This paper explores the challenges creatives and artists face when seeking to turn their abilities into viable income. And provides a strategic blueprint for sustainable success.

1. HOW ARTISTS AND CREATIVES CAN
OVERCOME THE COMMODITIZATION
OF THEIR WORK AND EARN MORE
MONICA CARTER TAGORE
W H I T E P A P E R

2. © 2015 Monica Carter Tagore
Art attributions
“Painter palette” by Google is licensed under CC BY 3.0
“Fountain pen” by Freepik is licensed under CC BY 3.0
“Computer screen” by Freepik is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Created by Monica Carter Tagore
Published by Owner Press

3. Contents
Executive summary 4
Introduction 5
The quagmire of the starving artist 5
Earnings of artists and creatives 6
Challenges that threaten financial viability of artists and creatives 6
The solution: Smart use of technology and business practices 7
What to look for in a business training program for creatives 8
Conclusion 9
Become a better artist or creative 9
About the author 11

4. Executive summary
Technology and entrepreneurism will play a greater role in the
career of the successful creative or artist. The most successful
will be those who seamlessly marry the use of their creative
ability with the use of learned business skills and technology
that allow them to increase their reach and scale their
operations.
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5. Introduction
Today’s artist or creative is facing a growing challenge in using creative abilities to build
a livelihood. Economic pressures and the commoditization of creative outputs such
as writing, design, and photography have many talented and creative people shelving
their creative dreams for less fulfilling work that does not suit their temperaments,
capabilities, or goals. This environment is causing more creative people to seek out
low-paying bid sites and other online avenues that continually push down their income.
This squeezing of the artist or creative will have a negative impact in the long run by
reducing the number of creative people who choose to pursue their creative work in a
professional way, thus reducing the overall use and enjoyment of art and creativity in the
world at-large.
For many creative people and artists, the idea of business as a viable way to exercise
and enjoy their creativity has been an intimidating and even frown-upon prospect. They
have been taught that they are either creative or business-minded. With this cut and
dried choice, they have committed to creativity, believing the social message that artists
cannot be both.
Fortunately, the answer to the current career challenge facing today’s creatives and
artists is found in the marrying of their creativity and business. Getting training in
business can be a good way to learn the solid business principles and practices to
monetize their talent. However, relying on the wrong training that is not specific to their
needs can cost the creative and artist even more in time, frustration, money, and lost
opportunity.
This paper will explore the challenges creatives and artists face when seeking to turn
their abilities into viable income.
The quagmire of the starving artist
Writers, actors, musicians, and other creatives earn historically low pay, with many living
Henri Murger’s starving artist life. Murger, a French novelist and poet, penned 1851’s
novel Scenes de la vie de boheme, based on his own life’s experiences as a poor writer.
The work romanticized the idea of the starving artist, and the notion of the poor, starving
artist stuck. Today, it has become an expected circumstance that one attempting to
make a living in the creative field will be a starving artist.
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6. Earnings of artists and creatives
According to the National Endowment for the Art’s
first report of its kind, Artists in the Workforce1
, there
are nearly 2 million people in the United States who
describe their primary occupation as artist, more
than the lawyers, judges, and paralegals of the
legal profession. This is a number higher than the
physicians, surgeons, and dentists of the medical
profession, and a number higher than even agricultural workers. And while the Great
Recession took its toll on creative industries, the number of people working in this area
remains significant.
Most who identify as artists, though, struggle to make a decent living. Most, while not
unemployed, are underemployed. They often work part of the year, and take on other
jobs to supplement their artist income. According to the report, their median income
was $34,800 in 2003-2005, significantly less than the average professional’s income of
$52,500.
Challenges that threaten financial
viability of artists and creatives
Artists and creatives face many challenges, but there are five specific ones that threaten
their earning capacity.
Artists and creatives face one particular challenge unlike those of other professions: The
quality of their work is subjective. Because of the subjective nature of their work, many
artists never gain a sense of validation and become stuck in a cycle of rejections and
revisions of their work, when they do seek to submit it to employers, clients, and others
who would pay them for their output. This constant cycle of rejections and revisions can
create an endless project. The nonbusiness-minded creative does not have the skills or
knowledge to prevent such a circumstance from happening in the day-to-day work.
Another challenge many artists and creatives face is that they are too focused on the
art. They are consumed with the artist side of their lives and invest copious amounts
of time and effort in learning how to execute in a creative way, but they still are not
successful because they are missing the ability to tie their creative abilities to a need in
the marketplace.
The third challenge creatives face is in connecting their artistic output to a market need.
6
There are nearly 2 million
people in the United States
who describe their primary
occupation as artist.

