— Josh Kilen :: Stories and Ideas

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The One Secret of Successful Artistic Entrepreneurs

By: Josh Kilen
31-10-2011
Artists, Business, Marketing/Connecting, Story-Narrative

the secret power of story for artistic entrepreneursToo many artistic entrepreneurs try to get away with boring stories.

Of course 30 years ago that was how you found a mass audience, you appealed to the largest group possible.  But those were also the days when there were only 4 channels on TV.

Today, you can’t be bland or general, everyone will tune you out if you try.  That’s a shame really, because then no one will know you or what amazing beauty you can bring to their lives. The worst part, if you’re boring, they won’t want to know you.

You have to stand for something, you have to have a unique story that inspires and moves people to want to join what it is that you are doing.  And that necessarily means making the hard choice and deciding who you are and who you are not.

What are you for? What are you against? What are you against? Where’s your struggle that people will notice and care about?

Define these and you will save your budding enterprise.

 

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Are you telling the right story?

By: Josh Kilen
15-09-2011
Business, Marketing/Connecting, Story-Narrative, Writing

Human beings are designed to focus on the individual, therefore stories focusing on individuals are the ones we connect with and enjoy. But how often do we tell stories that have no focus, or focus too broadly on general ideas or groups of people?

Apply this to your business.

Does your marketing focus on groups or individuals?

Do your sales messages talk about single people or large groups and broad ideas?

Focus on one person when you create business marketing and messages (stories), and write for that person, telling them about themselves. Just think about it, then do it. Your audience will be grateful.

 

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Your Story Sucks, How To Tell Great Stories

By: Josh Kilen
08-09-2011
Business, Marketing/Connecting, Story-Narrative

I told my friends that they needed to make up an imaginary friend named Bob.

People could relate to a big guy named Bob.

My friends own a small dance studio in downtown Tacoma, WA and their students were slow to commit to anything more than a few classes at a time, so money was tight.

We all sat down one afternoon and talked it out. They were doing a lot of things right; they cared about the long term relationship over the transaction, they tried to cultivate those relationships, they strove to give more than their customers expected, they wanted to connect with their students.

But they missed the stories.

Stories Matter to Everyone

People need something to connect to, and their clients needed to see themselves in the overall story. That’s where Bob comes in.

Since my friends only had a few very specific customer stories, I told them to create a composite story and name him Bob. Their studio has a large 12×7 picture window facing the street that was perfect for telling Bob’s story of social outcast turned dancing star and ladies man. If they wanted something for the ladies, I told them a story about “Cindy” would do just fine, relating a similar situation for our dance-challenged heroine.

The drawings didn’t need to be fancy, stick figures would do. And long winded prose should give way to quick concise sentences. It’s the story that matters, and how much it resonates.

Too Few Stories Out in the Wild

I can only speculate why, but too many small businesses avoid stories in favor of marketing speak and persuasive writing. Such a mistake.

Your stories can be the premier way people decide to do business with you.

Three reasons stories are worth investing in:

1) They Highlight the Problem

People only care about their problems, not about benefits or advantages. Good stories naturally begin with a problem and work towards it’s resolution.

The good use of story allows you to focus the customer’s attention on the problem first, but lead them to a solution. So instead of having to figure out all the reasons why your product is great (benefits etc) you can focus on customers and relationships.

2) Stories Transport

When someone hears a good story, they transport themselves through the misty void into the world you create. The process is called simulation and it’s extremely valuable. Here’s why.

Everything is competing for your customer’s attention these days and gaining their attention, even for a moment is a challenge, and a triumph. Stories make that process much easier because when a human being runs into a well told story they automatically start imagining the story. You have their attention, and once you have that you can start building a relationship.

3) Stories are Shareable

The right story at the right time is magic, and people love to share the magic. Not every story you tell or your customer’s tell is going to be magic, but stories get listened to more than marketing messages or slogans. Why wouldn’t you cultivate more?

So what’s next? How do you make up these stories?

The best stories you can tell are not made up, they are found. I’m speaking here of testimonials. But even if you get someone to give you a story about their experience, it has to follow a story format.

1) Problem - What was wrong? What did they expect would be wrong?

2) Decision - When they decided to act, how did that feel? Why?

3) Hardships - What were some of the things going through their head? Did they try to talk themselves out of this?

4) Victory - How did the outcome feel?

