Creative Business 101: Newsletter Blues

by Linda | Apr 19, 2012 | my creative journal

For all businesses, the email newsletter list is supposedly the holy grail. It’s a direct connection to your fans, so that you can communicate with them like friends. The idea is that your list should be your biggest fans, otherwise they wouldn’t sign-up in the first place. I realized the importance of building a list and started a while ago, even though I didn’t know what I was going to send out. I still haven’t figured it all out… but I’m grateful for all the sign-ups. It means people care!

Or do they?! This week I’ve had some newsletter blues, aka unsubscribes. I started sending weekly Wednesday emails introducing a new Girl With A Message along with my thoughts. It’s supposed to be short and direct, but a constant connection to my audience. Since my newsletter sign-up offers a printable girl, I thought it would naturally be the most pertinent news to the list right now.

When the unsubscribes started rolling in, I started questioning the purpose of everything (in life). It’s inevitable to sink into despair at some point – “Oh, what’s the use! I don’t even know what I’m doing. There’s no point…” I think it’s difficult to NOT take an unsubscribe as a personal rejection and nobody likes rejection.

After calming my nerves, I tried to look at the situation objectively. Unsubscribes are normal! The statistics show that all businesses have unsubscribes and the bigger your list grows, the more there will be. It’s actually a good thing because it means uninterested people are leaving. In fact, I was elated to learn that April from Blacksburg Belle actually encourages people to unsubscribe from her list when they sign-up, if they aren’t going to be a good match. The key is creating a true list of fans. Think of it as a natural cleansing of your email list.

It’s not personal. If you think of your own email subscriptions, it’s easy to come up with completely impersonal reasons of unsubscribing. Every once in a while, I go through a massive sign-up phase and massive unsubscribe phase. It’s just a cycle of exploring new things and then deciding that I have too much going on or that it wasn’t what I wanted. It doesn’t mean I hate the person behind the business!

Think of your fans! We all seem to dwell on what we’ve lost, but’s it’s way more important to concentrate on what you have instead. You still have loads of people on your list, so think about serving them. Those people want to connect with you, how cool is that?

I definitely felt better after thinking a bit about this week’s experience. Thanks to all those on my list and it’s okay if you need to unsubscribe – I won’t take it personally. On the other hand, you can totally sign-up for my newsletter if you’d like to get a free printable girl and weekly updates of what’s new!

Do you have thoughts about how to handle an email list? What do you send out to your fans?

Is There A Default Girl?

by Linda | Apr 12, 2012 | my creative journal

I had to change the title of yesterday’s post, because it was not a business update and I suddenly felt that I was chickening out again. Having to report weekly about creative business 101 progress – well, it’s not always so easy.

I take another detour today as I continue to think about the perception of things and how they change over time. I started thinking about how everything around us changes who we are. Can we ever just be ourselves, truly? I had this moment of fear, when I thought that perhaps… I am trying to project as others that I admire, rather than me, myself, and I. What is my true self and identity really like? Who am I, really? Yeah, I know. Age-old questions…

Have you ever met people who seem to change themselves according to whoever their friends are at the time? Their likes and dislikes, interests, style… seem to morph with the group. It might be more apparent among young teenagers who are still growing up. But I thought, wait a minute, am I still doing that today? Something new and shiny attracts me and I think, I’ve found it! That’s what I like or should be more like. Or that’s what I really need to be shooting for. Is it really? Is it just another twisted view for today… that will inevitably change tomorrow?

Questions running in head as I wonder, who the real me is and what do I really want me to be? I’m reading an article on the Brave Girls Club website and this is what struck me.

you can’t have the life you want to have
if you haven’t taken the time to figure out what life that is…
***and***
you can’t have the life you want to have
if you don’t ask for it, work for it, and walk past everything else that distracts you from it

Creative Business 101: My Money Landscape at Tax Time

by Linda | Apr 5, 2012 | my creative journal

Continuing my efforts to talk about money without shame… I was thinking about how every year, tax time forces me to really see the big picture of my finances. I’m actually pretty good about keeping records and we all should be paying attention to financials quarterly, if not more often. But with the numbers all there in black and white – final for the year – ready to be mailed out to the IRS, you just can’t gloss over the facts.

