The BIGGEST Personal Branding Mistakes Artists Make

As an artist online, trying to take your real life sales to the Internet, there's nothing more important than being visible, right? Than people finding your work. And the truth is, people finding your work on the Internet is different from them finding it at a gallery or at an art market or something like that. And so this is the second of three or four video podcast here where we're talking about building your personal brand as an artist. And what is a personal brand? A personal brand is just what people say about you when you're not in the room. And the more we can get someone to say about you as an artist in just a compact little segment of sentences, the better. So if all they can say is, you know, oh, well, they make watercolor or they do abstract work, that's not enough. Because a lot of people do that, right? And one of the most powerful ways to get yourself out there is through having some sort of personal brand on the Internet, right? Getting people to say things about you. And so today we're talking about the biggest mistakes that I see artists make when it comes to building their personal brand online so that you can overcome those and really start to make an impact and be more visible, get more sales, all that kind of jazz. And so let's jump into it.

Welcome to the Stop the Starving Artist podcast. If you're new here, my name is Lennon. So glad to have you. The last podcast I put out got us over 300 new subscribers. I can't believe it. Like, I'm so blown away. So thank you. If you're new here, I am honored to have you be a part of this. In addition to that, we've seen our community of artists make since the beginning of the year. I'm really freaking pumped. $232,000. 541. That's so cool. And it's all because we're focusing on connection, not marketing, right? It's like, how do we create connecting? Or rather, like, how do we connect instead of creating a funnel or some sort of elaborate scheme to drum up work? Cause that's really what it's all about. It's like, how do we just build relationships in a way that get people excited about not only what you make, but who you are? Because we don't buy things unless we trust somebody. And so, you know, building a personal brand is really about building trust with somebody. So let's jump into these mistakes. So mistake number one is I see artists speaking as artists about their art. I'll say it again, I see artists speaking as an artist about Their art. What does this look like? Here's the materials that I'm using. Here's how long it took me to prep the canvas and do the thing. And here's all the, you know, the skiddily wops and the boobidy boos and all the things, all the details that artists care about, right? All the words, like, now this is a organic, lush, colorful, idealistic, grandiose piece that is going to take you on an inner journey of your outward expressive ideals and dreams, right? It's like, okay, I don't know what that means, but it sounds cool, I guess, right? Meanwhile, the best marketing happens when you can speak about something specific. I'm going to give you a really practical thing here. And this is something that we talked about in our community call today.

A artist is talking about.

How they've used the same paper towel roll for over a year and a half.

So cool. You're like, lynn, that's cool. Yes. Why is that cool? Because that is relatable. And people go, oh my gosh, that's interesting. Another artist did a post on how they don't like celery and how much they can't stand it and why they can't stand it and got all kinds of comments and feedback on this post. Why is this? Because it's relatable. You're giving someone an opportunity to relate to you as a human. First, the number one reason that artists end up having artists as followers is because they talk about only art related things. And I know, I know, I get it all the time. Well, linen artists buy art too. Yes, they do. I'm not saying that they don't. But what I am saying is that if you were a chef, why would you limit the people that you were trying to reach or serve at your restaurant to only other chefs? That seems crazy to me, right? If I made an excellent steak and I said, well, the only people I want to talk to are the people that can cook steak too, right? That's the only people I want tasting my steak, man, I'm limiting my audience.

And so when we think about process videos and all these things that really dive in, how you do something versus the transformation of one thing into something, that's where we start to collect just more and more artists. Now, the beautiful thing about great art is it still will attract the kind of artist that will want to buy your work, right? But when you get into the education or the how and all that stuff, people come because they want to be educated and inspired on how you do your Thing. I hope this makes sense, right? So that's. Mistake number one is seeing artists speak as artists about art. Because when you speak as an artist about art, who's going to be excited about that? Well, other artists, right? So mistake number two is when I see artists worrying about what to say more than they're thinking about who they're being, what does this mean? So I get a lot of people that will ask me, like, well, Lynn, what should I say here? How do I say this? Okay, well, you know, if you're starting that, you know, it's like if I told you, okay, there's a really cute guy or girl over there, and I want you to go strike up a conversation. And if you're like, well, what do I say? Like, how do I start it? How do I. Do you think that conversation is going to go well.

Probably going to be a little awkward, probably going to stumble, probably going to feel a little.

Unnatural, right? But if you said. If I said to you, we'll just go be yourself and everything's going to be just fine, how do you think that conversation might go if you're able to actually be yourself, Right? It's going to go much, much better, right? So, for instance, and this is what makes.

