I’m undertaking a 1000-day reinvention project, blogging here daily to track my progress. In Monday Marketing, I research, plan, and evaluate my marketing and promotion activities.
Last Saturday I attended a workshop sponsored by the Women’s Caucus for Art, Colorado Chapter (WCACO) on Getting Organized and Exhibiting. The workshop leader suggested we check out the Work of Art handbook from Springboard for the Arts. I downloaded it; it looks like a wealth of resources to help artists develop business skills.
Today, I’m going to work through the first exercise in the marketing chapter, Bridging the Chasm of Communication:
- Write down what you make or do; your products.
- Write down your target audience. If you don’t yet know who these people are, ask yourself what you might need to do to find out. (“Everyone” won’t work here. As wonderful as it would be to have every human in the entire world as your customer, trying to market to everyone will spread your message too thin.)
- Write down all the available communication channels you might use to reach your potential customers.
What I make and do; my products
Currently, I’m focused on marketing my Things Men Gave Me paintings and flash nonfiction. My general plan is to build up an email audience on Substack, host an exhibition of the available paintings next February or March where I will start selling a chapbook that shares the flash stories with images of the paintings, and lay the groundwork for (self-)publishing a normal length memoir. I hope that I can create enough interest in the work that then the original paintings can be sold at higher prices than otherwise.
To get a little more in depth with that:
- The memoir I’m working on is about midlife romance, online dating, and reinvention. It’s also about becoming an artist.
- The paintings include abstracted and representational elements. They are both conceptual and contemporary in style. I imagine they would appeal to people with a transitional to modern style in their homes.
My target audience
My target audience is women in midlife, roughly 35 to 65, who are navigating reinvention in love, work, or creative practice. Many are single or post-divorce, with an interest in art, memoir, and meaning-making. They are drawn to honest, layered stories of autonomy and intimacy such as Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love, Glennon Doyle’s Untamed, or Cheryl Strayed’s Wild.
available communication channels to reach my target audience
Some possibilities suggested by ChatGPT.
Owned Channels (controlled by me)
- Substack newsletter (Things Men Gave Me): primary hub for essays + art.
- Personal website / portfolio: a landing place that collects your art/writing, bio, and links.
- Instagram: strong for visual storytelling; midlife women with creative leanings often browse here.
- Pinterest: less noisy than Insta, and many women use it for inspiration around creativity, art, and reinvention.
- YouTube / podcast (optional): if you ever want to do behind-the-scenes process videos or readings.
Earned Channels (community + visibility)
- Literary publications & columns: Modern Love, The Sun, Creative Nonfiction, Brevity, etc.
- Art & writing organizations: Heritage Fine Arts Guild, WCACO, women’s writing collectives.
- Podcasts & newsletters by adjacent creators: e.g., shows on midlife reinvention, creativity, memoir.
- Guest posting / interviews: Substack cross-posts, Medium, or features in women’s lifestyle blogs.
- Book clubs & writing groups: both local (Denver/Boulder) and online.
Community Channels
- Reddit: r/DatingOverFifty, r/Divorce, r/Midlife, r/Art.
- Facebook groups: “Women Over 50 Writers,” “Women in Midlife Reinvention,” “Divorced & Thriving.”
- Meetup: creative or midlife women’s groups in Colorado.
- Retreats & workshops: Omega, Esalen, or local writing/creativity retreats.
Paid Channels (if you want to amplify)
- Meta ads (Facebook/Instagram) targeting midlife women, divorce recovery, creative writing, memoir fans.
- Substack Boosts (paid placements in other newsletters).
- Book promotion services once your chapbook or essay collection is ready.
Offline Channels
- Art shows & galleries: where your visual work can draw in people who then discover your essays.
- Local bookstores: readings, signings, or small press events.
- Libraries: many have midlife-focused or creative practice events.
- Colleges & community centers: talks/workshops on midlife reinvention and art-writing practices.
ChatGPT suggested prioritizing these channels right now:
- Substack (owned audience). Chat suggested adding Instagram too, but I’m hesitant to do that.
- Cross-posting or guest spots on aligned Substacks/newsletters.
- Strategic engagement in Reddit & FB groups where your themes resonate.
- Local art/writing orgs for in-person momentum.
This week, I plan to target all four channels:
- Substack – publish my latest essay + painting pairing, share via Notes, possibly share to LinkedIn.
- Research aligned Substacks/newsletters and see if there’s one relevant for the latest essay + painting pairing.
- Strategically engage on Reddit.
- Share the project on the WCACO Facebook page, once the latest essay + painting pairing is complete.