The biggest way to fail as a creative is to believe that people would naturally love and accept your creations without any form of inner conviction in them or getting sold on what you call a solution that you create.
To some, your talent remains a passion that does not need more than “Thumbs Up” once it has not occurred to them as one of those life saving options they need to consider having in their possessions to either appeal to their sense of life and meaning, purpose and bottleneck they carry, or problems and predicament they live with.
I was guilty of this for long, blaming my financial brokenness to the jail of a sentence (I’m not dope) I put myself in for years. It made me see less of myself, zero of my capacity and nothing of my potential.
I was dead broke with no hope and option of what I needed to do to make money that would be enough to at least cater for my daily-random consumables, not to talk of making a living.
I developed a passion for writing early enough that the entire process of honing the skill of writing took my attention away from mastering the business side of writing – I was just learning and writing for fun. Even for free to people that needed it but did not see reasons to pay me for my writing.
The problem is, I did not show the reason to pay me for it. And I was “dead broke” for years.
- Productize Your Person (Let Your Appearance Steal People’s Focus at First Glance)
People have no regard for whatever you do if they can’t put a likable face to it, or they can’t connect with who you are as a person.
Productising your personality does not necessarily mean setting up an office space, hiring people, formalizing all accessible routes to you or building walls around you that people find difficult because of unnecessary protocols restricting them easy access to your work.
This is when you need branding. And what is branding?
Perception first, before experience = Bond (This is the solution of every successful one-man business)
People want to experience you before they bond with your creations, because your personality serves as a barricade around your work – it is the first point of connection between people and you, It either chases away people from you or draws people closer to you.
People want to resonate with your way of life through your personal stories, your past and present experiences – these to them serve as a window into your line of work.
If they can see themselves in your story, it will feel safe for them to bond with your work.
Learn to always look the path of your choice.
- Make People Fall in love with your Process (Let Your Delivery process Strikes Inner Engagement in the Mind of Your Onlookers/Beholders)
Most of the time, people are moved to connect with a brand because of how relatable the process of creation is to them. The same thing applies to your work as a creative.
- How do you come about your ideas?
- How do you do the mathematics in between?
- How do you flesh up your ideas?
- How do you intend to create an experience people need to have when they eventually make that decision to listen to you?
- How do you tell your story as a creative?
There is a reason for “Behind-the-Scene” of every production. It is to connect emotionally with people that matter and are most likely going to consume your creations.
- Let Your Delivery Steal The Focus of Your Recipient From Approach
If you must make money from your creations as a creative, you must be willing to carry your craft on your head like a marketer. The truth is, no one is going to do the work for you, even if you have all the money to spend on outsourcing it.
There must be a uniqueness in your packaging, and a promise that people hold on to, to anchor their belief in your craft before they experience it.
- You are an artist, don’t deliver a mixture of colours or drawing, deliver a trend of value people hold on to in about their culture
- You are a writer, don;t just pour ink on paper, rather, take your readers on a journey they have been through, or heard about or about to embark on about their daily lives connecting them to their source.
- You write musical lines, don’t just jump on trends, think of the struggle of your potential audience, their pains, gains, their source as well as their journey.
- Are you an artisan? Your craft should be a reflection of where you are coming (Your problem), a representation of your journey (Your process) and a statement of where you are (Your victory).
Don’t live your destiny in the hands of faith or hope, go all out as a marketer – no one is their to save an unknown creative.
Harness every channel to portray your work like a marketer that you are tirelessly. That is when you get seen, known, liked, and appreciated.
Lastly, do have a great week ahead…
-King Hackosam, SAA
