004: Did You Just Unfollow Me?
Overcoming your fear of sharing your art online
Topics Discussed and Key Points
•The fear of overwhelm
•The fear of not being a real artist
•The fear of negative judgement
•The fear of not being able to stand out online
As creatives, we are our own worst critics. In this episode, Roben-Marie and Sandi tackle the all-too-common fear of sharing your work online.
The first thing to note is that there’s no predicting what will or will not fly if you rely on your own limited perspective. But while we as artists seek validation for our work, one thing we must remember is, “we’re not creating for the comments.”
The fear of overwhelm
Roben-Marie and Sandi cover four types of fear we experience in the process of sharing our work with the world. The first is the fear of overwhelm, which grips you at the very beginning of the publication process.
The internet opens a whole world of avenues for a creative to put themselves and their art out there. But without a proper game plan, a newbie can easily become paralyzed right from the outset.
On the other hand, even those who have been posting content online for a while may end up spreading themselves too thin on a bunch of platforms and, as a result, also become overwhelmed.
The key to getting past the fear of overwhelm is to pick one social media platform and run with it. Instagram is a great, visual one for artists to commit to. And don’t only use these platforms to post your work and do nothing else—make sure to engage with your tribe. Reply to comments, comment on your followers’ own posts, and even reach out to some of them via direct messaging. Conversation and feedback is critical to any creative’s growth.
The fear of not being a real artist
The next type of fear is the fear of not being a real artist. This one is commonly known as “impostor syndrome.” Sandi agrees with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, who once said that, sometimes, “You have to fake it till you make it.”
The creative person tends to be the last person to believe that they are an actual artist—no matter how many around them already regard them as such. Avoid the “comparison trap,” put your head down, and focus on your individual growth. When you finish a project, post it and don’t look back. When you look at previous work with a fresh mind, you will see how you can improve, as well as where you’ve already improved since posting those older works. Bottom line: “If you’re creating art, you’re an artist. Own it.”
The fear of negative judgement
Next, Roben-Marie and Sandi cover the fear of negative judgement. There are two realities to this. The first is, if you’re expecting certain comments, you’ll focus on and highlight only them even if your positive comments outnumber the negative.
The second reality is that there will always be a minority of haters who hate for the sake of it. Focus on the positive 99% and become an encourager yourself to drown out the negative. On the other 1%, Roben-Marie reminds us, “It’s not about me. It’s about them.”
The fear of not being able to stand out online
The fourth and final fear is the fear of not being able to stand out online. While there is nothing new under the sun, we all interpret things differently. Again, avoid comparison. “There’s always someone better than you and there’s always someone behind you,” assures Sandi.
Kind words from our listeners…
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
Are you subscribed to the Creative Get Real podcast? If not, Sandi and I want to encourage you to sign up. It is super simple and you won't miss an episode! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
We love to hear from our listeners and truly appreciate it when you share the love. We want as many artists and makers out there to benefit from our real life conversations. Would you consider giving us a review on iTunes? Those reviews help other people find our podcast and and we enjoy reading them, of course!! Thanks so much!