This is what makes connecting with people so much more interesting. So one client specifically of mine.

He and his wife run a hairstylist business, right? A salon. And he wants to sell his art to business owners who want to make their space feel classy and inviting for their clients. Because when you have a space that is inviting, right, it makes your client feel good. And he practices that by having his artwork in their salon. And he wasn't talking about the salon or the fact that his artwork was in it, or the fact that he owns a business when it's way more interesting for him to just be who he is and say, I am a person who owns a business who thinks it's really important to have an environment that supports your clients and makes them feel safe, right? Makes them feel excited to be a part of, like, whatever's happening. And I'm also an artist who backs that up by putting my own work in my space. And here's the people that come across it. Here's how they respond, right? That's more interesting. On the flip side of that, we reviewed a piece of content in our Call today from a gal who was a figure skater competitively when she was younger. And so she did a whole piece on what it is to reconnect with something that she used to do. In the past. And she did it while she was on the ice. Ice skating. And now think about how cool that is, that when you come across her and you're inspired by this thing of who she is.

And then you also see these pieces of content that.

That shows, like, what she makes and how she. Like that. Sorry, what she makes and what she's all about as an artist. Now all of a sudden, it's such a. It's a much more rich story. It's so much more interesting. Right. See, one of the things that people either love or hate about me is the fact that I'm not a visual artist first, but I teach visual artists. You know, I told this story a couple episodes back, but, you know, I have a wife who's an amazing visual artist. We have a lot of friends who are incredible visual artists. But I was a musician first. Right. I toured as a musician for over 10 years and had some great success doing that. And I started teaching musicians about business. And it was a really.

Interesting thing because I was, like, helping them make their records, or I'd be playing on their records or doing shows with them, then we'd talk about business for two hours. I was like, oh, I love this. And then when I started talking about it, visual artists would be like, oh, my gosh, this totally applies to me too. Why are you sort of excluding that? Then I worked with some visual artists and noticed that my approach to personal branding and marketing for them actually worked really, really well. And I had a lot of imposter syndrome around it. I was like, I don't want to talk about this because people aren't going to like that I'm not selling visual art myself. And then I thought, you know what? Like, what I realized is, like, no, that's who I am. You know, why would I hide that? Why would I think that that's something that should be hit? Like, if anything, I should put it out there. So if you don't want that, then, you know, and you don't ever have to work with me. Right? Like, what a. What a different approach. And it also brings a uniqueness to who I am, because I have this sort of outsider's approach where I've had to test and learn and utilize clients to see things work. Whereas if I just do it for myself, a lot of times what I see is artists will do something for themselves, like figure out how to make money, and they don't really know how they did it. And then they try to teach other people, and it doesn't work for Other people, right? It's like. But I also have a background in education.

Writing, curriculum, things like that. So all these things sort of work for me. You know, it's just part of who I am and what I'm naturally not just gifted at, but excited about. Like, I get really excited about marketing and all these things. So that's part of my story. It's something that I try to make sure I include. So I'm not worrying so much about what to say as much as I am, like, who am I being? And the more I lead with that, the more I start with, like, who am I being in this? What, like, am I being true to who I am? Am I trying my best to just be me? And starting there, then we can work our way backwards and say, okay, now I can tighten this up, or I can be a better communicator here, or I can use visual edits to make this more interesting in a piece of content, things like that. So that's. Number two is artists worrying more about what to say than they do, worrying about who they are. Right. And who they're being when they show up. Number three, and this is the biggest one.

And one that.

Some of you aren't going to like to hear, but it might be the most important one.

And that's that a lot of artists are treating branding and marketing as a burden.

A lot of you are doing this. You're treating branding and marketing as a burden. I got a comment last week or on the video from a couple weeks ago, the podcast from a couple weeks ago, because I took a week off to just sort of reconnect with myself and get back in touch with, like, why I do this and get excited again. You know, I think it's important to have those rest periods. But the comment said, well, Lynn, and I just don't want to do this. I don't want to. I don't want to have to think about. Blah, blah, blah. Well, here's. Here's the good news. You don't have to. There's a bunch of ways that you can figure out how to make money from your work. And I would. If you truly feel that you don't want to do it, don't do it, right? If you truly feel that marketing and branding is a burden, then don't do it, because.

Think about your business.

As a partner, right? Imagine that this, like, this is how you approach your significant other. If I went to my wife and I said, you know, I just don't really want to be here. I just don't really. This is such a burden that I have to learn how to communicate with you, that I have to learn what you need to work well, that I have to figure out, you know, who you are as a human. Like, that is such a burden. Like, imagine how she's going to respond to that.

