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Lesson Info

Creating Unique Content

Yeah. Hey, welcome back. All right, Welcome back. Here we go. This is our goal for this lesson. We are going to create unique content that earns theater tension of your ideal clients. Have you ever felt like you don't know what to put on your block? You don't know what to put in your email newsletter. You don't You don't know what to make a video about. You don't know what to put on your brochure or whatever. We're going to talk about creating unique content in this lesson. But first, let's recap what we did in the previous lesson. The easiest way to stand out is to say something different. Ah, different way. In other words, be more different. In the previous lesson, you identified your unique point of view and you put together a very cool Pinterest board to represent that unique point of view. I've said this a few times already, but I really want to say it again. Do you ever get the feeling that everyone is saying the same exact thing in the same exact fonts? It's really freaking bori...

ng, right? I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've gone on websites and it's like, Okay, so you're obsessed with that person, and okay, so you're obsessed with that influencer and okay, you're obsessed with this person. If you're saying the same thing in the same font as the person that's influencing you, you've got a big problem. Because are you ever going to be a big as that influencer doing what they dio? No. The Onley way. You can level up the Onley way. You can realize the audience and the influence, and the potential that you have is to do something different. If you want to stand out, you need to say something different. You need to have a different message. You need to have a different point of view, and you need to represent it differently. Sound good? Yeah, well, I'm about to bring on someone who is very good at doing things differently. Her name is Lisa Condon. She is an artist and illustrator, a speaker. I frankly just think of her as someone who does things differently and does a lot of different things differently. And so I would love to have Lisa come on up. Let's give her a big round of applause. I'm gonna over you. Is that okay, s first of all, thank you so much for being here and in the middle of Cem. Stressful things. Um, I'm moving. Yeah, to a different state. Yeah, so thank you. Um, you have a very distinctive style. So whether it's your art or your illustrations or just the way you kind of present yourself online or at a conference, it's very distinctive. It's very you. What influences your style and just the way you approach creating? Well, you know, it's interesting. I think that when you are starting out, especially in a creative business, you know what you're just saying about, like often our inclination is to try to emulate somebody who we admire, who we see as successful. If I could only be like them, and I think that there is not necessarily that's not necessarily a bad thing. In the beginning, Um, it's kind of like little kids who are learning to draw. They start tracing first or, you know, I teach, uh, art classes, and, um, oftentimes people walk away making work that looks like mine. And I say, Well, as long as you don't try to sell it, you have to start somewhere, but at some point you have to break out and figure out what is it that I am doing that is different than what other people are doing in my world and for me, my world. I'm an artist and an illustrator and an author and a public speaker. So how can I make what I do different? And part of what I do is think about what drives me. What makes me want to get out of bed in the morning. Because let's face it, if you are not excited to do what you do every day as a small business owner, some of you probably how many of you work by yourselves? You know, I am about to stop doing that. I have hired a business partner, but you know, for years and years I work by myself and you have to hold so much inside of you every single day when you work by yourself. Even if you have an assistant or an intern, so you might as well be excited. And part of what resonates for other people is what resonates for you. And I think that's part of why a lot of successful business owners are successful because they're doing things that they love and that, um that is inspiring to other people that they are excited about what they're doing. So I try toe, you know, ask myself, is this something that I'm gonna be excited about whenever I start something new? Or how can I make this something fun for me? Because otherwise I'll be miserable. Um, so that's part of it. I think part of it, too, is figuring out the stuff that we spent years and years. And I'm 47. So I have a lot of experience at this years and years of, um, time trying to push away the stuff we were ashamed of, or that maybe people teach us about when we were kids or the stuff that we think makes us different in a bad way and owning that and using that as part of who we are. And, um, and that and that's great, because every everybody's story is different. So for me, I didn't pick up a paintbrush until I was 31 or 32 years old. I'm now very successful artist, um, and people, when they find that out there shocked they think I must have gone to art school and graduated when I was 22. And I've been doing this my whole life, But actually, I did it in a very unconventional way. And so, sharing that sharing my story brings a new audience in tow. See my artwork. And that's something I used to actually have a lot of shame about, that I didn't go to art school that I started late and I would try to hide it and pretend I was younger. And all of a sudden I realized, Wait, This is actually where my power lies. Absolutely. I have a lot of shame about not having gone to business school. There you go. I don't have an MBA. It's five a part of my power to. All right, so you've got a lot of disparate kind of projects that are happening. You've got books, you've