Blogtober 11
Last night on my Gallowclass LIVE writing stream, one of my new followers brought a couple of new people with them. Another one of my regular viewers said something about maybe bringing others. In response, I soap-boxed about how people should give shoutouts to the creators they appreciate and the creative works they groove on.
The business of creativity can be a lonely wasteland of self-doubt and existential dread, especially for the ones doing the creating.
I’m reminded of a post I made way back at the beginning of my career. “The Most Powerful Button in Social Media.” I was going to link it, but it seems to be gone to the ether of the internet. It basically said, if you like something that someone made, click the share button or make your own post and tag the creator. I still feel like that’s true.
Back when I was a sales manager of a ballroom dance studio, I made a point to learn everything I could about face-to-face sales. One of the foundational principles of sales is that people don’t buy something until after the 5th or 6th time they have seen or considered the thing they were buying. I found this to be true of selling dance lessons, and find it true of selling books at conventions. Either people decide right on the spot to make an impulse purchase, or they have to develop a relationship with the thought of owning or doing the thing that they are purchasing. Why do you think you see the same ads during the same shows for months at a time?
Unfortunately? Working, hustling creatives don’t always have the money to cover their basic bills, and so they can’t always (ever) afford a marketing budget. So, we’re reliant, dependent even, on our fans and supporters to help spread the word about any of our work that they love.
The world has gotten a lot noisier than it was back when I taught dance. Facebook wasn’t a thing yet. Heck many businesses didn’t even have Rohit websites. People still used phone books period smartphones weren’t even on most people’s radars, except the people developing them. These days, that five or six number has probably graduated to a dozen or so. The big entertainment conglomerates can bombard people right, left, up, down, inside out, and outside in. Us little guys with our websites and social media don’t stand a chance. Our survival depends on the grassroots guerrilla efforts of our early fans.
The Gallowglas Army exists because of a brief Twitter exchange. (It was still Twitter back then.) A writer friend coined the name. I took it and ran with it. For those of you who identify as members of the Gallowglas army, thank you for your support, whether you’re brand new or you’ve been hanging around since I was just a storyteller hustling to get people to see my shows at Renaissance faires—back before the Galloglas Army even existed. I’m still here because of your support period now, go and recruit more members! (kidding—sort of).
For those of you who haven’t drunk in the whiskey and fully joined the gallowglass army, thanks for stopping by and hanging out. I appreciate y’all too. If you like what I do, the stories that I write, and the classes that I teach, please spread the word. Use the share button if you notice me posting something. My books make great birthday and holiday gifts. So do other people’s creative works. If you like something. My work or someone else’s, share it. Odds are someone else will like it too.
Really. This post isn’t just about me. It’s about supporting all those creatives trying to navigate life in a late-stage, free-market capitalist hellscape. We’ve all chosen to walk a long, lonely, exhausting road with few lasting rewards in a society that doesn’t really appreciate how much of ourselves we put into the things we create, let alone everything we have to go through to do the things that we love doing. Odds are none of us will ever be able to make a full-time living. Those of us who do will always be on the edge of panic because we don’t have access to unemployment insurance. Our continued well-being depends on people loving our next thing just as much as our previous things. So, spread the word about the creative people you love. Tag them so they can see you giving them a shout-out. You will make their day, possibly their week or their month.
