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The Artists & the Crickets. An illustrated cautionary tale about friendship & marketing.

Once upon a time, a small group of artists found each other in the void.

Little did they know that their adventures would someday become a cautionary tale for marketers everywhere.

When they met, it was kismet.

Finally they had proof that other people like them existed on the planet. People that just “get it.”

And they found out people like them are cool. They were in each others’ heads. They understood each others’ challenges, were supportive of their choices to become (and remain) artists and they celebrated the unique creativity in each others’ work.   It was validation with a huge dose of awesomesauce.

So they told their friends.

And their friends came from all around. Painters, sculptors, singers, photographers. They just kept coming and joining in the conversation.

Oh! And the conversation! It was electric! Everyone was so fantastically passionate about their art and their work…the conversations offered pure adrenaline.

The more they found out about each other…how he does this & how she does that & where he got that…the more they wanted to know.

So they had workshops & classes & retreats.

There were countless wonderful, inspiration-filled ways to learn from each other. How to be better artists. How to play with color in new ways. How to paint with a new technique. How to take pictures of  windmills at night….in the rain.

It seemed like everyday there was another amazing way to learn how to be more amazing.  

The classes were packed. Everyone was thirsty to know more. To be more.

And there was money being made.

The learning artists could see that the teaching artists were making money by offering classes & leading the workshops.  They figured if all they had to do was teach a workshop or two, they didn’t have to be starving artists anymore!

So they took classes from the artists that teach classes about how to make money as an artist by teaching classes. 

And these classes were packed. The newly learned up artists with dollar signs dancing in their heads, were so excited to go apply what they’d learned.

But no one came except the crickets.

The new teacher-artists were so sad and confused and worried about how they were going to pay the rent.

It seems, some of the artists realized that they couldn’t make money by spending money on classes.  So no one signed up.

Starving artists indeed.

But the crickets weren’t just at the classes & workshops.

The conversation had crickets too.

But, why did it so quiet in there?! Where did all of their friends go? What could it mean?

Not only did they not sign up for the classes , but they didn’t tell their friends about the classes either.

When asked why not, one artist explained that he knew his friends already knew how to do that kind of paint technique because they took four classes on it together last summer.

One said her friends are starving artists who can’t afford any more classes.

A few were busy making their own art (which is fantastic for them and a fantastic bit of foreshadowing).

Three others said, sheepishly, they didn’t share the information about the class because they were about to offer a similar workshop  and they really wanted their friends to come to their class.

Hmmm…what happened here?

 The artists forgot that they’re artists! But then they remembered.

Or many of them remembered.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, tragically, they had stopped making art!  They were so busy learning about each others’ unique style and creative genius that they forgot to explore their own.

When they did go back to their art, it felt GREAT!

But it was also hard.

After all of the mixing and collaborating it was hard to access their uniqueness…to create something that didn’t look like everything else.

Because everyone’s head was in the same place now.

But a one artist pushed past the hard stuff, he found his “me” button and made amazing, fabulous, wonderful art. 

Guess who he tried to sell it to?

His friends, naturally. The people who love him. Totally get him. Appreciate his talents. Envy his creative genius. Praise his work constantly.

They’re the obvious buyers, right?

Wrong.

Why are his artists friends totally and 100% the wrong people to market his beautiful art to?

If his artist friends aren’t his customers and he isn’t their customers, what value does the artists community have for him?

Do you hear crickets in your marketing efforts?

Have your conversations gone quiet?

When you don’t have a clue who your right people are or where to find them,  you can’t offer them something they want to have…and are willing to pay for.

Let’s change that – now.

Join me and Rhiannon Llewellyn from the Brand Harmony Studio for Extermination Marketing, a FREE teleclass this Tuesday.

(Yes! Free!)

WHAT: Extermination Marketing: Stop hearing crickets every time you make an offer

WHY: Discover who your right people are, and how to connect with them where they are. Where do you find them? How do you find them? How do you offer them your great work in a way that speaks to them?

WHEN: Tuesday, December 20th, 2pm EST    Whoops, this class totally already happened!

But you can get the FREE audio recording of the class by signing up below.

I want the recording!

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