In this illuminating episode of Creativity Excitement Emotion, host David Andrew Wiebe sits down with photographer and digital creative Karlo Keet to explore the intersection of traditional artistry and emerging AI technologies.

As the second most popular episode of 2024, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective on how creatives can adapt and thrive in an evolving technological landscape while maintaining their artistic integrity.

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The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Introduction

03:30 – Embracing the Age of AI in Creativity

Summary:

In this illuminating episode of Creativity, Excitement, Emotion, host David Andrew Wiebe sits down with photographer and digital creative Karlo Keet to explore the intersection of traditional artistry and emerging AI technologies. As the second most popular episode of 2024, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective on how creatives can adapt and thrive in an evolving technological landscape while maintaining their artistic integrity.

The Evolution of a Creative Career

Keet's journey from teenage photographer to professional began with a simple point-and-shoot camera and darkroom experience

Transitioned through various creative phases, including 3D artwork and landscape photography

Currently runs Catstar Images, focusing on portrait photography and personal branding

Maintains multiple creative ventures, including web design and digital marketing services

AI Integration in Creative Work

Takes a pragmatic approach to AI implementation, using it as a complementary tool rather than a replacement

Utilizes AI for:

Initial logo design concepts and inspiration

Copywriting assistance through ChatGPT

Website development efficiency

Creative ideation and workflow optimization

The Future of Creative Industries

Keet and Wiebe discuss the projected landscape for 2025, noting several key trends:

Decreasing investment in AI startups, potentially leading to consolidation in the space

Continued evolution of AI tools, but at a more measured pace

Emergence of new roles and opportunities, such as prompt engineering

Emphasis on human creativity and interpretation remaining crucial

Marketing in the Digital Age

The conversation highlights the growing importance of digital marketing for creatives:

Personal branding becoming increasingly crucial for artists

Need for multi-channel marketing approaches

Value of professional photography in building online presence

Integration of traditional and AI-powered marketing strategies

Practical Applications

For Photographers

Embrace AI tools for initial concept development

Maintain focus on human elements and artistic interpretation

Consider diversifying services to include personal branding

Look for opportunities to submit work to contests and exhibitions

For Digital Creators

Use AI as a brainstorming and efficiency tool

Focus on developing unique creative processes

Maintain quality control over AI-generated content

Build a balanced workflow combining AI and human creativity

Action Steps for Creatives

Assess Your Toolkit

Evaluate current AI tools in your field

Identify areas where AI could enhance efficiency

Research emerging technologies relevant to your craft

Develop Your Brand

Create a professional portfolio

Establish presence on relevant platforms

Consider submitting work to awards and exhibitions

Document your creative process

Build Your Network

Join creative communities

Attend industry events

Collaborate with other artists

Share knowledge and experiences

Optimize Your Workflow

Originally aired as Episode 3 and ranked as the third most popular episode of 2024, this introspective discussion explores how intentional daily scheduling can transform your creative career.

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The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Introduction

03:01 – How to Script Your Ideal Day

Summary:

David shares his journey of designing an intentional daily schedule, inspired by marketing legend Dan Kennedy's time management principles. While his perspective has evolved since initially recording this episode during summer 2023, the core message remains powerful: deliberately scripting your ideal day is crucial to achieving your creative and professional goals.

Key Takeaways from the Episode

The Ideal Day Framework (Original Version)

Creative Work (2.5 hours)

30 minutes dedicated to songwriting

60 minutes for recording/production

60 minutes focused on book writing

Content & Marketing (6.5 hours)

2 hours for content creation

4 hours for marketing and distribution

30 minutes for research and market analysis

Strategic Growth (30 minutes)

Dream 100 strategy implementation

Targeted outreach to industry connections

Building strategic partnerships

Personal Development Components

30-minute daily workout routine

30 minutes dedicated reading time

Emphasis on consistency over intensity

Evolution and Current Perspective

David notes that his approach has shifted significantly since recording, influenced by concepts from "10X Is Easier Than 2X." His current ideal day framework focuses on the following:

Maximum of three priority tasks per day

Four focused workdays per week

Built-in buffer days for flexibility

Dedicated recovery days

Notable Insights & Analysis

The AI-Human Balance in Content Creation

While acknowledging AI's growing role in content creation, David emphasizes the irreplaceable human element in creating authentic, valuable content. This reflects a broader industry trend where successful creators are learning to leverage AI for efficiency while maintaining human creativity and expertise as their core differentiator. Finding the sweet spot between technological assistance and genuine artistic expression is key.

