In this solo YouTube video, Lennon Bone (founder of Stop the Starving Artist) explains why many artists receive compliments on their work but fail to convert those compliments into sales. He outlines three core reasons: (1) artists sell only the image instead of the feeling behind it, which prevents buyers from forming an emotional connection; (2) buyers meet the artwork but never meet the artist, so they miss the personal story and values that make the work compelling; (3) a lack of trust, as buyers need to see the artist as a professional they can rely on. Bone emphasizes that artists are the art itself and must share their stories, build community, and demonstrate reliability. He then offers a free social‑media assessment tool that diagnoses an artist’s online presence and provides a clear plan to reach financial goals, inviting viewers to comment “quiz” to receive it.
Chapters
Here's 3 big reasons that artists hear things like, "Oh, I really love your work," but people don't actually pull the trigger and buy it. Sorry also for my pasty legs, we're gonna have to deal with that. Number 1, you're selling the image. I see this all the time, artists will just post the image of their work, and they're not trying to sell the feeling. People don't buy things, they buy feelings, and feelings come when they identify with you as the artist, or the work, or the story behind it. You know this already, You just may not be doing it. By the way, my name is Lennon Bone, and I run a company called Stop the Starving Artist. I wanna see more artists making money than I ever thought was possible, and I wanna see them doing it by getting out from under the thumb of the market people and the gallery owners and all those things and building their own cultures and communities of buyers. The second reason people don't pull the trigger is because they're meeting the art, but they're never meeting you. You may not like this, but you don't make art. You are the art. The art is a byproduct of your stories, your feelings, your ideas, your values. And the faster you get people to connect with that, the faster they understand the work that you make and the more likely they are to buy. But there's another thing that happens when you show up and people meet you as well. They start to trust you, which is number 3. People may not trust you yet. Just because you make great work does not mean that you are a professional. Who are the professionals that we see in the world? I could have a plumber that does great pipe work, but if I don't know if he consistently shows up, if I don't know what his demeanor is like or what his values are, am I gonna hire him? Am I gonna pay him my hard-earned money? Probably not. And the internet is full of people trying to take your money for no reason. And if we can't build that trust first, we're gonna have problems. I've got a free tool that you can use that'll help you identify the problems in your social media. So you'll look at your social media along with this tool. It'll also give you a really clear plan and outline of what you need to do to reach your financial goals as an art business online. 'Cause when you take a few minutes to take inventory of your content and your goals and how those two things are working together, you're gonna see the holes and be able to fill those holes much faster. Just comment quiz down below and my robot buddy will send it over to you.
