Four principles of navigating the subjectivity of creative work.

The subjectivity of creative work can cause many challenges. But, some strategies can help us to navigate and mitigate its impact on our lives and ventures.?

But before we jump into these, let's first examine what problems can be caused by the subjectivity of creative work.

As mentioned in my previous article: "This is killing your creative business," the subjective nature of creative work can amplify self-doubt and insecurity.?

Creatives may constantly question the value and quality of their work, fearing that it may not resonate with others or meet their expectations.?

This self-doubt can hinder creative expression and confidence and harm their business intensively.?

Let's look at three significant challenges of subjectivity's nature for any creative business.?

? Subjective recognition:?

Subjectivity can make it harder for creatives to gain opportunities and recognition in their field. Gatekeepers, such as clients but also art buyers, producers, marketing officers, award juries, or even creative directors, may have subjective preferences and biases, resulting in limited exposure or access to platforms and creative work.?

? Subjective feedback:?

Creative individuals often face rejection and criticism due to the subjective nature of their work. This can come in the form of rejected proposals, negative reviews, or harsh feedback.?

Dealing with such criticism can be emotionally challenging, impacting motivation, self-esteem, client relationships, and the business's culture.?

? Difficulty in measuring impact or value:?

Unlike industries with more objective metrics, such as sales figures or profit margins, it can be more challenging for creatives to measure the impact of their creative work, which can lead to severe challenges regarding pricing and selling creative services.

→?Conclusion

As we can see, subjectivity can cause massive problems for our businesses. We must be aware of it when building our strategies.?

Fortunately, some systems can help us navigate and mitigate its impact on our lives and ventures. Let's explore some strategies to do so.

? Subjectivity?

First, let's start with the term subjective or subjectivity to ensure we understand what it means before we try to alter it.

A definition:

Subjectivity refers to the quality or characteristic of being influenced by personal?opinions, feelings, interpretations, or perspectives.?In the context of creative work, subjectivity arises due to individual understanding and the subjective experiences of?both the creator and the audience. It recognizes that personal preferences, cultural backgrounds, and experiences influence how creative output is perceived and evaluated.

Three principles to reduce the harm caused by Subjectivity?

1. Principle: Know your Audience

With our definition of subjectivity in hand, it should become apparent that we can't solely focus on ourselves and our perspectives if we want to navigate through this.?

As familiar as it may sound, we must consider that the best message is worth nothing if it hits the wrong recipient.?

That means the first thing to do is to ensure we reach out to people who can understand our message semantically and emotionally from their own context.?

People who can relate to our experiences, values, and belief systems. We need to identify those recipients to understand better how to communicate our message and to shrink the amount of subjectivity perception to its viable minimum to reduce divergence loss.?

It may seem counterintuitive, but knowing these people means, in the very first place, knowing ourselves, our values, and our beliefs,?

which leads us to the second principle.

2. Principle - Know yourself

If we are vague in our own position, in why we do what we do, and in our purpose, we have little chance to gain more than vague connections to anyone out there.?

→ So we must ask ourselves: are we clear on these things?

?Why do you do what you do? (Beyond making money, of course)

→ Pro Tip: If it's only about you, it won't help you to connect with an audience bigger than yourself.

→ If you struggle to figure it out yourself, you are not alone!?

DM me to sign your interest in an upcoming workshop on how to find your purpose.

3. Create real value

What is your creative service worth if it is not measurable in value? How can you confidently charge for it if you can't tell the value your service or product brings to the market?

If your creative service is measured just by the time and resources you need to invest in it, you are nothing more than a commodity, no matter how great the output might be.?

This is the road to frustration and poison to every creative business. If our clients measure the value of our work by the time and resources we put in to achieve a particular result, we are both screwed.?

We will always fall short in motivation and profits, while our clients will never value what we do, driven by the fear of spending too much.?

And it's even worse when it comes to negotiations or proposals before we can call them even clients.

We are nothing but a commodity – always depending on the "market" doomed to compete against any competitor by price. This means we are putting our whole business at risk by giving up all opportunities for growth and innovation.?

If we want to be respected and seen as a valuable partner instead of an interchangeable commodity, we must be?serious?about our offerings and their value. The key is to provide a?transformational-driven outcome?instead of specific implementations. If we offer a solution for a transformation we achieve with our creative service, we are a giant step closer to a measurable outcome.?

This concept will lead to a strategically driven workflow that guides everything your business does by intention, minimizing random subjective feedback.?

→ The concept of value-driven services and value-based pricing plays a huge role in becoming a strategically positioned creative service. I will explore it in detail in upcoming articles, workshops, and the Ceek Strategy Program.(https://www.ceek.vision/program)

4. Craft compelling messages

What's our message, and who resonates with it? After determining who we are talking to and what our value is, we can start crafting our communication that educates our clients so they can understand the strategic and valuable approach behind our services.

→ It's on us to take action. If we don't get our message in front of the right people, all our efforts are worth nothing.

Generally speaking, compelling messages and strategic storytelling are crucial in building any business or brand. It's essential to know how to speak and what to say when tackling the challenge of subjectivity and differentiation.

Many companies and solopreneurs feel overwhelmed by the pressure to post consistently on social media and all its platforms. There is a myth that tells you that quantity beats quality. And it is true in terms of consistency and algorithms because if no one sees your message, it doesn't matter how good it is.?

However, this concept lacks depth and completion. If your message is not clear, It will only add noise to an already noisy environment, so all your efforts will be a waste of time and money.?

→ That is why a strategy is the only way to become efficient and effective in your marketing.

→ If we can't reach our audience, we will always fall back on being a subjectively judged service provider.

→ Our messaging is our responsibility when building our business as creative entrepreneurs. It differentiates our brand from competitors and establishes an emotional connection with our partners.?

→ Conclusion → Take aways

Let's embrace that we, as entrepreneurs, are responsible for what happens to our business.?

→ Our call is to position ourselves effectively to reach the people who appreciate and value our work out of self-interest instead of talking people into something or convincing them.

→ Let's remember subjectivity is an inherent aspect of creative work; not everyone will appreciate or understand our creations similarly.?

→ We need to develop and foster a strong sense of ourselves and cultivate a deep understanding of our vision, values, and goals as creative entrepreneurs to clarify what our creative work values for ourselves and the people we serve.?

This self-awareness provides a solid foundation and helps us stay grounded amidst the subjective opinions of others.

Here are the four principles of navigating the subjectivity of creative work.

1. Know your audience
2. Know yourself (Purpose and values)
3. Create real value
4. Craft compelling messages