Flywheel #2: How Visionary Creators Find Their Voices
Over the past year, and especially during lockdown, I’ve focused on a few different creative pursuits. Like many people, I found new hobbies and creative outlets in a time when we could no longer go outside, socialize with friends, or participate in many group activities.
I created an online course to replace my in-person workshops, taught myself how to record and edit my videos, wrote over 100,000 words of content for myself and clients, dabbled in digital art, and even learned enough latte art that I could open my own lockdown cafe (as long as my patrons have very low standards.) I missed the boat on the lockdown sourdough craze, but if you want a weird-looking ghost on your latte I’m your girl.
Creative outlets are, for me, a way of keeping sane as well as a way of expressing myself and my ideas. They give me an opportunity to show a little bit of what’s in my head to others, create a shared experience, and find what I have in common with my audience.
With all of the creating that I’ve been doing, it was almost inevitable that I would start to think more deeply about the creative process and how it applies to my work as a marketer. This month, we’ll delve into the “voice” that creators develop, how they go about finding and nurturing that voice to give their work a distinct identity, and how marketers can apply those learnings to the world of content creation and brand marketing.
The creative voice
Creators spend years honing their craft to deliver the messages that they care about in the most effective way. They find their creative voices along the way, and ultimately their work becomes identifiable with them and their worldview. You can tell if you’re watching a Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorcese film within minutes. They use lighting, sound, dialogue, and action in unique ways to create films that showcase their point of view and create an identifying voice that strings through all of their work.
In this case, the voice is essentially the tone, subject, and artistic viewpoint of a creative work that “speaks” to an audience in a certain way. This voice carries through all creative mediums, including film, music, physical and digital art, writing, and dance.
But what is that voice, really, and how does it work? Is it something that these creators had from the beginning, or did it develop over time? And did they “find” it, as so many artistic gurus would have us believe, or develop it with hard work and practice?
Finding vs developing your voice
“Masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of people, so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice.” - Virginia Woolf
As we engage in any creative process, well-meaning teachers, coaches, and mentors often talk about “finding your voice.” They say that each person has a unique view of the world and lived experience, and therefore a unique voice that can come out in creative work.
This is helpful for recognizing the value that you can bring to your medium, but the finding part is problematic. The concept of “finding your voice” evokes an image of searching for lost socks - it’s something you can chance upon unexpectedly, but not a process you can control. It also implies that once you’ve found it the process is complete once and for all. The reality, as all creators know, is messier.
I think it’s much more helpful for creators to focus on developing their voices. Development is direct action that you can control. You can apply practice, willpower, and focused exploration to the development process to help it along. Unlike “finding” your voice, developing it is a lifelong exercise for all creators. It's in your power to shape your voice into a powerful reflection of your identity as a creator.
What is your “voice” made of?
So let’s all agree, for a moment, that voices are not born, but made. In that case, what are they made of? What elements shape a creator’s voice over time?
Things you admire
“All we do as songwriters is rewrite the songs that have impressed us till we find our own voice. It’s part of learning the craft.” - Steve Earle
You can’t make work that you love until you know what you like. If you're like most creators, the process of learning your craft starts with finding inspiration from those that you admire. You then go through a period of emulating that work, honing your skills as you borrow elements from lots of things that you like. By striving to create work in a similar style as someone you admire, you develop your taste and lay the foundation for your voice as a creator.
Things you’re good at
“Your gifts lie in the place where your values, passions, and strengths meet. Discovering that place is the first step toward sculpting your masterpiece.” - Michelangelo
As you develop your skills and perspective, you’ll likely find yourself gravitating towards things that you’re good at. Certain elements, styles, or themes will begin to show up in your work over and over. If you hear, “wow, that’s great!” when you show off a piece, you’re likely to pursue that feeling by creating something similar the next time.
