Why Creative People Hate Exposure
This week, I wrote my best post ever about an Etsy shop that has made over $700,000 across nearly 37,000 sales in the last two years, but the shop owner does not want you to know who they are.
Is that going to stop me from sharing?
NOPE!
Welcome to The Hungry, where I dig myself into a hole to bring you the best creative business stories I can. You’re welcome.
Sticking Your Head in the Sand
I’m both excited and sad at the same time, but before I get into that, I have three questions for you.
Do you make art or other creative work?
Do you then sell that creative work?
Finally, do you run away from any public exposure and work in constant fear of somebody stealing your designs?
I’m noticing a trend with some successful creative businesses where they do not want any public exposure because they fear the work seeing their work, presumably because they don’t want others stealing their designs.
For example, let’s say you have an Etsy shop doing very well. It’s doing so well that it gets the attention of a deeply curious individual who wants to share your story with others for others to learn from your success.
When that person writes what is arguably their BEST ARTICLE EVER, do you embrace it or lash out in fear because you don’t want anyone to know how you’ve won?
You probably guessed that I am a deeply curious individual. Although I am sad that I had to redact a good portion of what I believe is the best article I’ve ever written, I’m still excited to share it with you.
The story is about an Etsy shop that has sold an ungodly amount of t-shirts, crew neck sweatshirts, and art prints in the last two years but has zero interest in you knowing anything about them. However, despite the proverbial blacking out of all aspects of their identity, gold nugget information must be extracted.
It took a long time to research and write the article, so I hope you enjoy it. I also had a great time writing it and plan on doing more.
I learned some things in the process, and I will be changing how I approach sharing, but I promise to bring only the best content I can write on topics that will inform and inspire you to take action.
PARTNERSHIP
Want to know how I turned this simple vector image into a logo design for a new project?
Okay, it’s not that big of a leap, but I started by using an image from Envato, my go-to source for digital graphics, fonts, templates, and other assets (that aren’t my own).
Could I have drawn that icon myself? Absolutely, but I would rather save time and energy using items that others have created to get the work done faster.
I’ve been an Envato Elements and PlaceIt customer for years and have downloaded hundreds of graphics, videos, and audio files. There’s a catalog of hundreds of thousands of assets to choose from, with new fonts, graphics, videos, photos, and more being added every week.
Get started with Envato Elements and PlaceIt today, and you’ll be another step closer to success for your creative business.
Art Snack: ArtWithFlo
She doesn’t sell her art, and she doesn’t freelance. She only teaches, and she’s making BANK! With over 1 million followers across YouTube and Instagram, Floortje has built a colossal business creating content, and you never see her face. Talk about an artist’s dream.
Small Bites
Want to know the name of the company from the first story? The ONLY place I’ve shared it is on the Makercast, which is the exclusive podcast for paid members. I recorded the episode before the drama and am not editing it. Upgrade today and get the juice
I’m always skeptical of any top trends posts, but this one about top social media trends for (what’s left of) 2023 actually surprised me with broader insight.
Monotype is the Luxottica of fonts (or maybe Luxottica is the Monotype of glasses), and trying to run a monopoly run on typography.
Jack Butcher is a UI/UX designer, but before you skip this one because UI/UX is boring (entitled to my opinions), Jack’s garnered a Twitter following of over 500,000 people between two accounts by doing one thing every single day
Chenell Basilio wrote the deep dive on Jack above and is the inspiration behind my main story here. Her newsletter and blog, Growth in Reverse, is a must-read for me every week because there is so much gold in every post.
- shared 12 new books to enrich your thinking. I’m even considering the one about the billionaire sociopath who builds electric cars and flamethrowers.
Before that next trip to Goodwill to drop off your junk, maybe do some research first because it’s happened again! A New Hampshire woman bought a painting at a thrift shop for $4 and sold it at auction for $250,000!
Instagram is toying with longer-form Reels. Shakespeare said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” But I’d still be okay with not trimming every last pause out of my videos to make them fit under a minute.