7. Because of this, they produce work that is not commercially viable or that fails to gain
the interest of the buying public. Continuing to invest time and money into projects that
are not financially viable is a key reason for poverty among the artistic population.
The fourth challenge many artists and creatives face is an inadequate understanding
and application of business principles and strategies. Much of the business advice
geared toward larger organizations and other types of work simply does not apply to the
microbusiness or solopreneur artist. Artists who try to adapt it to their circumstances end
up frustrated and confused because the execution of the advice simply does not produce
the desired results.
The fifth challenge to artists and creatives is a general reticence toward selling. Because
many artists view themselves from the creative perspective, they have a difficult time
seeing themselves as salespersons. Because selling is uncomfortable, they avoid
engaging in it, thus limiting their income potential.
The solution: Smart use of technology
and business practices
The answer to the financial and commercial challenge facing today’s creatives and artists
is in entrepreneurship. Members of this population who aspire to build successful careers
using their creative and artist abilities must become creative entrepreneurs with a mind
toward the practical application of technology to their work. Those artists who do this
can rise from the paltry earnings landscape where many of their peers reside, and build
businesses that allow them to create healthy side incomes, replace the income from their
full-time jobs, or even go beyond to mega-successful enterprises.
The emergence of affordable and accessible technology makes it possible for single
artists to reach a paying public. Email marketing software, blogging and website building
platforms, and social media are three prominent examples of technology that can be
used by creatives and artists to build their careers.
Email marketing is one of the best ways to build a relationship with customers and
clients2
. Email is personal and email marketing means (when done properly) means you
have a personal invitation to send messages to your recipient’s inbox. With the number of
email users predicted to be 2.7 billion by 20173
, email has been widely adopted. About 91
percent4
of users of email check their messages at least once a day. Seventy-four percent5
of adults who have email actually prefer to receive marketing messages via email rather
than direct mail.
Blogging is an effective way to gain the attention of prospects. In fact, almost 40 percent
7

8. of companies in the United States blog as a means of marketing6
. Blogging is an effective
piece of the marketing mix, as 57 percent of companies that blog monthly report gaining
customers as a result, with the numbers climbing even higher for those that blog daily: Of
those companies that blog daily, 82 percent gain customers as a result7
.
Social media, the other prong in this technology-enhanced approach, also has proven
helpful to businesses that use it. Attracting new customers is the biggest challenge for
many businesses and social media is helping more of them face that challenge. About
94 percent of small to medium sized businesses use social media for marketing8
and 61
percent believe their social media marketing is helping them reach more buyers.
The proper use of email, blogging, and social media in a creative business can help more
artists stand out, find their audiences, and earn income.
What to look for in a business
training program for creatives
Engaging in business training would be a viable option for artists and creatives who are
serious about building a sustainable income around their abilities. The key is to engage
in training that speaks to the needs of the solopreneur
creative. This training should help address branding,
marketing, and sales. The training should be a good
primer for creatives who need to learn the necessary
skills, while also providing assignments and activities
to implement the teachings in their creative businesses.
An effective brand is important because it helps the creative entrepreneur stand out and
avoid the commoditization of his or her work output by reducing the likelihood he or
she will be forced to compete on price alone. A creative entrepreneur with a good brand
attracts clients and buyers who value the creative entrepreneur’s expertise, talent, and
overall work.
A structured marketing approach gives the creative entrepreneur a framework from
which to work, so marketing efforts can be planned and strategically implemented,
instead of the haphazard or nonexistent marketing efforts common to many artists.
The marketing approach should encompass technology to get the most effective use
of the creative entrepreneur’s time and should be scalable, so the creative entrepreneur
can grow the audience.
Addressing sales, including sales psychology and sales strategies, is helpful to creative
entrepreneurs who want to get better at turning prospects into buyers. Becoming
8
Key elements of training
should be branding,
marketing, and sales.

