Your Messy Desk Gets More Likes Than Your Masterpiece: The Art Marketing Secret 5 Million People Already Know

Introduction

0:00Coming up on today's edition of the Art Marketing Podcast, your messy desk gets more likes than your masterpiece. The art marketing secret 5 million people already know. And specifically, your story is everything. Most creatives struggle with it. I'm going to show you some data on how we are going to fix this easily.

Personal Story

0:30So, I want to tell you about something that happened to me recently that like legit, genuinely surprised me and continues to surprise me even this morning. I know a ton of artists. I know a ton of photographers. I've been doing this for years and years. I've seen tens of thousands of Instagram profiles, websites, portfolios. I've had tons and tons of customers, tons and tons of conversations with my customers and seeing their faces on webinars and had them explain what they're working on,

1:01you know, what they're struggling with and everything else. You know, the long and the short, I knew these people. I do know these people, you know. I felt like I've known these people. And a little bit of inside baseball, but we recently launched a new forum, a new product. It's kind of think of like, you know, Reddit, Flickr back in the day, Reddit without being assessed to a whole bunch of different communities. And so, I'll talk more on that in future episodes. But to the topic at hand, I created a community in this new space, okay?

1:33And I called it Where I Create. And the idea was, I wanted to see where artists create their work, where the photographers create their work, how the sausage is made, okay? Their studios, their outdoor spots, where they take their photos, how they create their creations, garages, barns. I mean, you name it. They're kitchen tables, okay? You know, the corner of a spare bedroom with paint on the carpet, whatever the case may be. And I have to tell you,

2:04seeing the spaces of people I've known for years, it almost felt like I was meeting them for the first time. And I was and continue to be just like genuinely moved.

Artist Community

2:18I thought I knew these people. I've been having conversations, some spanning eight to 10 years with some of these folks. And there's just this profound sense of really, really getting to know them even better when I finally got to see where they work, how they work. And then after starting this thing, something incredible started happening. Other artists were seeing these spaces and started leaving comments. And the nature and the tone of the conversation, it had like almost nothing to do

2:50about their work directly. And yet it was about their work. It is like, it was exactly the type of conversation that you want to see have happening on social media. It is exactly the type of conversation that I have been banging the drum on on this podcast with, you know, posting personal content on Instagram and the, you know, the bar, the coffee shop conversation and going back years and years of these episodes. And when I saw this all started happening, I was like, wow, just absolutely wow.

3:23How they converted their garage, how they created 5 a.m. before the kids got, why there's a picture of their grandma stable to the easel, incredible basements and metal shops. And I mean, the width and the breadth of this was just absolutely incredible, okay? And so much so I was like, I have got to podcast about this because it's content nobody is making. And maybe you have done a little bit, sure, but you've got to let me explain this.

3:54And it might be one of the most powerful marketing tools that you're not using and you can't. It's so, so easy. And I think there's some psychology at play in all of this, okay?

4:07What's the problem that most artists, most photographers, most creatives have on Instagram, which is just a proxy for social media and just a proxy for people on their phones and just a proxy for intention in general, right? Like the default thing that everyone posts all the time is their work or their work in progress. And it's easy, it's comfortable, it's the work product, it feels professional, it's what everyone does. And I'm not knocking that. It's all good. You just can't do that all the time. And that is the problem, right?

4:37And what do we normally see in terms of the comments that we get on those, right? The finished work invites one response. That's beautiful. Conversation ends, they move on. Incredible. You're so talented. All the things that you guys are all so used to getting, right? But if you tell your story, okay? And you tell the story and it's a little bit vague, you know? I know it's an intimidating thing to do. Folks just glom on the story, they hear it, they freeze, and they engage, okay? And I've found already

5:09that this community that I created is sort of a bridge to this type of storytelling. It is a way to force you guys to do this type of storytelling that you wouldn't ordinarily do because it's not easy, right? And it's something you have to learn and work towards and be vulnerable and all the things that we've talked about on this podcast. But showing your space is the easiest form of storytelling. You don't have to write anything brilliant. You just have to take some photos of where you create, okay? But the photo itself,

5:39I'm finding it just does enormous psychological work, right? It's you being vulnerable without being scary. It's not a selfie. It's not a live video. It's not an Instagram live broadcast that I can't get any of you to do. It's not a personal essay. It's just your stuff. But it reveals absolutely everything. It reveals absolutely everything. It invites questions naturally without having to prompt for them, without having to ask for them.

6:10What's that tool? Why do you have two easels? What are you doing with those lights? Is that to create? Where is this building? What is with those ceilings? Are you telling me that's in your backyard? How do you have that much space? These questions just start coming out naturally. Is that a cat next to your paints? These conversations I'm finding, they just start themselves. They just start for themselves. And I think what it does is it creates parasocial intimacy.

