Art + Money: Re-visioning Marketing for Creatives

As a writer and soulcare specialist, I struggle with the oft’ soul-less world of marketing. I want to create a system of sacred commerce around my work, in which I have peace around things like pricing, marketing, and promotion.

Thankfully I’ve stumbled upon Art + Money: Thriving as an artist without selling out by Chris Guillebeau and Zoë Westhof. This manual, plus the accompanying artist interviews, gives practical tips and guidelines for getting your work out there, connecting to you audience, and telling your story.

Art + Money is offered at two levels. The $39  Starving Artist version includes the 55 page guide, 3 artists interviews on mp3, and free updates for 6 months. The Picasso version is $58 and includes 3 additional artists interviews. (I’ve not reviewed this part of the product.)  Chris is also an incredibly accessible person who actively supports his product and his community.

I know there’s a lot of stuff out there promising to help you sell, sell, sell — and most of it relies on becoming a superstar on Technorati or having the biggest blog readership on the block. Art + Money does not take that approach. Rather it helps you connect your work, your story, and your people into a comprehensive whole that will help you earn either a supplemental income or a living wage — depending on how much time you want to put into it.

While it’s geared primarily for visual artists, it’s also great for writers. Just replace artists/galleries with writers/publishing as you read. And wherever it stays “studio” think “bookstore.” A lot of the links and suggested sites are specifically for selling visual art, but as a writer you’ll still find about 70% of the content applicable. 

Art + Money helped me redefining marketing as “sharing your story with your people” – which I already do and love! It’s also confirming my hunch that time on Twitter and Facebook promoting my work—and promoting the work of others in my community—is time well spent. In concrete terms, Art + Money:

• helps me figure out pricing.
• encourages me to keep on with my choice to not pursue traditional publishing.
• shows me how to fine tune my social networking methods.
• teaches me to launch my upcoming products and courses.

I would say the book is especially helpful if you are not yet blogging or using social networking, or if you have not figured out how to focus your blogging and networking in a way that supports your creative work. And if you are they type of person who is inspired by the stories of working artists, the interviews will be a big boon to you as well.

I hope Art + Money scratches where it itches and helps you bring your creative dreams closer to reality. 

Magpie Girl’s Promise: I adore my readers, so I only review products I truly believe in. In this case, I purchased the product at full price and decided to become an affiliate ambassador for Art + Money. If you purchase this book through the links on my site you’ll not only get a great product, you’ll also support my work. Thanks for being here!

Posted in Magpie Girl, Tools of the Trade
Tags: favorite things, on art, on writing, reviews, Tools of the Trade |