The pitfalls of social media marketing and 'collaboration', featuring Gerald Pauschmann

The Pitfalls of Social Media Marketing and 'collaboration':

What is wrong with Social Media 'Influencers'?

Unlike the White Moose Cafe (which is a full-time venture for the owner who has to meet the running costs of a B&B), Sedgie Art is mainly what I consider a 'side hustle' or 'side gig', and is not my main place of employment.  I can operate my practice from the comfort of my own home and have many resources at my fingertips (see Red Bubble, Cafe Press and Patreon for more information, as I can sell my work through these sites, see also Blurb where I can publish both my artistic and literary works, and support me through these). 

This is not strictly relevant to art, but in terms of freelancing and my trade as a cartoonist, illustrator and graphic designer, I am finding that one of the pitfalls related to social media is that those 'influencers' (as they call themselves) often come out of the woodwork and ask for 'free' things, like for me to draw something for them, or on how to do something (like use a particular computer software application) in return for 'free publicity'.

What these influencers fail to take into account is that people like me who try to run a business also want to make it profitable, which can't be if I am not being paid to help someone or do something for them.  I also not only have to pay for my own personal expenses, but also for ongoing expenses and  running costs (internet connection, software subscriptions like Adobe Creative Suite or Microsoft Office, costs of materials or equipment), as well as educational costs (like the graphic design diploma course I did through Open Colleges and/or TAFE NSW, university costs - which are now more expensive these days or other private or evening colleges teaching miscellaneous topics).

These 'fair-weather friends' often come out of the woodwork when they see your offerings and suck up to you when they think they can get something for free.

They may be nice people offline, but online, they get the sulks when I don't just give away stuff for free (whether it is knowledge or it is actual art work) - sometimes, the information is available via a web search (Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia etc), as well as on my blogs or social media.  And then when I do give them something, more often than not, they don't like what I do, or fail to give me feedback.

Well, folks, you get what you pay for, and if you pay me peanuts, you will get monkeys.  I will do only a half-arsed job if I am not paid much - a bit like the leftovers in a restaurant, where the food itself will be cheap, but it won't be as nice as when it is freshly cooked and you have to pay more for it.  Even worse still, the restaurant owner will toss out the old, unused, uneaten food into the dumpster - and anyone who is such a cheapskate that they will go dumpster diving for a free feed will 'pay for it' in the end with their health.

Likewise, I put all the inferior (or not-so-good or daggy) drawings in the lower tiers of my Patreon account, and my better works in the higher tiers.  I will charge less for caricatures of other people than what I will for 'nicer' portraits and oil paintings.  I also charge less for drawings than I do for paintings (because painting requires more time and effort than drawing). 

And when people constantly hit me up for small 'favours' i.e. they want me to draw them a horse, or they want me to draw something for them (without paying either in cash or in kind), but when they see it they don't like it, they complain or sometimes don't even give me feedback (even negative feedback is better than none, because at least I have some idea as to what to do differently).  This takes away the incentive to do nice things for them in future.

This is taking time, money and resources away from someone who may actually like what I do and is prepared to pay me for my offerings (whether they are goods or services). 

Even with close friends and family (sad to say), I might do a painting for them and give it to them for their birthday, or for Christmas, only to find that they show no appreciation for it by framing it or hanging it up in their living room, and they will stash it away, only to be eaten by silverfish or rotted away by mildew.  This is not good because I could easily have given my works to another friend or relative who might have liked my stuff more and is not 'ashamed' to hang my items on their walls.

Anyhoo... This brings me back to what I have been saying about Elle Darby and the White Moose Cafe - the owner of this place was quite prepared to serve her, but if he gives her a free stay, then he will have to do it for other people.  And this takes time, space, money and resources away from someone who might be willing to pay for a room at that same establishment.

And conversely, if I were the owner, and if she had shown interest in my establishment, then I would be willing to offer alternatives, like a cheaper deal.  For instance, a mid-week special, complimentary good or services, bundles (if you buy this, you will also get this at a cheaper price) or one or two extra nights for free if they stay for a certain amount of time (like paying for five days and staying two extra nights for free).  They all sound like perfectly good offers to me.  This is better than dismissing potential customers or guests, who might be bloggers or influencers, out of hand and consequently banning them, because it would mean bad publicity in the long run (for instance, the word would get out that he is an old stick in the mud, just as easily as it would about the young lady being a snowflake). 

You sometimes have to be flexible with your customers and be prepared to communicate with them.  Be clear about what you are willing to do for these people and what you aren't. Send her a newsletter of your up and coming offers, or keep the public informed via social media.  I think there is more to running a business than just merely doing a job and just getting paid for it.

And for the would be 'customers' who want a Piece of my Art: Now Go Away, stop whinging about no art work and support me on Patreon, or Blurb, or Cafe Press or Red Bubble.

I would say 'Cheers Rudy (Brr)' except that my father's name is not Rudy and he is no longer on this earth but his spirit lives on in my heart (and hopefully through his art as well).

cheers,
Colleen