The Music Industry Marketing Model

David draws a fascinating parallel between music industry promotion and general business marketing. The "touring" approach he describes – maximizing the value of existing content rather than constantly creating new material – aligns with modern content marketing best practices.

This strategy particularly resonates in the digital age, where content repurposing across multiple platforms (what David calls "breaking down into smaller chunks") can dramatically increase ROI on creative efforts.

The Mathematics of Consistency

Rather than viewing luck as a random force, David presents it as a mathematical inevitability that emerges from consistent action.

This approach echoes Malcolm Gladwell's "10,000 hours" concept but applies it specifically to creative entrepreneurship. By breaking down large goals into daily 30 – 60 minute blocks, David demonstrates how significant achievements become more attainable through systematic effort.

Evolution of Time Management Philosophy

From Intensity to Sustainability

David's journey from a 14-hour workday mindset to a more focused, efficient approach reflects a growing understanding in creative industries about sustainable success. This evolution mirrors broader conversations in entrepreneurial circles about work-life integration versus traditional "hustle culture."

The Buffer Day Innovation

The concept of buffer days represents a sophisticated understanding of creative work's cyclical nature.

Our journey through 2024’s most popular Creative Excitement Emotion episodes continues with episode 61 – How to Make an Impact on Your Audience in 2024 – with Amos Bracewell.

Tune in to hear Amos share his Facebook community building success story.

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Sponsors:

Productivity, Performance & Profits Blackbook: Get a free copy of the “Definitive Guide to Productivity for Artists and Entrepreneurs.”

The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Introductory thoughts

01:42 – How to Make an Impact on Your Audience

Summary:

In this compelling conversation between host David Andrew Wiebe and entrepreneur Amos Bracewell, we dive deep into the transformative journey of building engaged online communities and the ripple effects of taking bold entrepreneurial action. The discussion weaves together Bracewell's personal story of building a Facebook community from scratch with the broader lessons he learned about leadership, community building, and business growth.

Listen to episodes 57 and 61 for full context.

The Coffee Shop Epiphany

Bracewell's journey began in January 2023 at a coffee shop in Abbotsford, British Columbia, where he first conceived the idea for his Facebook group. Despite initial uncertainties and no clear monetization plan, he committed to giving the project ten months. This leap of faith led to remarkable results: within 15 months, his group ENTV Today grew to over 9,300 members, and he conducted more than 450 interviews.

The Mother Principle: A Revolutionary Approach to Community Leadership

What makes Bracewell's approach distinctive is his philosophy of "serving from the bottom up." Rather than positioning himself as the central authority, he focuses on creating spaces where others can shine. This approach mirrors what he calls the "mother principle" – nurturing and supporting growth within the community rather than dominating it. This method proved so successful that by month four, he generated $5,000 in revenue, which grew to $30,000 by month five.

From Uncertainty to $30,000/Month: The Power of Persistence

The success of his community-building approach led Bracewell to develop the Catapult program, where he teaches others to replicate his methods. His students have achieved remarkable results, with some groups growing by 200-300 members per week – significantly faster than the typical organic growth rate of 50-100 members weekly for most Facebook groups.

The most profound lesson from Bracewell's experience is perhaps the power of taking action despite uncertainty. As he shares in the conversation, "I didn't even know what I'd be selling. And I knew that I didn't know." This willingness to move forward without having all the answers proved crucial to his success.

Breaking the Social Media Selling Trap

Instead of trying to sell directly on social media, Bracewell advocates for building a dedicated space where you can consistently provide value to members. He likens this to serving appetizers before offering the main course – when people consistently enjoy your free content, they're more likely to invest in your paid offerings. This approach typically converts 1-3% of group members into clients, creating a sustainable pipeline of warm leads.

The Talk Show Host Mindset

The most successful community leaders act more like talk show hosts than lecturers. They excel at drawing out others' expertise and creating opportunities for members to showcase their knowledge and talents.

