All the things I have made for you in March & how to stop dreading marketing as an HSP creative

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Howdy lovely Reader!

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Hook me up to a lie detector and ask me if I enjoy marketing my creative work, and I’ll be exposed for all my inherent confusions and contradictions. 🤥

I’ll say I hate it, but the readings on the machine will become utterly confused, oscillating wildly between LIE and TRUTH.

Why? Because marketing (according to most basic of dictionary searches) is ‘the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services’.

And everything about that sentence is off-putting to me, especially the word ‘selling’ which had always made me uncomfortable (the machine says TRUTH).

So if I say I hate writing marketing emails (machine says TRUTH) but…what if I were to say I was hating writing this marketing email? (LIE)

Or I hate the activity or business of promoting my products or services (TRUTH). But … what if I tried to say I hate writing digital letters that hopefully make you at the other end nod along, or laugh, or feel less alone in your creative journey? (Machine says LIE)

That I hate making videos that capture an experience or a process so I can share my perspective on the world with likeminded people? (LIE)

Or that I hate connecting with people who all share common experiences of being an HSP creative? (LIE. LIE. LIIIIEEE 💥 Machine explodes into a cloud of sparks, smoke and flying bolts and we say goodbye to it as a storytelling metaphor in this email).

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Of course I don’t hate those things. I LOVE those things.

Because I think I hate talking about my work…

but I actually love talking about my work.

And I think I hate talking about myself…

buuuut if you’ve got to this line of the email I think you’d tell me that was a lie 😅

What I Really Do Not Like At All is feeling embarrassed as I try to talk about something so important to me it almost physically hurts.

Or feeling like an imposter, a fake, a blagger because deep down I doubt the value of everything I do.

Ugh or knowing – really knowing – there IS value to what I do, but as I try to articulate it in words the suprisingly critical people-pleaser in me sabotages everything I wanted to say. ‘Don’t sound too up yourself’ she warns ‘Remember how much safer we are when we pretend to be less thoughtful, less imaginative, less capable, less weird? Do that dismissive act and make a joke about how your work is all rubbish. 😈’

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Talking about our work with the others enables us to connect, to find the people who GET us, to find the opportunities we actually want to do.

But for sensitive people it can cause a lot of confusion and shame, which tends to build over time as we struggle without support.

Like my imaginary lie detector machine (R.I.P) we can get stuck oscillating between ‘RIGHT! I’m going to do this!’ and ‘Argh that felt terrible – retreat, retract, abandon, hide!’.

And there are people who want to hear about what you do. Or what you think. Or those 3 hours you wasted last when you became temporarily obsessed with recreating Kate Winslet’s dressing gown from Titanic and got lost in the archives of digitised Edwardian sewing patterns (just me? Ok then 👍).

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I’m not a marketing expert. If I am an expert at anything - which my inner critic people-pleaser says I’m 'most certainly not', but if I can claim I am an expert at something - it’s at navigating being a super sensitive creative person who wants to be seen and share my work with the world, while somehow simultaneously wanting to disappear under a tiny rock.

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It's never easy, but I've learned how to make it less awful and often...fun!

So before I launch into sharing the events and workshops I’m hosting this month, I wanted to offer you the thoughts that helped me to go from someone who posted on Instagram once a month, to someone who can sit down and write this email to you.

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1. Every awkward, uncomfortable step of sharing about you work lays a stepping stone to someone finding you who either needs what you do, or will love what you do so much you will bring them a magical kind of joy. They are out there (though FB and IG seem to be doing their best to make it difficult to find them. Remember - other communicative options are available). You won't necessarily see them immediately as you lay that path, but if you place each stone with intention, and a little bit of informed strategy, they will find you.

2. Sharing pretty much anything about yourself online will make you feel vulnerable, and as you branch out into something new or more challenging you will hit a vulnerability wall. Define where you are, and work out what it would look like to stretch slightly beyond this. Plan in hot chocolate under your favourite blanket watching 'Labyrinth' as your recovery routine (or something similar that works for you...ok go on...'Up' but make sure to skip the first 5 minutes.)

3. If more highly sensitive, thoughtful, creative magical human beans felt able to share what they do and why they do it the world would be so much more imaginative, meaningfilled, fun and beautiful. And how amazing would that be?! Your creativity matters and you are a part of that!

And guess what?! I have workshops coming up to help you with just that! ( ← That’s marketing btw 😉)

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So here are my offerings for March Reader

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Create An Artist Statement That Feels Authentic To You
​Tuesday 7th March 2023 (TODAY!)
4pm - 5.30pm GMT/ 11am - 12.30pm EST

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Communicate what makes your work special, showcase your skills, speak to your ideal audience...and avoid getting stuck due to feeling like an imposter.

Writing an artist statement can be confusing, frustrating and make you feel like a blagger. It's just a few lines about you and your work, yet it can seem totally intimidating and it can feel like there's a secret formula nobody shares.

Alas, there isn’t a one size fits all that works for everybody. But there are a variety of different approaches you can take to create an artist statement that works for you!

£40 with the option to invite a friend for free or share the cost :)

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Join the workshop

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Sensitive Creatives Meetup

Free | Tuesday 14th March 2023,
7pm - 8pm GMT/ 2pm - 3pm EST

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Find support as an HSP creative with people who get it.

Join me for this monthly gathering of likeminded thoughtful, sensitive souls, and I’ll bring along all my experience as an artist and creativity coach.

This month the topic will be:

Motivation: How can understanding ourselves as HSP creatives help us to work towards our goals, and to accomplish them?

As HSP’s we can often feel a strong motivation to be creative. But we can also encounter challenges or resistance as we try to motivate ourselves to complete projects or take next steps.

The word ‘motivation’ gets used a lot when talking about creative work - but what does that word actually mean? Does it have only positive connotations as we are led to believe, or are there underlying triggers for us as highly sensitive people within it?

How can you positively motivate yourself in your creative work, and what would work best for you as the unique individual you are?

This is a free event but spaces are limited to keep the group small and friendly so please book your space.

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Come to the meetup

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Use Your Website To Share Your Creative Magic With The World

Tuesday 21st March 2023,
4pm - 5.30pm GMT/ 11am - 12.30pm EST

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Gain clarity about how you want to use your website, and feel more confident making those changes so you can use your website to showcase your wonderful work!

Your website is a powerful tool to share your work. You can build your business in a virtual space you own (unlike social media). It offers you the opportunity to showcase your work, use design to communicate your values and guide your audience to the pages you want them to see.

For HSP creatives it also offers a space where you can share the meaning in your work clearly…without having to actually say the words in person and get flustered. However, most creatives only use it as a digital portfolio with an out of date ‘News’ page.

Your website is one of the most powerful, adaptable and effective tools in your toolbox as an HSP creative - would you like to start using it?

£30 early bird until 10/03/23 and bring a friend for free!

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Buy an early bird ticket

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And don't forget you can find lots of ideas and resources over on my blog, and if you'd like to work with me 1:1 on these topics I have Discovery Calls available for my coaching programmes.

Keep making and reminding yourself of how amazing you are Reader!
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Sending you kind wishes and creative magic,