Kanye West on Hard Work, Patience and Building Community
“You know it’s hard when you’re trying to do something different in the game. A lot of times people don’t accept it, but I’d rather have a slow grind where you build a really strong fan base than just to bust out and have a hit single and then people don’t remember you tomorrow.”
— Kanye West
Being different isn’t easy, but it’s necessary if you want to stand out as an artist. Copying those that came before you or are doing it now is not in your best interest. While it is flattering for others to say that your work reminds them of someone else’s, you should strive for the opposite reaction. People should have a difficult time categorizing you because you are that unique. Don’t put yourself in box.
As Kanye mentioned above, if you try to be different, people often won’t accept what you’re doing. Maybe they don’t get it. Or they’re jealous that they can’t do what you can. Or your work isn’t like everything else they know is popular in your field.
Forget those people. What truly matters is that you understand what you’re trying to do. There should be so much truth and self-belief baked into your art that you know a certain type of person will recognize and connect with it.
Those people will be your first diehard fans. Finding them won’t be easy but is necessary if you want to build a community around your brand.
So how do you find them?
There’s no one right answer, but here’s what immediately comes to my mind:
1. Great Content
Make and share awesome stuff consistently. When I say “stuff,” I mean whatever your chosen craft is. And it needs to be so good that it stands out from the noise and gets people’s attention.
The way you get great at your craft is through deliberate practice. Kanye West is a perfect example of this. One of my favorite lyrics of his is from the song “Spaceship” when he says, “Lock yourself in a room doing 5 beats a day for 3 summers.” Before he blew up as an artist, Kanye made beats for other rappers. The way he got good was by spending every day in the studio working on his craft. It’s that kind of dedication and consistency that helped him go from amateur to professional.
Spending time working on your craft is one thing. It’s another to practice it in the right way. In other words, you should have a strategy behind what you’re doing that matches your creative vision. You should be thinking about things like why you’re creating, who your art is for, your artistic goals, etc. If you marry strategy with hard work, it’s only a matter of time before you create amazing content.
2. Smart Distribution
Creating great content means nothing without an audience that can derive value from it.
You first need to figure on who your audience is. Don’t say everyone or something generic (e.g. smart people); be as specific as possible. One idea I’ve read about that can help you through this process involves picking a person you know who embodies your ideal fan. Whenever you make something, imagine you’re making it just to please that one person. If you don’t know someone who is that person, make one up until you can find him/her.
After defining your audience, you need to figure out where your audience spends time and how you can maximize reach in those places. In today’s day and age, that probably means one or more social platforms or apps. The way you win on these platforms is by understanding user behavior and native storytelling.
If you have money to market your art, you can start experimenting with paid advertising from the get-go. If you don’t, which I imagine applies to most artists, figure out what other accounts your audience is following and see how you might able to do business development with them. Add value through your art or other means in exchange for exposure to their audience. Rinse and repeat. If your content is that good, all someone needs is a taste of it to want to learn more about you and your art.
3. Word of Mouth
When you’re just starting out, your audience is going to be small. It’s nothing to be ashamed about; that’s how everyone begins.
Despite the size of your audience, what’s important is that you’re paying attention to those early supporters like your art depends on it. Get to know them on a personal level. Talk to them about your work. What do they like? What do they want to see more of from you?
A tactic I think is underrated, although I’m guilty of not trying it often enough, is asking your current fans to share your work with others they think might like it. Leverage their word of mouth. Odds are they know at least one person who might be interested in what you’re doing. I know it can feel scary to ask but you have to remember that you’ve already been providing value to them. If they’ve been enjoying your art, they should want to share it and give you some love.
No one wants to be a 1 hit wonder. The path to success in anything that you do is going take a ton of hard work and patience, AKA the “slow grind” Kanye spoke about. As an artist, you need to learn to love the process and be in it for the long haul. There are no shortcuts on the path to mastery.
As important as it is to hone your craft, it’s just as, if not more, important to build your community the right way. Be the leader that people need and they will reward you by spreading your work.
