Selling Yourself: Creative Networking Session (JULY 18) Recap
Thanks to our talented panelists Chalice Springfield, Betony Coons and Tim Coons, we had another lively and informative conversation at our Cacophony of Creatives Networking Session last week!
Self promotion can be a tricky task for Creatives both because our work can be so personal and because the way a client connects with and values a Creative’s work is subjective (and often personal).
Creative Industries also carry different norms and expectations. Fortunately moderator, Dan England raised some good questions and in turn our panelists shared several helpful tips and insights.
What has been your most successful self-promotion tactic so far?
Chalice Springfield:
Marketing Through Relationships
According to British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, we can only really maintain about 150 connections at once. So, Chalice prioritizes knowing and connecting deeply with those 150 folks in her sphere.
By engendering genuine appreciation and trust in those relationships, she can then reach their spheres through referrals. Personal introductions have opened many doors to new opportunities and engagements.
Betony Coons:
Being Authentic
Betony admits that she has a strong gag reflux when it comes to anything slick or sales-y. Instead she prefers to lets the quality of her work represent her and she treats every project like it might be a potential lead or interview for her next project. Almost all of her work has sparked new projects or partnerships down the road.
As her career has progressed, she has also become more selective about the types of projects she accepts knowing they affect how she is perceived by potential clients. She is carefully curating a body of work that speaks for itself and embodies the type of artist she is becoming.
Tim Coons:
Cultivating Contacts & Sharing My Work With the People Who Opt In
Social media trends change and the platform/algorithm can drastically affect your reach; so Tim recommends cultivating your own email contact list to stay connected with those who want to hear from you.
He also recommends thinking about and approaching projects in three phases: Ideation, Creation & Promotion. Each phase should be given the same amount of time and attention. Often creatives gravitate to one phase and neglect others—for example, writing lyrics during a jam session may feel more energizing than producing the final cut, but both steps in the process are equally important! Likewise, promotion, or sharing that work out with the world is just as critical.
In terms of self-promotion, what hasn’t worked well?
Chalice Springfield:
Automated, Advertising Noise
Email funnels and paid social media posts haven’t served Chalice well. They feel impersonal and that isn’t her or her work!
Betony Coons:
Cold Applications
Betony hasn’t had much success submitting applications to organizations or people, she has never worked with before. Most of her work has come through relationships. Betony also thinks it is also important to think about who she’s sharing her work with—her work or style isn’t necessarily right for every project and that’s ok!
Tim Coons:
Not Making Time To Share My Work
Tim realizes that it takes effort and intention to share his work. Sometimes it can be hard for him to make time for that when he is juggling other priorities and responsibilities.
On The theme of generosity or “the Gift” …
Chalice Springfield:
Thoughtful Takeaways
Make sure you aren’t just asking your audience or clients for things. Offer thoughtful or useful take-aways whether that is something like stickers, a resource containing your expertise or even just an offer to help.
At her engagements, Chalice gives out small goody bags with snacks and branded swag—the items are both useful during a workshop and a positive reminder of the experience afterward.
Betony Coons:
Reciprocity
Betony jokingly confides, “I’m pretty sure people would be angry with me if I stopped sharing my desktop calendars every month!”
Her free digital, desktop wallpapers are a small, consistent offering that keeps her patrons and fans coming back to her website each month. There is a reciprocity in this kind of promotion—for their time and attention, her audience gets something lovely. It is a tiny taste of her work and a calling card that represents her.
Tim Coons:
Meaningful Engagement
When he was more actively touring, Tim was very intentional about personally reaching out to friends and engaged fans on his tour route.
Often he would offer to play small house concerts or collaborate with folks both because he enjoyed it and because it was an opportunity to deepen connections with the people interested in his work—people who were likely to share it with their friends!
How do you stay true to yourself?
Chalice Springfield:
Get Over Yourself
Don’t let your own fear get in your way or keep you from taking the next step. We all can get insecure and worry that we’re not up to the challenge, but if we never try or never take steps toward our goals we won’t ever have the chance to succeed. Don’t get hung up on making it perfect. Often, we have to try something make mistakes and then learn from those mistakes before we can grow or learn a new skill.
Betony Coons:
Listen to That Little Voice Inside & Don’t Hold Back
Sometimes it can be a bummer—that voice can be saying that you need to scrap an idea and start over even after you’ve spent a lot of time on it. But, the work is always better when you listen to that voice.
And… don’t be stingy—don’t withhold yourself from the work or your audience.
Tim Coons:
The Personal Is Universal
“If you can’t be fully you, we can’t be fully us,” Tim points out.
Being your authentic self, frees others to be authentic too. It is your authenticity that has the potential to resonate deeply with others—so trust that and trust yourself.
Dan England
You never know how your art will impact others.
Dan shared about one woman’s response to his book—she was so profoundly moved that she decided to get clean after struggling with addiction.
“One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.”