I realize that I truly dread tax time, not for the numbers or paperwork required. It’s not the work that scares me, I actually get satisfaction from filling out forms and finishing such tasks. What bothers me, is facing the reality of my financial situation. It’s scary, frustrating, and depressing.

Perhaps we can never be 100% satisfied with our financial situation – or is that exactly one of the limiting beliefs that is leading me astray?

I know that is takes hard work to earn money. I suppose I really need to tend my garden of money. It’s in a very sad state. I think there’s potential for abundance – to grow and flourish – but right now, it’s a not-so-inspiring barren landscape.

Lately, I’ve been in the mode of not spending a dime (well, expect for books). I keep thinking that the frugal state will help in some way. But in the big picture, no matter how little you might be spending – you’ll still run out at some point. Instead, the well needs to be filled. It’s like adding nutrients to your garden, so the plants can flourish. Otherwise, the land is just used up and no good.

I need to concentrate on getting more money to flow in, not just limiting or blocking the money that flows out. It’s not a balanced way to think about it and would not create a sustainable ecosystem. In thinking about it in this way, I understand more why some gurus seem to be telling you to spend money – or not be afraid to spend money. It’s a state of mind for the whole landscape to function in balance.

Have you thought about your money landscape? (I hope you have done your taxes!)

How can we make our financial gardens sustainable and flourishing through the seasons?

Start An Artful Journal Instantly

by Linda | Apr 3, 2012 | my creative journal

Many art journalers don’t decorate the cover of their journals until the very end. It’s sort of a sweeping measure to finish up a long record of artful adventures. However, I personally like to decorate – at least in part – my journal covers immediately.

I want my journal to be inspiring, inviting me in, even if I see it on the shelf or from across the room. An easy way to give yourself an instant journal cover is to use a piece of existing artwork. For this journal, I used my Create Fearlessly illustration. You can definitely use a copy of your own artwork or even magazine cutouts of imagery that inspires you.

Don’t hesitate to alter and decorate the art to make it your own. Think about collaging different elements together, adding 3D embellishments, and little details with pens and paints. I’ve added a paper-mache glossy heart, with some tulle to embellish the cover and binding area.

Existing imagery can give you a jumpstart, so you can dive into your journal today. How would you decorate your journal covers?

Creative Business 101: Reading and Reflecting

by Linda | Mar 29, 2012 | my creative journal

I’ve been diving into a variety of books these past few weeks, absorbing information the old fashioned way. I know that many of us think that surfing the internet might be researching to some effect – but there’s really nothing better than snuggling up to a good book. Truly.

Side note: I purchased a few audiobooks to listen to on my Kindle… but have realized that I dislike the format. I keep trying to envision the transcript, wanting to see the structure of the content. Kindle ebooks are better, but the old fashioned paper book is still the most useful to me. Enough said.

So, I’m trying to give myself solid ground to work upon. Learning not only about business, but about myself and my true desires in life. To revamp my lifestyle entirely, because it all goes together. You can’t expect great things without great change.

Been thinking about what am I truly working for and writing things down. Journaling by hand and posting on this blog, my thoughts and feelings.

If you are interested in the books on my shelf, here’s a short list that I have read or currently reading through. Links go to Amazon.com:

• The Complete Artist’s Way: Creativity as a Spiritual Practice
• The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It
• The Right-Brain Business Plan: A Creative, Visual Map for Success
• Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
• Nutrition Diva’s Secrets for a Healthy Diet: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and What to Stop Worrying About
• I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t): Telling the Truth About Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power
• Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture
• Creative, Inc.: The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Freelance Business

Otherwise, I have been working on a new set of girl illustrations while spreading the news about them through email introductions. It never hurts to simply tell people about what you are doing. I want to thank Indi from {KID} independent, Nicole from Elsa Bags, and Amy from Pikaland for posting about my Girls With A Message illustration series. I’m honored and thankful.

There hasn’t been a lot of external action in my creative business, it’s all happening inside of me instead. It does feel like the calm before the storm. Do you have these periods in your creative journey? How do you deal with them to make it a productive time?

Reflections on My Work and Self

by Linda | Mar 28, 2012 | my creative journal

I feel proud of the work I have done. I certainly feel accomplished in many ways, even if there’s so much more that I want to do. It means I have ambition.

