Like all freelance artists, getting your work seen is the name of the game. The more eyes you get on your artwork, the more likely it is that you’ll get clients. Most of us go the social media route, which I have been doing, rather unsuccessfully, for years via Instagram and Facebook. I was posting everything I created and trying to create a bunch of new content every week. It was draining and it didn’t leave room for my practice work to be private because we all know that social media demands consistency. Consistently creating new content is a total fucking life-suck.

I was also sending emails to local businesses and vineyards trying to drum up some work and I got a few jobs here and there but nothing great. Those jobs weren’t exactly increasing my viewership so I logged into my nextdoor app. If you’re not familiar with nextdoor, but want to know what’s going on around your neighborhood, you should check it out. People post things about missing pets, items for sale, looking for volunteers, talking about new restaurants, warn neighbors of suspicious activity, talk about local events, etc., etc., etc. It’s a catch all for your neighborhood. I acted on a hair-brained idea to create a post that said I’m a local chalk artist and I’m opening my books for September. I attached some photos, my email, and a link to my website. It got more traction than I anticipated but mostly, it got one specific person to visit my website and request a quote for a large-scale sidewalk chalk project. Once we sorted out the details, I knew I had a few weeks to practice my sidewalk chalk skills.

I decided to do a test run of a random portrait out on the sidewalk. I found a good photo of Dwight Schrute. Since it was going to be public, I didn’t want to do anything too polarizing and figured this would be a safe bet…plus, duh. I love The Office. So, I gathered my supplies, dragged out a patio umbrella, and got to work. It didn’t take long before I started grabbing the attention of my neighbors out jogging or walking their dogs. When I was about halfway done, I took a progress photo and posted it to nextdoor saying “there’s some chalk art happening live, come say hello” and I got a few visitors.

All in all, it took me about 7 hours before Dwight was complete. I signed my work and cleaned up my area. Within about 4 hours, my Instagram and Facebook blew up. I found out that my little city has a Facebook community page and one of the neighbors posted it on there and I’ll tell you what the neighborhood lost their shit over it. All weekend long, I watched as cars drove up just to see it and take a quick photo. I got people asking me for more jobs and garnered a ton of exposure for it. But…DUH!!! OF COURSE you get more eyes on your work if you put it out there in the actual world instead of just on your little corner of the internet.

All this time, I’ve been killing myself trying to get exposure. The ONE TIME I did something out in public for people to see and interact with, THEY did the posting for me. That portrait has been photographed hundreds of times and has garnered more exposure with my target audience than anything else I have ever created. It’s been liked and shared countless times and all within my own community. WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS SOONER??? What an idiot. It’s just so, so obvious and I’ve been ignoring it.

This little practice project has completely changed the way I think about my business. It’s changed the way I’m going to approach marketing, and it has caused me to pivot my brand to focus more on sidewalk chalk and work more within my own community rather than trying to reach people all across the country. DUH!! It’s easier to sell chalk art to locals anyway because shipping is a bitch. DUH!! Catering to locals is a much easier way to get attention because the competition is so much smaller. DUH!! Letting people see my face while I’m working is going to create so much more recognition with who I am and what I do. DUH!! Working in public is going to give me a better opportunity to connect with people and make them want to hire me. DUH!! Sidewalk chalk is trickier than chalkboards and takes far longer, thus it garners a higher price point. DUH!! DUH!! DUH!! What an idiot.

That said though, now I know better. Now I’m going to start building a relationship with my neighbors and community members. Now I’m going to build my business by making real connections face-to-face. Now I’m going to show people what real-life chalk art looks like rather than just showing it in a 3-inch square photo on Instagram. Now I’m going to be able to brand myself in a more meaningful and cohesive way.

Now that I see this opportunity, I’m going to go for it….once the state stops being on fire, that is.