If this continues, you may find yourself being identified by the things that you are good at. You become “realistic shadows girl” or “witty dialogue guy”, and your work starts to rely on that. But that's probably not all that you want to be. Great artists, writers, and creators find ways to use the elements that they’re good at as a foundation while continuously pushing themselves to find new and different means of expression. By pushing your boundaries and moving beyond your comfort zone, you'll find that your work and your creative voice will become much better than any one element.
Your worldview & priorities
“Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame - and what’s out.” - Martin Scorsese
One of the most important elements of your unique voice is, of course, your unique experience. The things in your life that form your worldview will have a huge impact on your creative work. By producing and sharing your creative work, you tell audience about your priorities and values as a creator.
The things that you choose to highlight, as well as the things that you choose to leave out of your work, show what your priorities are. These choices start to make a pattern over time. The pattern becomes your identity as an artist. As that identity speaks to your audience, it becomes your voice.
Audience mirroring & Empathy
“The older I get, the more I look at movies as a moving miracle. Audiences are harder to please if you’re just giving them special effects…but they’re easy to please if it’s a good story.” - Steven Spielberg
Your work can’t have a voice unless it’s speaking to someone. As you begin to connect with an audience that understands and values your work, they will begin to inform how you represent yourself. This two-way relationship has a profound impact on your voice as an artist over time.
Your aspirations
“Cinema is a mirror by which we often see ourselves.” - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
The last ingredient is the vision you have for yourself and your work. What do you want to become? What do you want your work to say? The goals that you strive to achieve in your creative work and the aspirations you have as an artist will inevitably shape your voice and the things you create.
You became a creator for a reason. You pursue creative work because you have the skills to make your visions a reality, a distinct point of view, the empathy to understand your audience, and the aspiration to make something valuable. All of these things combine in your work to form your creative voice.
Ultimately, you find and develop your voice by using it. You cannot analyze your way into a unique viewpoint in your work. You can only get there by creating, pushing your boundaries, emulating those you admire, taking leaps when inspiration strikes, and repeating the process until your work begins to have a unifying thread.
How does all this apply to marketing?
Looking at how the creative voice develops, there are some clear lessons for marketers who want to reach audiences with valuable content. For me, this boils down to a few things:
Just like the creative voice, a brand voice isn’t found (or created in a meeting.) The voice of a company needs time and attention to develop. Every interaction with your audience is a chance to hone that voice and make your brand identity clear.
The things you admire should inform your marketing, not be your marketing. Just like any other creator, you may start out emulating those that you admire. But your voice as a marketer will shine when you start forging your own path.
You should absolutely use your strongest skills to your advantage, but don’t rest on your laurels. Modern marketing requires knowledge about lots of different areas, and you'll need to become comfortable with all of them to succeed. Just like your creative voice, your marketing voice can become stronger as a whole than any single area where you develop skills.
The things that you leave out of your marketing are just important as the things you put in. Your voice may actually be defined by the things you don’t do. Maybe your brand becomes the one that isn’t sarcastic and jaded. Make your marketing reflect your worldview and priorities.
Everything about marketing is about the audience, and this is no different. Empathy with your audience means that you’ll intuitively understand how your voice is being heard and whether you’re really connecting.
No one starts with a huge following, huge marketing budget, or giant marketing team. But your aspirations can still inform your marketing style and your content. Think about where you want to end up as a marketer and as a company, and act accordingly.
Developing anything takes practice. Just like other creators, marketers often look back at their early work and cringe. But without that early work you wouldn’t develop the skills needed to create a masterpiece. Keep going.
Thanks for joining me to think about this. I think I'm still a long way from developing my voice as a creator and a marketer, but like anything else it will develop with focused attention. What about you? How do you define your voice as a creator, and how did you develop it? I'd love to hear about how you apply these lessons to your journey.
Keep reading...
How to Build Credibility as a Course Creator - LightSpire blog
How to Find Your Artistic Voice - Creative Boom
How to Find Your Unique Perspective as a Content Creator - LightSpire blog
