Being honest in my bio actually did something weird
I changed my bio a few months back from the usual "artist, mosaicist, available for commissions" to something that just said what I actually do: I sit on the floor and put small pieces of stone together, it's slow, here's the work. That's it. No hype, no "transforming spaces through ancient craft", no keywords.
And I started getting messages that were different. Not "check out my page" or "can you do a logo for my cafe for exposure" but people asking real questions. Where do you source smalti. Do you cut your own. Can I come watch you work sometime.
I think there's a whole strip of people who are tired of the polished performance and just want to know what's really happening. Nobody needs another artist who sounds like a copywriter. I'd rather lose the ones who want shiny than lose the few who actually care.
The irony is my follower count dropped a bit and my enquiries went up. Make of that what you will. 🙂
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That makes complete sense to me. When you write the hype version you attract people who respond to hype. When you write the truth you attract people who respond to truth. The ones who ask to come watch you work are the ones who actually matter, because they understand the thing itself is interesting, not the packaging around it.
I changed my own bio years ago to just "oil painter, Lyon" after some failed attempt at sounding like a brand, and the difference wasn't in volume but in kind. Fewer messages, better ones. People who asked about my medium, my varnishing, whether I paint from life. It filters better than any keyword ever could.
The only danger is when the honest bio works and you start second-guessing it and putting the hype back in. Don't. The floor-sitting is the point. Voilà.
Ha, the varnishing question, that's the tell isn't it. Nobody who wants a logo asks about varnish. There's a certain person who gets genuinely curious about the process itself, and they're worth ten of the other kind.
And it's funny how "fewer messages, better ones" is exactly it. I used to think more was more, but the good ones actually go somewhere instead of turning into ghosting or haggling. A person who asks how I cut smalti is going to come back. And "oil painter, Lyon", I love that. It's the confidence of not explaining yourself.