While Bracewell's own group serves as an umbrella community for empowerment and networking, he emphasizes that this approach can work for any specific niche - from dog training to visual arts, from yoga to business coaching - as long as the leader is genuinely passionate about serving that community.

Beyond Numbers: Creating an Ecosystem of Opportunity

What sets this approach apart is its focus on sustainable,

We are looking back on the most popular Creativity Excitement Emotion episodes of 2024, and the fifth most popular episode of the year was 3 Things That Aren’t Going to Grow Your Music Career in 2024.

Tune in to hear why David feels detours are inevitable on the path to music career success, and get a refresher on popular music career strategies that could be holding you back.

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Sponsors:

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The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Introductory notes

03:07 – 3 Things That Aren’t Going to Grow Your Music Career in 2024

Summary:

In an industry flooded with advice, tools, and "must-do" strategies, distinguishing between genuine opportunities and distractions has become increasingly challenging. This eye-opening episode cuts through the noise to expose three commonly promoted strategies that might lead musicians astray.

The Sales Funnel Fallacy

While sales funnels have become a popular marketing tool, their effectiveness for musicians requires careful examination. The episode highlights several critical insights:

Building effective sales funnels requires significant time investment and multiple iterations

Most musicians abandon the process after early attempts fail to deliver results

Even marketing professionals with years of experience require multiple attempts to create effective funnels

AI tools, while helpful, aren't a silver bullet for funnel creation

Key quote: "Even with help from AI, I'm highly skeptical that building a sales funnel is going to save your career."

The Production Perfection Trap

The endless pursuit of better production quality might be a misallocation of resources. The episode suggests a more practical approach:

Focus on audience feedback rather than theoretical production improvements

Essential production skills worth developing:

Basic recording capabilities

Self-editing proficiency

Basic mixing knowledge

The importance of getting honest feedback from your audience about production quality

Understanding when "good enough" is actually good enough

The Social Media Treadmill

Perhaps the most timely warning concerns the exhausting pursuit of social media trends. The episode breaks down why this approach often fails:

The proliferation of platforms makes comprehensive coverage impossible

Constant algorithm changes render "hacks" temporary at best

Success stories often hide the reality of consistent, long-term effort

Most viral successes come after hundreds of attempts

Key quote: "You must build something that you own and control or you don't have a stake in the market."

What Actually Works: Building Long-Term Assets

Instead of chasing trending strategies, the episode advocates for focusing on owned assets:

Website Development

Creating a central hub for your music and content

Building a platform you control completely

Email List Building

Developing direct communication channels with fans

Creating a marketing asset that isn't subject to algorithm changes

Physical Address Collection

Expanding beyond digital-only connections

Creating opportunities for meaningful fan engagement through physical merchandise and materials

The Reality Check

The episode serves as a crucial reality check for musicians who might be spreading themselves too thin across multiple strategic initiatives. The core message emphasizes that while these tools and platforms can be useful, they shouldn't be the primary focus of a developing music career.

Action Steps for Musicians

Audit your current time allocation across different activities

Evaluate the real returns on your marketing efforts

Focus on building owned assets before chasing trending strategies

It’s time to look back on the top six most downloaded Creativity Excitement Emotion episodes of 2024, and our journey begins here – 2 Ways to Make It to The Top, which was the second episode of the year.

Tune in to hear David share why he’s highlighting the most popular episodes from 2024, and get a crucial refresher on the two paths to success available to you.

Download the PDF Transcript

Sponsors:

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The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Introductory notes

09:05 – 2 Ways to Make It to The Top

Summary:

In the competitive landscape of the music industry, conventional wisdom often pushes artists to become entrepreneurial leaders. However, this enlightening episode challenges this one-size-fits-all approach, revealing that there are actually two distinct paths to success: becoming a driven leader or strategically aligning yourself with one.

The Anatomy of a Driven Leader

Driven leaders in the music industry possess distinct characteristics that set them apart:

Rapid Vision-to-Reality Execution

They transform ideas into tangible results with remarkable speed

Can complete significant projects (like full albums) within six months

Excel at energy management and focused concentration

Notable quote: "They're able to take a vision and move it to reality rapidly. It's almost like they have an idea and snap, six months later, there it is."

