PM'd
Being a full-time studio artist can be really great. Be your own boss. No deadlines to hit. No working for the man. Make your own hours. Be creative in new and exciting ways. Freedom to explore new ideas.
It can also really suck. COVID-19 has really put a damper on my progress. Everything has been cancelled this year. Business has really slowed because of it. At the end of last year, I was doing really well and had awesome momentum. This year has just really sucked. I had a few commission and sales, but certainly not enough to make a living at it. My Instagram following exploded in 2019, but came to a screeching halt in 2020. I can't help but feel they are intentionally stymieing me. Really frustrating.
Not really a point to this. I am just ranting. I am proud of the work I am doing and I still get lots of love for the things I make. Getting fans to open their wallets is the toughest part. I understand that people have other priorities and responsibilities. I am the same. I would love to buy things from artists I follow, but I am pretty much broke. I am lucky to have a wonderful wife that has a good job and supports us.
I recently reached out to a fellow woodturner who has been very successful on YouTube and makes similar videos. I asked him his strategy and the only thing he offered was that he got lucky. I had several people wonder how I do not have more subscribers. I have 7,500 subscribers, but less than 10% of those subs regularly watch my videos. I have a whole lot of disengaged followers.
That's it for now, I guess.
I know you're venting dude but if I may give my unsolicited opinion... Here it goes.
I think the thing with artisan youtube channels is to give the impression that anyone can do it. For example, I subscribe to Matthias Wandel's and never in a million year could I pull off his simplest of builds, but watching it, as he's doing it, it makes you want to follow along thinking: "you know, that doesn't look too hard, I mean, if I had his setup..." So that's why I end up watching till the end.
One other thing is that I think it's normal for less than 10% of your audience to regularly tune in. People's interests drift off constantly, more so in these conditions. The only thing that would help is to have a larger pool of subscribers.
acket.
Have you thought of live streaming your creation process on Twitch?
I mean, if you're making it anyway you might as well point a camera at yourself in the workshop for a few hours and talk about it while you do it.
I have considered Twitch, but making the stuff I make live is normally incredibly boring. I would not want to watch me sand wood for hours.
I don't know the market at all, is there a possibility that a Patreon could work for you? Get 1% of your followers to chip in $5/month to get behind the scenes content, early access to content, etc. Or is there another way to monetize your followers at a lower price point than buying a full piece?
Get that weak shit off my track
I have considered Patreon or similar. YouTube has channel memberships. Considering I have plenty of pieces available at less than $50, I do not believe price is the issue.
Last month, during a live stream, someone said that I need a donate button. You can set one up in the preferences. I set one up for a live stream this month. No one donated. *shrug*
Yeah, I can see how that would reduce the thought of doing a membership program.
I remember you said you got a lot of attention around the spatula making, did you notice any patterns in the comments or shares regarding them? Is there something in there you could tap into?
This is me, a data person, trying to understand an art situation, and I'm flailing
Get that weak shit off my track
It seems I could sell skateboard spatulas, cutting boards, coasters, tables, etc. all day long. There are many people that make a living doing that. That is not what I want to do.
Do you have a greater goal or bigger project, or do you just enjoy your actions and activities as they are and just want them to monetize more efficiently?
That's kind of the place I'm in from a data standpoint: I'm not much interested in going deeper into crazy huge database management or programming, which is where the money is, but also just, to my eyes, seems like staring at numbers and pulling levers to try and trick people out of more money.
Get that weak shit off my track