I Gave My Friend Bad Marketing Advice. Here's What I Should Have Said.

I had a friend reach out to me recently and ask how she should market her poetry. She looked me in the eyes and told me “I don’t know where to start”. And I was caught off guard, so I gave a vague reply. But I’ve thought about it a lot since. So I wanted to share my letter to her with all of you because I think when you boil it down this is the advise I’d give most creatives that are feeling a little lost when it comes to marketing.

And Bella, thank you for being patient with my flustered answers and for allowing me to repurpose your letter into a blog. You’re a real one.

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Hey pal,

First of all, I’m so proud of you! It takes a lot of courage to start a business and share your creativity with the world. A lot of incredibly talented people never get past the ideation phase. The fact that you're trying to figure this out already puts you ahead.

Now, I know you’ve heard me say this before but I really can not emphasize it enough. Marketing can look like a lot of different things. There is not one strategy to rule them all. Don’t get stuck in what you should do or what other people are doing. That’s a trap and in my experience it only leads to burnout. Pick what you think is realistic for you, your work, and your audience.

You don't have to be everywhere. I know it looks like everyone is on Instagram and TikTok and Pinterest and running a newsletter and somehow also maintaining their blog and website and going to in person events and... They're not. Or if they are, they have a team, or systems that they’ve put in place over years of effort. Pick one place to start. Just one.

Consistency matters. Im not saying you need to create content everyday. In fact, please don’t. Its better for you to show up in a way that is consistent and predicable. That way your audience knows where and when to find you (algorithms/search engines like it too).One, Two, or three times a week is genuinely enough to start building an audience.

Be confident in your work. I want to say this directly because I've heard so many artists doubt the quality of what they make and it breaks my heart. Marketing “results” is not a measure of your artistic and/or creative ability. Plenty of mediocre products market themselves well. Plenty of extraordinary work gets overlooked because no one knows it exists. Your job right now is just to help people find you.

The thing you need most right now is a home base. A place where someone can find your work, see what it looks like, and buy it or contact you. That might be an Etsy shop. It might be a simple website. It might just be an Instagram profile that's clean and up to date with a link in the bio. But you need somewhere to send people.

Your story matters. People don't just buy art. They buy why you made it, who you are, what goes into it. The artists I've seen build the most loyal audiences are the ones who let people in. By showing your process, sharing your inspiration, talking about things you love, etc. you are making genuine connections with people. And buyers care about the connection they make with you just as much as the connection to your artwork. You don't have to share everything. But share real snippets of who you are.

Don't wait until you feel ready. You're not going to feel ready. There will always be a reason to wait - the photos aren't perfect yet, the website isn't finished, you need more work to show. Start now and improve as you go. I can’t remember who said this, but make it exist first. You can make it good later. Imperfect and real will always outperform perfect and delayed.

And please, give yourself some grace. You're learning something new on top of running an entire business and creating your work. It's going to take time. It's going to feel awkward at first. You’re going to make mistakes. That's not a sign you're doing it wrong, its a sign that you are learning. You’re bound to feel some growing pains.

You're going to figure this out. you’re doing a great job. Now close this tab, go to your platform of choice (blog, website, instagram, tiktok, etc) check that your bio is up to date, post one photo of your work, and call it a win.

You’ve got this,

Tonya

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Did any of this land for you? Share it with an artist friend who needs to hear it. And if you have a question you want me to answer in a future post, drop it in the comments. I love to hear what you’re interested in learning so I can help.