This all sounds complicated. Do I need to implement every tactic perfectly on my first contest?

No. You don’t have to come out of the gates running the most complicated version possible. This is the long game—you’re likely going to be an artist for the rest of your life, so you have time. Start with what you can handle, run a simpler version, learn from your mistakes, and level up your contest game with each one you run. Maybe run one this fourth quarter, then one per quarter going forward. Each time you’ll get better. The photographers and artists who are now on their third, fourth, or fifth contest are seeing tremendous results because they’ve taken the time to master it. Take it piece by piece, and within a year you’ll be among the marketing elite in your field.

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Asked by an artist feeling overwhelmed by contest complexity · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2018-09-25