I ask you: Why aren't you on YouTube already?

Not sure if it's common knowledge or not, but a crazy thing happened in the Online World in 2008 that should have an affect on how you conduct business online as an entrepreneur or artist. Even though much time has passed since then, that year saw the rise of YouTube to the spot of #2 most used search engine. More people were using YouTube to find information than Yahoo!

I know you see where this is going.

If you are marketing yourself or your business, get on YouTube, now! You're already a few years late (like me) but no one is judging you. You'll still be ahead of the game if you hop on now.

"But I'm a hairstylist (or lawyer, designer, restaurant owner, etc.), what could I post on YouTube?"

If you're a hairstylist, make videos about how to do a certain hairstyle at home or how to care for your hair. Include your web address (you do have a sleek and amazing website design don't you?) in your video and voila!

If you're a lawyer, give free tips or talk about uncommon laws.

If you're an author, give writing tips, read part of your book or make a book trailer (which is like a movie trailer, but better).

If you own a restaurant, post quick and easy recipes online.

Just remember to name your video something useful like "Your Topic by Your Name" or "Your Name: Your Topic" (ex: Love & Change Studios: How to Get More Web Traffic on Your Blog) and include your web address somewhere in the video (text and/or verbally).
 
"But, I don't have a High Def camcorder."

Get over it. They don't have to be Hollywood quality. Just add some good content (or "nuggets" as I like to call them) and your charming personality.

If you want more ideas on types of videos you can post, then tweet me and I will respond with some!

Action Cures Fear. Knowledge Cures Fear.

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do." {Ralph Waldo Emerson}

I've lived a (large enough) portion of my life afraid to do certain things. The other day I was talking to a photographer I've worked with and I realized something truly remarkable about him. He was working in corporate America when he picked up a camera and became interested in photography for the first time. He took some classes, bought himself the equipment he would need and then quit his job and built his business.

In a short time (~one year) he was able to build a name for himself in his city. Everyone wanted to shoot with him (because he did things different) and everyone wanted to learn from him (he offered workshops that were quite popular in the photography community). I hope to have him guest post on the blog soon about some of his unique business and marketing practices that made him so successful but for now I'm bringing him up to make the following observation. He was successful because:

1. He was skilled/gifted and passionate about something.
2. He took classes and got educated in his chosen craft.
3. He had the guts to quit his job and fling himself wholeheartedly into his chosen profession.
4. He learned the ins and outs of marketing himself and promoting himself online.

Take a moment to reflect. Are you missing any of these key things in your work/art? The area I want to improve on is getting educated in my field. I've taken classes before but learning is a lifelong thing. With technology improving every day, I need to constantly learn new things in order to run a web and graphic design firm in the great State of Texas. I also need more writing education. These are my goals. With passion and knowledge, it won't be as scary to step out all the way. Action cures fear. Knowledge cures fear. Take a moment today to think about the things you can do to move you toward your dreams.

Are you judging me? I'm judging you.

I'm not judging you in a mean evil way, but when I land on your blog or your web site, I, like so many other people am making educated guesses (judgments) about you and the type of person you may be.
I say this to say that the image we leave hanging out there for the whole world to look at is important, very important.

Our skill is not wrapped up in the way we dress, the new shoes we bought for the interview, or our beautiful hair ... but those things do reflect how we feel about ourselves.

As artists, marketing ourselves online, it is important to keep our physical and web presence where we want it to be; we must represent ourselves well. The REALITY is people DO judge a book by its cover, people DO assume things when they land on your blog and the layout is sloppy, people DO make judgments when EVERY time they see you it looks like you flopped out of bed and just stayed like that. Knowing that people do make judgment calls, stop fighting that (if you are), embrace it and USE it to your benefit.

• If you are like me and you know your website needs change to appear more professional or trendy, then do it (I promise to work on mine this week).

• If your blog or business card needs a makeover, give it one, now. When you're out there on the web for ALL to see, you'll never know who is looking ... unless you have Google Analytics.

• If you are like me and you leave the house in need of a comb, or a new shirt, or just a little bit more effort, more times than not, then go ahead and make that change.

• Set aside a little more money or time for maintenance every month. Take control of the image that publishers, agents, directors, execs and the rest of the world sees.

Let's not moan and complain about the world and how it perceives us, let's take control of that perception by taking care of the things that need it.
photo: notsogoodphotography

Platform + Goals

Hello writers and friends. As we attempt to establish ourselves it is important to build a platform. Many of us are already doing what we can. Working tirelessly to update our blogs, connecting with people on social networking sites and building experience in our genre/area. Today I wanted to share with you some advice I got from another writer: submit short stories and other pieces to literary magazines for publication. In doing this, it gets your name out there and (depending on who publishes it) adds a bullet point on your writer's resume.

There is a contest for the month of August that I thought a few of you might want to submit to. You may already have written something you can use. If not, it shouldn't take too much time to write something up.

Glimmer Train Press, Inc. is holding a short story (of up to 3,000 words) competition with all entries due by August 31. Click here for more details.

The following is directly from their website:

• 1st place wins $1,200, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of that issue.
• 2nd-place: $500
• 3rd-place:$300

Moving on. I have a question: do you stretch yourself by setting word count or page goals per day, week, or month if at all? Do you think setting goals is imperative to success? Who checks on your goals?

Where I'm at with my goals:
Articles: 3 of 5 down for the month, 2 more submitted- waiting for response
Book: geez, I need help here, where's my motivation?
Blog: posting pretty regularly, want to get to a weekday schedule with optional weekends; reading and writing on blogs has really helped and inspired me of late. Thanks to all of you!

The Average Culprit

There is something lurking beneath our creative exterior as artists. There is a force that seeks to bring us down to ordinary.

The Creative Law of Average states that each individual who is creative by nature will at least occasionally be tempted to succumb to the forces of second-rate.

These forces induce artists to put out "average work". Some artists do art as a part time thing; others have made a career out of their passion. Career artists often lose inspiration to complete things in the excellence they once used to when they did it all for fun. Deadlines, "mean" agents or managers and the pressure to live up to the expectations of many can cause stress and produce substandard work. To combat the Creative Law of Average, may I suggest:

1- Keep a picture, phrase or Bible verse in a place of prominence in your workspace that reminds you of why you started doing what you're doing.

2- Keep in mind who you are, what you are capable of and what standard you want to live up to. Write a mission statement for yourself. When you choose art as a career, you are your own business, and you must treat yourself as such.

3- Find an accountability partner and a mentor. An accountability partner should be someone who will stay on you and check with you on your deadlines and goals. If your publisher has given you a deadline, or you have a performance on a certain date, set goals for yourself (way ahead of actual due date) and start your work early. A mentor should be someone in the same line of business. Build a relationship with someone/people who are at a level you want to reach. You can build these relationships in community organizations or online.

4- Help someone else. No matter where you are as an artist, there is always someone else behind you, waiting to build up to what you have. Help another aspiring artist with their music, or offer to critique their writing (whatever your skill set is). Let them know about a great place to build a free website for themselves (www.yola.com among others) to help with marketing, or recommend them to your stylist. A little bit of guidance can go a long way.