SELL MORE ART Without Being Slimy AF. (By Outlining Your Buyer.)

You see where I'm going here, right? You can be showing your process or showing art that you've made while talking about these things, and that's going to subconsciously show the work that you create in addition to who you are as a person.

So a few years back, I was touring overseas and we had a day off in Paris, and I was standing in the line probably at a Starbucks, because, I mean, frick, look at me. And I was trying to order a coffee, but I didn't. Didn't speak a lick of French. And I tried a few times, and the barista literally just looked the other way and started taking the order from somebody that actually spoke the language. Meanwhile, everyone who spoke French got everything that they needed. Now, if you're an artist who is trying to cultivate a community online that loves your work both emotionally and monetarily, but you feel like, you know, you're coming up a little bit sad, a little bit uncaffeinated, so to speak, meaning, you know, you're not selling your work, you're not getting people's attention, and you're scratching your head wondering, like, what's missing here? It's possible that you haven't given a lot of thought to the language that you're speaking in to your people. But wait a second. We can fix this. And if you're asking how, the answer is, if you want to get fluent in someone's language, then you need to understand the person that's speaking it. So today, I'm going to unravel three pivotal points, points that are going to aid you in understanding and identifying what I call your YouBab, your ultimate badass buyer. And the first of those points will be the power of speaking to one over many. The second key point will be six questions to identify your ultimate badass backer. And the third point will be how to speak to their language in your online content strategy. And when you understand your ubab, this is going to simplify your content strategy, help you to grow online, and make selling so much more easier and so much less slimy. So, with a coffee in one hand, maybe a burrito in the other, and a nip of your favorite bourbon tucked away for later, let's jump into the deep end of every artist's favorite topic business.

So let's talk about the power of speaking to one over many. If I told you that this microphone was a really great microphone, you might be excited about that. But if I told you that this microphone was a really great microphone for podcasters, you might be like, okay, but only if you're a podcaster. But if I told you that if you're an artist who's a content creator and you want your vocals, you want your vocals to sound super crisp and, like, really buttery smooth, you. You need to get this microphone all of a sudden. I've made this specifically for someone like you. And when we speak, generally, we tend to not get as much attention from our ideal people because they just don't even realize that we're making stuff for them. But we can't hit these bullseyes and have these multiple levels unless we identify this person or our ultimate badass buyer. So how do we do that? So I want to give you six questions. That's not six, that's two. I want to give you six questions that you can ask yourself to help you identify your ultimate badass backer.

To do this, the first two questions are actually about you, because we don't want to just identify them without understanding how you relate to them. So question number one. What do you want your art to do for somebody? How do you want them to feel when they have it? And why? And if you can't answer that question, answer it for yourself. What does your art do for you? That's question number two. So question number three. Who are your audience? Okay, so depending on if you're trying to reach non artists or artists, I want you to think of a person, and if you're trying to reach non artists, we're going to hang out over here. Then I want you to think about that person and ask yourself, if you could talk to them all day long, what would you talk about? What are the things that you guys would really hit it off on? Whether it's movies or television or, you know, belief systems, you know, things that you're excited about in the world, things that you're afraid of? All these things are going to be optional, content. As we get into the next level as well, the fourth question is, what does this person want in their life? And odds are it's not just your art. Right? It's something that maybe your art stands for. It's maybe even a bigger picture. They want to feel happy. And if they want to feel happy, like, what's keeping them from feeling happy? Which leads me to question number five. Why can't they have the thing that they're looking for? What's in the way of that? What are some of the obstacles that they're coming up against? And then finally, how do you hope that you, as an artist as well as the art you make will help them in this journey that they're on.