6:42When someone sees where you work, they feel like they've been invited into your home. It's like a fundamentally different relationship than looking at a painting or looking at a photo or looking at your creation on its own in the feed. It just differentiates things instantly. Okay, and again, when you see it, it's astounding, like the questions that come up. And the cool thing about this is there's data behind it.

7:14Okay, there is data behind it. And when I say there's data behind it, you guys, I have learned this lesson. I have taught this lesson. And then I need to relearn this lesson again from time to time in this episode.

Marketing Strategy

7:26This whole entire thing that I'm explaining is just the perfect example of it. And I'll say this as like a quick sidebar. And I'll include this piece of content in the show and so if you guys wanna see it. But internally at Art Storefronts, we have Slack, we kick around messages of pieces of content, thought leaders, business leaders from a whole myriad of veritable cornucopia of industries and software people and side businesses and just everything, you know, tangentially that we think is awesome that other people should see. And recently we kicked around this piece of content from this guy, Mark Pincus.

7:58If you never heard that name before, he is the founder of Zinnia. Zinnia is this gaming company that like just absolutely exploded on the early days on Facebook. You know, he had this game called Farmville that all these people were addicted to like it was crack cocaine back in the day. Anyway, accomplished entrepreneur. And he gives this talk where he intros this 70-20-10 framework, I think is what he calls it. And his argument is that when you have the new product, works just as well for the new piece of content as well.

8:29It should be at its core, 70% proven, 20% better, and 10% new. Okay? 70% proven, what's already working, 20% better, and 10% new. Okay? And it works so well for content creation too. And some of the things that he says is on, you know, on innovation. And he goes, it's incredibly risky and really foolhardy to bet on a new consumer behavior. It's arrogant. And then he's got this other line,

9:00all new fails. One of my mantras is all new fails. If you isolate the new to maybe 20% of your product, 20% of your content, then there is a good chance that your product will be commercially successful even when your new idea fails. Right? And the TLDR version of all of this, and again, I'll include the talk in the show notes if you want to see it that piqued your interest, is stop trying to reinvent the wheel. The wheel works. It's proven. Just do the wheel. Okay? Just do the wheel.

9:31An example of this at Art Storefronts over the years is like, you know, and I get this question weekly. I got it this week. I got it the week before. Or, you know, how many website templates do you guys have at Art Storefronts? Do you have a bunch of them? Like, how many do you have, you know? And can I see them? Can I see them all? And I'm like, yeah, of course you can see them. And then maybe somebody's seen them and they're like, all of these website templates, they all sort of look the same. They're all minimalist. They're all very simple. They're all, you know, almost white,

10:01a couple of black ones and complete minimalist design. Do you have any flashier templates? Do you have any with a little bit more design and a little bit more polish? And I'm like, no, we don't. And you don't want one of those. And it goes back to this notion, stop trying to reinvent the wheel. The wheel works. It's proven. Just do the wheel. Okay? It doesn't matter what country you're in. It doesn't matter what language we're talking about, what culture, art galleries, museums,

10:34all over the world all look the same. They all look the same.

10:40The art upon usually white walls, sometimes brick or stone, depending on the building, but on white walls with lights on it and nothing else, nothing to distract your eyes, nothing to take your attention off of the art. That is the wheel that's been invented. That is the paradigm for how art is meant to be viewed in this world, how art is meant to be purchased in this world. It's what everyone knows. It's what everyone accepts. It is the wheel that's got invented that has been rolling for centuries. Why do all of our website templates look like that?

11:12Because we're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We learned. Why do artists screw up so bad on their websites and photographers do? Because you guys understand composition and you understand framing and you're artistic. So you decide to do this new thing with colors and fonts and bells and whistles and sliders and music and Lord knows what else, that it would be a modern day miracle if anyone actually saw the art, right? And so this is exactly what Pincus is saying. Like, you know, all new fails. Don't do new. Don't do new.

11:42Okay. Well, let's tie that back. Let's tie that back to this notion of showing the space where you create, of giving people a window into this place where you create, okay? And I want to isolate this to Reddit because this is the wheel too. R, and for people that don't know Reddit, it's basically a bunch of communities, a bunch of forums. Reddit just so happens to call them subreddits. And they all have names. And it's basically just a group of people organized around a specific topic, okay?

12:13I want to tell you some of the most popular subreddits on the entire site, okay? One is called R slash Battle Stations. You know what it is? Gaming setups. 5.2 million members on this thing. It's one of the top subreddits on the entire platform. And they are just photos of people's desks with their PCs on it. That's it. 5.2 million people can't get enough of that. There's another one, okay? Music Battle Stations. And it's music studios.

