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7 Ways to Promote & Sell Your Creativity

By Bob Baker

Whether you have a passion for art, writing, music, theatre, photography or poetry, you know you have artistic yearnings. Why, then, when it comes to marketing those special talents, does all that creativity seem to dry up? Why must you continue to create in obscurity? If this is your frustration, it's time for a change. Use the following 7 real-life techniques to help jump-start your creative career.

1) Start Right Where You Are and Do Something Now.

Never let a lack of money, knowledge or clout stop you from at least takingthe first small steps toward bettering yourself.

Craft maker Kay Nelson began with only 250 names on her mailing list gathered from her appearances at regional craft fairs. But she started doing simple but regular post card mailings to her entire list. Three years later, she was sending promotional post cards and catalogs to over 5,000 customers, racking up lots of extra sales as a result.

What can you do right now to promote your talents?

2) Be Able to Describe What You Do in 10 Words or Less.

When you finally get an editor, director, gallery manger or other important contact on the phone, he/she might very well ask you, "So what exactly is it that you do?" How will you respond? By hem-hawing around about how unique your craft is and how you "hate labels"? Don't get caught in this trap.

You should be able to define your creative skills in 10 words or less. There are two primary reasons: 1) So you can quickly communicate your creative niche to media folks, industry people and potential customers alike, and 2) so you can use it as a gauge by which to focus all your work, titles, artwork, photos, ads and more around a consistent theme. People (including you) shouldn't be confused about what they get from you.

Examples: If you're in a band, use a phrase such as "We play blues rock with a touch of funk." If you're a writer, say "I specialize in how-to articles involving sales and motivation." An artist might explain "I do black and white spot art for newspapers and magazines." A photographer might say "I specialize in spontaneous slice of life photos." Whatever it is, make sure you can communicate what you do easily and quickly.

3) Do It Yourself.

Don't wait to be "discovered" or have a miracle happen. Get up and starting making things happen for yourself now.

Musician Lance King performs in a band that plays melodic hard rock music. King had big aspirations but he didn't want to wait around for a major recording contract to happen. So he started releasing his own CDs and investigating the European market, where music from America is always in demand. He established a distribution network and claims to have sold over 10,000 copies of his band's CDs -- all my taking his career into his own hands.

4) Use Low-Cost, High-Impact Post Cards.

Bob Westerberg is a writer who has turned his skills as a copywriter into a lucrative business. A firm believer in the saying "Little things mean a lot," every month Westerberg sends out a post card called IMP - The World's Smallest Newsletter to prospective customers. Each card features several "fun facts" and tidbits of info, with the last one being a reminder that he's ready to help with their copywriting needs. Westerberg claims this simple approach brings in at least $21,000 a year in freelance writing work.

5) Combine Your Promotional Clout with Other Creative People.

There is power in numbers. Instead of thinking about being in competition with other creative people, start brainstorming on ways you can combine your marketing muscle with theirs.

Every year graphic designer Jeanine Colini teams up with a printer and either an artist or photographer to create a promotional year-at-a-glance calendar. All three parties donate their services and each gives the calendars away to hundreds of clients and prospects. By taking this three-way promotional approach, Colini reaches far more potential customers than she would on her own.

6) Give Away Promotional Samplers.

At a recent live outdoor concert, the Rick Recht Band had full-length CDs available for sale during and after the show. No surprise there. But the band members also repeatedly announced from the stage that they had a limited number of promo sampler tapes featuring three new songs that anyone could have for a dollar.

What could you give away to help promote yourself? A short excerpt from your novel? Inexpensive prints of some of your best artwork? Free public performances of your theatre troupe's current production? Think about it.

7) Diversify and Expand.

North Carolina artist Bob Timberlake first made a splash years ago with his rural-life paintings. Next, he persuaded a publisher to put out a series of books featuring his work. Additionally, Timberlake opened his own gallery and created an array of products that bear his unique painting style (post cards, furniture, neckties, plates, fabric and more).
I've done this very thing with my own creative pursuits. In 1987, after years of playing music and writing prose on my own, I started my own newspaper in my hometown of St. Louis, Mo. Now, almost 10 years later, Spotlight magazine is the established source for local music/entertainment news in town. Then in 1990 I started a small mail order catalog of music business books put out by other publishers. Through these efforts, in 1992 I met a publisher who released by first book, 101 Ways to Make Money in the Music Business. The following year, I started self-publishing a series of audiotapes, reports and manuals on how to succeed in the music biz. Over the years I've also seriously dabbled in acting, painting, doing stand-up comedy and more, which more recently inspired me to also offer Creative Wealth Ideas, a catalog to help creative people of all kinds promote and sell their talents.

How might you expand and diversify what you're currently doing?

If you'd like to get a regular dose of ideas to help promote and sell your creative pursuits, you need to subscribe to the Creative Wealth Ideas newsleter. It's FREE if you get it by e-mail. Send the message "Subscribe CWI" to CWealth@aol.com
FREE Creative Wealth success tips by telephone! Now you can get a quick fix by phone to help you promote and sell your creative talents. Call the Creative Wealth Hotline at (314) 781-4367 for a 2-minute recorded message, updated on the 1st and 15th of every month.
Also, if you'd like to share any of your own creative marketing success stories with me to be included in my future books and reports, e-mail those to me as well.

Thanks, Bob Baker
Creative Wealth Ideas

Spotlight Publications Inc., 7350 Manchester #200, St. Louis, MO 63143
Phone: (314) 781-0400
Fax: (314) 781-0287
E-mail: CWealth@aol.com