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The Art Of Being Seen

Marketing your work isn’t separate from your work.

Author

Jaime Solis
21 Mar

Welcome to Red Threads

A weekly newsletter of curated insights for creators and builders–people shaping businesses, industries, and communities.

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." – Pablo Picasso

The Red Thread This Week

Marketing Isn’t the Side Job. It’s the Job.

Many builders and creators feel like marketing their own work is uncomfortable, or beneath them. They love making the work—but talking about it? Promoting it? That feels somehow… off.

So, instead they:

  • Post once about their new project and hope the right people find it.

  • Assume if it’s good enough, it will spread on its own.

  • Convince themselves the work is just for them to avoid the discomfort of sharing it.

But here’s a truth: Marketing isn’t disconnected from your work, or your art. It’s intrinsically part of the art. It’s how your art travels.

The best creators don’t see marketing as a necessary evil. They see it as an extension of their craft.

  • David Bowie didn’t just make music—he created personas as ambassadors of the music.

  • Banksy doesn’t just paint—he turns his work into global spectacles.

  • Lin-Manuel Miranda didn’t just write Hamilton—he built a cultural movement around experiencing it.

They didn’t separate the art from the sharing of the art. They made sharing part of the art itself.

Embrace this approach, and you’ll start to create ideal conditions for your work to spread. And if your work can spread, it can make an impact.

Treat marketing your work, and your ideas – as an act of service.

~ Jaime

📌 Are you treating your marketing as a burden, or as a creative act?

🔑 The Unlock

How to Promote Without Feeling Awful

Marketing your work, or your ideas, or your art, doesn’t have to feel sleazy. The best way to do it? Make your process part of the story.

  • Share the process you go through to create, not just the result. People don’t just want the finished product—they want to see how it was made.

  • Talk about why you made it. What problem were you trying to solve? What inspired this? Who are the people you seek to serve, and what do you hope they take away?

  • Involve your audience. Ask questions. Get feedback. Let people feel like they’re part of something. Invite them to join you on the journey.

  • Be consistent. Get comfortable with frequency. Showing up again (and again, and again) builds trust. Trust is the foundation of relationships. Relationships create interactions, and transactions.

📌 Take Action: This week, instead of just announcing something you made, tell a story about it. Why does it matter? Why did you make it? What’s the bigger picture?

💡 Creative Edge

The Fear Behind Promotion

Most creators don’t avoid marketing because they’re lazy. They avoid it because they’re afraid.

  • Afraid of rejection. What if people don’t like it?

  • Afraid of self-indulgence. Who am I to ask for attention?

  • Afraid of being seen. Once I put myself out there, I can’t hide anymore.

But here’s the truth: Promoting your work requires the same vulnerability as creating it.

That’s why it’s so hard.

But you’re a builder and a creator. You already know how to tangle with fear, and have managed to create new things despite the resistance. You know how to push through, in order to create your work and your art.

The same brave, generous approach also works in overcoming the resistance to sharing your work.

📌 Try This: Next time you hesitate to share your work, ask yourself—If someone else made this, would I want to hear about it? If the answer is yes, then you owe it to your audience to let them in.

📡 Industry Pulse

  • Mariah Carey Wins Copyright Lawsuit Over Holiday Hit
    “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is officially Mariah’s, as a federal judge dismisses the claim that the hit infringed on a 1989 song of the same name. Read more

  • Podcasting's Audience Is Growing—and Diversifying
    The 2024 Podcast Landscape Report shows continued audience growth, with 43% of U.S. adults listening monthly, and younger, more diverse demographics driving momentum. Read more

  • YouTube Launches Creator Collective Events in 20+ Cities
    In-person events are back—YouTube is hosting global meetups for creators to build connection, share strategy, and strengthen the creator ecosystem offline. Read more

  • UMG Pushes Back on Drake Defamation Suit Over “Not Like Us”
    Universal Music Group is seeking to pause legal discovery in Drake’s defamation suit related to Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, citing contractual complexities. Read more

  • Podcast Fandom Is Getting Deeper, Not Just Bigger
    A new Wondery study shows podcast listeners aren’t just multiplying—they’re engaging more deeply, forming fandoms that rival music and sports communities. Read more

