How to Be Your Own Rainmaker

Portugal, 2015 #cindyproject
Portugal, 2015 #cindyproject

Imagine a man on a farm. He prays for rain, but it never comes.

He devises all these weird and crazy dances, to hope that the rain will come. But no matter how hard he dances and prays, the rain never comes. He is always waiting for some higher being to bring the rain— rather than drawing from his own resources to bring the rain.

Essentially what I want to share with you is to become your own rainmaker. You can’t depend on others to bring the rain to you.

You want to be proactive, and take control of your life. Don’t expect fate to just drop you fortunes into your lap. You need to work, hustle, and be active to get what you want.

Here are some ways you can become your own rainmaker:

1. Ask

Lisbon, 2015
Lisbon, 2015

Most of us have tons of social connections which we can leverage. If you are stuck in a job you hate, you can ask your network for help to find a new job.

If you want something, you need to learn how to ask for it.

Don’t fear being rejected— the more you ask, the more likely you are to get something you want or need. And remember, the worst that can happen is people say: “no.”

2. Put yourself into the right social circles

Paris, 2015
Paris, 2015

If you want to get your photos exhibited, you don’t sit around and wait for someone to miraculously email you, to tell you how genius your work is, and to offer to exhibit your work.

Instead, you need to build social connections. And the best way to do that is put yourself in the right social circles.

For example, if you want to be exhibited— figure out where the gallery owners and your fellow photographers congregate. See if there is a monthly “art walk” near your city. Visit galleries, and get to know the people who run the place. Don’t be pushy; build genuine relationships. And with enough patience, perseverance, and good work — you can probably get your work exhibited one day.

If you want to get into the advertising/fashion industry— probably best to be in Los Angeles or NYC to build the right connections, instead of being in Idaho. If you want to do nonprofit work, better to be in Berkeley than Tokyo.

Of course you can make your dreams happen regardless of where you live— but putting yourself in the right social situations and locations will give you a huge advantage.

3. Learn marketing and advertising

Paris, 2015
Paris, 2015

If you want to succeed in today’s modern economy, you need to know the fundamentals of marketing and advertising. Perhaps in a pre-capitalist society you could become “famous” or “successful” — but not in today’s world.

The most successful artists and photographers are the ones who know how to “brand” and market themselves well. Even myself— I am certainly not the most skilled photographer, blogger, or whatever. But having studied sociology, internet marketing, social media, and advertising— I’ve been able to leverage my message and get it across to more people.

There is a myth that you can gain success with skills alone. The most iconic Apple products didn’t gain a cult-like following by the product itself. Steve Jobs still poured in millions of dollars to get people to see their great products.

A lot of people see marketing and advertising as “evil.” For me, marketing is just communication. It is using modern capitalism to get a message across.

You can “market” yourself in different ways. Perhaps that means just having more people discover your work, perhaps it means getting more photo gigs, maybe it means having people buy your books or products, or attend your workshops.

Some practical tips to better market/advertise yourself:

  • Focus on the few social media platforms which make sense for you, and be engaging on it (comment/like other people, follow them, ask them questions, and respond to questions)
  • If you want to get more people to see your work, email bloggers or magazine editors with an attachment of your 5 work, and offering to email them more work if they like.
  • If you want more people to see your blog, offer to guest blog post for other more popular blogs.
  • If you want to get a start doing commercial photography, see if you have any friends in corporations that need headshots or need event coverage. Start off by doing it for free to build your portfolio, then start charging once you feel confident in yourself.

Above all, be authentic and be you. Don’t filter yourself, and share with others what is really on your mind. You might piss some people off, but you will gain more loyalty and trust with your audience over time with your openness.

Conclusion

London, 2015
London, 2015

You don’t need to ask for permission before you decide to embark on any creative venture you have. Don’t sit on your ass and wait for things to happen to you.

Be active. Take charge. Send that email you might need to make a connection. Call a friend. Hand out business cards, attend conferences and parties, and put yourself where the action is.

If your job is to shoot portraits, practice shooting as many portraits as you can, and contacting models. If your job is to blog, blog as much as you can. If your job is to make video, make the best damn innovative videos you can.

Be your own rainmaker, and your fields will never be parched.

Always,
Eric