The Mission Paradox Blog

Please look like you give a damn

As this post from Seth Godin reminds us, we are always marketing ourselves to the world around us.  So remember, if you are trying to convince a theatre to mount your play, or a gallery to carry your painting, if the attitude you give off is "I only care about what you can do for me" then it is going to be very difficult to accomplish your goals.

I like it = Kiss of Death

Thanks to Scott Adams for coming up with a great way to explain this . . .

In a world with too much of everything, only those products and services that generate passion have a chance in hell of making it.

But here's the kicker, the opposite of passion isn't apathy.  The opposite of passion is "I like it."

So if you are an artist and you do music/painting/plays that everyone "likes" you are in serious trouble.

Why?

Because most people don't go out and buy things we like, we go out and buy things we love.

Seriously, think of the list of things you like.  It's probably a huge list of things, which means you have plenty of options to choose from when you want to get something you like.  For me, when I think of restaurants I like, I can think of maybe 50 of them.

Now think of something you love.  When I think of restaurants I love, I think of maybe 3.

So if you are a restaurant, being in my "love" group is a lot better then being in my "like" group.

Therefore as an artist it is better for you (as someone who wants to make money from their art) to have 10 raving fans of your work then to have 100 people who like your work.

The challenge, of course, is that creating raving fans is difficult.  You have to work harder on your art to make it challenging, beautiful or thought provoking.

But if your work isn't all of those things (or at least one of those things) then it runs the risk of being lost in the clutter of life.

Perhaps I should have been a stockbroker

Click this link to see a listing of the 10 most overrated careers, courtesy of U.S. News.  In case the suspense is killing you, here are three of them

1.  Attorney (I graduated with a law degree, passed the bar in 2004)

2.  Nonprofit manager (which I did from 2004 to 2007)

3.  Small business owner (which is what I am now)

Yikes. :) 

Despite this bad news, I shall carry on.  If you are in one of those careers, you do the same.

Safety First?

Michael Kaiser, head of the Kennedy Center in D.C. on artistic risk:

"When you pull back on risk taking, you pull back on the revenue stream.  That's why arts are suffering today."

In this era when many artistic organizations are making safe choices to attract audiences, it is fantastic to hear someone offer a different perspective (one I completely agree with)!

To compromise or not to compromise?

That is the question.

Let me offer some thoughts.

I'm watching a reality show, The Next Iron Chef.  The goal is to defeat the other opponents in a series of challenges.  The challenges are designed to force participants to show the skills they need to be an Iron Chef.

During the first set of challenges, one of participants, Morou Ouattara was given the same feedback from the judges . . . "We like your food, but we need you to be show some diversity in your plating style.  You keep putting the food on the plate in the same way, please change it up."

Chef Morou decided to ignore the judge's advice.  He said that he was an artist and the plating was a reflection of his style so he would not compromise his values by changing things for the judges.

Needless to say, during the next challenge Morou was eliminated.  Primary reason for his elimination . . . he kept presenting his food in the same plating style.

Some people praised Morou for holding strong to his artistic values.

I think he was an idiot.

When Morou signed up for the show, he was saying, I want to be an Iron Chef.  One of the criteria's for being an Iron Chef is the ability to plate in a variety of ways.  By refusing to do that, he was holding his own artist values above what his audience (the judges) demanded from him.

And that is why he didn't achieve his goal of being an Iron Chef.

Here's is how I think this story relates to your life as an artist or artistic organization.

It's one thing to say you want to be an artist.

It is another thing entirely that you want to make a living as an artist.

If you want to accomplish the first goal (being an artist) then you don't need to listen to any feedback from your audience.  You can produce what you want with no concern what others think.

But if expect the public to put money in your pocket for your work then you MUST consider their desires and (sometimes) adjust your artistic product to more closely match those desires.

Is there a line between adjusting to your audience and pandering to them?  Absolutely.  But walking that line is part of the challenge of being an artist.

TCG Report on Theatre Board of Directors

The Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has a solid report on Theatre Boards of Directors.  It provides a good view on some of the best practices of these groups.  Check it out by clicking the link.

A Guide To The Paradox Blog: For the Newcomers!

Since the word is starting a spread a bit about the blog, I thought I would welcome new folks to the blog and show you guys around.

The blog started at the start of the year and there are over 90 posts for you to check out. 

The blog began focusing on a variety of nonprofit management topics, including fundraising and board development.

My focus has narrowed a bit now and my primary focus is on marketing and sales topics for artists and artistic organizations (many of which are nonprofit).

Even if you fall outside of my "target market" you should find this blog to be a useful place to think about how products of all types are marketed and sold.

Alright, now if click the Board Development link of the left side of the page, you will see the post that will get you a free copy of my e-book "The Unfair Guide to Building a Powerful Board of Directors"

And if you click the Marketing link you should see a link to my free white paper "Three Tips For Making More Money From Your Artistic Work"

Feel free to leave comments, link my posts to Digg or Del.ici.ous or shoot me and email at mission.paradox@yahoo.com 

"Never heard of ya"

It used to be an insult.  You tell someone what you do for a living and they say . . .

"I've never heard of you".

The idea being if they didn't know about you, then clearly you weren't that important.

Now if I ever hear that from someone I ask myself . . . Is This Person In My Target Audience?

If the answer is no, then the comment doesn't bother me in the slightest because I don't need the whole world to know I exist.  I just need the people who are the best fit for my services to be aware of me.

It is the same for your work.  For once in your life, focus on being a big fish in a small pond.  You can always jump into a bigger pond later.

Free Conference Call on Determining Your Target Market

Coming Jan. 11, 2008, a free conference call hosted by yours truly.

The topic is Determining Your Target Market.  It is for artists and artistic organizations.

The call is scheduled to be from 10:00am to 11:30am, Chicago Time.  Want to join us?  Email me at mission.paradox@yahoo.com to reserve your spot.

A Free White Paper On Marketing for Artistic Organizations and Individual Artists

Click the link for my latest article:  Three Tips for Making More Money From Your Artistic Products.   Download it as PDF and share it with anyone you think needs it.