12:45The musicians figured this out from the computer gaming nerds, okay? And they're just showing their home studio setup, where they record, what they have in there, what the mixer is, what the keyboards are, what mouses they're using, lighting, the consoles, everything that they have to create their music, right? Another super popular one is R workspaces. General desk setups. That one has 238,000 members. The other one has 334,000 members. Super engaged. There's one called Cozy Places. That one has 4.9 million members. And it's not about creative spaces specifically.

13:16It's just spaces that feel good. And so people are obsessed with seeing other people's creative environments, okay? Do you know what Reddit doesn't have? It doesn't have where I create artist space, okay? It doesn't have one because the artist has not figured it out. And I think there's one called Art Studios. It has like 1,700 members. Completely dead, right? Completely dead. Point is, just like Mark Pincus said, this is already settled. There's no new to do here.

13:47People love this stuff. They go nuts for it, okay? They go absolutely crazy for it. And so when you start doing this, okay? When you start doing this, when you start posting some of this content, you are going to immediately start doing better on social media, okay? You are immediately going to start training the algorithm a different way. You are immediately going to start conversations that you didn't even know you could start, right? You know, the feedback that I've already seen, this is just so validated, you know?

14:18The artist who paints at the kitchen table after the kids go to bed, she posted a photo of the table, half covered in homework, half covered in watercolors. And the comments weren't about her technique. They were about her life. They were about her kids. They were about balancing this as a mother. All of the things that will drive your engagement to level 11, right? Like I said, the artist with a photo of her grandmother taped to the easel. No one asked about the brushstrokes. Everyone started asking about her grandmother. And then they started talking about her grandmother.

14:49And then the comment counts were just going, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. The photographers who started showing behind the scenes places, some are in the water, some are doing these crazy hikes, some had pictures of their gear bags. And then everyone's nerding out on what gear they have in their bag and why did they decide to shoot that and where is that location? And oh my gosh, I grew up there. It's like these photos of showing where you create and how you frame it is indirectly, not by design, absolutely achieving all of the goals

15:19that I have for all of you guys on social media because I know it'll get you more likes, follows, comments, messages, direct messages, follow, all of it. This is to your website and yes, sales. And so this just absolutely had, you know, a profound impact on me. You guys, regular posts of your finished art, are they important? Yes. What do they normally get? Polite comments, move on. The algorithm doesn't love them, okay? Posts that show creative spaces, you get questions, you get stories, you get shared experiences, you get emotional connections

15:49and you get people bonding with you. When people see your mess, when they see your setup, when they see how you do things, they feel the permission to share theirs. And the next thing you know, these conversations just keep happening. And you know, it had a profound effect on me. Like I said, I've known some of these folks for years and I'm like, wow, now I really know them based on the way that I see this. So this is so easy to do. All of you guys can turn this episode off the minute it ends. And then the minute you go to Spotify,

16:21leave me a positive reviewer. The minute you go to iTunes, leave me a positive reviewer. Like the episode. I need some help over here, okay? Please. But the minute you're done, this is so simple. Don't overthink it, okay? One, two, three photos of your complete workspace or a short video, okay? Just get something in the water. Grab some photos of how I took it. You that was on a photo shoot or a selfie you took on a photo shoot. Explain where you are, right? You can just do a full reveal to start. You're not going to be doing this in just one post.

16:51You're going to be doing this in a bunch of posts. We want to know where the magic happens. We want to know how the sausage is made. We want to see these details. We want to be pulled in behind the scenes, okay? And, you know, there's so many things that you can do from there. Detail shots. One corner, one tool, your equipment, your gear, your keyboard, your mouses, your monitors, your setup, how you carry your paints, all of this stuff. It just inspires such conversation, right? And you can do, yes, of course, you can incorporate your process snapshots.

17:23And I know a lot of you do this, but tell us a story of where you are mid-project, how big of a mess it is. The fact that you spilled coffee, the fact that your cat is always laying on the one thing that you need, you know, whatever the case may be, right? And you can also do the fore-afters of your space, you know, how it's changed over time, right? And, you know, I'll give you some social media prompts, right? I will give you some that you can copy right out of the show notes. I tuned up a couple of them because I know it'll help, right? But just listen to the language

17:53as I dance over some of this and how inviting it is, how interesting it is, how much better the copy is than a great amount of what you see posted there on a regular basis, right?

18:08The reveal, and I quote, you've seen my art, but you've never seen where I make it. Insert the photo of the workplace. This is my studio. And I use that word generously. It's actually, where is it? Is it a barn? Is it a corner of your office? Is it a corner of your garage? Is it the basement? Is it the attic? Is it whatever room, wherever you are? The stain on the table, that's where I'm painting I sold two years ago. I keep that as a reminder. What does your creative space look like? I want to see it, right?

