Build It, And They Will Come?

I’m wrestling in my head (again) with the idea of ditching social media altogether. I do like keeping contact with people I actually know. And I’m not addicted to posting all the time or checking other people’s posts. So that’s not really the issue.

The struggle is more to do with the part that these social media are supposed to play in the marketing of people like myself. People who have a creative output. That’s our market place. That’s where I’m supposed to be placing my art so that people find it. And that’s where I have been placing it, in my own haphazardly consistent sort of way.

Except that it doesn’t seem to work.

I’m not interested in creating a tidal wave of fandom or going viral, even if that were possible. But I am interested in connecting with those people who are particularly suited to hearing or reading the work I make. I am sure they exist. But I haven’t found a way of finding them in any numbers that might constitute a small, sustainable “fanbase”. The vast majority of my fans, as for many artists like me to be fair, come from friends, family, and pre-existing connections.

And I do know that there are ways of finding those potential supporters of my music and words in the digital world. It mainly involves taking out paid ads and placing them in a non-obtrusive way. And I’ve flirted with this idea, even though it goes against my more organic, and probably far too idealistic concept of Build It, And They Will Come.

So the question is - do I simply get more committed and more informed in my relationship with this modern market place? Periodically it causes me a lot of mental anxiety and stress, and I’m not sure whether that is added to by my lack of (enough) industry, consistency and specificity.

Or do I just drop the lot? Simply put up my work on my own websites (these tiny little shop fronts in a massive cybersphere) and play the songs at the infrequent gigs I get. Do I simply accept the situation and remove the stress? I honestly get a lot of joy from the creative process alone.

The truth is I haven’t got the answer. I’m leaning towards the latter at the moment, as I said. And I’m in the luxurious position of being able to make the art I want without any immediate need for financial recompense. So that aspect at least is not my struggle.

I know there are many artists like me with this dilemma, even if we all deal with it in different ways. It’s an ongoing one. Some times it’s good to put that dilemma into words.

So, thanks for listening. :-)