492 - 7 Steps I'd Take If I Was Starting My Creative Practice From Scratch in 2025
Feb 12, 2025
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Discover essential strategies for launching a creative practice in 2025. Emphasize building an online presence through platforms like Substack and TikTok for effective community engagement. Explore the pivotal role of collaboration in the creative process and how it enhances enjoyment and discovery. Embrace the journey with realistic expectations while learning from past projects. Consistency is key, and iterative experimentation will lead to sustainable success. Let's redefine what it means to thrive creatively!
Establishing a newsletter is essential for maintaining audience ownership, ensuring long-lasting connections that social media cannot provide.
Choosing the right platform based on the audience's presence is critical for visibility, enhancing engagement by strategically positioning creative work.
Deep dives
Building a Newsletter First
Establishing a newsletter is prioritized as the first step in a creative practice. It is emphasized that investing time in creating a newsletter allows for a lasting connection with an audience, unlike social media platforms where one does not own their audience. Using platforms like Substack is recommended because it combines the benefits of a newsletter with the functionalities of social media, allowing creatives to connect organically with others. The importance of having a constant way to reach subscribers, rather than relying on platforms like Instagram or TikTok, is highlighted as a key to maintaining ownership over one's audience.
Choosing the Right Platform for Creatives
Selecting the appropriate platform based on creative work is crucial for visibility and engagement. Creatives should identify where audiences are already present and actively seeking their content, thus positioning their work effectively. For writers and illustrators, Substack is suggested as a vibrant space, while musicians might benefit from streaming platforms like Spotify as a way to share music and gather feedback. The underlying strategy is to be intentional about the choice of platform to maximize exposure to those who appreciate the work.
Testing and Evolving Creative Ideas
The process of testing small creative ideas before launching larger projects is advised. This approach allows artists to explore various concepts and identify what resonates with their audience, avoiding placing undue pressure on a single project. By experimenting with smaller pieces, whether singles for musicians or snippets for visual artists, creatives can glean feedback and gain insights into what works best. The goal is to cultivate an organic growth process where successful ideas evolve into larger, more polished works without the fear of immediate failure.
Things change fast these days. If I started my creative practice in 2025 I would do things very differently than when I started out over 15 years ago. Tune into this episode to hear the 7 sequential steps I would take if I was starting out today.