Are these 6 marketing myths stopping you from being more successful?

Many creatives don’t like marketing or selling themselves and feel overwhelmed by it all.

Very often both emerging and established creative business owners have misconceptions about marketing and selling. I hear them all the time when I am doing workshops or talks around the country. They are fearful, don’t know where to start, or don’t want to feel like they are pestering people.

In this article, I will share 6 common marketing myths which are stopping you from being more successful in presenting and promoting yourself, and which ultimately stop you from showing your work in the best places and earning what you are really worth.

If you believe these myths then you will miss out on the opportunities to grow your creative business successfully.

They will stop you from doing anything about your marketing and your lack of sales. Challenging these marketing myths and beliefs is a fundamental step in starting to understand how creative and useful marketing can be!

Are you ready to tackle these marketing myths and make your creative business more successful?

1st marketing myth: ‘Everybody is a client’

Many creatives don’t really know where to start with marketing and assume that everybody is their client.

Wrong!

Imagine that I am staying in the middle of a market square and shout out: “I am looking for a husband. Anyone will do!”

If you heard me, you would giggle and think I am a little desperate (or worse!).

But in fact … that’s exactly what many creative businesses do when they start marketing! They shout loudly on social media ‘look at my website now’, ‘buy my jewellery here’ and so on.

It doesn’t work.

Similarly in the playground at school  … if you are trying to be everybody’s friend, then you won’t be anybody’s friend. 

When you are starting to sell, you need to become more discerning. You need to identify your so-called niche. If you want to be successful with getting a date, then one of the best things you can do is to ask some friends to set you up for suitable (!) blind dates or visit the places that you are most likely to find your match … depending on your character and sense of adventure you might join salsa dancing or art history classes to find like-minded people.

It’s the same with promoting and selling your creative products or services.

Identify the people who are most likely to be interested in what you do.

Get as specific as you can about what you do and what you want to be known for.

Start to clarify (for yourself and your potential clients) that your jewellery is different and stands out because you create bold, colourful, in-your-face-jewellery aimed at rock-loving men. Or that your new stationery business is aimed at recently divorced middle-aged women who want to be inspired by life quotes that have real meaning. Or that you are creating an artisan knife collection aimed at professional chefs.

Get to know your ideal clients:

• What age and gender are they? What jobs and hobbies have they got?
• Where do they live? What’s their style? What do they surround themselves with? Are they furnishing their Victorian terraced house in South East London or looking for gorgeous blankets and hand-made ceramics for their second house near the beach in Cornwall? Are they looking for a silver pendant for their best friend’s 30th birthday or a cheap statement necklace they can wear to a glamorous Halloween party?
• What magazines and blogs do they read? Crafts Magazine, Living Etc., World of Interiors, Grand Designs are all interior and craft magazines, but they are very different and cater to different readerships.  Are your ideal clients ambitious lawyers with loads of money and do they read The Telegraph or The Guardian?
• Where and when do they buy exactly? Do they buy online at 11pm when the kids are in bed or do they love spending time visiting galleries and indie shops in the Cotswolds, or second-hand markets and retro shops in Brighton or Bristol?

The more you know about your specific potential clients, the easier it is to attract them (through the right products in the right colour and style, with fabulous images and styling that stands out on overcrowded online marketplaces like Etsy), to build your relationship (with just-the-right-photographs-and-styling, and your invitations to the best craft and design fairs), and ultimately to get you sales.

Getting to know your niche is an essential part of developing your creative business successfully.

It can be messy, frustrating and takes time.

But the more you know who your ideal clients really are, the more you will be able to create products and services that the right people will love to purchase.  Again and again.

2nd marketing myth: ‘If it’s brilliant they will come’

You make the best work you can. That’s right, isn’t it? (If not then you might need a little more practice or you may need to boost your confidence)

Because without a great creative product or service you won’t be selling much.

But … creating fabulous work is only the starting point!

Your ideal clients won’t know that you are creating fabulous scarves in your studio day-in-day-out … if you don’t tell them.

