Marketing Your Creative Talents

Life coach, Susan Ann Darley teaches marketing workshops and classes to entrepreneurs and people in the arts through her business Empowering Artists. She works with students to move beyond their limiting beliefs and to tap into their creativity and use it to develop marketing ideas and strategies. She is the author of The Art of Becoming Visible, a marketing primer for people in the arts.

(PRWEB) March 29, 2004--Question: What is the most difficult action for most people in the arts to take?

Answer: Marketing.

Life coach Susan Ann Darley teaches marketing workshops and classes through her business, Empowering Artists. Through one-on-one coaching she works with all levels of creative people and finds that most share a common denominator - a resistance to marketing.

Creative people of all types shy away from marketing their business for a multitude of reasons. Business is for others, Im an artist." Marketing takes up too much time." I will build it, they will come." Or better yet, I will be discovered."

When the creative side is dominant in a person, there is sometimes a block to the business side of life. But when a person begins to see that the very act of marketing is creative, they get excited, take action and their business takes off," says Darley.

However, before an emphasis is placed on marketing, through coaching she helps clients to let go of self-defeating beliefs. The starving artist" syndrome is a belief that many creative people still buy into according to Darley. No matter how talented you are or how many brilliant marketing strategies you develop, if you have bought into the belief of the 'starving artist, it will become your reality." The solution? Recognize the belief, then consciously replace it with a new thought and set out to prove its true.

It takes effort, discipline and time," she says, because you are dealing with reprogramming the subconscious. But it is worth the effort because it frees you to succeed."

Through her marketing workshops, students are given a business notebook to keep them focused, organized and motivated. The first section addresses affirmations and visualization. Ill never forget a booming voice from a man pursuing his dream of succeeding as a fine artist, 'You want me to cut out pictures in a magazine?" Yes, she does. Because it is a powerful tool to help them stay focused on their vision.

The greatest challenge for most creative people is to put as much time into marketing as they do on their creative projects. Therefore, she emphasizes how marketing goes hand-in-hand with

creativity. Walk in any advertising agency and you will meet highly creative people, people who realize that marketing is an art, and who use creativity as leverage to produce positive business results.

Darley, a former copywriter, says, That is exactly what I teach. Marketing is not some boring business activity. It is a challenging discipline, which calls forth innovation and ingenuity. I teach the basics and try to inspire my students to ignite their imagination on their own behalf."

In her book, The Art of Becoming Visible (Wisteria Productions 2003), a marketing primer for creative people, she emphasizes the need for boldness. Boldness is taking the next step. It asks that you stretch beyond your comfort zone and build muscle in your weakest areas. It is an act of boldness to become visible and remain visible." Marketing is the tool that can help your business achieve visibility.

Darley teaches on-going marketing workshops and classes in Pasadena, CA. For more information call Empowering Artists at (626) 355-3017 or go to www.empoweringartists.com.

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