Marketing Boot Camp Day One

The scene from our Walkway

My Study of the Scene, Pastel 12"x9"

Marketing Boot Camp was for three mornings, in your seat before 6:30 am! We had time to get in line for a Starbucks coffee and pastry... but luckily, there was instant Quaker oatmeal, so I had that for breakfast that first morning. The next two mornings, the convention had breakfast for us in the Vendor Expo, eggs done like a folded omelet you could eat with your hands, oatmeal if you wanted that, and coffee!

So, I am going to do several blog posts with more information than I can put in a Facebook post. I had several people ask me if I would do this. Here is the first marketing boot camp information as I wrote notes... so there will be quotes from Eric Rhodes and Lee Milteer. It might not have a "story" type of progression, because I think the things I wrote were what I "needed" to write down for me to remember.

Eric Rhodes - first!

Creating people that follow you and become clients is more about Persuasion instead of Manipulation. You need to think of it as helping someone obtain something they need. So persuade! He says momentum builds repetition, or vice versa. Without marketing, nothing happens. It should be an ongoing part of the artist lifestyle...and that repetition builds trust, and trust is brand! A strong brand will overcome most things. Keep the momentum, and be inventive!

Also, you should never be boring, it should be about emotion. If you are boring you probably will lose 20% of your followers per year. To help with this start with the outcome in mind first. Know who buys your work, know the pattern of their purchases.

He also mentioned "The Grand View" by Stephan Baumann... I think this is a video that should be watched. I'll have to look it up and see.

Lee Milteer - "The Impact of Your Mind"

She wrote "Reclaim the Magic," just one of eleven books. She is also an artist, and was attending the Convention as an artist. When Eric saw she was attending, he decided to have her be one of his presenters for the Marketing Boot Camp. She was very inspirational.

Some of her first words were: "you need a marketing mindset," "no one will take care of you," and "Don't think like everyone else!" I loved this last one. Be different in some way, and be personal and authentic.

There are "Five Kinds of Energy" that should be used everyday! (1) Mental (2) Physical (3) Emotional (4) Spiritual and (5) Financial. Here are a few of her quotes also: "Art stimulates massive creativity", "Match with their needs!", "And so it was!"

Artists in the Vendor Expo!

Be interviewed. When she was, she realized that the medial needed her. They were looking for a good story. Find local and national press. Court and woo them. Have tickler files about yourself or ideas for stories. Write letters to them. Use anything previously written about you ... especially previous articles. Be a celebrity in your own area. If you have articles, the media has already christened you. Use this to your advantage.

"Scripting" ... write up your ideas and thoughts by hand. This can be a form of goal setting, helping you with goal setting. We are deliberate creators! Use it. Talk about how your art business exploded. Use the recognition you have attained. Talk about your house, your studio, your inspiration. Be personal and let them inside who you are. Be interesting.

Help change your references. In your subconscious, in your brain. You are your references. Use your "intentions" to match a new reference. "Manifesting - Intentions" "Trigger to the World" These can be self-fulfilling prophecies. Have no more negative thoughts. When you do, use the word, "Cancel" and then you say, "That is not like me." This is an intuitive basis for the new references. Have a new "positive thought."

"Conscious languaging!"  "The word is power" ... and "Try" is a disempowering thought. Don't use the word "try," use words such as "I will!" So example is something like, "I will try to do more marketing." Not good. Use "I will do more marketing." Just leaving out the word "try" will help you make a positive move.

Maybe call colleges to look for interns in marketing. Have them help you create a video with a one-page sheet with bullet points about who you are.

"What we imagine becomes real!" Use this thought process for 3 minutes in the morning, and 3 minutes before bedtime. Use a notebook to write your deepest dreams in. This is taking action astrologically. Make 2016 a break-through year.

Tom Christopher also on the balcony
when I was doing my study above!

FEAR ... Fantasy Experiences Appearing Real!

Stay in contact with your friends and clients. Handwritten notes are better than email. They are a personal thing and helps your contacts feel you are more sincere. Add photos in them. By doing this you are a little more aggressive, and leveraging your skills.

"Final thought" ... "Your point of power in this life is right now! Focus turns into direction."
She mentioned going to a site: "fivetypesofenergy.com" ... do this. Share it with your children and grandchildren. It applies to all walks of life.

----- I have pretty much written the above with just mostly the notes I took, making them into sentences. I only added a few things about some of them from what I remembered, or to make them a little more clear. I hope they are not too disjointed, and can give you some ideas of your own how to motivate yourself in what you need to do.

My Trip Out to Tucson

Picachio Peak State Park near Tucson
Pastel Plein Air 9"x12"

Karen Margulis and I drove together from our homes in Smyrna and Marietta GA to the 2016 Plein Air Convention in Tucson AZ, and also taught a 3-day plein air pastel workshop in Dripping Springs TX on the way out. We were gone a total of seventeen (17) days on this trip. Hectic? Definitely! Fun? You bet! I am going to break this in several posts about various parts of this awesome trip and so I can show quite a few of the photos.

I picked Karen up on Wednesday evening and we made it to Biloxi MS for the first night's stay at about midnight Georgia time! We rose early the next morning for a 9-hour drive to Dripping Springs TX. We were able to explore the locations of our workshop on that Friday, have lunch, and I visited with a long-time artist friend in Wimberley TX and see his gallery. If you are ever in Wimberley, visit "Art on 12" gallery and ask to see Bob and Zeina Cook! They would love to show you around this wonderful gallery.

View of the front of the gallery

The wall with Bob Cook Art!

Dinner just down from the gallery, and a band!

Here are a few photos of the locations we would be teaching on Saturday, Sunday and Monday along with some of the students.

The scene at Mt. Gainor Inn where I did a demonstration

Driving to Mt. Gainor Inn, there were cows
so interested in us taking photos of them.

We had lunch at Salt Lick Barbecue,
where we would have lunch the third day
and hold a "sharing and Q&A session!"

At each of the locations for the workshop, we had a plan for a short demo in the morning by one of us, and the other would do a short demo after lunch. The students had close to two hours after each demo to work on something while we gave advice to each individually at their easel. On the last day, we each did about a 30-minute demonstration on a very specific element of the landscape... something the students might have expressed more information on. Karen did one with clouds, and mine was about trees and sky holes! The students had time to paint before lunch, and then we closed with a question and answer with each student about their experience with the workshop, what they learned, and the goals they had for the workshop.

Charro Ranch Park would be Day Two!

Fall Creek Winery was Day Three, with Karen Margulis
and our hostess, Marsha Young

Students Love Bluebonnets!

I will pick up the thread of the trip in a few days and give you more! We had a fantastic time, talked loads, and laughed a lot! We are better artists for our time together, the team-teaching of the "Two Wandering Artists," and learning and painting at the Plein Air Convention!