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My Advice For Creators In 30 Sentences (Give or Take)

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:

    1. Just because it’s easier than ever to create doesn’t mean it’s easier to create something good.
    2. Get someone to notice you today. Give them value. Repeat tomorrow. That’s how you build an audience.
    3. If you only do what you usually do, you’ll never know what you’re capable of doing.
    4. Hate self-promotion? Make better stuff. The better your work, the less you need to promote it.
    5. Don’t try to get people to LIKE you. Get them to CARE about you.
    6. 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.
    7. If you want to get noticed, why are you doing the same things everyone else does?
    8. If you’re “too busy” to spend time on your career, that means it’s not a priority — be honest with yourself.
    9. Ask for less and offer more. That’s how you promote yourself.
    10. 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.
    11. Waiting doesn’t get you closer to success. Starting does.
    12. Your desire to succeed must become greater than your fear of failure.
    13. You’re not creatively blocked — you’re impatient. Be willing to create junk until you get to something good. It’ll come.
    14. The things you say no to are as important as the things you say yes to.
    15. The people who already pay attention to you matter more than those who don’t — act accordingly.
    16. You become a pro by operating like one when you’re an amateur.
    17. Start. Finish. Fail. Start. Finish. Fail. Start. Finish. That’s how you succeed.
    18. Just being good isn’t enough.
    19. You can learn just as much from a failure as a success.
    20. Just because you think you’re ready for the next step doesn’t mean you are — be patient.
    21. It’s not easy to create something different. That’s why it’s valuable.
    22. Excuses are easier to find than solutions.
    23. You don’t have to do what it takes to be a successful creator. There’s plenty of others who will.
    24. Study what other creators do. Then, do something else.
    25. The best way to capitalize on a big break is to be prepared for it. Don’t wait for your break to start working.
    26. People who discover your work today are meaningless if you don’t have a way to reach them tomorrow.
    27. It’s easier than ever to get seen and harder than ever to get noticed.
    28. There are no “rules” — there are just things you convince yourself you can’t do.
    29. Be more interested in getting better than you are in getting followers.
    30. Ignore everything I just said…except the bits that help you.