July Retrospective: Back in July 2014, I wrote a daily series exploring the realities of navigating the creative economy. Twelve years later, looking back at these entries (and my original awful hand-drawn illustrations!), I’m struck by how the core truths of a creative career remain completely timeless. Each day this month, I’m opening up the archive to share these foundational lessons—with a few modern reflections layered in. 

If you’re a new creative graduate looking to find your footing in the creative economy, a Gen X looking to pivot into a creative business, a side-hustler or someone who just wants to up their creative business game, there’s something for you in this series. Just don’t judge my drawings 😉

Give Thanks

When someone does buy from you, give thanks.

Show your appreciation. Make them feel good about making a purchase from you.

I have had two experiences of shopping on Etsy so far. The first purchase, of a fairly inexpensive bracelet, came in a lovely box with a nice slip of paper thanking me for the purchase. It was nicely packaged and showed artistry in the presentation.

The second one came in a handwritten, brown envelope with only the bracelet inside.

Which one made me feel good about the purchase?

This is one place where you can really beat your competition. Make the customer feel great about their purchase. Presentation is huge. As is giving thanks.

If appropriate, follow up with the customer after the purchase to see how they are getting on with your product/service.

This kind of customer after care leads to repeat business and referrals – the lifeblood of a successful business.

John Jantsch, who I think is a great writer about marketing, suggests you think about your customer one year after the purchase, how they are using your product or benefitting from your service and how you will still be in that customer’s life and then you work backwards from there across all the various touchpoint that stretch back to when they first encounter you in the market place. I think this is a great perspective as it reminds us that making the sale isn’t the end goal. The end goal is building a loyal fan. 

Each new customer takes a lot of effort to find and win over. But getting a customer who has already purchased from you – especially if they’ve had a positive experience – to buy again is a whole lot easier. As is getting them to recommend you to their friends. Don’t waste these opportunities to build on your sale.

Keep in touch with your customers. Wherever possible get their contact details so you can get them on your newsletter or email/phone them when you are doing upcoming performances or exhibitions.

I remember the story of an opera singer in Canada who was very successful. He was an excellent singer, but he also kept a really fat address book (this was pre-internet). Whenever he was going somewhere to sing, he would send out postcards to all the people in that area that he had in his address book. With a personal invitation like that, many of them would buy tickets. It meant that anytime he came to town, the opera company sold more tickets. They quickly realised that if they hired Baritone X it resulted in more ticket sales. Guess who they hired?  He really boosted his career by keeping in touch with his audience.

That was in pre-social media days. It’s even easier now. As you build an audience, you must keep in touch with them.

Give thanks for purchases. Make them feel good. Then keep the channels of communication open. This will encourage repeat sales.

Action: Build a plan for how you are going to give thanks to your customers. Whatever ways you decide, plan and build it now so you are ready for your next sale.

Thank you for spending the past 23 days with me on the July Challenge. Your participation means a lot to me. We’ve got one more week to go! Let me know in the comments below what the most important lesson you’ve learned so far is…

Longevity in a creative career isn’t accidental—it’s built on strategy.

While the landscape shifts, the core principles of thriving as a creative freelancer haven’t changed. For deeper, modern frameworks on building a sustainable creative practice:

• Read the Book: Looking for a step-by-step field guide to building a resilient career in the creative economy? Pick up my recent book The Thriving Creative: Successful Freelancing in the Creative Economy available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and from my publisher Routledge.
• Stay Connected: Join my community and to receive the complete 31-day hand-drawn playbook as a single PDF at the end of the month. Sign up below.