The Mission Paradox Blog

1000 Ways to Live

Over the last five years I have had the honor of working with all types of folks. In theory, the goal was for me to teach them stuff.  In reality, I have learned as much from them as they have from me.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned is this one:

There are a ton of ways to have a life in the arts.  You don't need to make art full time.  You don't need to build an organization.

You can volunteer your time to an artist you love.  You can join a board.

You can gather friends and do work you're passionate about, for free.

You can sell your art online and make beer (or vacation) money.  You can give away an art piece for everyone you sell.

You can write and turn your writing into cheap (or free) ebooks.  You can also slowly build an audience and then try to leverage that audience into big money.

Those are all valid choices.  There are a thousand other valid choices.

It's not just about being the dynamic artistic leader of a large organization.  

It's not just about being the musician that knows how to leverage social media and has critical acclaim.

You can be in front.  Behind the scenes.  Going for the cash. Going for the glory.  Not giving a damn about the money or the glory.

I've encountered a fair number of unhappy people in the arts.  Some of them are unhappy because they feel (or have been told) that the path they are on is the only path.  It's either start this arts organization or wait tables at the Olive Garden.

There are other choices.

Give yourself the freedom to have a life in the arts that is right for you.

Said versus heard

It isn't what people say, it's what people hear.

You can say "risk" but then keep doing the same limited range of artistic stuff . . . people hear "safety".

You can say "we welcome all" but if your audience looks the same and you keep marketing in the same places, people hear "keep away."

So when I say that the National Arts Marketing Conference is looking for proposals for their 2012 conference, you may hear:

"if you aren't an expert, don't submit a proposal"

or . . .

"If you haven't been working in arts marketing for 10 years, don't submit a proposal"

or . . . 

"If you don't sell millions of dollars worth of tickets and manage a big staff, don't submit a proposal"

Ignore those thoughts.  If you feel like you have something meaningful to offer to the arts world, then submit a proposal.  Don't restrain yourself.  We've heard from all the typically suspects.  

Maybe it's time that we hear from you.

 

The high price of attention

For marketers, the Super Bowl demonstrates the power (and price) of attention.  

Think about it.  Why in the world would anyone pay milliions of dollars for a handful of 30 second commercial spots?

It is because the Super Bowl is one of the few times that we are willing to be interrupted by commercials.  It's one of the few times that we, as a culture, are actively paying attention to advertising.

The advertisers are willing to pay a lot for that attention.

That's how valuable it is.

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Consider your email list.  Your mailing list.  The subscribers to your newsletter or YouTube channel.  Those are people who have given you a small piece of their attention.  

You have the same asset that advertisers are willing to pay millions to get.

It's very easy to forget that.  We get used to counting the number of people in our database and forget the value of each individual name.

200 people who actively listen to you and react to your message is more valuable then 20,000 people who barely know you exist.

You know that.  I'm just reminding you.

I'm also reminding you that the most valuable asset you have as an artist (or arts org) is the attention of your audience.  

Every marketing tool you use, from email, to customer service, to direct mail, to social media should be designed to respect and engage that attention.

Whenever I get my hands on those sorts of tools, I'm always thinking about how I can delight my audience, or educate them, or make them laugh.  

That's the exchange.  You give me a bit of permission and attention and I give you something special.  Or at least I try too.    

Once I've done that, I figure it's ok to "sell" them on a particular artistic event.

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Spend a little today thinking about what are you doing with that incredibly valuable attention your audience has given you?  

It's the most important thing you have.  Use it wisely.

 

Losing Sight

Every few months I like to do a workshop with the staff and board of a nonprofit arts group.

I see the same thing over and over again.

People lose sight of the art. It's so easy for the day to day conversation of the group to focus on finance, governance, politics, etc.

So I always start my moment with the group by talking a lot about the art. I want to know what artistic projects they are excited about. I want to know about the art they love.

When that conversation starts, the energy in the room always changes. People come alive. Laughter begins. You start to feel the energy that made the organization special in the first place.

A lot of the "problems" in arts groups, begin when people forget about the fact that they are an ARTS group. Good financial management, good governance, good human resource management are all important elements of getting the art to happen . . . but it isn't the point of the exercise.

Don't lose sight of what made your organization fun and exciting. Don't lose sight of what got all those board members and funders interested. Don't lose sight of the art.

Like the real world

The arts are a reflection of the real world, which means it has a lot of love, a lot of surprise and a lot of joy.

That also means that it is a world that has sexism, racism, unbalanced power structures and a good number of unfair outcomes.

Trouble arises when we think the arts (and artists/adminstrators) are somehow above the negative aspects of the real world.

Just because someone is an artist doesn't mean they are a good person.

Just because someone works in a nonprofit doesn't mean that they are more generous, or fair, then the guy that works as a corporate lawyer.

If you are going to be a part of the arts world, then dealing with politics, egos, agendas and the like are going to be part of your life.  That's not a good or bad thing, that's just how it is.

But I've learned when you can embrace the fullness of the arts world (the good and the bad), life (and success) becomes much easier.

 

 

Stone Cold Optimist

When it comes to the future of the arts, especially the industry I work in - the live performing arts, I am very optimistic.