This is obviously a different format than your usual “Mr X is so wonderful, he paid attention to all my needs and made me so happy. I will certainly tell all my friends about him and his great service. I couldn’t be happier!” Puke.

Instead, create a hand out with the outline from above (tweaked for your needs of course) and ask your customers for stories. Those stories will be real and believable, which translates into more business.

“But I’m just starting out, I don’t have customers”

That’s where Bob comes in. Nothing is going to work like a well told story from one of your ecstatic patrons, but in a pinch you can tell a  tell a good story without them. Just use your imagination.

Good storytelling is an art, a science, but mostly it’s a habit. As a business owner it’s one you should cultivate soon.

 

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Is Your Art A Hobby Or A Business?

By: Josh Kilen
05-09-2011
Business, Marketing/Connecting

Once upon a time, I wrote a piece about how an artist stood out at a local street fair by being interesting and unique. As a consequence, that artist sold more than her peers and connected with several new clients. By offering unique and interesting products, both she and her customers won.

A brave soul took umbrage with my post, saying:

“You miss the point. Artists sell to be able to create more art, they do not create art in order to sell it.”

I appreciate the stance but I believe that this philosophy makes a mockery of an artist’s customers. If you decide to sell your art, everything changes.

You now have a business, not a hobby.

Do you have a hobby or a business?

It comes down to this question, do you have a hobby or do you run a business? There’s a wide gap between the two. If you attempt to sell your product then you are running a business, and a business is a great responsibility. On the other hand, if you just make art for your personal amusement or to give away, then you have a hobby. Hobbies carry no inherent responsibility.

As a business owner, your first and best responsibility is to provide value to other people, your customers. You’ve decided to enter the world and offer value, you are asking others to place a value on your work. It might not feel like that but to see it any other way is disingenuous. Why else would you have a booth at a trade fair or offer your work in a shop for others to purchase?

You are giving people a value, but also letting them give you a value in return. To say that those relationships are secondary to your art is a terrible way to run your business, and yet that’s what many artists do.

With great power comes great responsibility

You can’t honestly shirk the responsibility and still sell your art. You can tell yourself that people who “get” you will buy, but that’s simply not good enough. You are giving up on your responsibility. You have the power to bring great joy and happiness to people but you have to realize one important thing…

If you run a business then you have to consider relationships.

How this all ties together

One of the central principles of business and relationships is the idea of uniqueness. You won’t deeply connect with someone you think is like everyone else. There’s something that stands out about that person, something that sets him or her apart. The same principle applies to an artist as business owner.

If you have a hobby, you don’t have to worry about uniqueness, or other people for that matter. You do what you do and create what feels right without any thought about others. Why would you, it’s your hobby.

But a business is different. Now you have to stand out, to make your art more valuable to others to get more value in return. You have to consider what the customer thinks is valuable and change your work accordingly. This is not the same as a hobby no matter how much you wish it was.

Business is a relationship, not about you

Because once you decide to sell, to make your art public and ask for customers to place a value on it, you are entering into a relationship. That implies give and take, a working together, and, yes, sometimes that means compromise. While it’s true that some artists have been successful by not compromising, typically they were dead or it was a hobby that got lucky. If you start a business with your art, then you have deal with relationships and all that entails.

It’s either a hobby or a business

You need to decide.

Artists sell to give value to the other person and receive some value in return, not so they can create more art. There are far easier ways to make money. Don’t sell yourself, or your customer’s short by pretending your efforts are something they are not.

So what do you have, a hobby or a business?

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5 Ways to Make Social Media Work

By: Josh Kilen
25-08-2011
Business, Marketing/Connecting, Story-Narrative

Via Flickr (fredcavazza)

After publishing a series of bedtime stories for parents to tell their kids and a devotional for Christians in Business, I needed a new project.

So, I’ve begun work on a book for authors and artists about using Social Media to its fullest.

These are a few main points from the book:

1. Start a Blog, Now

In the last ten years, blogging has grown from an interesting way to share fun family anecdotes to a powerful way to connect with readers.

There’s a difference between your blog and a website, although to the uninitiated the changes are minor at best. The blog looks like a website to be sure, but the blog offers much more.

First, it’s super easy to add your content to the site. This only makes visiting your site more interesting for previous visitors. If you never update things, why would they need to come back.