Not very well, right?

So why would our business respond well to that? If that's the energy and the approach that we're putting into it, why would your business.

Reciprocate with this positive, overflowing joy, this overflowing energy back to you? If you're giving it this, I don't really want to do this anyway. I don't really want to be here doing this thing.

Here's the deal.

Most of you, the reason that you do this is because you have an expectation that's not being met. And likely that expectation.

Is that you want to hit a certain number or you want to do a certain thing, but you're not being specific about what that is, right? And then you're focusing more on the result.

Than you are the process.

And you've heard stuff like this before. But it is absolutely true that when all you can think about is, I haven't hit.

My first five sales online yet, if that's all you're thinking about, that's what you're focusing on, what kind of energy does that bring to the table? So imagine, if you will, for a second.

That, you know.

Let'S just call me a car salesman, right? If I show up and I need to sell a car, there is an energy that I am bringing to any conversation that I have with. With a potential client.

And maybe you've experienced salespeople like this where they need to make money. And when they need to make money, what starts to happen? Well, it starts to feel needy, starts to feel greedy, starts to feel washeedy. I don't know. I wanted another rhyming word. But what happens, though, if instead.

They focused on you, the client, if they focused on, like, what does this person need today to just feel seen and heard? What's this person need today to just know that I'm on their side whether they buy from me or not? What's this person need from me today?

Period? Like, that's it.

You know, it took me a long time to figure this out, but, you know, making these videos and stuff is, like, so much more simple than it used to be because of that question right there. What does this person need from me today?

And I get a lot of clients that will say, like, Lennon, it Really feels like you're talking to me. Well, I am. Right. Like, I have big, like extensive documents that outline the type of people that I believe you are. Right. The things that you value, the things that you're excited about, the things that you're not excited about. And that allows me to speak to you with that question in mind. Like, what do they need today? So I can talk about a topic like marketing and branding, but I'm not going to talk about it in the same way that other people do, because I know that if you're anything like the person that I hope to reach.

You aren't into self promoting because you don't want to feel.

Like you're gloating. You don't want to feel like you're being someone you're not. You don't want to be pushy, you don't want to be salesy. Right.

What you want to do is make an impact on somebody's life. You want to connect with somebody on a deeper level.

And so I have that in mind. And I just say, well, what do you need today? And that allows me to have a much more healthy relationship to marketing and branding, because I'm not thinking about me as much as I'm thinking about you.

And that's much more fun and it's much more simple. And I don't have this big scary thing of like, you know, what's somebody gonna think, well, the wrong person's not gonna like me, so that's okay because I'm getting them out of my house, right? I don't want. If you're here and you're like, lennon, you're an idiot, leave. I don't need you here. I don't even want you here. You know, if you're like, Lennon, you should be giving me more for free. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, like, get out. I don't need you here. Right? And it doesn't bother me to say that, but that took me a long time to figure out. Because branding and marketing, right? Again, if a personal brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room, then it starts with this idea of who are you being? Are you being yourself or are you trying to be some other version of you? Because if you're trying to be some other version of you, it's not going to work anyway. Thinking more about that and then speaking as a human being, not as an artist, speaking to other artists, right? And then treating your branding and marketing as an opportunity, as a gift. You know, I use this analogy a lot where.

Clients will come and go. I'm only getting 200 views, you know, and I get it. Like, that seems frustrating, but, you know, when I was touring all the time, we would see, you know, we'd be spending a few hundred dollars in gas every day to get to wherever we were going. We'd do 160 plus dates a year sometimes. And many of those dates in the beginning were to 10, 15, maybe 30 people. Spending hundreds of dollars and countless hours in a van to get to each place to make not very much money, if any at all, to get in front of 50 people. And now I can sit on my couch and reach 200 people and get better at communicating my ideas, at communicating to people, at asking, like, what does this person need? I can do that for free in 30 minutes a day instead of hours and hours in a van.

I don't know. Guys like branding and marketing nowadays. It's a gift, right? It's so much easier. Is it saturated? Sure. But you want to stand out. You got to give them something to talk about. And it's so much easier to give someone to talk something to talk about. So much easier to give someone something to talk about when they can talk about you. Because you don't make art. You are the art. So next time we are going to talk about what I would do to lay out a personal brand. What would be the steps to do that? So stay tuned for that next episode. If it is available already, you can click right here. Sending y' all tons of love. And I'll say it again. You don't make art. You are the art.