Forward-Thinking Mindset

Consistently anticipate future needs and challenges

Create data-driven strategies using charts and statistics

Think weeks or months ahead while managing present tasks

Demonstrate strong emotional intelligence in team management

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Maintain consistent reading habits (even if just two pages per day)

Utilize diverse learning methods (audiobooks, podcasts, courses)

Actively seek self-education opportunities

Transform educational content into accessible formats for on-the-go learning

The Alternative Path: Hitching Your Wagon to a Star

Not everyone is naturally inclined to be a driven leader, and that's perfectly okay. The music industry has countless examples of successful artists who excelled in supporting roles:

John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin: Despite being less famous than bandmates like Robert Plant or Jimmy Page, his contributions were crucial to the band's success

Donald "Duck" Dunn: A legendary session bassist who played on countless hits without being the frontman

Steve Jordan: A drummer who built an incredible career supporting artists like John Mayer and Keith Richards

The key is recognizing your strengths and finding opportunities to support driven leaders who are already on their way to success. This requires:

Self-awareness and honest self-assessment

Loyalty and dedication to supporting others' visions

Excellence in your supporting role

The ability to set aside ego for collective success

Breaking Down Success Myths

The episode challenges several common misconceptions about success:

The Leadership Myth: Research shows that not everyone is naturally suited for leadership roles, and forcing this path can lead to burnout and frustration. According to a Gallup study, only about 10% of people possess natural leadership talent.

The Above-Average Illusion: The episode references the well-documented psychological phenomenon called "illusory superiority" or the "above-average effect." Studies show that:

93% of American drivers rate themselves as above average

88% of people consider themselves above average in job performance

This cognitive bias can prevent people from choosing the most suitable path to success

Action Steps for Both Paths

For Natural Leaders:

Are you having trouble connecting with the world around you? Are you having drab and boring conversations? Do you wish you could connect more effortlessly with the people around you?

Communication is one of the most crucial skills you can learn, and sad to say, formal education doesn’t do much to support you on that journey.

In this installment of Spark Infinity Office Hours, David shares time-tested methods for having better conversations. Later, Jody joins David to unpack the conversation further.

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The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – How this topic was chosen

01:14 – What’s the goal of this presentation?

01:29 – Set an intention for the conversation

02:41 – Introduce yourself

03:47 – Learn the FORM

06:43 – Do your homework

07:57 – Tune into WIIFM

08:46 – Ask more questions (and listen)

09:49 – Find common ground

11:02 – Learn something about everything

12:23 – Become a journalist

13:19 – Ask for what you want

15:37 – Be spontaneous and/or funny

16:15 – Additional resources

17:26 – Next steps

17:50 – Group discussion

Transcript:

David: We are talking about 10 ways to better conversation, which already sounds ridiculous, bad wording and all. This is something I just found out the other day. So YouTube literally tells you what it thinks your channel is about, what your audience is searching for, and the types of content it expects you to be creating.

So it suggested 10 ways to better conversation. It's one of many topics it brought to the table for my channel. So yeah, the phrasing is awkward, but I like the topic, so I am running with it.

And I do reject some of its suggestions because they're just kind of way out there. However, Spark Infinity is all about social media growth. So my thought process is if we can cater to the algorithm and give it what it's expecting, maybe we can improve our results.

And we might as well do that and test it for ourselves to see if that's the case. Obviously in Spark Infinity, just for anybody new that might be coming along to watch this, we're focused on social media growth. So we are mostly going to be looking at how to interact with others online today.

But much of what we'll cover can be brought out into the real world as well. What's the goal? What are we aiming for here?

In an earlier presentation on what's the point of social media, we determined that establishing connections is one of the reasons to be using social media in the first place. So let's use these tips. Let's get better at having conversations that matter.

Number one is set an intention. Many conversations suffer for lack of intention. If you don't know why you're calling someone in the first place, you're basically just hoping that something will magically happen.

And yes, sometimes it does. I've had spontaneous conversations like that. But you will get better results if you know why you're contacting someone in the first place.

So ask yourself, why am I contacting them? What am I going to talk to them about? What do I want to get out of the conversation?

