people? I don’t care about that! I want it to challenge people and evoke their raw emotions. I’m not trying to turn a profit with my splatter paint.”
Yet, within that, I can detect who your work is for and how it will benefit those people.
It’s for: People who want to look at abstract art and feel deep emotions from it.
Their problem: A lack of depth in daily life, perhaps they feel apathetic or bored.
Your solution: Contemplate my splatter paint and you will feel deep, raw emotions.
That is not for everyone. I am not in that group. Most people are not in that group.
Get clear about:
- Who your work is for
- How it will benefit them (or the reasons they should care)
- Who the work is not for
Case Study #2
As an example, take a look at Andy J. Pizza’s podcast “Creative Pep Talk” on Spotify and listen to the trailer. It’s a perfect example of articulating who the show is for and how it will benefit them before someone commits to a full episode.
Until and unless you have that, it won’t matter if you offer everything for free or not … no one will notice. You need to treat your audience’s attention like the valuable currency that it is. If someone decides to spend their time looking at your stuff MAKE IT WORTH THEIR WHILE.
My Work is ONLY For …
Tell people why your work is worth their time. Be clear. Be articulate. If certain subsets of people will not like the work, then make that clear too! Avoid trickery, but don’t be afraid to evoke curiosity in your titles and captions.
Post-Myth #2 – Action Plan:
- Clarify your target audience (and how your work benefits them)
- Make that clear on the platforms you use (in the “bio” or “about” section)
- Find people with a similar target audience and ask them to collaborate (for example, invite them on your podcast or pitch yourself to be a guest on theirs)
If you want a 3-step formula to determine your target audience (which goes well beyond demographics) for your art brand, then click here to learn about my new ebook: The 7 Deadly Mistakes Killing Your Creative Brand.
(HINT: It comes with 2 limited-time bonuses worth $147. The book only costs $7.15)
I laid it out in mistake #5 (pg. 10-14).
Now that we’ve debunked the myth about avoiding sales and marketing, let’s address the final misconception: Relying solely on social media for a successful digital art career.
Myth 3: “I can do all my marketing on social media.”
I know this rookie mistake intimately because I made it … for years. It’s a symptom of being a digital native mixed with the low barrier to entry on social media platforms.
No website costs? No email service needed? Print-on-demand services? It sounds too good to be true, because, in a way, it is!
Yes, you’re saving money on the front end, but you’re also turning yourself into a creative commodity because everyone is using the same tools, on the same platforms, as you.
Plus, when you don’t pay for anything, you also don’t own anything. Any followers and fans you rack up are not yours because there’s a mega-corporation (or two or three) standing between you and them. Algorithms change, accounts get shadowbanned, and platforms (or mediums, like photography) fall out of favor. Social media should be the entry point for audience building, not the end game.
Case Study #3
As an example, take a quick peek at Sketchbook Skool, an online art courses business founded by Danny Gregory. Although he has high-quality content on his YouTube channel and Instagram, every piece of content points to the opt-in weekly essays (email list) and paid courses for sketchbook artists. This is a perfect example of using social media to gain an audience … but with a clear plan to move those people off social media.
This concept also ties back to myth #2 as well because when you give everything away for free (with zero strategy to turn fans into paying customers) you don’t have any money to invest in growing your art brand.
It might cost $150+ a month to have a running website, email automation service, online course hosting site, and any other business-related software. It adds up.
That’s why you must aim to earn money from your creative brand. Ultimately, even if you seek to turn your brand into a non-profit, those paid services are what set the professionals apart from the amateurs, so you need some cash flowing in your direction.
Own Your Audience
So even if you don’t have a product to sell yet, like a novel or online course, it’s time to start transitioning your audience off of social media and onto your email list ASAP!
… Most of us have a boatload of emails to sort through, but it beats Instagram where your organic reach rate may be lower than 8%!
Post-Myth #3 – Action Plan:
- Find an affordable email service provider (for example, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, etc.)
- Create a “lead magnet,” so people have to opt-in to get access to that piece of valuable content (to start building your email list)
- Design a simple, sustainable “script” to announce new pieces of content, new art prints on your online store, new online courses, special discounts, etc., via email
If you want to learn more about what a lead magnet is and what yours should be, click to learn more about my new ebook “The 7 Deadly Mistakes Killing Your Creative Brand.” It’s only $7.15 for now and comes with two bonuses (valued at $147). I discuss the topic in depth in ‘Mistake #2’ (pg. 2-4).
Now, it’s worth asking …
Can you transition fans to something other than email?
Of course!
The point is to get people OFF of social media to a platform where you have much more control. It may be:
- Your website with an online forum
- SMS text communication
- A Discord group
… Just to name a few.
Ready to Transform Your Art Business?
Don’t let these myths hold you back any longer. Apply these strategies now and transform your digital art brand into a thriving business! I understand that I kept things somewhat surface-level, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Click here to instantly buy my new ebook: “The 7 Deadly Mistakes Killing Your Creative Brand (And How to Fix Them Today).” For a limited time, it comes with a 15-minute strategy call and an archetype assessment questionnaire (worth $147 total).
It only costs a measly $7.15.
The book is perfect if you want more specific, detailed advice where I give more examples of marketing as a creative in a wider range of niches.
Also, if you want more evergreen marketing advice, I recommend you to subscribe to my YouTube channel “The Art of Selling Creativity.” It gives practical, money-making guidance for digital artists, freelance writers, or content creators like you.
It’s also a podcast, so if you prefer to pop in earbuds and do stuff while you gain new money-making marketing advice for your art business, click this link to subscribe to the show on Spotify.
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