If you're a "creative" type you are probably really good at something. That something is probably creative. Maybe you paint incredible watercolors, write amazing blog posts, make crazy flower arrangements or take the best photos.
You love what you do.
You just wish you could marry your passion with monetization.
There is a dream that's often on our social media feeds. There are these creative types who have "made it." Often they have huge followings, maybe a personal assistant or two, and we wonder if they are even the ones doing the creative work anymore.
It feels like they just happened upon the jackpot and the rest of us are stuck working jobs we hate, wondering if anyone values creative work anymore, or thinking this burden is something we are just stuck carrying if we keep caring for creative work.
The truth is, sometimes those massively famous creatives aren't even making that great of an income.
Let me pull back the curtain for you a bit here. Fame does not equal success. We might live in a culture that loves to look at follower counts, but aside from establishing some credibility with your audience, follower counts don't actually do that much.
Sometimes, they're deceiving. The level of engagement of those followers widely varies, and often they don't convert to sales.
This gets us to the big idea behind the easiest way to start making money as a creative. Ready?
Sell something.
My husband and I both come from sales professions and we often joke "sales eats everything for breakfast." As a creative, sometimes this saddens me. Some of the best authors of my time might never get the opportunity to publish a book because they can't prove to a publisher they can sell it.
Simultaneously, it excites me. Because you can't learn talent at your creative gift, but you can learn how to sell something.
There is a science and a process to sales. It's something you can learn how to do.
To start making money with your creative work or passion, all you have to do is learn how to sell it.
Selling as a creative will look different for each of us depending on our goals. Start by researching sales processes for people in your industry and find something to sell, whether it's a product or a service.
If you believe your creative work has value, selling is simply serving the people who value it by showing them it's available to them.
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