I don't want to put too fine a point on it. We don't want to overthink this. It's not about analysis paralysis, but take a moment, take a breath and think about these questions before contacting anyone.

Examples. You might be contacting someone to congratulate them on their new book, to ask for a shout out, to assess the suitability or their suitability as a client. That would be like a pitching or quote calling example, to request help with a project, to invite them to an event. Those are just a few examples.

So key lesson here is always set an intention, not an agenda for the conversation you're about to have. Agendas are for meetings.

Commit, do the work, and everything will work out. We’ve all heard, and possibly even clung to, some iteration of this platitude. But is it true?

In this installment of Spark Infinity Office Hours, David reflects on the last 90 days of posting to Instagram, and the results he’s seen from his efforts. Later, David and Jody further unpack what they’ve been learning and discovering in growing a social media presence.

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The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Introduction

00:55 – How it all began

01:32 – Content rollout

02:19 – How paid exposure was used

02:49 – Analyzing the stats

06:40 – David’s next steps

07:12 – Lessons and discoveries

10:25 – Pockets of genius

13:57 – Next steps

14:30 – Group discussion

Transcript:

David: Welcome to Spark Infinity Office Hours. It is October 17th, 2024. Today, I don't have a presentation for you so much as a 90-day review, and I am joined today by Jody.

How are you doing, bud?

Jody: Good.

David: Thanks for being here today.

Jody: 90 days. That's a lot of days. Staying consistent.

David: Staying consistent. Yeah.

That whole 90 day… like we started with Spark 90 and transitioned to Spark Infinity. So that's part of the significance there. I still came up with as catchy of a title as I could, which is can 90 posts change everything?

This is how it all began. I started posting again to Instagram daily on July 18th this year. I originally created my account on December 7th, 2012, just for reference, anyone who's wondering.

And when I started Spark Infinity a little over 90 days ago, I had fewer than 1000 followers. To be honest, it was probably something like 850. And I got a cold start, meaning I hadn't posted anything to Instagram since February.

There are different reasons for that. Clean slate happened in February. But the months following that were also, I was in a transition, figuring out what I was going to do for work and passion in life.

The content rollout looked out, looked something like this. I talked a little bit about this and I think the initial or maybe even the first ever Spark Infinity office hours. But the first push had nine posts.

Then the second had eight. The third had 10 posts. Fourth had 19 posts.

And then I finally found my rhythm with the fifth push, preparing 53 posts and then scheduling them out. So initially I really had no more than about a week's worth of posts, which meant I could spend one day creating stuff, scheduling it out, not have to do something for a week. Eventually I got to the point where I could, I was much further out, 20 days, 30 days.

And so in total, I published 99 posts, but Instagram counts your stories as well. So it turns out I published 210 posts, including stories. Paid exposure, paid promotion and shout outs were utilized during this process.

But to be specific, I'm only relying on one source of paid promo and only one shout out was purchased so far. I did purchase another one today. Paid exposure ended up generating the most followers and engagement of anything I did.

So compared to posting and sharing out my Instagram account on Spark Infinity calls or in the podcast and things like that, where I saw the most followers and engagement was with paid promotion. Probably the biggest thing you'll notice is that I'm up to 6,346 followers starting at under 850 and certainly under a thousand that may be noteworthy. The other thing that might stick out is the 4,000 accounts reached in the last 30 days.

But the really funny thing I noticed was I checked this on desktop, but on mobile, those stats look a little different. It looks more like 12,000 accounts reached in the last 30 days. So I don't know what the discrepancy is.

Okay, so you’ve decided that social media growth is for you. You’re committed to the process, and you’ve started putting effort into it.

But should you be doing social media at all?

It sounds like a dreadful existential question, but knowing why you shouldn’t be putting any time into it might just strengthen all the reasons why you decided to engage in the first place.

So, let’s delve into “7 reasons you shouldn’t ‘do’ social media.”

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Sponsors:

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The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Today’s topic

00:41 – Let’s avoid “purgatory infinity”

01:50 – It’s one more thing you have to get good at

05:06 – Social media is a horrible hobby

06:30 – Social media is addicting

08:57 – An open invitation to the comparison game

10:59 – Social media may not be the solution

15:13 – Social media sets false expectations

17:44 – There isn’t a guaranteed effort-to-reward ratio

19:28 – Closing thoughts

Transcript:

Welcome to Spark Infinity Office Hours. This is David Andrew Wiebe and it is October 10th, 2024. Today's presentation is seven reasons you shouldn't do social media.

