For creatives who need to get their work into the hands of their true fans, but feel massive resistance at every marketing “should”
Sideline Social:
The low-tech, high-impact
audience building plan
A 3-session, hands-on workshop
Learn the simplest approach to find your ride-or-die fans, without relying on—or even using!—social media.

The most powerful ways to invite fans to fall in love with your work? It’s not an ephemeral social post. 

It’s a personal recommendation. Let’s get you more of those.
How would it change your future if you knew you had an audience of fans-for-life just waiting for your next launch?

I did a surprise (to me) Holiday Fair today [...] I was terrified no one would buy a thing, but I had a base and stretch goal for sales and blew by both.

Sold out of a few things, got a lot of great feedback, got past my absolute shyness and had a great day. Success!


Erik N.
Illustrator, Authentic Visibility student
You’ve got a new book coming out in a month. (Or maybe it’s an art show. Or you’re launching a course.) 

You’ve done basically nothing to promote it yet. Feeling the release date creep up on you feels like a python wrapping itself around you, ring by ring. 

So you commit. After wrestling with it for a couple of hours, you finally hit on an idea for an Instagram post that feels more or less on point and minimally embarrassing. 

You send it sailing out into the internet, and…ping! A like! 

 …it’s your mom. 

6 likes later, the post has disappeared from feeds,
and you’re back to square one. 

You toggle over to Reels and think with a sinking heart,
“Do I have to learn to dance on camera?” 

Does social media and the endless churn of content production for marketing (blogging, videos, whatever the gurus are throwing at us this week…) feel like a trap?
There’s a reason social media doesn’t work for you.
It’s not intended to.

You think Zuck is sitting in his hilltop aerie thinking about how he can help you build visibility and make money with your creative work? 


Not a chance. 


Big Tech’s motivation for showing up to work in the morning is making money for Big Tech.


That requires convincing YOU to show up for work in the morning, diligently posting and engaging, creating more ad inventory and donating more attention for THEM to sell.

It’s time for a radically simplified, human approach to gaining audience attention that
doesn’t hinge on whatever’s trending on Twitter.
The good news—that Zuck and pals don’t want you to know—is that you don’t actually have to rely on social media to reach the kind of fans who will care about your work as much as you do.

In fact, you shouldn’t.

It’s not that you need to leave social media if you love it, but it’s one of the least effective tools for creating strong bonds with loyal fans.  


Other platforms that don’t do what you’ve been told they do? 


Blogging. 


Posting videos on YouTube.  


Basically everything you see marketing gurus dancing about in social media videos.

“OK, miss smartypants. That’s pretty much everything I’ve heard of.
So what should I be doing?”
I’ll give you a hint: It involves talking to people like a regular human, not trying to create (and hide behind) a façade of marketing fanciness. 

It’s simple (although not always easy!) and it’s way more effective at garnering the kind of attention that lasts…and that pays. 

 Sound interesting? 

 Let’s do this thing.


Hi, I'm Jessica Abel! 


I'm an award-winning, published cartoonist and creative business coach, as well as the founder of the Creative Focus Workshop, Authentic Visibility, and the Autonomous Creative Collective. I'm here to help committed creatives build sustainable, joyful creative careers and businesses.

In my own history as an author and business owner, I've tried everything to get my work seen. After years of beating my head against the wall, I realized there was something fundamentally broken about how I had been taught to approach marketing and promotion. 
 
What I teach is not about going viral or instant bestseller status....because that's all about luck and timing, and you don't have control over any of that. Instead, I want to put you in the driver's seat of your audience growth and sales with old-school, reliable techniques you can put to use over and over again.
In the Sideline Social workshop, you’ll learn a trend-proof approach to getting your work in front of your true fans…
...without constantly publishing
more more more.

The ultra-simple 3-step process to turn total strangers into devoted fans 

The truth about how to make fan loyalty and sales come easily that the tech giants don’t want you to know 

How to plan a completely manageable promotion schedule that nevertheless hits hard (planner worksheet included!) 

 The secrets to growing your audience without trying to win the algorithm (or even giving a crap about the socials at all) 

A powerful framework for crystalizing what your work is about so that the right people hear you clear as a bell 

A toolbox of 10 flexible, human-scaled strategies that put control of your growth in your hands

Walk away with an action plan to kick off building your fanbase this week!

It's about establishing what it is that you specifically want to share. You're not being forced to say something you don't feel you can really buy into. You won't have the uncomfortable feeling of awkward self-inflation that isn't really grounded.


Diana de Cabarrus
Musician, Authentic Visibility student

Join the Sideline Social workshop!

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Sideline Social$129

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  • 1xSideline Social$129
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All prices in USD

The details:

Session 1
How to leverage the three stages of audience engagement like a person, not a corporation 

Session 2
“But what ‘problem’ does art solve??” Developing the words you need to communicate what your work is all about 

Session 3 
10 streamlined methods to start building a ride-or-die fanbase…this week 
Comprehensive workbook included!
This workshop is for:
  • Authors, cartoonists, artists, musicians, course creators, and anyone making creative work for an audience who need to grow their fanbase…In particular those who have a new project coming out in the near future, who need to take effective action fast! 

  •  Coaches, consultants, designers, illustrators, and other service providers who need to gain visibility but struggle with the demand to publish constantly.

This workshop will not be a great fit for:

→ Creators who are content hanging out in dreamland,
waiting for a viral hit to save their butts 


→ People who are not willing to get slightly uncomfortable. 

→ Those who are only interested in short term results
over long term growth
Make a plan you can put into action in a matter of days

It won’t be fancy.


It won’t be what you see in the marketing feeds of glamorous influencers posting from tropical locales. 

But it will be achievable, feel natural and simple.

And it can work.
Join me for Sideline Social!

I just thought I wasn't capable of coming at it from the perspective of being very true to who I am and attracting people who are attracted to my personality. This is rewiring my brain so that when I hear marketing, or if I'm trying to sell something, it doesn't feel icky. I'm showing up authentically, and I'm finding people who not only want to buy my stuff, they need my stuff in order to get to the next step in their goals.


Rachel Ober
Software engineer, Authentic Visibility student
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