Marketing Your Art the Right Way

Selling Art, Not Selling Out

Category: Books

Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon Book Review & Highlights

Show Your Work!

Austin Kleon | ISBN: 076117897X & 978-0761178972 | Rating: 10/10

Austin Kleon’s incredible book Steal Like an Artist paved the way for his equally good Show Your Work! In Steal Like an Artist, Austin showed us how we could pull inspiration from everything around us. It gave us 10 examples of how we can be more creative as artists and creatives.

Show Your Work! is more of a companion book than a sequel to Steal Like an Artist. It explains why creatives need to show their work if they want to be “discovered.” In it, Kleon gives 10 examples of how we can share our creativity to grow an audience of passionate fans.

The reason you should read this along side Steal Like an Artist is, while Steal tells you how to boost your creativity, Show Your Work tells you how to share it. Both elements are necessary for living the optimum creative life.

If you start sharing your work from the beginning, there’s a timeline of your progress as an artist. There’s proof of your growth as an artist and everything it took to get to where you are.

It’s a way for fans to connect with you more deeply as you discover your own creative expression. It acts as a living creative journal of your progress.

With all that being said, here are my thoughts on each section of the book:

Continue reading

Marketing: A Love Story by Bernadette Jiwa Book Review & Highlights

Marketing: A Love Story

Bernadette Jiwa | ISBN: 1500619213 & 978-1500619213 | Rating: 9/10

Marketing: A Love Story Summary

Bernadette Jiwa is brand story strategist, speaker and author of four #1 Amazon Bestsellers Difference, Marketing: A Love Story, The Fortune Cookie Principle, and Make Your Idea Matter. Her blog was voted Best Australian Business Blog in 2012 and was named one of Australia’s 20 Best Business Blogs in 2014. She also spoke about the secret to spreading ideas at TEDxPerth.

In this review I’ll talk about her wonderful book Marketing: A Love Story. In it Bernadette talks about how we make our ideas resonate. She redefines marketing and shows you how our ideas can translate into value. She shows you how to bridge the gap between your work and what your customers really want. And she does it all in just 110 pages!

The book is split into three sections: strategy, context, and story. Each section has easily digestable chapters that help build your understanding of marketing. It is a must read for anyone who is having trouble connecting with their audience or customers.

Continue reading

Make Art Make Money by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens Book Review & Highlights

Make Art Make Money

Elizabeth Hyde Stevens | ISBN: 1477817387 & 978-1477817384 | Finished: 1/2015 | Rating: 9/10

Make Art Make Money Summary

Make Art Make Money by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens is a gem of a book. Before reading Elizabeth’s book I didn’t know much about Jim Henson’s life and career. After reading it I feel like I went along on his journey. I followed his transformation from humble beginnings to one of the most well known artists of the modern era. If you are an artist or creative trying to make a living off your art it is a must read. This wonderful biography will change your mind about what is possible for creatives.

Here are some things I found especially interesting in the book.

Continue reading

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday Book Review & Highlights

The Obstacle is the Way

Ryan Holiday  |  ISBN: 1591846358  |  Finished: 7/2014  |  Rating: 9/10

The Obstacle is the Way Summary

Ryan Holiday is one of those people you read about and can’t help but admire. He dropped out of college to work with Robert Greene and has advised some extremely successful authors including Tim Ferriss and Tucker Max. He also served as the director of marketing for American Apparel. He owes much of his success to the ideas and lessons he learned from stoicism.

Continue reading

Choose Yourself! by James Altucher Book Review & Highlights

Choose Yourself!

James Altucher, Dick Costolo ISBN: 1490313370 | Finished: 7/2014 | Rating: 9/10

Choose Yourself! Summary

I want to thank Derek Sivers for this idea of sharing Kindle highlights for books I’ve read. The first in the series is James Altucher’s Choose Yourself!

This book is one of the easiest to read motivational/self-help books there is. James is an entrepreneur of numerous companies that have both failed and succeeded. He is also a best selling author and has two great radio shows in The James Altucher Show and Ask Altucher, which fit right in to his idea of Choosing Yourself.

Continue reading