18:38Every artist has to do one thing in their studio and that has nothing to do with art, but everything to do why they create. Mine is, show me the rick-a-rack. Show me the coffee mug. Show me your special file organization system. Show me your lighting that you're jury-rigged. Show me the dartboard that you have in the corner when you're creatively stuck and you just want to take the aggression out. Put something in there, right? Tell me why it sits in there. Tell me what it helps you do. Tell me why you love it. Done, right? Show a mess.

19:08I almost cleaned up before I took this photo. Then I thought, no. This is what it actually looks like when I'm deep in a piece. Show the messy workplace. The tubes are uncapped. There's cold coffee. I forgot about two hours ago. My cat is sleeping on a pile of reference photos. This is the real vision, not the curated one, right? Anyone else's space can look like a crime zone when they're in the zone. So yours can too, right? And so I've got like five or six or seven of these that I think will creatively like really kick you into high gear. So I'm going to put those in the show notes.

19:39You can read them, but I'm sure it's already working in your mind, right? It's already working in your mind. Next, because I want to do all this work for you ahead of time, because I love you, my loyal listeners, okay? The email copy. You guys, it doesn't just work for social media. Boy, does it work in email. Boy, is this going to be a curveball. Boy, is this going to be a changeup. Boy, are you not talking about a sale. Boy, are you not talking about some special author, okay? Going up with the subject lines as we speak.

20:12I would either go with, I've never shown you this before.

20:18Or, you've seen my art, but not this.

20:24Or,

20:26a photo I almost didn't share.

20:30Hey, Patrick, I want to show you something I've never shared before. Not a new painting, not a technique, not a sale. My workspace. This is where everything I make comes from. It's not fancy. It's a barn on the back half of my property in upstate New York. The specific detail right here, that's from specific story. I almost cleaned up before taking this photo, and then I thought, why? Even following my work,

21:01many of you have purchased, some of you are collectors. You've seen the finished pieces, but you've never seen this. And honestly, this might tell you more about me as an artist than any painting I've ever posted. I'm going to start sharing more of this. The real behind the scenes. It's what it looks like to make art for a living. The mess, the tools, the weird rituals. The corner of the room where the magic happens. And sometimes it doesn't. If you want to see yours, just reply to this email,

21:32a photo where you create. I'd love to see it. Seriously. That's a banger right there. I mean, that would absolutely get thin. I mean, open rate through the roof, reply rate through the roof. Crazy good right there. Okay? And so I'm going to include some templates like that of some ideas that you can take a shot with on email. I just want you to do this. I think you are, I think you are going to be blown away like I was blown away. Okay? And it's different, you guys,

22:02than just the behind the scenes stuff. It's different than just the mind process stuff. Right? This notion of where I create is different because it's spatial. It's not about the process of making art. It's about the environment you built around yourself. It is about your sanctuary, your office desk, where you do your thing. Right? And it feels amazing, right? Because when I started the community,

Implementation Tips

22:25I obviously had to take a picture of my battle center where I do all of my stuff, where I'm podcasting to you as we speak. Right? And, you know, I went through all the same emotions. I was like, I wonder what people are going to say about this. I wonder if I'm going to get any comments. I wonder if I'm going to get any likes. Does anyone care? Are people going to call me out for my desk being a mess? I'd probably need to dust it. Like, it's just amazing. But you guys, these things check every marketing box. They're easy to create. Take a photo, write three sentences. They invite engagement. People ask questions.

22:56They share their own. It's a real conversation. It humanizes you. People are going to bond with you. It differentiates you. No one else has your space. No one. It is yours, right? It builds this parasocial connection too. They feel like they've visited your home. They feel like they got invited into your home. And it's totally repeatable. You know, not everybody's online at all times. Not everyone is going to see it. You can do this again. Weekly, different angles, different details, different sessions, different brick and rack on yourselves, different messes, different photo shoot locations, different whatever,

23:26okay? It works on every platform. Instagram, email, Facebook, TikTok, anywhere you are doing any marketing whatsoever. This just works. It just works, okay? And it's going to drive the conversation you want. It's going to drive it away from just talking about your art and towards tell me more about you. Tell me more about you. And there's zero cost. No props. No setup. Almost no editing. No equipment. Like, powerful, powerful stuff,

23:57right? It is just an easy, easy on-ramp to everything that I've been teaching, everything that I've been banging, and now I've seen it go down right in front of my face and it is absolutely staggering, okay? Absolutely staggering. Finish this episode.

24:14Contemplate how you're going to do your space. Contemplate how you're going to go into your archive photographers and find some really cool shots that your pal's got of you on shoots or the selfie that you took. and then think about the story and post it. That's it. That's it. It's not any more difficult than that. If you hit any walls, come to these show notes, get the email copy, get the prompts. It will spur the creative juices and start doing some marketing that tells your story. Remember about Vingo.

24:44No one bought the art until they had the story. Do you have the story? Here's a way to get it. Thanks for listening. And as always, have a great time.