Second, and more important, it’s social. A regular website, called a static website, is more like a fancy online brochure. Nice to look at but not interactive. A blog on the other hand allows you comment, share, and… tell stories. It not only provides a way for the writer to tell stories, but it makes it easy for the readership to tell the same story about themselves through sharing buttons.

For example; say you write a great article or post on your blog about how Ovation Guitars are far superior to Martin Guitars (whether this is true or not I have no idea, I tend to be slightly tone deaf, much to the consternation of all around me). A reader finds your article and either agrees or disagrees with it. They see a button on the bottom of the post that allows them to share the story on their preferred Social Media. If the reader shares, they have made your story part of their story.

That’s what Social Media is all about.

2. Create a Facebook Page

In late 2011, Facebook tops over 650 Million users. That’s over twice the population of the United States of America and if it were it’s own country it would be the third largest in the world. It’s an absolutely massive platform with a great deal of potential to bring your venture unprecedented success. But you can’t focus on all of that, you have to think one person at a time. Or rather one friendship at a time.

Facebook pages allow you to set up your personal brand and share what you think is interesting or important. You can share writing, pictures, videos, updates, links to other sites. The possibilities are endless.

*Bonus*

Create a LinkedIn account to take advantage of their groups feature, either creating yourself or joining a professional group and starting discussions.

3. Start a Twitter account and post cool stories

The common misconception of Twitter is that it’s filled with Twits, Tweeting about Twilight and Twerps. Sorry, I could help myself. Contrary to this common belief, Twitter is not filled with people posting about their bathroom activities or what they had for lunch. Okay, there are a fair share of those people but you don’t have to follow them and therefore you get to ignore their existence. You get to ignore the boring people. This is already better than real life.

Instead, effective Twitter users share stories and start conversations.

You can think of Twitter as a big party where everyone is talking at the same time. You have the option to listen to what people say or you can ignore them, you can comment at anytime, or you can start a conversation yourself. The more you see Twitter as a useful tool for communication, the better conversations you will have.

Follow people that you find interesting, talk with them, sharing stories that you think they’ll find interesting. That’s how we make friends in real life and it’s no different on Twitter.

4. Understand the power of YouTube and videos

Video is quickly becoming the dominant form of media consumption on the internet. It’s only going to grow. As movies and TV shows transition to a broadband audience, more of your customers are going to expect that you have a presence on one of the major video sites.

As Twitter is to micro-blogging, YouTube is to video-sharing. In fact, YouTube may be one of the best ways to promote your art.

For some people, a blog with it’s focus on words and static pictures may not be the best way to connect with a specific audience. Instead, getting creative with a hand-held camera and offering different points of view from different points of view might be the best way to offer value.

For authors I’m not talking about book trailers (although if you want to do one, go ahead) and for artists I’m not talking about product showcases (quick clips of your paintings or sculptures to music). Instead, you want to create content that your audience wants to see and, more importantly, wants to share with their friends.

For example: authors could create educational videos into their craft, character bios, special extras, or even voice overs of chapters. Painters could feature their work in a montage, show the painting process, do some art classes going over special techniques they employ, or even show videos of special events.

The point is to make a video that someone who would buy your art will think is cool, interesting, and/or relevant.

5. Share Some Pictures

For authors and artists, picture sharing is one of the least utilized forms of social media. And that’s a shame because for a very little effort it can yield some big results. The two main providers of pictures on the internet are Flickr and Picassa, and you ignore them at your peril.

Appropriate images are at the top of most Google search results. If you want to use that to your advantage, you need to set up your accounts right away.

The greatest advantage of picture sharing is the ability to link to and from the pictures themselves. You can link your picture to your blog and other social media. Conversely you can use your pictures in all your social media profiles, creating great exposure and cross-over for your content.

What Does It All Mean?

Social media doesn’t have to be difficult but it can be useful. The main idea is that as long as you know the tools and try to honestly connect, you can’t help but be successful. If you slowly start implementing each of these suggestions, you will find success (and customers) knocking at your door.

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How to Be a Unique Artist

By: Josh Kilen
22-08-2011
Business, Marketing/Connecting

In a previous article I wrote about how uniqueness will help you sell more art. You need to create unique art, or at least something more interesting than what people can buy at Target. So how do you do that?

Here are some ideas:

 

- For Painters -

Find another medium than canvas and prints. Again, stores like Target and World Market sell pictures and prints at deep discounts and those are what people compare your art to. Not fair, but that’s how it is. Go find cool looking rocks and paint them how you think nature should have colored them. Paint furniture, or picture frames, or create wrapping paper out of your work. Turn your paintings into jewelry, magnets, or note cards.