Do is in quotes for a reason. I'm not going to explain that reason, but if you pay careful attention to this presentation to the very end, I think you'll figure out why I'm not here to burst anyone's bubble, the reason Spark Infinity and this team and this group exists because we have that common goal of wanting to grow on social media. So today I'm not going to be discussing reasons to quit.

That's not what this is about, but we need to remember that if you're going to say yes to something, you're saying no to other things as well. And being mindful of that choice and that trade off is really important in life. I also think it's a really good intellectual exercise to explore arguments against whatever your chosen path is, because it facilitates critical thinking and it helps you refine your beliefs.

Ultimately, I want everyone involved, including myself, the participants or the leaders in Spark Infinity, as well as the viewers to be in Spark Infinity mode, not Spark Purgatory mode or Purgatory Infinity, that sounds even worse. That's not what we want. We want to see and get results and to put effort into things that do get results.

So let's move into those reasons. Number one, it's one more thing you have to get good at. If you're already good at several things or a couple of things, or maybe just one thing, whether that's guitar or taking photos or programming, whatever it might be, if you're already good at one thing or a couple of things or three things, remember, if you want to get results with social media, that's one more thing you've got to add to the plate and actually get good at to get results.

Author and blogger Seth Godin was getting started as a blogger in the early days of the internet. If he had chosen to, he could have had first mover advantage on Twitter and he was considering it. He decided against it.

He saw it as one more thing he would have to get good at. Trying to get good at more things he felt would have diluted his focus. He opted to focus on his writing, thereby increasing his chances of becoming the best in writing, or at least in his category.

The term best might be subjective here, but I think Seth Godin's influence speaks for himself. For a long time, if you put the term Seth into Google, he was the first result that showed up. May not be anymore, but he's definitely in the top 10 results still.

And he's probably one of the people that has influenced more thought leaders on the internet than anyone else. Ironically, it's interesting. I don't know why no one seems to want to point this out, but Seth is on Twitter slash X.

Life is going to unfold exactly as it’s going to unfold, regardless of the force you attempt to exert over it. Isn’t it…?

What if reality wasn’t so “set in stone?” What if your imagined realities were actually real? What if there was a way to transition to a path other than the one you’re already on?

The Spark Infinity crew gathered again for David’s “Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur,” a presentation dedicated to surfing between parallel universes.

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Sponsors:

Productivity, Performance & Profits Blackbook: Get a free copy of the “Definitive Guide to Productivity for Artists and Entrepreneurs.”

The Renegade Musician: David’s magnum opus on building an independent music career is here!

Highlights:

00:17 – Welcome to the show

01:33 – Introduction to Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur

02:08 – Why this topic?

02:58 – “Paying your dues”

03:37 – Life is a stream

04:52 – How to become a reality surfer

06:59 – Your imagination is your reality

08:05 – Time is just a concept

08:49 – Why you shouldn’t attempt to manifest multiple realities simultaneously

09:16 – Change your perspective/shift your attention

11:09 – What does it feel like to make an identity shift?

11:59 – Next steps

12:23 – Group discussion

Transcript:

David: All right, welcome to Spark Infinity. It is October 3rd, 2024, and we have Jody on the call. How you doing, Jody?

Jody: Good.

David: We also have Susanna on the call. She's brand new to Spark Infinity. Why don't you introduce yourself, Susanna?

Suzanna: Thanks, Dave.

So hello, everyone. I'm Suzanna, and I'm just a fellow artist as well. Yeah, art and design, in terms of graphic arts, I do acrylic. I also do digital art and also have my own business as well. And I’m also employed. So that's a little bit about me, and I love unique stuff and technology and yeah, there's so many things that I like. You can go on and on and on. So that's a little bit about me.

David: Great. What are you looking to accomplish on social media?

Suzanna: I look to accomplish actually creating, you know, like events for people and have them being connected with art and also with technology and create course content. And yeah, and to be better with regards to how I present myself.

