When you’re a creative (a musician or otherwise), grabbing eyeballs is essential to making money. You need an audience that buys from you, hires you, provides patronage, puts in a good word on your behalf, or simply offers encouragement and feedback. That’s why you should focus your efforts on becoming discoverable – it’s key to making a living off of your passion, now and in the future.
Below, WP Earn Online offers tried-and-tested suggestions on how creatives can go about gaining more exposure:
Network with people in your industry
Networking is getting in touch with people in your industry, whether that’s fellow artists, potential mentors, potential collaborators, or movers and shakers. The goal is to introduce yourself, showcase your offerings, generally draw attention, and exchange favors. You can network both offline and online. Good networking will raise your profile, help you find paying work, and build up a support network for your journey. Symposia offers a nice networking guide that’s worth checking out.
Participate in events like music shows
It’s a good idea to join events related to your niche – like shows, competitions, craft or art fairs, conferences, and more. You can learn more about your industry, have opportunities to network, and gain new skills. If you put up a booth, you could sell your music at the event directly. If you’re adopting such an approach, it’s a good idea to put your best foot forward. You could create an album with your best songs, for example, and price it affordably (or even give it away for free).
Create a website and social media presence
Getting online is key to finding and engaging with your audience, locally and globally. Your website is a wonderful place to showcase your best work, and it gives people an opportunity to get to know you as a person too. Webflow offers examples of websites that suit creatives. Social media can help you share examples of your work, interact with your audience, and build stronger relationships with them.
Get a portfolio and resume
Having a portfolio of your work to share is a great way to show people what you can do. You can make it a downloadable resume, and publish it on your site and social media pages. Including a resume alongside (or making it available upon request) – with relevant experiences, skills, and accomplishments – may also be a good idea. It can help people understand your background. You can quickly create or update a resume using a PDF editor. Simply upload a file (text or PDF), make changes, and then download (or share).
Keep creating and don’t be afraid to invest in yourself
It’s important to keep working on your skills. There’s always room for improvement, and learning new things can help you keep up with industry trends and expectations. This may involve you having to invest in yourself – whether that’s your education, equipment, or infrastructure.
Having a multi-purpose room in your house where you can practice your art or craft in peace can is a good example of an invaluable investment. Many artists produce their best work this way. If you make updates to your home, you can track them by keeping receipts and photos. Reporting these updates to your appraiser will help you to secure a higher appraisal value if you ever get around to selling your house.
Think like a businessperson
You’ll have an easier time creating a sustainable lifestyle for yourself as a creative if you think of yourself as a businessperson as opposed to an artist. You’ll have a better idea of how to appropriately price your work, how best to establish yourself in the market, your overheads, and other practical considerations. Becoming a business can help you get serious about your work. Starting a business isn’t hard – you can get the legalities sorted in a day or two. Be sure to get an accounting process – such as bookkeeping and invoicing – to stay compliant with regulations.
Conclusion
It will take time for you to get discovered. Don’t be afraid of putting yourself out there – you need to in order to find an audience. Keep working on your internet presence, and consider building up an attractive brand for yourself. Picking up marketing techniques and applying them will help.
Image via Unsplash
