Trev

If you are a new artist, trying to get by, giving away your initial work for free might help with your sales. Currently, I have a free book available directly on my main page in exchange for an email. It’s been a great way to connect with potential buyers of my latest work.

The struggle with new artists is they do not have a following. No one knows they exist. Unless you have thousands to spend on online ads or other high-cost marketing practices, know one will pick up what you’re putting down.

It took me many months to gain traction for my work. I had to run freebie promotions every day in order to convince one person out of 50 to consume my work and leave a review or comment.

But you have to grind it out. You have to keep spreading the word about you. If you give up, you might never share the art that lives inside you.

The best way to give your initial work away for free is to set up an email list. Ask people to leave their email in exchange for a free story, drawing, you name it.

Then tell people about your freebie on social. I personally go on Facebook groups where my potential customers are at and connect individually with members there.

As a feedback mechanism, you can now find out if your work needs improvement. People will tell you what they think of your free work so that you can optimize your paid work.

If you need to work part-time while you figure things out, do that. I work a full-time job and freelance while promoting my work. Allow yourself the creative freedom by not struggling to make money. With financial stress, your work will suffer.

Get that first fan – that fan who will buy from you and rave about you. That’s all it takes to gain traction.

Now, what are you waiting for? It’s time to take a step back and see how you can build your tribe of fans today.

Let’s go back to preschool.

We were taught the names of basic objects, like squares and circles. We never even knew what people, places or things meant.

Why can’t children’s books explore the same unknowns?

That’s why I created a story called Stairs.

Using just rectangles and text, I crafted a story with the focus directly on the reader.

I didn’t want a character in this story. I wanted my reader to introspect instead.

I love creating abstract books. It leaves more imagination open to the explorer, the adventurer.

When characters are set in stone, we can only dream about what’s on the page.

When the reader can create the character on their own, they can dream about the possibilities beyond the page.

I believe my readers are smarter than their age. With only a little guidance on my end, the rest of the world in my books can be interpreted with pure imagination.

I love cookies. Some say I’m obsessed with them.

Chocolate chip. Macadamia nut. Double chocolate. Chocolate peanut butter…I’ll even eat avocado cookies.

There’s something about biting into that warm, circular, chewy disc that gets my heart racing and stomach growling.

What desserts do you enjoy?

What brightens your day and your tastebuds?