- For Sculptors and Potters -

Move beyond bowls and simple containers. Find something that people can use but haven’t seen before. Try your hand a custom tobacco pipes or clogs. Make pie holders or limited edition water pitchers (co-created with a painter). The world doesn’t need another bowl or vase.

- For Photographers -

It all starts with amazing pictures, ones that capture a side of life that no one else saw before. Then you have to rethink the medium.  A friend of mine grafts his photos onto metal. From there he can manipulate it into any shape or form he wants. They are fantastic and if I could afford his prices I would buy everything he makes. What can you put your photographs on?

- For Jewelers -

There are thousands of people who take beads and wire, string them together, and call that jewelery. While the art is in the placement and selection of beads, is the medium unique enough to turn people’s heads? What about getting together with painters, sculptors, and photographers and creating limited edition mini stories that people can wear? How about developing something that men would want to wear? Think beyond the necklaces, rings, and bracelets. What else is there?

    What Can You Do Next?

    The best advice I can give any artist or creator is the same thing I told my wife (a beautiful painter); don’t be constrained. If your imagination takes you to some odd places or makes you consider an unconventional pairing, do not tell yourself that you can’t do it. Follow your gut, don’t place limitations on yourself, and be true to that inner vision inside of you.

    Don’t be defined by the medium, go beyond it. Don’t be limited by a style, create your own style. You are the creator and the maker, take that calling to heart.

     

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    How Driftwood Will Help You Sell More

    By: Josh Kilen
    18-08-2011
    Business, Marketing/Connecting, Story-Narrative

    Via Facebook (Taylor Reed)

    I was recently at an art’s fair where hundreds of local artists were trying desperately to wrangle the thousands of passerby’s into their booths. For all their cajoling and enticing, it was like trying to herd cats.

    I imagine there are many reasons people chose to simply pass by, but one reason trumps them all. The artists weren’t selling anything really unique.

    I know, each piece is beautiful and unique on its own. But the average customer at a street fair doesn’t know that at a glance. Instead they just see the same old jewelery or more paintings that they probably can’t afford.

    And yet, that day, these same disinterested people bought a bunch of $45 driftwood bottle openers from my wife’s friend Taylor.

    Why? Because they were actually unique and different.

    Your painting is still on canvass. Your pottery is still a painted vase. Your jewelery is still just necklaces and rings. Your photography is still just pictures in a frame.

    And people can get all these things, for cheaper, at Target.

    Guess what? That’s what they will do and for most artists that is the competition. The question potential customers have is “What can I get here that I can’t get somewhere else for less?”. They don’t care about quality (only that it doesn’t break) and they certainly don’t unconsciously care about the design atheistic, at least not like the artist does.

    This applies to more than just arts festivals, it applies to any artistic endeavor; why is your art cool? Why is it unique and interesting?

    The trick is to be different enough that people notice you but not so staggeringly different that people don’t know what to make of you.

    Instead of pulling out the canvas, next time paint something off the wall and crazy. What’s your painted driftwood bottle opener?

     

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    The Booth, The Booth, Trade Booth is On Fire!

    By: Josh Kilen
    15-08-2011
    Business, Marketing/Connecting, Story-Narrative

    Recently I was privileged to have many hours of pure idleness while my wife and her art collective tried to sell paintings at an arts festival. Since idleness doesn’t suit me, I sat in a chair across the street and watched with wonder at the strangers stopping by and passing the booth.

    When everyone was wrapping up, I gave them some ideas for improvement for the next time. You can use these same ideas in your business or trade show booth.

    1. Create One Entrance and One Exit

    It might seem too simple to start with with, but it’s crucial for people to be told where to go next. In fact, people respond to this kind of advice. Have a nice sign that let’s them know where the entrance is. Also place one over the exit to let them know the entrance is on the other side. Over the entrance, be friendly and inviting (Welcome, Come on inside!).

    2. Create a contest, give something away

    They actually had a basket of art to raffle away. In return for a raffle, they received potential customer’s names and email addresses. My only critique was that the Give-A-Way basket was a little hum-drum. Not the art inside, but the idea of a basket. The best idea is to create something that has a high intrinsic value for your potential customers, that is also somewhat unexpected and piques their curiosity.

