how to become a successful artist Archives - Page 2 of 3

Why LinkedIn is so Important for Artists | Liron’s Podcast Episode 106

Today I’m talk about LinkedIn and its HUGE IMPORTANCE for artists who want to build long-term success.

Here’s a quick summary of everything I talk about…

1. Why Did I Start Using LinkedIn More?

As you know, I love to take my inspiration from a variety of source – both in art and in business. And one of the entrepreneurs I appreciate the most is GaryVee.

He talks a lot about the current importance of LinkedIn. It currently has great organic reach (reminds him of the early days of Facebook), and it’s a platform for BUSINESSES.

2. Why Is LinkedIn Important for Artists?

Businesses are more powerful than individuals in many senses. I believe it’s extremely important to build relationships with them as an artist.

Reaching out to art brands, as well as powerful people in your field and OFFERING THEM VALUE will help you in the future.

3. What I Currently Do + Results

I currently spend time reaching out to CEOS, owners and other employees of brands I appreciate and love their products.

So far I received some products to try out, as well as started corresponding with some owners and giving my insights about my local market.

I don’t know exactly what these connections will lead to in the future, but I love helping them in whatever way I can right now.

I do think it’s important to be authentic and actually reach out to brands you have some connection with (in my case, I LOVE the products of the companies I reached out to).

4. LinkedIn is Important to EVERYONE

I think everyone can benefit from making connections with successful businesses and people in their niche, NOT ONLY artists.

And I’ll take it one step further – I also recommend people who are EMPLOYEES to do the same (my friends who work in programming, for example).

Conclusion

I hope this makes you give LinkedIn a serious try, and actually network.

Even if you’re shy – it’s in writing! Which makes it easy. Take these steps to increase your odds of success as an artist in the future. You won’t regret trying.

Here’s where you can reach out to me:

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

My Artistic Goals for 2020 | Liron’s Podcast Episode 104

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In this episode I’m sharing with you my artistic goals for 2020!

Here’s a quick list of them (the order is very fluid haha):

Improve the quality of my paintings
Improve my teaching skills
Sell a painting for a PREMIUM price
Innovation
New and BETTER products

The Quality of My Art

I think at the heart of this is my art. This is the basis for everything.

It’s what charges me up with energy and what I enjoy doing the most. If I want to continue providing value for people in the long run, I HAVE TO work on my art.

Then comes the teaching, selling and so on…

A Premium Watercolor Course for FREE

Another thing that’s really been on my mind is creating an amazing product and giving it away for completely free.

Update: I’ve brainstormed several ideas and I think I’ll go with Simplifying in Watercolor.

I want to, once and for all, solve this mystery for people.

I see many struggle with this concept of how to simplify, reduce clutter and paint what matters.

So let me know if you think that’s a good topic.

I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you want to reach out – you know where to find me 😉

I hope to hear from you!

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

3 Things That REALLY Helped Me With My Art Teaching Business | Liron’s Podcast Episode 103

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In this episode I’m talking about a few things I think are a MUST in order to create a successful art teaching business!

These 3 things are probably heavily responsible for the relative success of my art teaching business.

Here’s a summary of what they are…

1. Proactiveness

Being self driven and motivated, working every day without needing any external influences to encourage me.

If you’re asking whether you should or should not do something, and you’ve been debating it for a while in your mind without taking action, this is already a warning sign that you perhaps need to improve your decisiveness.

I don’t think I’d be able to do all the things I have so far, had I debated everything in length.

And you have to realize – I’m not against contemplating or making plans. But at some point it’s execution time.

2. Free Communication

Freely sharing all my best advice, techniques and tactics for free, online, without asking for anything in return.

This is something many artists hate, and thing reduces our value. But i disagree.

I think providing free value is the KEY to getting more business.

The days of trade secrets are over, information has been commoditized.

Let’s see who’ll get more students and followers, the person who posts TONS of free and valuable content for free, or the person who doesn’t have any online presence…

3. Routine & Structure

Building your work day and learning to become your own boss.