I truly value connection… the authentic, natural, deep kind of relationships. I’ve always been better one-on-one than in a group. I’m an introvert and that is a-okay. In fact, I love being an introvert. Just as I like being petite-sized.

I have learned that I need solitude. Alone time, quiet time. But I love good company as well.

Family is supremely important to me. Truly living, not just working.

I want to constantly learn new things and create new things. I want to be inspired and to inspire others. Warmth, light, happy feelings – positivity. That cozy, bubbly feeling is the best.

It’s about comfort. It’s about wonder. It’s about play. No stress. Only solutions to problems and the courage to brace for the fast curves in the road.

With many the many roads offered in life, I took the one less traveled by and I believe that it has made all the difference – love this poem. I would not want to go backwards in time to change anything. But I do want to keep moving forward and forging new ground. In peace, in tranquility.

Quiet confidence. Happy times. A good life.

Have you ever taken the time to reflect on your work and values? Document your thoughts at this moment in time, about your life.

I’ve been reading and working through The Right-Brain Business Plan (Amazon link) by Jennifer Lee and really would love to read Susan Cain’s book as well. Check out The Power of Introverts to learn more. So inspiring.

Creative Business 101: The Science of Willpower

by Linda | Mar 21, 2012 | my creative journal

It might seem like a completely duh! realization, but I was thinking about how often we know what we should be doing, but just can’t get ourselves to do it.

Whether in our creative businesses or everyday life, we aren’t always applying all the good knowledge we have at our disposal. We all know that we should exercise more and eat healthier for example. Why is it that we can all agree on things we should be doing, but can’t carry them out all the same?

We can all set intentions and goals, but we don’t always follow through. Those darn new years resolutions! I started to think about the lack of willpower and wondered if I was lacking that strength in my character. Was there something wrong with my pre-frontal cortex? I found myself wondering about the science of it all.

So I decided to read The Willpower Instinct (Amazon affiliate link) by Kelly McGonigal Ph.D. I’ve come across her articles before and wanted to learn more. I appreciate how she’s taken scientific studies and boiled them down to plain English, so that we can actually apply the learning to our lives. It turns out, we can strengthen our willpower by learning more and doing exercises to strengthen it, as with most things in life.

I’m going through the book by tackling a chapter a week, working through the exercises and challenges. It’s a bit like The Artist’s Way, discussing a topic/issue and providing exercises a chapter a week, simulating a workshop. Of course, the difference is that this willpower book is based on scientific studies in addition to real-life experiences and results of workshop participants. It also encourages the reader to make themselves a science experiment, so we can truly learn through our personal experiences and results.

In our creative businesses, we are often looking for help and motivation to take ourselves to the next level. I started to notice that the gurus and advisors out there, all offer pretty much the same advice. They might twist and turn the topic around, but it’s the same stuff in essence. I realize that different styles of teaching are necessary, because we all learn differently…

… but even before we get to the all the information, we need to get off our butts and take action. That’s really the most important thing and we all talk about it. Beating procrastination and motivating ourselves! There are a lot of tips and tricks out there, but I still didn’t feel like anything went to the core of the issue. Sure, there are many reasons – going down to the level of our inner most fears. But I really wanted to understand the why from a scientific perspective.

Of course, I probably sound like the very thing I’m talking about. Duh, we all know that we have to get our butt into gear. We all know that, but struggle with it and realize it’s a challenge… so how do we get out of that funk? I beat myself down all the time, for not having patience, willpower, the gumption… I dunno what’s wrong. As if I’m missing something and maybe I’m not meant to do these things that I want to do.

From just the introduction and first chapter of the book, I’m learning that it’s a natural human thing to succumb to our temptations. It’s not a judgement on our character. We might have known a bit about that, but it’s even better to hear the science behind it. It lifted a weight off my shoulders, to know that I’m not doomed! How silly, huh? I think when it comes to our personality or character habits… it seems like something we are stuck with, that we can never change who we are. But it’s just not the case. We think of these intangible aspects as separate from getting in physically in shape, for example… but we can change and train our brains. It’s certainly not easy! No pain, no gain!

This week, I’m trying to identify what blocks me from doing what I need to do. Awareness is the first step to change… you have to know where you are standing at this moment, in order to head in the right direction!