Cake image from The Cake NinjaNo, not a real Elephant. Eewwwww!!! 

I'm talking about how to accomplish something that seems very large and overwhelming, like managing your art business and marketing your art certainly can. 

I KNOW how it feels. I'm faced with it every day of my life, just like you. And a few years ago, after I got over the realization that I would have to INVEST more time, money and brain power into myself and my business than I ever dreamed, I got v-e-r-y overwhelmed and wanted to run away. And sometimes I did. I'd hide under the covers and mutter things like, "Oh My Gawd! This is going to cost me thousands!!"

And then I did something smart and hired Aletta de Wal for some one-on-one coaching time (hint: you should too) and she taught me something wonderful:  She told me, "Yes, you do have to invest in yourself, but you don't have to do it all at once."  She said, "I know times are tough and it seems overwhelming, but if you DO NOTHING, no one will know who you are."  She suggested that I make a list of all the things I wanted to do for my business and my marketing. Then she said to start with the smallest. And I did, and then I did the next thing, and the next, and pretty soon my business was doing better than it ever had.

How do you "Eat an Elephant"?  One bite at a time.

PLEASE, I know times are tough and it's soooooo tempting to stop investing, to stop spending money on your business and marketing. But I'm telling you, it's a mistake. Yes, be frugal, be wise, have a long-term plan and keep going, just don't stop. 

 

 

P.S. Soooo, for those of you who have pondered whether or not licensing your work would be something good to do, here is a first step:  Take this class, it's on Thursday 3/10/10 (that's in two days if you're reading this blog post on the day I wrote it). Really, this is good stuff: 

Five Things Artists Should Consider Before Deciding to License Your Art. It's only $29.95 and THAT is a wise investment in your future. Come on now, just do it. Skip the double vanilla caramel lattes for a couple of weeks and you've covered the cost. See, that wasn't so hard. Get the info and register by clicking here. And when you're wildly successful write to me and we'll celebrate with a yummy elephant cake!

It was a marketing symposium, at the Ritz Carlton Pasadena, about 20 years ago. Who knew they had a dress code just to check in (sheeshhh). Anyway, lots of heavy hitters in the marketing world, one was the VP of Marketing for Disneyland. She was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. She spoke little, and said a LOT.

In response to a very good question - "How do you know what will work, how do you decide?" - she gave some advice that I've carried with me for years and years. She's right.  And although it seems obvious, I watch my clients break this rule over, and over, and over again.

She told us that we'll never know what's going to work until we try it. Then she told us what they do at Disney:  They put their heads together and take their best educated guess. They set rules for results, what will mean that it's working, what will mean that it's not. They go with it. If it doesn't meet their criteria for success, they STOP. Even if they've poured tons of money into it. If it does work, they milk the heck out of it. Period. That's it.

Example of something that didn't work and they stopped: They tried a promotion where, oh what was it? Californians got a discount. Just show your drive's license and...  They set their rules for success, how many months they'd give it, how many Californian's, etc.  The results were not what they wanted, they stopped.  They did NOT keep trying to convince Californian's to come to Disneyland, they did not offer more, they did not lower the price. They just stopped.

Example of something that DID work and they milked the heck out of it: Y`all have heard of the Electric Light Parade? It started out as a temp gig to replace a parade that just wasn't ready for prime time. They figured it would be a short run, just to fill the gap. They gave it a couple of weeks. But people went WILD for it. I think it was ten years worth of wild, then they sold off the lighbulbs for $10 each when it finally wound down.  If memory serves, they even resurected the parade years later.

She emphasied, "Don't keep putting money into something that isn't working. It won't help."

Reeealllyyyy good advice. And yet I see people doing exactly that, over and over. And just like she said, it doesn't work.

I mention this because while I love supporting artists with administrative, marketing and website services, I really hate to take their money when I realize that something they're doing isn't working well for them. And lately I've seen a lot of what that VP from Disney was talking about, so, ya know, I feel compelled to say something about it.

Need marketing or administrative support for your projects and art business?  Need help just getting it going or keeping it going? Give me a shout via email - robin@artistcareertraining.com - or just call me at (310) 649-4434.

All my best to you and yours,