The Art Biz ep. 122: How Do You Know If a Class or Workshop is Right for You?

Don’t enroll in a program just because it looks good and the leader is peddling scarcity, as in “Only 24 hours left” or “Just 3 seats remain.” That’s spreading fear. It’s something I used to do because that’s how I learned to do my marketing. 

No more. I refuse to participate in fear-based marketing or false scarcity. Nobody should enroll in my programs for fear of missing out. I want you to be clear about why you’re enrolling and what you hope to get from it. 

Why would you enroll? Do you need this program? 

If it’s a course, did you review the lesson plan and discover information that might fill some of the gaps in your knowledge?

If it’s a mastermind, coaching group or community, how can it support you with your goals? 

Some things are measurable:

• I want to attract 10% more subscribers and followers.
• I want to know how to improve my videos so I can confidently post a new video every week. 
• I want to get new gallery representation by the end of the year.
• I want to connect with 9 new artists around the world.

And other outcomes are squishier.

• I’d like to build my confidence. 
• I want clarity on my direction.
• I want to feel supported. I’m tired of doing everything alone.

I recently took part in Tom Kuegler’s LinkedIn Sprint, which I highly recommend for anyone interested in LinkedIn.

It was during an insanely busy time and I had no business signing up for something that asked for such a huge commitment. But there was a reason to my madness. 

For a few years now I’ve been thinking that LinkedIn might be a brilliant opportunity for artists to connect with curators, art writers, gallerists, and consultants, so I’ve been encouraging clients to look into it. I thought I’d better dive in deeper before I suggest another artist spend time following the LinkedIn path. 

Also, and this is important, I had friends who had enrolled in the program at that time so I knew it would be easier and more fun to do it with them. 

I kinda got what I wanted, which was an answer about whether or not LinkedIn was a good spot for artists to spend time. In short, the answer is not currently.

On the one hand, LinkedIn is such a great platform compared to Facebook or Instagram. On the other hand, it favors business writing and loves photos of you, no your artwork. From what I learned, it doesn’t love videos. So if you are trying to share your artwork itself, LinkedIn doesn’t seem terribly artist-friendly. 

Sorry to say it, but images of your art will do much better on Facebook and Instagram. 

On the other hand, who knows? You might stand out more on LinkedIn and their algorithm could change tomorrow.

Bottom line: I knew exactly why I was investing in that program at the time and that made it worthwhile for me. I got something else—a big something else—from the LinkedIn Sprint, which I’ll share in a sec.