When I shared the 10 most popular posts over the first ten years of Designing an MBA, I said that I would also share my 10 favorite posts. Which turned out to be a lot harder than I thought! In ten years, I’ve written almost 500 posts, and that is a lot to sort through!
I wouldn’t say this is a definitive list, as I could have easily added another ten or twenty more posts, but these are all posts that, looking back on them, form the core of what I believe as a creative business owner and teacher.
#1: Your Art Doesn’t Exist to Solve a Problem: Three Reasons I’ve had it up to Here with Problem Solving Marketing
I wrote this post to address a huge shame point I see with artists and makers, that they feel like they can’t promote their work unless they figure out what problem it solves. Spoiler alert: your work doesn’t have to solve a problem to be valuable. And after you’ve read that post, you can read Part 2, where I lay out a strategy for selling without resorting to problem solving marketing. (This was also my way to sneak an extra post onto this list!)
#2: How to Sell Your Art or Craft Like an Experience
One of the complaints I hear from artists and makers who are struggling to sell is that younger consumers don’t want to buy things, they want experiences. And while I think that statement is a little overblown, I wrote this post to dive into the why behind the experience trend and to help artists and makers see how you can sell your work like the experience it truly is.
#3: Two Simple Strategies to Help You Get Really Clear on Your Creative Business
One of my biggest pet peeves is one sized fits all business advice. Every person is different, and I firmly believe that your best business should reflect that. Which is why whenever I do individual coaching, I like to start by asking the two questions I share in this post. Because there’s no sense in building a business if it doesn’t give you a life you’ll love!
#4: How You Can Charge More and Still Make Your Work Accessible
A common response when I tell artists and makers to raise their prices is that they want their work to be “accessible” or “affordable.” So in this post, I share a pricing strategy that lets you raise your prices (so you profit more) while still keeping (some) of your work accessible to a broader audience.
#5: The Challenge of Cash Flow, or Why Does My Business Never Seem to Have Any Money?
Cash flow may not be the sexiest subject, but most artists and makers I know (myself included) have felt the cash flow crunch a time or two. In this post, I look at why cash flow matters (especially for maker businesses) and share some strategies to help smooth things out.
#6: Three Strategies for Reducing Stress in Your Business
What I love about this post is how timeless it is. Anytime I’m feeling stressed in my own business, I like to send it out to the Designing an MBA email list, and I inevitably always get a response back about how much someone else needed to hear it.
#7: What Your Price Says About Your Brand
I couldn’t do this roundup without at least one pricing post. (Ok, there’s a few others on this list that deal with pricing too, but this is the only one with price in the title.) This is a short post, but it’s the completely unscientific (but still highly useful) chart that catapulted this one into my personal top ten.
#8: Just Because Your Old Work Hasn’t Sold Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Make New Work
In this post I debunk another online marketing myth which says you should focus most of your time on marketing the work you’ve already made. But I’ve learned from experience that new work can be a big driver of sales, which is why I wrote this post to give artists and makers permission to get in the studio and PLAY from time to time!
#9: What Your Customers Aren’t Telling You: The Importance of Observation and Subconscious Decision Making
Whether it’s at a trade show or a retail show, one of the most important things I’ve done for my business to pay attention to the way people behave. (Which is also why I think it’s so important to do at least some offline selling, especially in the early stages of your business.) By learning to pay attention, you can tap into the subconscious decisions people make and create a stronger brand.
#10: The Paradox of Choice and the Powers of Mind Control
I had completely forgotten about this post until I was combing the archives, but it made the list because I love that I had the audacity to declare that I have mind control powers! In truth, it’s a post about why influencing your customers’ purchasing decisions is not only good for your business, it’s good for the customer.
Well there you have it, my ten favorite(ish) posts from the first ten years of Designing an MBA. As you can see, I went for a lot of posts that reflect my mindset as a business coach and teacher who also happens to be a practicing artist and maker. And to that end, I’m going to tack on two more honorable mention posts that really highlight some of the differences that come with marketing an art or product-based business.
Honorable Mention #1: Stop Listening to Info Marketers When It Comes to Your Email List: Email Marketing for Product-Based Businesses
Honorable Mention #2: How to Blog as an Artist or Maker (In Less Than 15 Minutes a Day)
And because I’m me (and I LOVE to talk pricing) how about one more honorable mention:
Honorable Mention #3: Three Signs It’s Time to Raise Your Prices
As you can see, there is a TON of great content here on Designing an MBA. So once you’re done tackling the posts on this list, I’d recommend scrolling the archives to see what else is here!