_{Read Time: ~6.5 Minutes}

Howdy, biz friend! 👨‍💼

Today I want to introduce to you a super-basic business tool that 99.9999% of artists never use - even though ignoring this tool is like willingly leaving piles and piles of money on the table.

You’ve likely heard the basics of success on socials by now….

And I agree with all of those. Those are all awesome, but that's only STEP 1!

There’s more!!!

I know because I learned it the hard way - THREE TIMES! I've created 3 projects that got thousands of followers, likes, downloads, and visits. And all three times I had to abandon them. Why?

Cuz they made $0 dollars. I couldn't justify the time. Each time I had to leave my project to die, because I needed to keep working with clients to keep the lights on. The cold, hard truth is every project is a business. And a business with no sales dies - every. single. time.

Luckily there’s a really simple online business system that you could set up in an afternoon that will significantly increase the likelihood of your business turning a profit.

Enter the "sales funnel”.

I know. It probably sounds strange, alien, and suspiciously close to selling out 😬

But a sales funnel is simply a system that organizes how you:

That’s it. Nothing fancy, mystical, or overly salesy - only a structured way to guide people from “who tf is this?” to “i’ll take one!”

Here's how to start one today.

At the very top of the funnel, you need visibility.

This is where you catch people’s attention i.e. actions that get eyeballs on you. If people don’t know you exist, they can never buy from you.

I started this project with my site - animereferenceposes.com - and socials like pinterest.

This is the stage most artists start and then live for eternity. But you're smarter than that cuz you're gonna read step 2.

Congrats. You know now there's more to a creative career than just farming likes on socials.

Welcome to the artistic 1% (honestly the percentage is probably lower knowing artists XD)

Now that people know you exist, you need a reliable way to get their attention - because almost none of them will buy on the spot. This is where any serious artist (that wants to quit their 9-5 wage slave job) is required by Brosatsu law to start a mailing list.

An email list lets you stay in direct touch with people who like what you do. It also makes you algorithm proof. For example, you are ON this email list. You are currently in step 2 of MY sales funnel. At this exact moment there are exactly 3915 people on it. If tomorrow Instagram, Pinterest, Discord, and my site all exploded I STILL have all these emails.

That's why you need to start a mailing list yesterday.

Note: I use currently use beehiiv for my list. Very user friendly to email newbies, and free for your first 2,500 subs. Nice! And no I’m not sponsored. I wish I was, but I just like them.

(optional but highly recommended)

A lead magnet is something enticing you offer in exchange for a potential fan’s email. It’s best to try and think of something people would find beneficial to them.

It could be:

The goal? Get someone to raise their hand and say, "gimme."

I got you to give me your email in exchange for poses, an art tutorial, or a business guide. I offered you something you wanted. I got your email. See how that worked? We both won.

Note: You don't NEED a lead magnet. You can stick with only a mailing list sign up - but lead magnets are a great way to increase sign ups and build goodwill with fans.

Note: A tip for a good lead magnet is giving away something worth money for free. These days I give away a 50 pose pack. I know for a fact people will pay $5-10 for a pose pack. So I get a good amount of email sign ups.

Once you’ve got their email, stay in touch.

Now you build a relationship by sending helpful, relevant, or unique content that keeps them engaged in your world, and builds trust. Like this email ... right ... now... O.O

If you don’t know what to make, ask (or listen) your audience, then send them what they want. Maybe it’s behind the scenes, guides, extra content, public journaling, or whatever. Just something they’ll be pumped to get 1-3x a week from you - if you’re not sure what someone wants try to think of what you like to get from your favorite creators.

Personally I make articles and guides about topics that people ask me about. Over time I've expanded into more and more topics. At first it was just poses, but then people would ask me about…

Before we move to step 5, we need to double check your mindset.

Unfortunately to thrive (not just survive) as an artist, you need a fanbase of buyers, not likers - or your project will always be a side project or potentially abandoned.

The reality is you can’t avoid selling out.

You accept a price for “you” no matter what. You can sell out to a faceless corporation, sell out to yourself and make selfish art, or you can sell out to others, and make things for other people some times. Take your pick.

The reality is if you want to succeed you need to accept that you’re a business - and businesses sell things. You ever get mad at a shoe store for selling shoes? No. That would be stupid. Well, you sell art.

So if ANYONE gets in your face about that (including the person in the mirror), that’s on them.

Send cool emails, while letting people know you have things for sale.

NOW. That doesn’t mean assault your fans with “BUY NOW” emails all day.

Be chill. Let people know that you have things for sale. A good guide is keep AT LEAST 75% of what you make free and useful. That can mean the content of the email itself or the nature of the emails you send - like every 4-5th email could be a straight up sales email sharing a product.

For instance, most of my emails are around 1000 words with around 100 of those words being sales oriented (my ad sandwiches at the top and bottom). That’s 10% of my average email. This means about 90% of my emails are free info for you, you beautiful person.

“But wtf do I sell?” It can be anything really:

When in doubt, ask your fans what they want.

I've personally sold thousands of products using this exact method - all the while my unsub rate is low and my email open rate is good.

I made and shared free poses a few times a month and said "btw if you want more poses I sell a package and have a patreon". You’re more than welcome to rip off my entire business model - in fact, I encourage it.

In summary, a simple funnel might look like this:

Boom! There you have it! A structured way for people to get to know your brand.

Now i’ma stop here. I suspect this a lot to digest already. I'm at 1600+ words 😆 and I haven’t even gone into how to set up things like email automation, platforms to sell on, how to make products, etc etc etc

Peace and Love Forever,
Brosatsu