How should I think about competition from other artists selling online?

You have virtually no competition if you’re actually willing to do the work. The scarcity versus abundance mindset is nonsense—another artist selling something doesn’t prevent you from selling. The reality is that the vast majority of artists don’t want to work. They’re all looking for shortcuts: uploading to marketplaces, hoping for passive income, wanting someone else to do the marketing. Everyone with a smartphone is not your competition, and everyone uploading to print-on-demand sites is not your competition. If you commit to building a direct business and consistently doing the marketing work that others avoid, you’re in a completely different world. You’re in the top 0.001% just by showing up and doing what others won’t. That’s your real competitive advantage.

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Asked by artist worried about competition · Answered by Patrick Shanahan and Nick Friend · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-06-27