got fine art. You've got illustrations. What do you How do you decide what projects to pursue? Well, you know, it's a sort of, you know, everybody know what a Venn diagram is. You know where you you draw circles and then you sort of try to find the sweet spot in the middle. For me, it's some combination. Of course. Just what I mentioned before this this idea of enjoyment and resonance is this when I have a new opportunity or, um, when I think about something I would like to do to make to make some income, I think am I going to enjoy this? In the beginning of my career, I said yes to everything and did everything I could think of. Um, and I had to because it was the only way that I could, you know, pay my rent or, you know, do what I was doing. Get my name out there at some point. We all dream of getting to the point where we're doing all of the things, um, making all of that effort so that at some point we had a tipping point right where there's so much opportunity for us that we actually get to choose the stuff we really want to dio and, um and I'm at that point where I get to make those choices and you think it's gonna be really easy, but it's actually really hard. Um, I dreamed of the day when my inbox would be filled with requests for people to work with me or partner with me or whatever. And then I got to that point and I was completely overwhelmed. Eso again, this idea that if I'm going to do this, I might as well enjoy it is really important. And then, you know, are people willing to pay me money? Thio, Let's you know, Let's face it, that matters. In the beginning, I had to do a lot of things for free or for not as much money. My time is really precious. I don't I work a lot, so I want to be compensated in a way that I think it's fair and commensurate with my skill set. Are people willing to pay me money? Of course, there are exceptions to that. I have all kinds of relationships with, you know, non profits and organizations that I work with for reduced rates. So it's not a it's just as a general rule. I have to think about that. And then thirdly, do I have time, you know, can I take on this opportunity? You know, I wrote a book called Art Ink and it in the last chapter I wrote about you know this idea of you know, the other side of success, right, that you actually get to that place that you dream of where all these things are happening for you and incomes coming in and you have choices and it can actually be really overwhelming. And so learning how to, like, figure out what's your criteria for how you are going to make decisions about what opportunities you're gonna take advantage of, Um is really an important thing to think about. And so, for me, you know, you actually have time to do this on Do do it Well so that I'm not too stretched thin is really important. Yeah, in session two weeks. I'm sorry. In session one, we talked about guiding principles and personal values and how they can really help you make decisions in your business. So it sounds like one of the personal values and guiding principles for your business. Is this sense of fun? Yes. Yes, its's. You'll probably hear me. You heard me talk all day. That's what be talking about a lot. And I think in particular in the last few years of my business, when I have gotten into a flow, right? I don't feel like I'm struggling as much, um, to sort of, like, you know, get to that place where where I wanted to be. So, um, I don't I'm one of those people who doesn't believe that you ever arrived. Like you're always learning and growing and changing. Um, and being open about that feels very important to me. But at the same time, like I did, I have actually gotten to the place that I dreamed of three or four years ago. So All right, so now, you know, um, and I was struggling then I don't want to struggle anymore, so I might as well have a good time. Yeah, I want to kind of reflect back another thing that you have been bringing up, which is that this isn't something you figure out in one fail swoop that, you know, we all start at different places. And even though I hope you take a lot out of this boot camp on how to stand out that you know, each time you do something, each time you execute something, you learn a little piece, you learn a little new piece that helps you get to where you really wanna be. That's right. Yes. Awesome. So how is the way you you've approached your art affected or influenced the way you approach your business? Well, as an artist Ah, lot of what I do is visual. So, um, you know, I I have ah, large social media presence, and I post a lot of what I'm making online. And it's a no brainer that for somebody like me, if you're a photographer, a graphic designer and artist, you know, you almost think of your branding as being your art. Um, and I've always approached it that way. You know, how can I style this photo so that, you know, it really represents who I am and what my aesthetic is. That's very important to me as an artist. Um, however, I've also learned that how I communicate and run my business is a huge part of my brand as well. And how people receive me, Andi, some of the guiding principles I actually just went through a session with, with a business coach who I've been working with for years. The other day, where we started finally talking about, like, what are the What's the mission and vision of my business. And what are the guiding principles of what I do? Especially now that I have a business partner, we all need to be on the same page. You know, things like friendly communication, prompt communication. You know how, whether it's a block post, I write an email I respond to or that my now business partner responds thio or something, I post on instagram how you respond to people on Instagram or on Twitter on Facebook. How I interact with the people who are part of my community is all part of my brand on DSO or all part of how people experience my artwork. I could make the most beautiful things in the world of the most interesting art in the world. But, um, I