David Speed: ‘Marketing isn't about you, it's about your audience’

The artist, podcaster and speaker on how to turn creativity into a career

David Speed believes there’s never been a better time to be a creative. The artist, podcaster and speaker makes a living as an independent creator and now he’s determined to help others do the same. 

David, along with his co-founders Iona Thomas and Adam Brazier, runs Grafitti Life, an award-winning street art business. When the team first started out ten years ago, they knew their vision was to promote public art, but there was no blueprint for how to get there. Now the business is flourishing and he’s on a mission to show other independent creatives – be that artists, writers or photographers – how to turn your creativity into a career. 

I first met David when he invited me onto his podcast, Creative Rebels, to talk about how to make money as a freelancer. Along with Adam, the pair host the weekly show and bring on freelancers and creative entrepreneurs to share their stories. I had a lot of fun recording that episode because, despite the fact we ostensibly seem to be from the different worlds (journalism and graffiti art), we realised that we all share the same struggles, fears and hopes for the future. 

Learning from other creatives in different fields can be just as powerful as industry-specific knowledge, so I was thrilled to get the chance to interview David for The Professional Freelancer. In this interview, David shares the best advice he’s heard from his illustrious podcast guests, the secret to marketing yourself as a freelancer and how the concept of selling out is bullshit. 

From doing your podcast, what’s the biggest challenge you hear that freelancers face today?

Mostly it's fear in some form. They have an idea but they're scared to start because they might fail. They know someone that could help their career but they're afraid to ask. They deserve more money but they're scared to quote. They won't post on social because they're worried how others will perceive them. These are all valid concerns. You might fail! Everything you do has the chance to flop. But you don't learn to walk without hitting the deck a few times. It takes a lot of self-reflection to identify fears, but once you have; you can write them down and address them. As one of our previous guests, Marie Forleo says: "Everything is figureoutable."

Why do you think creatives are scared to market themselves? And what can they do about it?

This links well to the last question and I suppose that it's fear of judgment or failure. Education, culture and society have told us to fit in, to set manageable goals and to stay in our lane, where it's “safe.” We're trained to think that “art” (whatever you create) should be our divine gift to the universe and that selling yourself is crass. Okay, it's a bit cringe to stand on a soapbox and tell everyone how great you are, but the thing that most people don't understand is that marketing isn't about you, it's about your audience. 

Selling out for me is working a job you hate

One thing we say to the listeners of our podcast is that the only reason they're even listening is that we understand marketing, we were able to communicate to them that listening might help their career. No one would listen if our marketing centred around how bloody handsome or hilarious we are, it's always about the audience's wants and needs. Communicate what's in it for them.

If you're scared to market yourself, my advice would be to think about how your talent, service or product helps others. Isn't it then your duty to let those people know that you can make their life easier somehow?

What do you think of the concept of “selling out” as a creative?

I think it's bullshit. Some creatives are worried that by making money from their creativity they will have “sold out” and they're often worried about what their peers might think. I think GenZ has less of a problem with the stigma of “securing the bag” (I apologise), but I really feel it with Millenials. We all need to eat. If a brand wants to pay you for your creativity, that allows you to pay your rent and make more work, that’s a GOOD thing.

Selling out for me is working a job you hate. Exchanging time for money, waiting out the clock. Fuck that. Be creative and get paid as much as you can for it. Read Simon Sinek's “Start With Why” if you haven't, and work out your “why”. Your mission. How are you going to change the world? Keep that in sight and always be working towards it. You can't change the world without funding, find it where you can.

You started a podcast without much audio experience and now it’s one of the top business shows out there. What advice do you have for creatives who want to branch out into a new area or launch an ambitious project? 

Start. That's it really. Just start. Most people don't. You can read every business book in the world, but you'll learn so much more by doing. There will never be a perfect time, start now.

Why do you think it’s a great time to be a creative professional right now?

Because internet. Everyone has a chance at success by leveraging the internet to reach the people we want to reach. This has its downside, everyone can be successful so there's a lot of noise. If you are good at what you do, consistency + patience = success. It's never been easier to collaborate. Even if you're just starting your career there are opportunities everywhere.

The gatekeepers have been removed and we're in charge of our own destiny

I'm part of an email group, started by Shannie Mears, called “The Guestlist” (DM her to be added) the criteria for the group is: No Value, No Entry. Every day people are there, looking for help, sharing opportunities and networking. There are pockets like this all over the internet and there's free learning everywhere. Podcasts like Is This Working and Creative Rebels, Facebook groups, and Google, Google is a huge tool! The gatekeepers have been removed and we're in charge of our own destiny, if we want to be. It's exciting.

You've had so many brilliant guests on your show, what's the best piece of advice you've heard from them?

So many stories! It's incredible to just have these conversations and learn from such diverse and inspiring people. Some highlights would be:

Reggie Yates: "If you are creative or a creator, if you are making art in some way shape or form to not put your story into your art is insane because that is the thing that makes you unique. The way that you tell a story is massively shaped by your experiences"

Marie Forleo: "I realised, first of all, that so many creatives pull back from sales and marketing because they have an outdated understanding of what it is, they think you have to be aggressive, that you have to be manipulative, that you have to be dishonest, that you have to convince people to do something that they don’t want to do and somehow you’re going to take their money and if you make money they’re going to somehow have less. There’s a lot of scarcity, there’s a lot of zero-sum-ness going on."

Debbie Millman: "Busy is a decision. And a lot of people aren’t doing the things that they think they want to do because they think they’re too busy. I always counter that with; being busy isn’t something that is put upon you, you decide what you want to do. Now it could be having children, it could be committing to a relationship, it could be watching Game of Thrones, it could be anything. But if you think you’re too busy to do something my counter to that is then it’s not as much as a priority to the things you are doing."