Artist USP
A USP is a unique selling proposition and is business-speak for what you are about as a business. Now I admit that the art business side has been a challenge. I could paint forever but I know I will run out of space. The artist, dreamer, storyteller has been an image on my facebook artist page for a long time but needed more. What do I have to give and what makes me unique?
The greatest block has been getting stuck in my head and forgetting that my heart and my storytelling love is what it is all about. I keep googling artist USP and seeking help. I made a chart of research of artists and the types of USP they were using but somehow I kept going round in circles until I decided to use an intuitive technique called ‘Call and Response’.
Call and Response
This is a simple technique where you imagine you are talking to your ideal client and explaining what you do. It is a lovely way of narrowing down your ideas and relies on just writing the fist response that comes into your head without any censoring or editing. Each question leads to a response that takes you deeper into fonding an answer. I have done this below with my ideas for seeking my own USP but you could do this for any question that is important for you to find an answer. The trick is that it takes you out of your thinking mind and into your intuitive heart which gives you direct access to your unconscious knowing. This is what you really want or know or are and is often blocked as we as humans have a way pf not trusting ourselves and needing outer validation. The very reason google has such a hold on our attention when we want answers. Really we already know the answers and this brings them out of the swamp of unknowing to the surface. When we begin to seek intuitive answers we will find it waiting for us. We are born intuitive and have forgotten that this is a gift that guides our choices if we choose to connect to our inner world and those sacred connections.
Call and Response USP example
Okay, this was where I began to honour who I really am and began to ask questions. The first part is my statement or call of who I believe I am and the intuitive response is the question that asks for clarification. I am talking to my inner artist here so it is a conversation with a part of myself that is subconscious and is seeking clarity. Each time I respond and that prompts a new question. This goes back and forth as the answers go deeper and become more refined.
- Hi, I’m Cheryle an Australian Spiritual Intuitive Artist + Teacher.
What do I really do?
- I connect people to their intuitive wisdom
What does this mean?
- I tell visual stories that help you connect to your emotions and find your own stories.
How do I do this
- I show you how to imagine your own stories within the art that inspires you
How do I do this?
- I give you step by step prompts so you bypass your inner critic and access your unconscious wisdom. You have the answers already – my art is the guidepost to help you find the way.
But I’m not a storyteller?- don’t have any stories!
- We all have stories to share but we have forgotten who we are and that bright soul who is waiting for us within the canvas. This is how we find our stories
Okay so I help people find their inner stories through art as a storytelling prompt
- Yes but more than that – I show you the path to take so you can find your story.
Okay then my story is messy and I don’t want to get lost in the emotional quicksand
- Oh of course not- that is the joy of this process- there is always a path out of the negative space you may have inadvertently slipped into- it will lead you back to those hopes and dreams that are the foundation of the dream that is you and the story you are creating along the way.
That sounds interesting – what do I do?
- Everything begins with one small step and that is the desire to find your story. This is the archetype of the seeker. This is how we find the sacred within us and in the everyday world in which we live. It is how we connect.
So you mean it isn’t complex or hard – that anyone can do this?
- Yes anyone can as this is a guided process and along the way, you will connect to your own intuition. It is a natural part of who we are but we get so busy that we forget to listen. This is a chance to pause and listen to our own inner guidance rather than following what the world dictates.
Do you mean that I have a choice?
- Yes – it is always a choice to either listen to our inner guidance or do as we are told and follow the crowd.
That sounds scary?
- Actually it takes courage but once you start to listen and you will find that there are lots of joyful spaces and stories that have been waiting for you all along.
You mean anyone can do this?
- Yes as we all have stories that shape us and they all have something to teach us. Once we start to choose our own stories we open to the magic of what is possible for us.
But don’t we know our stories?
- Well yes and no…we know them in our heads but forget to check in with our heart and this is where our soul voice and that inner wisdom/intuition is waiting for us
But I’m not intuitive?
- We are all born with intuition – think back to times when you have done something with no logical reason but that it felt right at the time. This was your intuition guiding you. We often block ourselves because we have forgotten that this is a guided life and we are free to choose. We are too busy obeying everyone else to listen to what we know in our heart is true. This personal storytelling through art is about trusting ourselves enough to listen to our intuitive soul. This is where we become truly free.
But I have a job and demands on my time…how can I ever be free?
- Freedom is an inside job and when you decide to follow your heart guidance you will find that somehow you manage to find the space to care for your inner world and give yourself space. This area of soul tending is such an important idea and one that we often forget as we don’t allow ourselves the time for love and care that we give to our families and friends.
So art storytelling is about soul tending as you find the courage to step into your own story within the art.
- Yes – it is about soul tending as an art process but also as an art piece that you live with that opens you to inspiration and deeper understanding of your own stories as you live with the art.
Wow…okay but I’m not sure about my stories and where to begin?
- Start by pausing and breathing into the moment and then imagine you are breathing in and out from your heart space. You are breathing into the space where your stories live. This is where I begin my art and ask for guidance. It doesn’t matter what you call it. I may ask for help with something specific or I may choose to look at a piece of art and see what calls to me and then using a couple of simple prompts that intuitive voice begins to talk through me.
- I’m not sure?
Well you know this post was done exactly like this. I’m here doing business planning for 2020 and refining my unique selling point (USP in business-speak) and feeling like it was not getting there so I started a call and response. It is exactly what I needed and I am so much clearer now.
USP gaining clarity
Now I will say I haven’t finalised my USP as yet as this is a process of getting clearer on what and who I am – these are the big questions…but I have refined it to a few points.
- I create intuitive art stories to inspire joy and connect you to the intuitive wisdom of your heart and soul through mindful mixed media art processes.
- Art is a sacred practise that honours the earth and opens us to new understandings of our world.
- Mindful mixed media art as a spiritual process connects us to our inner storyteller, heals our heart and nourishes our soul.
The information I have found for artist USP examples is great and there are so many ideas but as usual, I need to do it my way so I can find my unique answer. The statements above still need refining and like me are a work in process but I am feeling so much clearer. I have stoppe3d trying to link the USP to the products I create and move into the feeling responses I am creating and what I intend for my art. It repeats at some points but is so much clearer and to have 3 sentences, to sum up, what I offer feels good and nicely summarises who I am and what I offer without talking angels, spirit animals and guides that are the form my collections take.
This is really not a full how-to artist USP but a way to start refining and getting into the deep personal spaces of who you are as an artist. I do believe we are all artists and whatever reason you create, I believe it is helpful to ask what it gives you. I intend that my art gives you joy and helps you connect to the divine in whatever form it takes for you.
I do hope this was helpful in giving an idea of how to refine your USP and giving you another way of connecting to your own intuitive wisdom. Art will always be essentially a sacred creative space for me. I wonder what it is for you?
Love and blessings