As a newbie blog writer (my kids said I’m a noob), I was cruising YouTube one day looking for ideas to make my blog better. I came across a channel (sorry, I can’t remember who) that highly recommended reading “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon.
I immediately reserved it from my library.
In “Show Your Work,” Austin gives 10 ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered:
1. You Don’t Have to Be a Genius
Austin states that anyone can create content to share with the world. You don’t have to be a genius.
When you are learning something new, you can break it down and describe it differently than someone who has been emersed in a subject for years.
Sharing what you learn as a newbie, helps other noobs see your mistakes and learn more quickly and efficiently.
People who are “genius” in a subject often talk over people’s heads and make the subject they are trying to teach harder than it needs to be.
2. Think Progress, Not Product
For hundreds of years, artists have done their work in private, only showing their finished product.
Sculptures, artists, or authors hiding behind closed doors, toiling away at their work, only allowing others to see it when they are ready to reveal their completed masterpiece.
Nowadays, people are interested in the process. Show your process.
If you’re a painter, take videos of you creating a painting and talk about your process. An author can talk about the different characters and chapters they are working on.
And an adulting blogger can talk about the daily activities or tips she has found to become a more successful mom, investor, and adult.
3. Share Something Small Every Day
Just like #2, don’t worry about creating a masterpiece. Just create SOMETHING every day.
I have never been a big social media person but in trying to share my blog articles with the world, I’ve had to become more active.
Check out my Instagram and Facebook Pages 🙂
Instead of trying to create a well-researched 5,000-word article that would take a month to write, I create weekly posts about things I know.
And since I definitely do not have the time to write a full blog article every day, I try to share bits of knowledge on the regular via social media.
Austin suggests the more exposure you can get, the better your people can find you.
4. Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosities
Make sure you can be found and share what you have/know.
Even if you are not a professional blogger, social media personality, or generally public person, you should still create a way for people to see your work.
Build a basic website and post some of the things you’re working on.
An Accountant could share general accounting advice, ways for potential clients to contact them, and maybe some client recommendations.
Someone who collects old Soda Cans can create a basic website or YouTube channel and share pictures of their collection.
No matter what you do, make yourself visible. You never know who will love what you do.
5. Tell Good Stories
Don’t just post general pictures and say the work speaks for itself. Often, it doesn’t speak enough.
When posting things online, Austin suggests creating a human connection by telling your audience the back story of your content.
He uses the example of 2 paintings that look exactly the same. The viewer can tell no difference between them.
But then someone comes in and tells the viewer that the one on the right is an 18th century original by a famous artist and the other is a knockoff painted last week by a college art student.
Suddenly, the value of the works is vastly different in the eye of the viewer.
So when creating online content, make sure to write a good background story about what you are presenting.
One example I see often is the “get out of debt guru.” They often have a big story about how they, themselves, were once in massive debt and dug themselves out.
Once you hear their success story, you are sure they know what they’re talking about and that their information can help you get out of debt too!
6. Teach What You Know
This one seems like it should be obvious, but I’ve seen a lot of people online talk about how you can create content you have no interest in whatsoever, and get rich.
This never made sense to me.
Austin states in “Show Your Work” to teach what you know. Don’t keep those “Trade Secrets” Secret.
If you are a great math teacher, teach math on YouTube. Lots of parents, like myself, will appreciate you helping my 10-year-old understand division.
If you are learning how to waterski, create some videos showing how you are beginning out and what you’ve learned. Watching you learn may encourage others to try out the sport themselves.
But if you have never been to Ohio and never eaten curry, you probably shouldn’t be trying to write content about the Best Curry Restaurants in Ohio.
7. Don’t Turn Into Human Spam
Anyone who has taken a basic business class or tried to build a social media following knows that you need to stay “top of mind” with your audience/customers.
When creating content, Austin discusses winning hearts, not followers.
Put the information you are passionate about into the world, do it regularly, and share your personal story, but don’t become Human Spam.
Once people find you and love your work, look for ways to connect with them and help them, not just push more and more of your prerogative.
I spend a decent amount of my social media time on personal finance Facebook groups.
For the last 8 years,I have been obsessed with personal finance growth and tips. When I come across people asking beginner personal finance questions, I try to answer them as best as I can.
Sometimes that includes attaching a link to an article I’ve written. But I try to only post links to my own articles when it actually helps answer the person’s question.
I don’t want to become Human Spam.
8. Learn to Take a Punch
Share your work! But be able to Take a Punch.
People will have things to say about your work: some positive, some negative.
If it is constructive criticism, be willing to learn from it and enhance your work. Maybe even seek out more.
When negative comments are just ugly, hateful words from trolls, that offer no actual feedback, feel free to erase them.
Erase them from your mind, and your comments section, and focus on creating real content for those who appreciate your work.
You can’t make everyone happy.
9. Sell Out
In “Show Your Work,” Austin wants creators to know that it’s okay to “sell out.”
Just because an Indy music artist hits it big and makes a bunch of money selling their album doesn’t make them a sell-out and their music any less authentic.
When you are creating worthwhile content, that helps others, it makes sense that you should be paid for your time and ability.
When a sculpture sells a statue, the money from that sale allows her to buy more supplies to continue creating, and food to continue living.
Mr. Beast is an extreme example of creating content, to make money, to create more content. My kids are obsessed with his videos.
When he got his first sponsorship payment, he took that money and made a video about how he gave it away. Then he got more sponsors and continued the process.
Now he has a huge YouTube following watching him find different ways to give away larger and larger amounts of money.
By selling out, he has not only made a ton of money for himself, family, and friends, (he even opened restaurants), he is also giving to others.
I am in awe of his business growth and the foundation of his channel. (Given, I’ve only seen a handful of his videos, but my kids are constantly telling me the newest things he is up to.)
10. Stick Around
At the end of the book, Austin discusses how artists can constantly create new works.
Many creators never allow themselves to stop. The end of one project is just the beginning of another.
He equates it to Chain-smoking.
When a creation has been completed, let it be done and immediately start working on the next project.
By never allowing yourself to stop, you don’t lose momentum and begin to doubt what you’re doing which can cause all sorts of problems.
But every so often, take a sabbatical. Step away from your work for a week, a month, or even a year.
During this break, you will be able to see things in different ways, read new books, and learn new things. When you return, you will have fresh energy and new ideas to continue working on.
The ChooseFI guys (one of the first finance podcasts I discovered) have discussed taking a Red X month every year. They choose a month during the year to completely step away from work.
They use this time to travel, spend time with family, and just relax. When they return, they are often bursting with ideas for new podcast topics and guests to interview.
Wrap-Up
“Show Your Work” is an easy to read, inspiring book. And it is small enough to fit in a purse.
It opened my mind to the idea that not every little thing needs to be perfect to post content.
(As a High School “Honor’s English” student, I was taught to be anal about writing, and sometimes that can come across as super boring. Sorry, I try.)
And gave me the idea to make these book reviews, considering most of my adulting advice comes from the many books I read. (Check out my top Recommended Reading) Let me know if you find them helpful.
So with this book in the back of my mind, I have promised myself I will be more open and personal with my blog.
I hope I can connect to those who connect with me and build a wonderful community to grow together.
Let me know if you enjoy my book reviews in the comments below.