I see the wide range of work being produced, from sold out theatres in NYC, to intimate productions being done in someone's living room and it gives me hope.

I see the number of artists learning how to skillfully combine technology and live peformance, not just as a way to move tickets, but as a way to make the live performance better . . . and I think "that's pretty cool."

But what I'm less optimistic about is the future of the arts industry. 

What we are seeing in a lot of industries (books, music, etc.) is this separation of the industry (managers, overhead, etc.) from the art itself. 

When you can publish a book without a editor and publisher, it changes things.

When you can build a small audience for your one woman show without needing to partner with a larger organization, it changes thing.

The arts industry is going to have to prove it's value and relevance in the world of 2012, not the world of 1992 or even 2002.  That's going to be a difficult challenge and not everyone will make it.

But the good news is that the art will go on, with or without the industry.

 

Eternal battles

Life we go easier if you accept the following:

1. You will always be conflicted about the interaction of art and commerce.

2. You will never find a perfect balance between giving your audience "what they want" and leading them into different directions.

3. There will never be enough money.

4. Organizational politics will always be a part of your life. That's true even if you create the art alone. You'll probably need to partner with others to get that work seen, which means working with organizations, which means dealing with politics.

5. No matter how you do things someone, probably someone close to you, will think you are doing it wrong.

6. Somone will tell you, "it's ok to fail" and then go nuts when you actually do fail. That is their problem, not yours.

7. You will always need to manage your own artistic career. You can have helpers, managers, etc. but you always need to be the CEO of You, Inc.

Getting them to "Hell Yeah"

In 2009, entreprenuer Derek Sivers shared his "Hell Yeah" philosophy to making life decisions. Here's a quote:

"If I'm not saying 'HELL YEAH!' about something, then say no."

I think it's a good way to make life decisions. It also should help inform your approach to connecting art to audience.

The goal to all the "stuff" that you do, i.e. making artistic programming choices, the marketing tactics you use . . . the goal of all of that is to get your audience to say "Hell Yeah, I need to see that".

Not, "maybe I should see that."

Not, "that looks interesting."

The goal is to trigger the sort of emotion response that makes people want to jump up and be a part of your artistic experience.

Is that hard? Of course it is. People (like you) are jaded. They have too many choices. They have been sold a bill of goods far too often.

In spite of all that, "Hell Yeah" is still the goal.

If you approach your artistic and marketing choices with that point of view, then it will help you make the sort of interesting, exciting decisions that are necessary.

I'll give you a case in point. Direct your web browser toward the website my team created for a production.

The whole idea of that website is that if we give our audience enough interesting angles, enough cool pictures, enough nice music to stream while they are working, then it will slowly move them to "Hell Yeah."

Now that's just one approach. There are a lot of good ones out that there that have nothing to do with the web or technology.

Just remember what the goal of all this should be.

The Flip Side of the Dark Arts

I'm not suprised that a lot of people dislike the idea of marketing/selling/advertising/etc.

Sometimes, I dislike too.

Marketing can be the ultimately dark art.  I cringe when I see a commercial that shames some women who dare eat a cupcake.  I shake my head when I see a car or beer commercial that preys on a man's insecurities.

It breaks my heart when I see a politician or pundit use words or phrases that are designed to tap into our "lizard brain".

Marketers have long understand what science is just starting to show.  We are not rational actors.  We can be influenced.  We can be persuaded.  Images, words, sounds, all of those things can work together to bring out the negative end of human behavior.

But there is a flip side to all of that . . . .

The flip side is that effective marketing/communication/advertising/whatever can be used to bring out the best in us.

It can help us to become more critical thinkers.  It can help us find more joy in our lives.

It can help us to find things (like your art) which are designed to feed our mind and our soul.

Part of what I like about working in this particular field is that on my worst day, all I did was try to connect some people to some art. 

With all the bad ways that marketing can be used, I think that's a good use of the craft.

At it's core, marketing is about spreading ideas and emotions.  Used the wrong way, those ideas and emotions can damage lives.

But used the right way and in the right hands (your hands!) marketing can connect people to ideas and feelings that make the world a little bit better. 

That is a pretty cool thing. 

 

The need to fail: Reconsidered

It's a trendy thing to talk about failure.  In the arts world we are always discussing the need to take risks, try new things, etc. 

Of course you can't discuss those things without considering the flipside, failure. 

But I worry that this "need" to fail can easily become an excuse for a lot of really unhelpful behaviors:

Sloppiness.

Lack of execution.

Poor planning.

That sort of thing.

I've had to learn (the hard way) that the only failures that move us forward are the ones where you prepare and execute to the best of your ability . . . and then things just don't work out.

There is plenty of room for that sort of failure.

What there is no room for is the sort of things that get labeled as "failure" but is actually a series of predictable, avoidable, f*ck ups.

If you want to be a valuable part of any team or project then you've got to make sure people understand the difference between real and fake failure. 

That means you have to place an emphasis on proper execution, clear communication and all the other boring (but vital) stuff that makes anything meaningful happen.

Anything less then that and you (and your team) may find yourselves spinning your wheels for a very long time.