  • BBC Studios Gets Exclusive Access to Red Bull Racing
    BBC Studios Productions has inked a deal with Red Bull Racing for exclusive behind-the-scenes F1 content, marking a major move in sports storytelling. Read more

  • Limp Bizkit’s $200M Lawsuit Against UMG Moves Forward
    A court has denied Universal’s request to dismiss the case, keeping Limp Bizkit’s $200 million copyright claim over their masters alive. Read more

📈 By The Numbers

What it says: What people are doing when they listen to minimized video

What it means: Further reinforcement of the idea that being on YouTube doesn’t necessarily mean your podcast is being watched - but it should be watchable, so people can make the choice!

🛠️ Trending AI Tools

💼 Open Opportunities 

In Podcasting:

In Music:

📌 Know someone looking? Forward this to them!

⚡ Final Note

You’ve got an idea. A message. A story worth telling. The only thing standing between you and your own podcast? Getting started.

That’s why I put together The 7-Day Podcast Challenge—a simple, step-by-step guide to getting your podcast live in a week. No fluff, no wasted motion. Just a clear path from idea to launch.

And thank you for spending time with Red Threads this week. I’m glad you’re here.

~ Jaime

P.S. Could you use some help with a project you’re working on? Let’s talk! 

📌 If this issue sparked something for you, forward it to a friend.

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BONUS!

 🎵 New Music Friday

Note: Many releases are subject to last-minute adjustments, so this list may change.

New Albums / Deluxe / EPs

Friday, March 14

  • Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco: I Said I Love You First

  • Kevin Gates: I’m Him 2

  • Money Man: Insomnia

  • Jon B: Waiting On You

  • Flying Lotus: ASH (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

  • The Horrors: Night Life

  • Pierre Giovanni: The World Is Yours

  • Japanese Breakfast: For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)

  • Ben L’Oncle Soul: Sad Generation

  • Annie and the Caldwells: Can’t Lose My Soul

  • Dave Mason: A Shade of Blues

  • Weatherday: Hornet Disaster

  • Jefre Cantu-Ledesma: Gift Songs

  • Kassian: Channels

  • Kinlaw: Gut Ccheck

  • Lonnie Holley: Tonky

  • Izzy Reign: Izzy Reign

  • Gotthard: Stereo Crush

  • Lucy Liyou: Every Video Without Your Face, Every Sound Without Your Name

  • More Eaze & Claire Rousay: No Floor

  • My Morning Jacket: Is

  • Drew Sidora: I Did It to Me

  • Aaryan Shah: Do You See The Birds, Too?

  • TeeGlazedIt: Late Night Grindin’

  • BIGBABYGUCCI & Alois: Pastel Pink

  • Bloodywood: Nu Delhi

  • Cradle of Filth: The Screaming of the Valkyries

  • Deacon Blue: The Great Western Road

  • Desire: Games People Play

  • Ryan Hurd: Midwest Rock & Roll

  • Tamino: Every Dawn’s a Mountain

  • Phil Cook: Appalachia Borealis

  • Sharp Pins: Radio DDR

  • Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith: Defiant Life

  • YHWH Nailgun: 45 Pounds

  • Young Widows: Power Sucker

  • Tyler Watts: Youngin’ Pt. 1 (EP)

  • Tauren Wells: Let the Church Sing (EP)

  • MILKBLOOD: Alter Pt. II (EP)

  • Stray Kids: Mixtape : dominATE (EP)

  • Previous Industries: Evergreen Plaza (EP)

  • Japanese Ape & RhymeTube: Katei (EP)

  • Vayda: Put Your Clothes On (EP)

  • Old Orleans & Thelonious Martin: Amethyst (EP)

  • TezMoney 30 & Baby Threat: JUMP OUT TWINS (EP)

  • B.U.G Antman: Y’all Ugly (EP)

  • NoGum Hundo & Geeohhs: What’s Good Hundo? (EP)

  • ZEPKINS: DA OOZE 2 (EP)

  • Pomrad: Silver Blue (EP)