Welcome to week 70 of the Draw or Die Newsletter for artists and visual storytellers. A warm welcome to all the new memebers of this list, and reminder to all you always have access to the full archive of 70 weeks & more, chock full of info to help you stay encouraged, art business advice and more. Full Archive Here!
MEETUP ALERT!!! Our 2nd In Real Life Meetup is happening Tuesday July 25th in Pittsburgh - 6pm-8pm - It’s free, event details at the FACEBOOK EVENT LINK
I’ve had an uptick in questions about making money with your art or starting an art business… so if that’s not your cup of tea, then this week’s entry is not for ya.
Otherwise, here we goooooo….
The top reasons artists struggle to make money with their art, no matter HOW great of an artist they are…
#1 Most Artists refuse to think like a business.
Maybe because the topics are pretty boring, or not the creative part.
But if you fail to understand at least the basics of business and marketing, you’re going to fail before you begin.
For example… here’s a BIG one artists don’t think about…. Taxes!
You know in the USA , Uncle Sam is gonna come in and want 25% or sometimes MORE of every thing you’re selling.
Many artists say “SCREW all that!” and throw caution to the wind. They set sail and roll the dice. 🎲🏴☠️
I know one artist in particular who got hit hard by this. He’d just sell online and think every dollar back was free and clear.
He NEVER claimed that income but was taking payouts from PayPal, Etsy.., and one year? RANDOMLY AUDITED! He owed over $10,000 in back taxes and is still paying it back in payment plans, and it hit him at the worst possible time in his life.
He said to me he wished he had learned more about this sooner.
HERES a trick to making the BUSINESS side creative and fun…, a little formula if you will.
NOTE: Please talk to a real accountant locally. You shouldn’t take financial advice officially from me. I’m a cartoonist! That said….
Say you make $500 selling commissions online in one month.
Right off the top you’re gonna set aside 25% , that’s $125 you’d set aside for Uncle Sam somewhere.
And Uncle Sam may not ever see that anyways… more on that in a bit.
So now you have $375 left.
You’re going to cut this money in half.
Keep $187.50 for yourself.
The other half, 187.50, you invest back into the business.
For example maybe you setup a boosted ad for your art sales for $5 a day for 31 days, it’ll cost you $155 on Instagram - that’s MARKETING.
BUT here’s creative twist… you can write off your marketing budgets toward taxes you owe. AND if done correctly, it’s going to bring you MORE sales.
So each month… you have the potential to advertise more, and scale this up or down.
Therefore… remember that 25% of this sale Uncle Sam thought he’d get of your income? He maybe doesn’t get it all. Legally.
An even smarter move is to set aside that 25% in a micro investing app like STASH or Robinhood, with safe stocks and you’re going to earn more or a short-term return than in a standard bank savings account.
Example: I had a 19% return overall in 1 year on my mixed stocks in STASH.
Actually if you’re interested in learning more about this, USE THIS REFERRAL LINK for STASH , when you join and add any amount to your account (you can add like $5), we both get $20 to micro-invest in stocks. Guys, my Apple stock alone had a 34% return over the past year. My overall return on micro-investing was 19% last year.
And of course I have to say this… you should consult with financial experts or do your own research, I’m a cartoonist not a pro finance guy… I’m just telling you how I personally make business creative, and kind of gamify the boring shit.
If you’re creative with your money like this, well the taxes can kind of pay for themselves. And that can feel FUN. This is how our billionaire friends do it. While you may not be as lucky as them, you can still pay far less and be smart about your own taxes.
Of course… this is only if you’re having any sales at all…
Maybe you’re really struggling to make ANY money.
#2 big reason your struggle to make money
You don’t make a REAL game plan!
You need to do some research on whatever it is you’re doing, or else it’s going to wind up being just a glorified hobby.
And there’s nothing wrong with that.
But… I’d like to see you finding a niche or something that could last longer term for you AND something you enjoy.
When I say set a plan, go see my video about all the planning I do.
Use a simple OKR (Objectives and Key Results) sheet and review it each week.
Example: In that plan, I’m setting goals to remind myself that I need to do a call to action to buy merch or sign up every other week at least in the mailing list.
It’s easier than ever to launch an online site or free service. But Just slapping your art up online and praying someone will find it is NOT a plan. That’s chaos.
Which leads me to the OTHER reason artists struggle to make money….
#3 They don’t talk about it!