    In this case an original painting by the person’s favorite artist would have been an interesting idea. By having to think about their favorite, it’s more likely that the person entering the drawing would look at the work to find their favorite artist. This leads to more eyeballs on the work, and potentially more sales.

    3. When you collect emails, have a plan to do something with them

    Don’t just get emails or names to add to a general mailing list. Think of this as building a friendship, a quality relationship. Find ways to personalize and connect with each person. Social media also offers multiple ways to do that.

    4. Create a takeaway that continues the conversation

    Remember, it’s all about the relationship. If they don’t want to sign up for the raffle, don’t just give them a business card, or if you do, make sure it has a link to a website that offers free downloads of your product in exchange for email. You want to keep the conversation going, and not just hope that they might call you back.

    5. Place signs inside that guide the customer

    When people find themselves in a new and confusing situation, they naturally look for direction. Placing signs that focus attention and show (tell) people what to do will help them immensely. Even something as heavy handed as “Start Here” would be better than nothing.

    The goal is to help them tell a better story to themselves as they look for things that they want.

    6. Eliminate any friction

    There’s a conflict when you’re selling expensive items and you only accept cash. There’s a conflict when someone buys a large or a breakable item and then has to figure out how to transport it. There’s conflict when people worry that what they bought won’t look right in the house.

    Conflict often ends in people not buying. That is unless you remove the conflict, or friction to buying, at every level. Offer to take credit cards, offer free or low cost delivery, offer a money back guarantee. And make sure all these things are highlighted in the booth.

    7. Tell your unique story

    People only pay attention to something that’s new or interesting. If your booth looks like everyone else, then people won’t look twice.

    What separates you from the others? How can you make them feel differently than anyone else can?

     

    More than anything, you need to have some fun. So many booth operators looked tired and down-trodden. The more successful ones (the ones with people around them) exemplified the opposite. Whether you use these ideas for your next trade booth or a store, remember if you focus on the customer and not on selling, you will be better off.

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    The Silent Struggle of a Christian in Business

    By: Josh Kilen
    11-08-2011
    Business, Christianity, Marketing/Connecting

    Do Christian business owners struggle with their faith in practiceLife’s not easy being a Christian, holding on to those ideals, and still running a profitable business.

    In fact, as Christians we are held to higher standards and hamstrung in ways that our secular counterparts would never understand. Where they can cheat a little, the Spirit inside of us will accept only honesty. Where they can bend the rules, we must walk the straight and narrow. Where they can feel justified in closing a lop-sided deal, we must love our neighbors as ourselves.

    We’re handicapped in getting ahead.

    Or are we?

    Because business is changing. The old ways of tricking and making people feel a certain way through psychological manipulation are finished. If you watch carefully, the tides are turning.

    As people become more informed, more savvy, and more fed-up with with businesses’ broken and lame promises, your business can thrive. The future belongs to those people who can form relationships, exceed customer expectations, connect, and tell relevant stories.

    In short, the future belongs to the Christian Business Owner.

    We have a model for all those things, the man we claim to follow, Jesus himself. He valued and maintained quality relationships above everything (with his relationship to His Father being the most important), He consistently exceeded his followers expectations on things that mattered, He connected with people in a deep and meaningful way, and He communicated mainly in story through parables.

    As Christians, or literally followers of Christ, we are called to emulate these traits, to walk in his steps as Peter says in his second epistle. If you do, then as a Christian Businessperson you are in prime shape to outlast your secular competition and grow your business for the Kingdom.

    However, the road to change is long and difficult.

    If you are looking for quick answers or easy solutions, Jesus never promised that and neither do I. But if you dedicate yourself to change then can I guarantee you will.

    You’ve already taken the first step by reading this blog, I believe you can make it all the way.

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    The Power of a Villain for Your Business

    By: Josh Kilen
    08-08-2011
    Business, Story-Narrative

    business common enemy avoid customer disapointmentYou’re telling a story with your business. And the customer either finds your story good enough to join or rejects it.

    In any good story, the hero struggles against the antagonist which creates deep emotion. Customers won’t become emotional about (i.e. remember) your story unless they can see themselves as the hero in an epic struggle or a battle with an antagonist or obstacle.

    So what do you do? You join your customer in the fight against the common enemy and aid them in their fight, fighting along side of them if possible.

    Keep this in mind; in the end, the villain is almost always disappointment. Help them avoid that, achieve happiness in the process, and they will love you for it.

     

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