9. comfortable with — and even good at — sales will separate the struggling from the
successful.
Success as an artist or creative is absolutely possible today, with a change in mindset
and training. Talented creatives do not have to settle for scraping together income at
low-paying bid sites or being paid poorly due to the commoditization of their work.
They can build a brand around their work, find their target audiences, and become
sought after for what they do.
Conclusion
Today’s successful creative person must be part artist, but an equal or larger part
entrepreneur. He or she must be able to turn that raw creative ability into a product or
service that actually meets a need in the marketplace. The creative entrepreneur must
use available and affordable technology to build a brand, find an audience, and generate
sales.
Creatives and artists perform vital work that must continue to find a place of
appreciation in today’s commercial landscape. But it is incumbent upon the artist to
communicate that value to the buying public. Artists do work that has emotional, social,
cultural value, and commercial value. Marrying their creative abilities to needs in the
marketplace through smart business strategies will help artists find greater financial
value — financial reward — for their work.
Artists do not have to settle for the outdated notion of the starving artist. They can
become vibrant creative entrepreneurs who build thriving businesses around their
abilities.
Become a better artist or creative
To learn how to build a better business, visit the Accelerate business training program
page.
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10. Footnotes
1
National Endowment for the Arts. Artists in the workforce 1990-2005. May 2008.
Retrieved from http://arts.gov/sites/default/files/ArtistsInWorkforce.pdf
2
Small Business Administration. Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/
content/email-marketing
3
The Radicati Group. Email Market 2013-1017. November 2013. Retrieved from
http://www.radicati.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Email-Market-2013-2017-
Executive-Summary.pdf
4
ExactTarget.com. 91% of consumers use email at least daily. Sept. 26, 2012. Retrieved
from http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/91-of-consumers-use-email-at-least-daily
5
Merkle. View from the digital inbox. Feb. 23, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.merkleinc.
com/news-and-events/press-releases/2011/merkle-publishes-view-digital-inbox-
whitepaper#.VNkldC4rM3I
6
HubSpot.com. Blogging stats. Retrieved from http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-
statistics
7
HubSpot.com. Blogging stats. Retrieved from http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-
statistics
8
LinkedIn.com. The year of the social small business. Feb. 25, 2014. Retrieved from
http://blog.linkedin.com/2014/02/25/the-year-of-the-social-small-business-infographic
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11. About the author
Monica Carter Tagore is an author and business strategist. She
helps you Accelerate Your Life™ through training programs,
business ebooks, WordPress websites, and book authorship.
Monica is the founder of Owner Press, which produces ebooks for
business growth. She also provides one-on-one help through her
consulting programs. Monica is an experienced keynote speaker
and enjoys talking to crowds big and small.
Her website design and online branding company, Asset Press, creates WordPress
websites.
And her ghostwriting and book design service, RootSky Books, has been around for 13
years and has produced 100+ books.
Monica lives in Corona, California, with her husband and two sons.
Connect with the author
Website: monicacartertagore.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/monicatagore
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/monicacartertagore
Facebook: http://facebook.com/monicacartertagorewriter
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+MonicaCarterTagore
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12. A CC E L E R AT E Y O U R L I F E