I'm preparing for a workshop I'll be doing for a group of vocal artists in a few weeks (Note: Want me to do one for you, then check this out)
Whenever I work with a fairly large group of artists, I always expect to encounter a few that basically resent the fact that they have to market their work.
They think that just because they are a "talented" singer (or actor, or painter, or whatever) that people should just naturally be connected to their work.
I use to find this attitude to be pretty funny . . . now I just find it to be pretty sad.
Look, right now Barack Obama is somewhere in America convincing a group of people to vote for him. He's being doing that for almost 2 years now.
No matter what you think of his politics, Sen Obama is probably one of the most talented politicians we have seen in a long time. He has clear leadership skills, a gift for public speaking, etc.
But if Sen. Obama never marketed his ideas . . . if he didn't develop a brand image, a social network, a passionate word of mouth marketing base . . . then he would be behind in all of the polls DESPITE all his talent.
Talent is good. Talent is necessary. But people still need to convinced to be a part of whatever you are doing.
That's just human nature.
Some people will need a little convincing. Some a lot. Some will never be convinced. But if you really think you can achieve some significant measure of success without some marketing savvy then you are just fooling yourself.
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One more thing. Because their is such a link between marketing and fundraising, sometimes I bring up both. So in that spirit, I present you this mainfesto on fundraising. You really should check it out.
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