Your ideal clients won’t know that you are the best retro letterpress designer in Sheffield for wedding and business stationery, unless … you tell them.

Your ideal clients won’t know that your earthenware glazed mugs and vessels are gorgeous, unless …. you approach the gallery owners who would value these artisan qualities as much as you do.

As marketing guru C.J. Hayden says:

‘Marketing is telling people what you do, over and over.

There are many different ways of telling people, but you do have to tell them.’ 

Good work doesn’t necessarily speak for itself.

Making great work is only the first step.

The next one is telling the right people about it.

You have to be pro-active and identify who might be interested in what you do. You have to build relationships with potential clients, present yourself and your work in a good way and often more than once before they notice you!

It’s YOUR job to market yourself, if you want to create a successful creative business!

Stop being arrogant or ignorant. Or both.

3rd marketing myth: ‘I’m waiting to be discovered’

This marketing myth is often closely related to the previous one.

And it’s a marketing myth that I regularly hear, especially from new graduates from some of the top art schools in London(!).

They still somehow believe that they need to ‘be discovered’.

That gallery owners and collectors will come looking for them.

That clients will come knocking at their studio door.

That they don’t want to be ‘too known’.

It isn’t very cool to put yourself out there, is it?

You don’t want to be ‘selling out’, do you?

(Or maybe you are just a little scared or don’t really know what to do and this is an easy excuse?)

So you start waiting to be discovered.

‘The Waiting Game ….’ (see: Dr. Seuss)

Waiting for many, many years …

Often many many years after graduating …

I have seen it so often, it’s depressing. It’s such a waste of talent and energy.

Stop waiting! Start getting out there!

Especially if you are from a top art college in London!

It’s a bit like the woman who dreams about the day that the prince in shining armour will come and rescue her from her cottage in the woods … Wake up! This is the 21st century and there are thousands of creatives from art colleges across the UK graduating every single year. Even if you are the best creative graduate ever, you will need to promote yourself. Stop believing in fairy tales!

I know that you were hoping that setting up your own career or business would be much easier, but who promised you that life would be easy? Setting up your own creative practice is hard work!

GET REAL!

Over the last twenty five years I have worked with many (very) successful creative professionals.

And you know what? They all have a clear vision of what they want to achieve.

They have worked incredibly hard (for many years) to get to where they are now.

Every S-I-N-G-L-E day they make decisions and do stuff that moves their business and life forward to get what they want to achieve.

Ask any successful designer about how they got started and you can learn from their stories and wisdom.

Don’t believe in the myth of ‘overnight success’.

Stop waiting! Dust yourself off. Stop being so harsh on yourself. Stop procrastinating and trying to be ‘perfect’.

Start being really creative and find like-minded people to work with or for.

Start finding your special place in the creative world where you can succeed!

Start learning the skills you need to become more successful and DO something to move one step forward to achieving that success!

4th marketing myth: ‘If I have to market myself then I am failing’

This one is closely related to marketing myths 2 and 3.

You might believe that pointing out your achievements is being self indulgent and a bit braggy!

But …

You have got skills and talent and you are currently only using them for your own benefit!

It’s YOU who will miss out if you assume that other people will know about your fabulous work – without you telling them.

Most people are simply too busy with their own lives to keep up with what’s going on in your life and what you dream about. Especially if they happen to be running a very successful shop or are the editor of a wonderful interior design magazine.

When you start to share your work, your stories, your concerns, your insights, your solutions, your wisdom, your take-on-the-world … in a professional manner, on a regular basis, in a different and thought-provoking way then you are really starting to communicate with your potential audience. You will get known and people will start to look out for what you do. And you can create better, more innovative and creative work – that people will love!

This marketing myth is really devious because it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don’t go out to the right people who are most likely interested in what you do, you will indeed fail.

What are you so scared of that you won’t share your talents with the world? What is really stopping you?