believe that if if that art is really going to resonate for people, they have to have a positive experience, um, with the rest of my business and you know how I ship my etc orders and how I communicate and all of all of it. I'm sure one thing you think about is having fun with it, right? Yes, of course. Awesome. Okay, so what if you had one piece of advice to give these awesome people about crafting mawr unique contents. What do you think that would be? Well, so I I know you guys have been talking a lot about, like finding your voice and figuring out what your unique perspective is and what makes you different. And what makes you stand out doing that work is incredibly important in, and it takes years. And some of you are probably further along because you've been doing this for a while. And some of you are just starting out. Um, it took me years, and it's like for artists, it's a lot of drawing over and over or painting or doing that thing where you finally figure out like this is my color palette and these are my symbols that show up in my work and these air. You know, if if you're not an artist and you run another kind of business, it's gonna be different things right, But that finding your unique perspective is important, and it takes a really long time and simultaneously in order to grow your business, you have to put yourself out there right now in some way. Um, you know social media is a really common way, Um, especially for people like me who have, you know, visual things to share. So you have to sort of be get comfortable in that space where your experimenting and figuring out what works for you and your business and how to communicate about your business and, um, and putting yourself out there as if you know what you're doing. A ziff you've already sure of your voice. So you have to get comfortable with that space of of not knowing and putting your work out there. And and then I would say, really paying attention. Thio. What seems to be resonating for other people because it's this sweet spot between what I love and enjoy what brings what's fun for me and what resonates for other people. Like, what are people buying? What are people talking about? What are people responding? Thio. How can I do more of that in a way that resonates for me and figuring out what that is? And then eventually, um, you know, if I was just an artist and all I cared about, I didn't care what anybody thought. I don't care about selling my work I could just make art, but unfortunately, or fortunately, um, depending on how you look at it, if you are an artist who wants to sell your work or your business person who wants to sell your product or your service, you have to care about what people think. You have to care about your audience and finding the place where your joy and happiness and mission and vision for your business meet, where what other people's needs are or wants. Our or desires are, um, and so paying attention all the time. Toe what you're experimenting with what seems to be You know what? People are responding thio and what people aren't responding to and really taking that seriously and letting that drive, you know how you continue to do what you dio. Yeah, well, what people respond to and how they perceive you, I think, can really be a mirror on parts of yourself that you you're not even comfortable with. Well, it's true, and you know there is this whole idea to that. Um, you know, it's very scary to put yourself out there, um, on social media in particular, or if you do public events, you know what if no one shows up or whatever, right? No. What if people show up? But they don't buy anything or, you know, and eso we have toe also, you know, get comfortable with treating this as an experiment and as a learning experience and not as a personal affront or assault to who we are like our value as a human being or as a business person or as an artist or whatever it is you dio on. That's hard because, you know, it feels like an extension of us and then you try something and no one responds to it. What? Is that What you know How do you deal with that? It's hard sometimes absolutely. Practice makes perfect. Yes, What the more you do it last year it absolutely well, Lisa, you have Ah creativelive course ideo Um it's called Become a working artist and it's a two day course, although you could take little bits and pieces of it. And I cover all kinds of things from from branding and, um, you know, different ways of selling your work and, um, managing the ups and downs and all of that so perfect. And where can we find you online, lisa condon dot com. And I have, ah, blogged that I write on almost every day that, um, that is lisa canyon dot com slash blogged. Perfect. Keep it simple, Lisa. Thank you. So very, very being here. It's my pleasure. Yeah, it's a piece of the ground. Thanks. All right. That was awesome. Yes. Do you love hearing about how, like a working artist, speaking of her creative live talk, um creates unique content, and I just think that is so cool. Alright, so we've alluded to this throughout the boot camp already, but difference is in the details. Difference is in the details. Um, each thing it that way that makes you different. The way that you do what you dio differently than other people can be woven throughout every piece, every inch of the tapestry. That is your business. And the flip side of that is that you want to show don't tell. I can tell you all day long how my business is different, but it won't be nearly as effective as showing you. So it's the way I write my block posts. It's the way I write my emails. It's the way I show up on Twitter. It's the way my website is built. When I show you the details of my story about the way I'm different, you're much more receptive of them. They're much more compelling than if I were to just tell you about them. We spend a lot of time telling. We spend a lot of time broadcasting. We don't spend nearly enough time working our difference into the content that we create or the way we show up online.