Franklin Taggart's Unconventional Life Blog

My friend Teresa forwarded an email she received from Andrew Simonet, an amazing resource for professional artists ( Blog here: https://www.artistsu.org/blog ) He was taking a pretty bold stance against a marketing professional who had addressed a gathering of artists and told them that their main problem was one of branding. I share his consternation about this.  I've been the guy with the PowerPoint, telling the artists how they need to market themselves. And I've been the guy trying to land another gig, get another ten names on the mailing list, and sell another CD so I can put enough gas in the car to get home. Ultimately, his point was that the people who bring these business world solutions to artists and other creative people aren't doing so with a complete understanding of the people they're addressing. And the brilliant point he made was that artists don't need to be fixed; they need partners. This gave me much to reflect on and talk about. #artbusiness #a

You may have heard the old sales trope about people don't buy the drill; they buy the hole. I take that even further and suggest that people buy the enhancement to their life from the painting hung on the hook held by the screw in the wall that was put into the hole drilled by the drill. For the creators I work with who struggle with their pricing, I like to say that your price isn't for the object; it's for the desired experience. People buy things because of the experience of life they desire. And often, they're inspired to buy when certain experiences are suggested. When I learned this for myself, playing gigs became less an exchange of attention for money, and they became a more holistic offer - the music was a part of the enhanced experience of being together and enjoying an evening out. As I started to approach gigs that way, I started to make more money both in the pay for the gig and in tips. Tips skyrocketed. This doesn't just apply in artistic circumstance