 

5th marketing myth: ‘The more I POST / blog / shout, the more sales I will get’

On the opposite side of being quiet and keeping what you create to yourself, is that many creatives think that marketing is about being loud, about shouting, about spending loads of time on social media.

Many new creatives didn’t learn about marketing (not a topic at many art schools, is it?), and get a little scared or nervous about what to do or say. They often overdo it (a little), and in fact, scare their potential clients away!

When I ask clients about what they (honestly!) think about marketing and selling, they often say things like: ‘selling out’, ‘annoying people’, advertising, the worst excesses of second-hand car dealers or estate agents or Top Shop assistants, …

But if you want to sell your creative products and services successfully, then it isn’t about more and more, and louder and louder. It’s about authentically showing up and sharing who you are, what you are about (your ‘voice’, your message, your brand), and connecting with the right clients in a way that works for you AND your customers.

Even if you are a quieter or more introvert creative then you can still be a great salesperson! Focus on your quiet passion and energy, your authentic and quietly confident voice, and get creative with how you connect with like-minded clients and you will be a marketing star. A whisper is often more powerful than a shout.

In fact I notice that often the most successful creative sellers are those who can truly listen, and not those who shout or are overly extrovert. Especially if you are doing creative commissions, being able to listen is one of the best marketing qualities you can have.

Have a go at marketing and find out what works for you. If you are a very sociable person then you might love chatting at craft fairs, doing public speaking at major events, or getting involved with online communities. But if you don’t like to or can’t network, or frankly you don’t like people that much then you aren’t the only one – I don’t like networking either! Think about how you can communicate with your clients and potential customers via email, or Substack, or use Pinterest with fantastic imagery to drive people to your platforms.

Remember what marketing guru C.J. Haydn said earlier? There are loads of different ways to contact with your potential audience and clients.

So get creative with your marketing! Explore and find ways of marketing that work for you. And your clients. It’s YOUR job if you want to create a successful creative business!

6th marketing myth: ‘Marketing = advertising. I don’t have the money for that’

When I talk about marketing and what it means for people then very often ‘advertising’ is one of the first words that comes to mind.

Advertising is one of the most visible marketing tools, from TV ads to newspapers and online banners.

But advertising is only one of the many marketing tools that you can use and actually one of the worst performing marketing tools for small creative businesses!

Surprised?

The reason is that advertising is aimed at a very big market. It’s a mass-market medium.

Most creative businesses are small and are not looking to reach a mass market but a niche market.

You are trying to build a personal relationship with your ideal clients. You aren’t looking to reach and please everybody.

So advertising is can be very ineffective for most small creative businesses because it’s too costly and you aren’t reaching the right people!

So what should you do instead? The two most effective marketing tools for small creative businesses are:

• Direct contact: research your potential clients and then contact them directly in the most suitable way: at a trade show, by phone, an intro email or a nice package in the post. This works especially well in the case of trade clients because they are easier to identify than consumers. And keep building and using your email subscriber list to send lovely, personal emails.
• Referrals: if somebody else recommends you then your chances of getting work are far greater. Word-of-mouth, user generated content on social media, and getting introductions can often open doors, especially if you are offering creative services.

To become a more successful creative business or professional you’ll need to:

1. Identify your ideal clients and focus on your niche.
2. Get to know your ideal clients. Identify the places they go to find out about your creative products or services, where they browse and buy. Identify why they buy and when.
3. Be pro-active and approach your potential clients regularly, creatively and professionally. 
4. Build up a relationship with potential clients. You are selling much more than ‘just a product’. It takes time and patience. Don’t expect overnight success.
5. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on marketing, but you do need to spend time on regularly marketing yourself and your work. In my experience, successful creative businesses spend around 40% of their time on marketing!
6. The most effective marketing techniques are: direct contact and encouraging introductions – especially if you want to sell to trade and provide creative services.

Do you believe in these 6 marketing myths? Are they stopping you from being more successful? Did you get any insights from this post? What will you do (or stop doing!) as a result? We would love to hear from you in the comments box below. Welcome to taking that first step to making your creative business more successful!