I've been thinking a lot lately about my superpowers.
- I can't fly (although if I had a genie that would be my first wish).
- I can't grow tomatoes faster by staring them down
- I can't make my husband stop freaking out about the next virus/politics/100 ways you've already screwed up your child after scrolling Facebook .
BUT I do have one superpower: learning.
I suppose if someone were to write my story as a superhero they would only be able to sell it to PBS kids. I'm good with that.
I love to learn. You might call it an addiction.
So here's what I know: I know marketing. I know websites. I know painting. I know how to fit huge projects into small amounts of time while I have a toddler break. I know business building. I know how to find tools that cut my workload in half. I know how to share what I know.
After all this reflecting, I've decided to shift The Artist Market Co. (TAMCo) a bit. Really, the core is the same. I've just gotten a little more specific about what it is that I will or won't teach...
...Because I want you and I to be an IMPECCABLE fit. The only way that can happen is if we're on the same page.
That means I'm creating some boundaries for content coming from me in the future.
Here's the rules. Anything I write will:
- Follow the 80/20 rule. I will only teach things that will make a bigger impact with a smaller amount of your time. You're already the creator, business owner, accountant, product distributor, marketer, etc. and you don't need to be doing anything piddly that doesn't make any difference.
- Help you build your own art business on your own website - not sell your art in someone else's business where they'll take a huge cut.
You will not find how to...
- Get your art into galleries
- Sell at trade shows
- Sell art exclusively on other websites like Etsy or print on demand sites (although I support using them to drive traffic to your website and/or supplement your income if you have the time to run both)
Here's what you can expect from me moving forward...
- Continuing Tuesday emails with priceless advice for free
- Occasional other emails regarding a product I am selling that follows the rules above. (You are under no obligation to buy from me to continue receiving free advice. However, I will only offer things I truly believe you will want and need. These products fund my time and allow all the freebies to be created in the first place.)
If I haven't lost you yet, maybe we're a match made in heaven. I promise to offer you a unique perspective you won't get from anyone else. I believe that if you really listen and implement some or all of these things, your art biz will start to grow faster and faster.
I can't promise it won't take lots of work. It will. But if you are willing to learn and put ideas into action, you will start making traction.
XO, Jessica
P.S. I have a challenge for you. Try getting super specific about who you are, what you do and what you don't do to help you attract customers you would love to work with/sell to. Put it all over your website or email it out like I just did.
P.P.S. A little backstory... This business evolved from building websites for clients to what it is today. That's a big shift! I was tired of building websites that didn't really help my clients because they just sat there in cyberspace alone, unvisited. My clients knew nothing about the need to market themselves and I wanted to help them change that.
Then one day, I had a crazy idea: I just wanted to work with artists. I thought that was so crazy specific it might be too much and I’d never find anyone who wanted to hear what I have to say. Now I know the complete opposite is true. The narrower you get, the more you attract the right people. Now I’ve started moving even deeper and feeling more excited about my direction than ever. If you are scared to say “I work with... (fill in the blank)” because you think you’ll exclude people, give it a try anyway. You can always pivot backwards, but I think you’ll be hooked.