This is mostly about structure. You have to be dedicated enough to figure out how to work effectively and efficiently, and get things done.

You have to be somewhat organized and know what you’re doing.

You have to research and decide on what products and services you offer. You need to develop a marketing plan, a content schedule and so much more.

This ingredient is important for anyone wanting to be self-employed, so perhaps a more general one (much like the first one too).

Conclusion

I hope this makes sense! Let me know your thoughts in a comment or by reaching out. Here’s where you can find me:

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

STORY TIME – How I Became an Artist | Liron’s Art & Creativity Show

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Today I want to share with you how I became an artist, as well as my history in the art world from childhood, and finally – what works financially for my art business.

Let’s get to it!

My Childhood & Art

I’ve been drawing and sketching ever since I can remember myself. My very first memory is of sitting at my grandparents’ porch and copying an illustration from a Dr. Seuss book.

I’ve been doodling on the side all through elementary, middle and high-school, and have once sold a sketch of a pokemon 😂 (for 5 shekels, the equivalent of about 1.2 USD back then.

I do want to mention that painting and working in color is something I got to much later in life.

Young Adulthood & Art

During my military service I quit art almost completely. I spent so much time working and barely had any life.

However, in my 6 months of service I started figuring out what I want to try to do in life. And that’s when I got back to art.

I started a blog with drawing lessons, and later published my books, started my YouTube channel, Instagram, courses and so on.

From Existing Platforms to MY OWN Platforms

I got started selling stuff mostly on Amazon and Udemy.

Amazon is where I independently published and sold my books, and Udemy was where I created my courses.

But where I really started seeing some success was when building my own platform.

This is when I started to build my own website, marketing and sales funnel and courses.

This meant no one was taking a serious cut from my earnings, and I have to do the marketing.

Art Business Revenue Streams & What Works Today

With time, additional avenues started popping up.

Among them is selling my paintings (through the local art fair, galleries and directly). Another one is selling the foreign language rights of my books to various publishing houses. And others are Patreon / donations, YouTube ads revenue and more.

Here’s what works for me today…

The numbers are fairly inaccurate, but do give some kind of a picture as to what the main income sources of my art business are.

About a third-half of my income comes from my various how-to-draw books.
Another third comes from the courses
The rest is divides fairly equally between the other sources I described.

Conclusion

So this is where I’m at right now.

I have a long way to go still, when it comes to pretty much everything – Improving my artistic skills, business development, personal growth.

Perhaps in another decade I’ll create a similar post and we’ll see where I’m at 😉

And if you want to reach out, you know where to find me…!

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

ARTISTS – You Are ALLOWED to FAIL | Liron’s Podcast Episode 98

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Are you failing in painting / watercolor / art? In this episode I’m talking about failing and why it’s an inevitable part of success and the artistic journey.

What’s Failing?

My perspective here is that failing is very subjective.

You may not like your painting, while others may LOVE IT. So – did you fail? That will depend on who you ask the questions.

I think another component is whether the end result matches the vision you had in mind for it. And you are the ONLY person who can say the result didn’t match your vision.

So you’re pretty much the only person who can declare a painting as a “failure” (;

Let’s Get to The Point – Failing is Inevitable

If I had to sum up this episode, I’m simply talking about how failing is an inevitable, inseparable part of the artistic journey.

There’s no learning a new skill, growing and improving without it. It’s just not going to happen.

So you better start getting used to the idea of not getting the results you want.

One fascinating thing I came to realize recently is that we fail at ALL levels of skill. In fact – your skill level is irrelevant.

You’ll fail as a beginner, as an intermediate and as an advanced artist. Even with lots of experience and fantastic work to show for. That’s simply the nature of creativity.

To Conclude Failing

The only purpose of this episode, as well as the original YouTube video, is to provide some mental support for you to KEEP GOING and KEEP PRACTICING regardless of the result.

If you love what you do, see potential in it or simply want to do it! – Don’t let the feeling of failure stop you.

I hope you enjoy this one, let me know your thoughts in a comment below, or feel free to reach out through these places…

How to Reach Out / Learn More

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan