Building an Online Network for Creative Opportunities
Network building doesn’t have to be a mystery; there are ways to do it that upfront and honest, sets clear and achievable expectations, and really work. My goal for this post is to show you that you don’t have to have all the answers or be cool or even have something to offer for this to be fun. Oh, and I’ve made some email templates that you can just copy+paste and make your own—no more hand wringing over the keyboard before you hit send!
What is network building?
Must begin with a solid definition!
Networking: activities that increase your visibility in your field so people know your name, what you do, and what you care about.
That’s it. And it’s so you know who they are, what they do, and what they care about.The point of networking is not to get the job or gig or a career. That’s way too much pressure. It’s so you can share resources, ideas, and leads on cool projects. I just had my name come up to a business pivoting online to run their weekly “coffee break” chats. Which I can’t wait to tell you about. But this came because enough people knew that I would love the opportunity.
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
What is the story I’m telling myself about networking? Is that story helping me or hurting me? Is it even true?
I don’t know what I want from an interaction so I can’t call.
I want a job and that’s too much.
I’m not ready.
I’m not experienced enough to reach out to cool people in my field
These are all stories we tell ourselves. They are incredibly common and certainly aren’t helpful. They also just won’t go away with wishing. Instead, take a moment to identify and write down all the “reasons” you tell yourself that networking is “hard” or “miserable.” Which of those reasons is a story your telling yourself? Which of those reasons have to do with real life limitations [because those exist too]?
Saying it out loud will change your ability to work with reality. Your head trash might not go away but you’ll have more room to choose something else to act on.
Who’s It For? What’s it for?
I ask these questions at every micro stage of engaging with someone.
What am I trying to accomplish in this interaction?
Who am I interacting with?
Who am I serving with this connection?
With every email and conversation, I answer these questions. It keeps me grounded and focused. I know exactly who I’m talking to. I’ve studied their information. I focus on giving them value in some way in the connection. I invite them through shared values and interests. Keeping these questions clear keeps us human and upfront about what we’re doing.
Pre Step: Research
Who do you want to connect with? Who seems to love what you love?
This might be another post for another time but I am a master of “internet stalking.” And by that, I mean finding the people in my field and tracking what they care about through instagram, websites, and linkedin. I’m not on twitter yet as the touseling that comes with short pithy statements is too stressful to me. But I should probably read it more. ANYWAY. I keep a spreadsheet of orgs I find, of people who seem interesting to me. I like their posts. Sometimes I comment. And I look for things they are offering out in the world where I can interact with them personally.
Sometimes, I try to create a common ground before I send an email. I watched their TEDtalk, I went to their exhibit, I read their book, I saw their websites, I went to their online talk, etc. It’s a way of saying, “I’m engaged and real.” And it super helps with writing that first email. My husband is a data scientist at a university. This is totally unnecessary in his field. All he has to do is say, “I saw that paper/I read your faculty page/I heard about this thing we have in common/I’m interested, I have questions, would you be up for talking?
Step 1. The Email
The reality is that right now people are very open to new connections. We’re all feeling vulnerable and also focused on building our work. And people with knowledge are ready to share. It’s been true for me and I’ve seen it in others. If someone says, “Contact me with questions” and you get their email after a talk, they want you to follow up! If someone offers free consultations, follow up!
There are two forms of this email:
Want to connect?
An offer.
Want to Connect?
Letter V1:
Real Letter I Sent
Hi [Founder and Owner of an Incredibly Cool Arts Forum]
Stellar talk today. There's such an intense need for all artists to embody their vision and communicate in all mediums. You offered an excellent look at the many forums in which we accidentally place barriers to our own success. Thank you!
I'm a communication consultant in the arts+culture spaces. I work with leaders and founders to put words to their work and value so they can carry that clarity through their brands and work. Powerful communication is impossible to form alone and I don't want us to miss what people have to offer!
Would love to connect and talk all things creative economy and arts in the DMV. I live for conversation so connecting during the pandemic would be a joy.
Recent Bold Letter:
[Shockingly this worked. For proof, see the story on instagram!]
Dear [Hosts of a really engaging and smart podcast],
I serve artists who lead us into deeper humanity to say what they are trying to say so they can be loved as they ought to be loved. So of course I love your work about showing up and connecting. Want to be friends?
The Template:
Dear So&So,
Thank you so much for your work in [xyz]. I really appreciate what you’re doing / I found it interesting because [shared value here].
I do [abc]. I would love to connect and talk about [a topic of conversation that is easy to do in 30 minutes]. Would you be interested in a further conversation?
Best,
Name
Letter V2 The Offer
This kind of letter only works if it is low risk for the person you are offering it to. They get a low-overhead chance to see you in action or experience your work. They don’t have to like it. They don’t have to promote it. They don’t have to even participate. They lose nothing if they attend outside of some time. If they like it, they benefit. That’s the key to this offer. Make it easy for them to say yes.
Template:
Dear So&So,
Thank you so much for your work in [xyz]. I really appreciate what you’re doing / I found it interesting because [shared value here].
I do [abc]. I am going to be holding [a paid event] and would like to invite you as my guest. I believe [this event] may be relevant to your interests because of [xyz].
If this isn't a fit (and I have no expectation that it is), let me just conclude by saying how grateful I am for the work you do!
An aside: STOP USING THE PHRASE “NO PRESSURE”. If your email is polite there is no need to communicate that you do not want to force them into anything. Let their yes be yes and their no be no. Don’t caveat it. That said, I get the anxiety of proposing something that might not be a fit. That’s very different than saying you aren’t an asshole who forces people to do things they don’t want. Simply acknowledge that sometimes things aren’t a match and that you know that upfront.
There are four possible answers
You’re ghosted. No answer. It happens.
They say no.
They say not yet.
They say yes.
And as my new friend Christine Mitchell from Why Agency says, “There’s no harm in asking! If they say no, I’m right where I already was. Nothing is lost.”
In terms of ROI, we say this kind of investment is low risk and high reward.
Step 2: Scheduling
Note that the first email does NOT include an invitation to set up a time right away. This is only after CONSENT IS RECEIVED for further engagement. They reply (yay!) and say “Yes, I’d love to connect” (yay!) and then you go into organizing mode.
Get yourself a calendar app and make it easy. You don’t need 15 emails back and forth with a stranger who is giving of their time to connect with you.
NB: There is some disagreement on the internet about who offers whom their calendar link. Some people think it's rude to send your calendar if they are the ones doing the favor. There’s some truth to this. If you are young (not yet in the traditional job market), this is likely to be true. A way around this is to ask, “What time frames are you available?”
However. I’m really on Team Fewest Emails Possible. If that means the “lower” person sends the calendar link, then fine. If that’s you sending the scheduling link (calendly or acuity are most common), just make sure that you are sending a link with wide open calendar settings. I keep tight parameters on my clarity calls--that’s a different link than what I would ever send a new connection.
[And if you’re the more powerful person, have your calendar sign ups ready. Don’t make the youth suffer. Set your boundaries and own your life with easy to schedule calendar links.]
Step 3: The Call
You’ve set up the call. Now what?
Get clear on the purpose. What do you want to know about their work? What do you want their eyes on? Have some topics to introduce and guide the convo.
Video calls are fun for me. I like seeing peoples’ faces. I like the pretend eye contact. If that isn’t your style, stick with phone.
Don’t let it be longer than 30 minutes. Unless you’re immediate friends and tell all the stories. Yes, this happens.
Step 3b: Discernment
This is where the real purpose of the call comes in: discerning what next steps might be.
Three possible routes:
“Wow, this is great information. Thank you so much. I will keep you in the loop of what I’m up to and I would love to follow your work. What is the best way to do that?.” [This is the likeliest outcome. You now know each other’s names and gigs. You plan to keep in touch. No further action required.]