They don’t tell anyone that anything is for sale at all. I get it, you don’t want to bother people… you don’t want to seem spammy… but, UGH guys…
I know Marketing can be a dirty word to artists.
But here’s a creative twist…
replace the word “marketing” with the word “STORYTELLING.”
All marketing is storytelling.
You can’t have it both ways. Don’t on one side say you want to make money with your art, and then on the other side tell me you’re never going to sell yourself or post a call to action.
Okay you hate marketing. You suck at it…
Do you hate storytelling? You’re probably pretty decent at storytelling.
You must apply YOUR creativity to telling the story about yourself, and your products.
It doesn’t have to be spammy or feel egotistical.
People who will buy from you are generally interested in YOU, and the thinking and process behind the scenes.
They are NOT artists… they are collectors and lovers of the neat things you are making.
So… tell them the story of WHY you’re doing it. How you’re doing it. Put that kind of content out there. You don’t have to show your face. But you do have to show your art and put a meaning to whatever it is you’re doing!!!
Watch…here’s an example…
This is a really great time in this newsletter to ask if you to come join the DAILY DRAWING CLUB! It helps support our little Draw or Die Co. AND it’s helping more artists like you out there.
In all honesty… I’m not building this brand for the money.
Money serves a purpose, for sure. It helps me pay some bills and buy some sweet merch to help motivate more artists… we have a few things you can buy on drawordie.co .
That’s what my brand is about.. and I dedicate it to all the artists who deserved better out there. Jack, Wally… Vincent….
All the artists who struggled and ultimately gave up and put their pencils and brushes down forever. Ian, Jason, Angela, Anna… bad ankle bill.
I won’t forget…
Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there… but THIS is why I’m here.
This is MY story and purpose.
And that’s storytelling. That’s marketing.
Back to why artists struggle to make money with their art….
#4 You’re afraid to fail.
Listen, you learn nothing from success. You learn everything from failure.
If you try something and it tanks…. Don’t just walk away and call it quits.
Ask yourself honestly why didn’t this work? What was missing? Was it a true gameplan? Did you NOT tell your story enough?
Usually at this stage an artist quits because they spent a bunch of money on equipment or setups and it just crapped out.
They went all in and it tanked.
Now they feel the pressure to “get a real job!!!” And all that outside noise that will drag you down. And when you fail? All those A-HOLES are there lining up to tell you they told you so.
Don’t go ALL in! Make a small plan and test!
Test and scale. Instead of trying to make TONS of different products or sizes… focus on ONE specific thing.
In business, we call it a SKU. That stand for STOCK KEEPING UNIT. Every product you see anywhere on shelves or people’s websites has a specific SKU number.
Big businesses often fail because they try to maintain TONS of SKUS. But the smaller companies, startups, or creative businesses do best with 1 or just a handful of very specific products.
This is how successful businesses are run.
And reason #5… and there are way more than 5….
But for the purpose of this video this is the biggie.
You can’t get out of your own way!
You’re not willing to bend, or be open minded to new paths for making money with your art and skills.
You only set out to do ONE a thing and that’s it.
For me? it used to be comics. You know?
Yeah I made some money doing that… but it’s a grind.
When I realized I could make more money drawing 4 panel comics or spot illustrations than I ever did making full blown graphic novels… that was a big awakening for me.
What about you?
Do your stick to your guns, or are you willing to pivot?
I’ve done just about everything as a commercial cartoonist.
It doesn’t make you a sellout. In fact, I still make my own comics for myself, while doing things that bring in income to allow me to do more things I love.
Lastly… this may not be for you…
This business side of art.
You may not WANT to be asked to draw caricatures at festival, but if you were offered $150 an hour to do it, would you?
Would you then take that $$$, set aside 25% for Uncle Sam… split the rest, reinvest in your art career, and put the other half to enjoy your life.
It’s a personal choice.
There’s not a limited supply of work out there, it’s unlimited.
There is plenty enough to go around for every artist who wants it.
The only limit is in YOUR mind!
I can’t do that work for you…
I can only encourage you, and point you to these very real reasons you may be struggling.
I hope this motivates you to think creatively about your art and business. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here or send me an email anytime at dj@drawordieclube.com
🔥This Week’s Drawing CHALLENGE!
This week’s drawing prompt is…
MIND YOUR BUSINESS.
Be sure to tag #drawordieclub on the platform of your choice so we can all find each other (we’re mostly on instagram) Maybe we’ll feature your art in future livestreams and content!
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