Giving creatives the marketing and self-promotion skills they need
Coaching for creative professionals, how does this work? You may be a self-taught artist or creative entrepreneur, or perhaps you graduated from art school in the past. But you would describe yourself as a creative professional, that’s what you do, that’s what you love. The issue is, with many of you, that during your professional training, the marketing part is often forgotten, or at least not given enough attention. This is why I decided to offer help as a creative business coach, to fill that gap.
If you’ve been through art school, you’ll probably admit that the focus lies particularly on developing your own, new ideas, and producing the highest quality work. You go through the course, and finish with a fabulous graduation show where all eyes are on you. Feeling like a celebrity and ready to take on the art world. You are now a professional artist with a degree to prove it!
So you end on a high, only to feel lost and deflated after all the initial attention dies down. The fact that most of you will not win the Turner Prize, and somehow need to earn a living, suddenly punches you in the face.
Moving into successful creative entrepreneurship
I know, this may all sound a bit harsh, and I am aware that this is not the reality for all art school students, but I have come across enough in my career to know that it is not a total myth. And the fact that you are reading this post, probably means that it resonates somehow. But how do you move into successful creative entrepreneurship that earns you a good income?
Get the marketing support for creatives by someone who knows the arts
Perhaps at some point you searched online for marketing courses to up your skills. Not because you wanted to, really. Ugh, you’d rather not. I can imagine you probably felt even more confused by all the results Google came up with. There are plenty of marketing courses and business coaches out there, for sure.
But how many of them can emphasise with someone like you? An artist or creative entrepreneur who has little to no affinity with the corporate world, and would rather hide away in their studio?
These standard marketing courses quickly bore you to tears. Right?
I get you! I have always been a bit of a rebel myself, and the thought of working in a commercial outfit never appealed to me whatsoever. As an art marketing manager, I worked in the not-for-profit sector for most all of my adult life. Surrounded by creative brains. But you know what? The basics of running a business are the same.
You have a product, you need to attract an audience, you need to earn money. And there are ways to achieve this, which I can teach you. Wouldn’t it be nice to work with a business coach who understands what it is to run a creative business? As a creative professional myself I worked with hundreds of artists in my career. Motivating and inspiring them is what I love doing most.
Coaching for creative professionals: this is how we can work together
So how can we work together to help your creative business? As a coach and marketing expert for artists and creatives I work with clients all over the world, teaching them about the missing links to make their business succeed. We connect, I listen, we agree on what you need, and we schedule the calls via Zoom, at suitable times. You also get access to many of my resources during our collaboration, such as worksheets, check lists and e-books. Nothing too exhausting, I promise. No jargon. Pure, practical help.
We can enter a 1-to-1 coaching programme for creative professionals, of six weeks or longer, where we look at your needs and together create a solid marketing plan. We will define your niche and marketing message, and help you to attract more clients who are willing to pay your prices. The transformation I offer will be huge, making you feel empowered about marketing and ready to grow your business.
If you just need that person to brainstorm with for an hour, to fire you up with fresh ideas, you can also just book a single ‘power hour‘, where you can ask me questions about anything you struggle with in your business, We will aim to find some quick wins and possible long-term solutions. I am usually full of art marketing ideas and love to see clients get those light bulb moments!
Helping talented professionals find their clients
In my free community on Facebook there are many creative entrepreneurs just like you, who are in the same boat. I share daily tips in there, while the members themselves also help each other find answers to specific issues. They are all talented, ambitious people, who offer beautiful products and services, but find it hard to attract a steady stream of customers. They want to get a grip on social media, writing emails and promoting themselves, rather than the hit-and-miss way they do it right now. They need some sort of strategy and guidance, like you.
I teach professionals like yourself the skills to make marketing less of a chore and a natural part of your business. Through coaching programmes, but also masterclasses on specific topics. On blogging, for example, or copywriting and social media, but especially on helping you to see the wood from the trees. So you feel more in control, and promote your business in a targeted way, rather than shooting random messages into the world and hoping for the best.
If you feel like connecting with me, don’t hesitate to send me a message. If you would like a free social media planner, please leave your email with me and I will send it to you.