I emerged from a cold last week, and as I came out of my cave (bed), I felt those huge waves of gratitude that come after sickness: those mornings where your nostrils are wide open; the air has a cool, forgotten texture; and you can see with sudden windshield-wiper clarity.
They’re often pretty emotional, no? The feeling that your body did it—is doing it—is moving from and past pain. It’s like a runners high, but to be honest, I’ve never had a runners high, nor do I intend to, so maybe the analogy isn’t a fit.
These days, I celebrate when I receive care from those closest around me when I’m sick (in opposition to the Midwestern urge to “Oh, no thanks, I’m fine” them away). It feels good to be loved with soups and extra acetaminophen by just stating out loud you need some help. Sometimes people show up in ways unexpected—care looks different to everyone—and all you have to do is voice your need, no matter the volume.
This lesson in sickness/wellness reminds me of a talk I did for Chautauqua Visual Arts last year about the difference between a crowd and community. Your community often shows up the second you ask. Everyone else (the “crowd” around you) tends to require being told what to do; they’ll show up, but they need a clear, strong nudge. As cultural workers, organizers, and operations people, it’s a good reminder to keep this in mind when you need help—from upcoming projects to bodily recoveries. Below, I share two takeaways from the talk for when you’re thinking about what support looks like, where to find it, and how to get it.
Technique One: a new project as an excuse for growth
Let’s start with some working definitions:
You: an eager cultural worker with a great new project idea (artwork, mural, event for an organization, etc.)
Community: the people closest to you and your idea (friends, recent collaborators, family (chosen and/or bio), mentors, your favorite neighbor, etc.)
Crowd: the people a few degrees away from your close circle (friends of friends, people on LinkedIn, your pharmacist, all your other neighbors, teachers from forever ago, everyone beyond the top twenty people you text, people you’ve emailed the past three years, etc.)
Working on a new project is a perfect excuse to grow your community and crowd at the same time. (Think that new-wave phrase: feed two birds with one scone). This often looks like:
People who were previously part of your crowd become part of your community because they want to support it—they showed up to the opening and bought a piece, they use your work in your organization and share it on socials, and so on.
People who didn’t know you in the first place now become part of your crowd because of your new project—they read about it in the news, a friend showed them your work, they walked by and saw it randomly, etc.
I’ve found it rare in my work that people who barely know you become sudden close community members because of your work. It’s certainly possible, but after years of working on 500+ crowdfunding campaigns, selling artist books, and implementing tools across nonprofits, people tend to need an existing “in” or “warm connection” (aka a connection to your crowd or community) to really dig into and show up for your work.
This is why I don’t preach bloated IG budgets or demand artists get a dozen press articles: these will certainly grow your crowd, but it quickly becomes diminishing returns. An article or two may be all you need; any extra labor beyond that for press may, what, bring you 50 new followers and a collector that ghosts you? That seems unbalanced when you could have spent your time cultivating someone already in your community to actually buy your work.
So, how do you make this happen?
For people in your community: these folks are already on your side and want to see your succeed. Ask them to show up in more than one way.
Write a personal email or bcc, shoot some texts, and make some good ol’ phone calls to the top twenty people on your phone.
Diversify your asks to offer opportunities to step up. Pick a few for each person:
Can they connect you to a writer for press?
Can they connect you to a funder or collector?
Can they help you in-person moving, installing, or presenting?
Be personal with your tone, even informal. The more it sounds like it’s coming from you, the more likely they’ll respond.
You should be the one reaching out. Don’t rely on a friend to ask them for you (“Why didn’t they just ask me directly?” is an all-around awkwardness to avoid.)
Invite them in before you go live—let them in on the process or the “ground level.”
For people in your crowd: they’ll love a personal touch when you ask them for support, but they’re more likely to do something if they see others showing up too.
Ask them over more general channels, like newsletters, social media, and forms.
Reserve personal emails as-needed for higher profile folks and press contacts.
If someone in your community knows them better than you do, ask that community member to email them on your behalf — or make an introduction.
If it’s a big ask like buying a piece, ask ‘em early.
If it’s a lighter lift like showing up to an exhibition, it can often wait until the week before launch; otherwise, your ask can get lost in the shuffle.
Streamline your ask so it’s easy for them to follow along. If you’re personally reaching out, stick to just one ask for now, like:
Could they connect you to a writer for press?
Could they connect you to a funder or collector?
Could they handle reaching out to some shared friends?
Soon enough, you’ll see your crowd and your community grow around your project. Yay!
Technique Two: amplifying advocates means amplifying everyone
Advocates are a cheat code to building audiences faster. They’re one of the ultimate “think smarter, not harder” tricks in marketing and organizing where you find people who want to do work with you to make the project happen, often for free or at a low cost/trade (Nonprofit boards exist for a reason!).
In this technique, independent of whether you’re working on something new or not, finding advocates across your community and your crowd can really change the game for opportunities on the horizon. Some examples:
A past professor submits your project for funding and pitches your project to a speaking opportunity just because you sent them a preview over email.
A neighbor you barely knew before went to your gig, absolutely fell in love with your band, and is now putting flyers up for your upcoming show.
A close friend you know introduces you to a writer that is now planning to come to your opening, and is going to take them to drinks afterward and really try and win them over.
In these examples, these advocates “take and run with” your project—often because they love it, love you, and/or want to see others love it too. (Funny how love does that.) I tell independent cultural workers, artists, and organizers to always consider these types of advocates—brainstorming a list of just 10 and inviting them into your work for a little can do absolute magic.
But what if we can’t find any advocates who can do this for free? Consider barters and trades. If you’re low on capital, consider pitching to a writer/poet friend that you’ll make them dinner if they copyedit your proposal; do studio visits for each other; or introduce them to a curator if they take you to see their show and meet the gallerist. To me, this is less “tit for tat,” and more “exchanging resources beyond cash.” I do this often with friends and artists, and it keeps our work flowing without feeling like the same hundred dollar bill passed around. Post-capital practices are the best.
Coda: For More…
I know this newsletter was a bit beefier than past ones; if you resonate with this type of thinking and want to know more, reply to this and let’s chit chat more. If this was too beefy for you, that’s okay! More silly musings will be here, promise. To close:
Limina has a great guide on unpacking audiences further with user-centered segmentation for fellow marketing+ people.
Both of these techniques borrow from movement building and organizing. For more on movement organizing, I recommend Grace Lee Boggs.
Care about moving policies you like forward in this hellscape we’re in? Consider using 5 Calls.
xx
Daniel