Okay, so once we understand this person, how do we start to use that language in our online strategy? Four points here. And I want you to take all the questions that you just answered because those are going to give you a lot of ideas with the follow up questions here. And I want you to ask these four questions. What kind of content could I make that addresses their wants, their problems, the things they've gone through in their life, as well as the ways that I hope myself and my art helps them? And even more so, how could I help them right now? Question 2. How can I make content that addresses all the extra things that we would talk about all day long? Again, those might be music, movies, beliefs, ideas, things that we're excited or scared about in the world, all that kind of stuff. Number three, how can you effortlessly show your art or your creative process as you talk about these things? So you see where I'm going here, right? You can be showing your process or showing what art that you've made while talking about these things. And that's going to subconsciously show the work that you create in addition to who you are as a person. And the fourth and final question here is, how can I make this fun and easy? How can I make this fun and easy? This should not feel overwhelming. You should not be reaching for things that are going to be heavy lifts. Start with fun and easy and, and figure out what makes you excited to move forward and continue to iterate and improve on that.

All right, let's move on to some of these common questions that I get from my clients or people inside my communities. Things like that. How do I define this person if I have no clue where to start? This is the beautiful part. In addition to thinking about someone that you know and starting there, you might think, well, they're not exactly that person. Then ask yourself, like, who do I want them to be? If I was in an ideal world, who would this person be? And you get to choose. That's what makes this such a fun and cool exercise. And then I want you to not worry so much about getting it wrong. Because in the beginning, it's really just about identifying and speaking to someone specific and then figuring out what resonates with these people that you want to reach and what doesn't. And then also what resonates with you as a creative and what doesn't. And soon you'll start to whittle it down to the things that work the best to reach you. The best kind of person. And so don't overthink this. Don't get caught up in the how. Just go for it. Just pick something and move. I promise it's better to take action than it is to be confident in this first step. The next question I get a lot is, how do I do this without alienating anybody? Well, here's the thing. You're not trying to alienate anybody, but you are trying to be specific about who you want to reach. Your art and you as a human being is not for everybody. This is how our relationships are. This is why we have certain friend groups and don't have others. And so, again, this is why you can ask yourself, like, who do I want this to be? And how do you not alienate anybody? Don't call out groups of people, talk about what you're for, talk about what you're against, but don't talk about who you're for or who you're against. I mean, simply put, like, don't be a dick. It's kind of that easy. How do I know if this is working? So if you'll remember earlier I mentioned that, you'll start getting comments like, oh, my gosh, this is exactly what I needed. Or maybe you'll hear something like, it's like you're talking directly to me in the online space. That's the equivalent of like, oh, my gosh, you really understand me. I feel like you heard me. I feel like you see me, you know, out here in the ethos, and then should you start to, you know, ask your audience to comment or have them DM you, and we're going to talk about techniques on how to do this inside the free workshop. But when that happens, they will respond, and you'll know then that it feels like a conversation. Will that equate to views? Yes, but the right views over viral views. It's not to say that something won't go viral. It it's to say that virality is not the goal. Growth is the goal growth of the right people. And when you do this right, the algorithm will actually do the heavy lifting for you. And that's another thing that we'll be talking about inside the workshop. And then finally, how does talking to this person through my content really get them to connect with my art? I love using the example of the Beatles. How many times do we need to see a documentary about the Beatles or another thing with Paul McCartney sitting down with somebody like Rick Rubin? Like, really, do we need to see another one of those? No, we don't but there's something about those programs that allow us to reconnect or connect deeper with the art itself, which is already great. You know, this is not me dogging on the Beatles, you know, it's me saying that the more we know about them, the more we feel like we were a part of the process in some way. The more that we feel like we got to be a fly on the wall in those situations, the more that we feel like we believe in the same things that they do in their case. You know, peace, love, communication, you know, these kinds of things. Like, the more we are drawn to and connected with the songs. And it's no different for visual art or photography or anything like that. As a matter of fact, I think with visual art specifically, the more that you can attach someone to you as the artist, the more that they're going to fall in love with the art you make. If it already fits their aesthetic vibe, that's a part you can't control. But what you can control is how you communicate with them and how they see the art you make. So now that you understand your ultimate badass backer, how do we get them to actually buy from us? So I use what's called the flip formula, where we start with getting them to focus, then listen, then interact, and finally purchase from us. And the next episode is all about that. So go over there and check this out. And don't forget to join us on June 5th for the Sustainable Artist Workshop. And if it's past, then go to stopthestarvingartist.com for more resources on growing a community that supports your work both emotionally and and monetarily, without you having to compromise who you are as a creative.