How Poets Secure Deals With an Organization
Born and raised in the 310 in Memphis, Tennessee, Sebastian Carson has lived a trajectory of writing his entire life. When he was younger, he went by the name of 2yme and used writing as a way to digest the emotions of a life without his father and as a tool to get girlfriends. And now, poetry and writing are his career.
Poet Life Podcast took time to talk with Sebastian and learn how he got to where he is and what his tips are for securing deals with an organization as a poet.
Let’s learn from him, shall we?
The life of “Grace: A Conversation with God”
In college, Sebastian teamed up with his friend Tilmon and performed a poem called, “Grace: A Conversation with God.” It was their first time “actually doing spoken word live at an open mic.” And the positive reactions they received sparked their poetry journey.
First came YouTube
The pair decided to film the poem and post it on YouTube, and their video had thousands of views on the first day. On the second or third day, Bobby Jones from BET Gospel reached out to them to perform for their casting call in Nashville. From there, they took off on the church circuit, while still in college.
Sebastian says, “Keep in mind, I’m young. I’m in college here. I’m getting this taste of success, and it’s kinda surreal. … From one poem. So here we are still in college, getting paid $1,500 here and $750 there.”
His tip for this sort of success? “When you have a network of that many people, you should really take advantage of it.” Meaning, use the connections you have now, so they can share it and spread the reach of the video organically. When people you know share your content with their personal networks, that’s when people you don’t know start to share your content with their own networks. That’s how you can be seen. It’s virtual word of mouth.
Then came WorldStarHipHop.com
As the buzz was dying down from Grace’s time on YouTube, Sebastian and Tilmon analyzed the success they got from organically posting and imagined what they could do if they “put an incubator behind it.”
They noticed there were only a few spoken word artists on WorldStarHipHop.com (WorldStar) that would occasionally post. So they did their research on the No. 1 urban website in the country.
So they invested $750 in getting their video posted to WorldStar.
Then, as they did research, they noticed WorldStar was doing a spoken word feature video each month. So instead of paying another $750 to post a video, they positioned themselves for the next feature slot and said, “Hey, we would love to be one of your features of the month,” and sent the video in.
The key? According to Sebastian, the key is that “when you learn that you have the power to reach the masses through this digital platform, you start to open your brain to how you position your work and the work you do from now on.”
After a while, “we felt like we were finding our formula. We felt like this was a space that there wasn’t a lot of competition to be quite honest. So it trained us to understand the concept of making sure you eat all of the meat that’s on the bone. … We had something that worked, so all we had to do was find out what markets to get into.”
Keep in mind, they’ve built a career on one poem at this point.
Pro tip: Repurpose your poems
Sebastian was able to “eat off this one poem” for about six to seven years. That’s six to seven years of income from a single poem.
So how did he do it?
He says, “Poetry’s our foundation. It’s the thing that gets us in the door.” Then he goes on to say the things he focuses on are “how are we going to reach the churches? How are we going to reach these organizations? How can we get another school to pay for us to come out?”
They focus on sharpening the business intellect and their brand.
Sebastian notes that doing that “has opened up so many doors. That’s when your gigs start kicking off, and you can start to circulate some new poems.”
Bottom line? Do what they did: Invest in what’s working for you; create a video so your content can live forever.
So you’ve found what works and are ready to bring it to an organization. What now?
How do you pitch to an organization?
Before a poet can pitch to an organization, you have to find the ones you want to look at. In many episodes, we discuss how poets can find a place in business. In conversation with Sebastian, he noticed the opportunities there are for poets among businesses.
“I’m just thinking about the majority of business opportunities I’ve been commissioned on, and the majority of them have been white organizations.” Sebastian adds, “This isn’t pointing out race, it’s pointing out a barrier in communication and a desire to communicate.”
He encourages you to seek those opportunities, identify those companies and organizations. Then you should do the following:
1. Do your research
Sebastian spends time deeply researching organizations before pitching to them. He puts in the effort to understand not just what their mission on their website is but what they’re goals are and what projects are coming up for them.
2. Use your work
He also says he uses his own existing body of work. He says, “If you don’t have [your own body of work], start to utilize every moment that you’re connecting with people, get testimonies.” Those testimonies can be used to help pitch yourself to the next organization.
3. Understand numbers and metrics
Sebastian says, “The biggest thing I’ve had to truly do is understand metrics of a particular organization or how a particular education system runs.” They looked at the business models of public speakers and researched the business and industry to gain metrics.
4. Tap into the digital world
He recommends finding a filmmaker friend who can help you film your poetry. You can also create all sorts of merch or workshops to be selling and promoting at events and gigs. Think about what digital tools you have available to help you bring in more income.
Some examples that come to mind: shirts, books, workshops, e-newsletters, patreon, etc.
5. Build a team
Let’s let Sebastian explain this one best: “It’s not just you. You’re a brand. You’re an entity. You’re just the face of this entity, and you’re going to need a supporting cast to produce together. It can’t just be you.”
At the end of the day, Sebastian reminds us to stay creative and that it’s about understanding the science behind what you’re doing. It’s knowing how to structure yourself as an entity that deserves to be booked. Understanding that is what builds your confidence in the eyes of these organizations.
A final note for you to think about: “This doesn’t mean you’re always gigging and performing. You can position [your poetry] in other ways to generate revenue as well.”
Be sure to listen to the entire episode for more awesome nuggets of information from Sebastian on his career and successes.
As a 10 year-seasoned poet, Sebastian Carson has been a narrative voice of this generation with his ability to use a pen to create thought provoking poetic narratives. As an artist entrepreneur, opening doors for Memphis artists to be compensated fairly and highlighting the unique culture of Memphis, drives and inspires his focus. He is becoming a nationally recognized poet that uses his voice to tell the important stories of current culture. Follow Sebastian on Instagram: @IAmSebastianCarson