Want to keep in touch
Check in with relevant content
Collaboration is imminent. Sparks are flying. You are finishing each other’s sentences. This isn’t the end of discernment but you’re going to talk sooner rather than later. More on this in Step 6.
What would it look like to…?
How can I be involved?
No chemistry. It happens. The convo is like pulling teeth. Thank God it was only 15-30 minutes and we didn’t spend hours boring each other or suffering over cocktails.
Step 4: The Thank you
Team, if you aren’t sending thank you notes for conversations people were gracious enough to have with you, I just can’t with you. Go home. Go to bed. Start over. The end.
If you are interacting with anyone over the age of 40 and can find an address to send a handwritten thank you note, go for it. Especially welcome if they are from another country. It’s a thing.
Recent Letter:
Hi [Fine Art Curator]
Thank you for the delightful conversation last night. Your candid and forthright feedback was incredibly helpful. And thank you for the referrals.
If there is any way I can support what you're doing, please let me know. I'd be happy to offer thoughts on your website/artist consulting messaging or anything else you have slated. I've also started sharing the art fair on social media and directly to the artists I know who may be interested.
I'm grateful for your work and presence in this field and look forward to meeting in person when this is all over.
Best, Dana
Template:
Dear So&So,
Thank you for taking the time to talk with me and share your work in [xyz]. I value [abc]. As promised, here are links to [resource] and [my upcoming event.]
Looking forward to connecting again,
Best, Dana
Step 5: The Follow Up + Trust Building
If your conversation fell into the “we’ll keep in touch” category, then do it. Set a timer for once a quarter reaching out to check in. Share relevant articles and posts. Comment on their instagram page. Send little messages back and forth.
To quote Brene Brown again, it’s like a “marble jar.” Every time you have an interaction that goes well, you add a bit of trust into the marble jar. You want to be a person who is known in your networks as being reliable. Every time you remember someones name or birthday or congratulate them on a business win or say what you value in an instagram post or (with their permission) constructively criticize their work in a way that you both get better.
Template:
Dear So&So,
I saw this article and thought of you and your work with [subject area]! Would love your thoughts. Hope you are well!
Best,
Dana
Step 6: Collaboration
Sometimes, the first call or the follow up calls result in an idea for collaboration. It’s worth nothing the three variations this can take. If we are scared of saying or proposing too much, we can cut ourselves off from the possibilities.
Version 1: Consulting
You hire them. Or they hire you. Short term gig. Expertise on a specific project is given or received. Money is exchanged.
Version 2: Time
Donation based. You show up to be in the audience. You contribute to an event. You volunteer a workshop at the organization. It’s low risk for you both but high reward in building trust.
Version 3: Partnership / Investment
This requires a fully aligned story between your goals and theirs. It’s the closest to “getting married” that you can get in the business dating game. Actually getting married means one of you hires the other full time or you merge your businesses. THIS IS RARELY A DESIRED OUTCOME. Instead, a partnership is you fully combine your work and names and brands for some shared objective. This requires time and understanding of each other. It’s worth testing out in the shallow end of the pool before you jump in the deep end.
Conclusion
Hierarchies are constructed. That means we made them up. And it means we can unmake them, especially when we invite genuine connection through shared values.
The worst that can happen is you never hear back. That’s a net loss of 0. You’re exactly where you started. That’s a high reward, low risk prospect. Go for it!
People are people. We all want the same things (though not always in the same way): respect, connection, and possibility.
Now go make some friends!
A PS. Culture Determines Form
This guide is written for the urban and online business economies in the United States of America. I’ve lived in other countries for extended periods of time and experienced first hand how painful and confusing and downright rude it is to apply some of the structures I suggest in this guide to other places and people. That said, every culture has its own systems for approach, invitation, and connection.
Study what works in your context.
Pay attention.
Ask questions of friends and colleagues even when asking makes you feel vulnerable.
People do want to help.