How to produce, promote, and profit from your creations.
I spend a lot of time working with, studying, and advising creators of all types about what it takes to produce, promote, and profit from their creations.
Following are 30 ideas I find myself repeating often:
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- Just because it’s easier than ever to create doesn’t mean it’s easier to create something good.
- Get someone to notice you today. Give them value. Repeat tomorrow. That’s how you build an audience.
- If you only do what you usually do, you’ll never know what you’re capable of doing.
- Hate self-promotion? Make better stuff. The better your work, the less you need to promote it.
- Don’t try to get people to LIKE you. Get them to CARE about you.
- If you hate promoting your creations, it’s not because you’re an artist. It’s because you don’t truly believe your work provides value to others.
- If you want to get noticed, why are you doing the same things everyone else does?
- If you’re “too busy” to spend time on your career, that means it’s not a priority — be honest with yourself.
- Ask for less and offer more. That’s how you promote yourself.
- If you’re not willing to put in the work it takes to succeed, that’s OK. But you also have to be OK with not succeeding.
- Waiting doesn’t get you closer to success. Starting does.
- Your desire to succeed must become greater than your fear of failure.
- You’re not creatively blocked — you’re impatient. Be willing to create junk until you get to something good. It’ll come.
- The things you say no to are as important as the things you say yes to.
- The people who already pay attention to you matter more than those who don’t — act accordingly.
- You become a pro by operating like one when you’re an amateur.
- Start. Finish. Fail. Start. Finish. Fail. Start. Finish. That’s how you succeed.
- Just being good isn’t enough.
- You can learn just as much from a failure as a success.
- Just because you think you’re ready for the next step doesn’t mean you are — be patient.
- It’s not easy to create something different. That’s why it’s valuable.
- Excuses are easier to find than solutions.
- You don’t have to do what it takes to be a successful creator. There’s plenty of others who will.
- Study what other creators do. Then, do something else.
- The best way to capitalize on a big break is to be prepared for it. Don’t wait for your break to start working.
- People who discover your work today are meaningless if you don’t have a way to reach them tomorrow.
- It’s easier than ever to get seen and harder than ever to get noticed.
- There are no “rules” — there are just things you convince yourself you can’t do.
- Be more interested in getting better than you are in getting followers.
- Ignore everything I just said…except the bits that help you.