So looking forward to creating these videos with you and the journey that we are going to go on.

David: It's going to be a lot of fun. And I would say that is a worthy and noble pursuit, Susanna. So, thank you for sharing.

Suzanna: Yeah. Thank you.

Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur

David: Today's presentation is the Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur. I actually had AI generate this image. I'm kind of impressed. “Artist surfing between highways awkwardly with the guitar around his shoulders.”

This presentation is loosely based on the book by Frederick Dodson, Parallel Universes of Self. It's not a complete copy. It's a very big book. I use different terms. I have different discoveries than he does.

It's not for everyone, this book. But if you want to explore this concept in greater detail, then I recommend the read. If this resonates with you, and if this is interesting to you, that is where to go.

Why Does This Topic Matter?

Okay, so why are we going to talk about Parallel Universes of the Artistpreneur? I've really noticed that a lot of artistpreneurs take dramatically different actions based on how they're feeling in the moment, based on their confidence, based on their belief level.

So, if they're not feeling great that day, they might be less inclined to post to social media, for an example, or they might be less inclined to reach out to a potential contact.

But if they’ve got confidence and belief in what they're doing, and then they're in the momentum of it, they tend to make more contacts, they tend to post more to social media, they send more email campaigns. They try more things, because they're more excited,

Why bother with social media? Is it even worth doing? And if you are going to do it anyway, wouldn’t you rather get results than not?

In this installation of Spark Infinity Office Hours, David illuminates how social media can bring real business value to an individual, creator, entrepreneur, or business.

Later, Jody and Karlo join the discussion to share what they’re getting from David’s presentation.

Download the PDF Transcript

Sponsors:

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Highlights:

00:17 – Why you shouldn’t get caught up in vanity metrics

01:06 – The importance of building connections

01:50 – The cruciality of growing your subscriber list

02:53 – Sales are highly valuable and desirable

03:39 – If you do this right, opportunities will come to you

04:34 – Mindset landmines you must circumvent and avoid

08:05 – Group discussion

Transcript:

David: Alright, welcome to Spark Infinity Office Hours. It is September 26th, 2024. Today's topic is what's the point of social media? Why do we do it?

Why Vanity Metrics Don’t Matter

If you are a creative or business oriented individual, you're not doing social media for the vanity metrics. That's things like likes and shares and comments and even follows.

They might make you feel good. They might stroke your ego. They might offer validation.

No judgment here. It feels good to feel good, but those don't have any inherent business value.

There are two examples of people I know who are killing it without a major following. You can look them up yourself, James Schramko being one, Gary Spivey being another. They may not have massive followings, but in the background, they've got multimillion dollar businesses.

Okay, so what has business value on social media?

Connections – Your Net Worth is in Your Network

Number one is connections. If you really stop to think about it, most opportunities you've gotten to this point, including jobs, gigs, partnerships, any other opportunity you can think of, it's not because of your talent, skills, or experience, which can be helpful, but it's because of who you know. Your talents, skills, experience are valuable, but they're secondary to relationship.

I can think back on gigs that I got paid $800 for as a guest guitarist. It's not because of my skills. There were other people that could have filled those shoes, it's because of who I knew.

And social media is a great way to build new connections. We're not covering how to do that here. That could be a whole can of worms unto itself, but it is valuable.

And out of everything we'll be talking about today, connections is probably the easiest thing to build. That's of value.

Subscribers – an Asset You Own

Number two is subscribers.

And in this case, we're not talking about YouTube subscribers, although that can be valuable because if you reach certain metrics, you can monetize your channel. I'm pretty sure TikTok works the same way.

But we're talking about building your list, your email subscribers, preferably, but it could also be a text or SMS text message list that you're building.

Unfortunately, you can lose followers for a variety of reasons. It could be because people don't like you, which has happened. It could be because you're shadow banned or demonetized or your account's been deleted. You don't get to keep the followers you have on social media unless you turn them into subscribers.

Your number one goal on social media, hopefully, is to turn people into subscribers. And then you can grow the relationship with those subscribers to the point where customers are sharing their mailing addresses with you.

This is kind of advanced, but if you can send them stuff, direct mail, thank you notes, birthday cards, maybe even the occasional book, you're going to build a better relationship with that customer.