We recently connected with Evan Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Evan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and have the privilege of working full time creating social media content for music artists. It’s been so fun getting to do this work full time, but it’s taken me three years of pursuing this intentionally to get here. At the beginning of 2022, I got my first invitation to go on tour with a band to create social media content. I really enjoyed it, and I had many people suggest to me to move to Nashville and immediately go full time. However, I was still a college student and I had a job working in marketing at a finance firm. At the time, I didn’t think I was ready to uproot my life and move across the country to pursue this. I knew almost nobody in Nashville and life wasn’t cheap as a college student. So I decided to continue working for that finance firm for two and a half more years. This was really beneficial for me because it allowed me to see how a successful business operates and creatively improve as well. I also continued working in photo, video, and social media on the side so that I could get better and build more relationships with artists. I remember many times using my vacation days at work so that I could fly to different cities for video projects. Earlier this year, I took a leap of faith and decided to move to Nashville. I’m so thankful that I waited until now because I have a really strong community of artists that I get to work with. When I was first learning and growing, I had a lot more freedom to explore what I actually wanted to do because my income wasn’t dependent on it. Today, I have a busy schedule creating social media content and helping artists generate ideas that will help them thrive on social media.

Evan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, I’m Evan! I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and I’m a Viral Content Strategist for music artists. I’ve worked with artists like JVKE, Skillet, MercyMe, ENHYPEN, and many more. I’ve always grown up surrounded by music. As a kid, I remember my mom always trying to find the latest CDs for us and my parents taking us to lots of concerts.

When I was in college, I first picked up a camera for the first time because I knew that I could get into concerts for free if I took some photos. Over time, I started to improve and build lots of relationships with music artists. I also started to love the social media side of the industry. One realization was that many artists struggle with social media because it’s always changing, and many of them don’t have time to keep up with the latest trends and content formats.

This is where I believe that I can help artists the most. I pay close attention to what the biggest music artists are doing on social media and learn to implement those same strategies with my artists. My work has received tens of millions of views over the last few years, and I’m so excited for what these next few years hold.

Here’s what my process looks like with music artists: First, I brainstorm a set of video ideas that are both current and on brand for that artist. Next, we’ll find some cool locations and shoot together. I handle all of the video editing so that all the artist has to do is hit “post!”

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’m so thankful to have grown up in a Christian family, and my dad is actually a pastor. One of the biggest things that my parents instilled in me is that the work that I do matters. Whether I’m an electrician or working in social media, everything that I do can have an impact. I’m so thankful that I do get to work in social media, and I believe that God has given me the gifts that I have for a reason. Because of that, I believe that it is important that I honor God with the work that I do. I grew up loving music, listening to many of the artists that I work with today. In my job, I get to share the music that I love with people all over the world.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

As an introvert, meeting new people isn’t always easy. It can be draining and terrifying. But after a lot of practice, I’ve really come to enjoy it. Whenever I work with an artist, I try to introduce myself to whoever I can so that I can build new relationships. Everyone we meet has their own perspective and meeting new people is such a great way to grow. In the process of meeting new people, I’ve also been connected with lots of new opportunities which have allowed me to grow as well.

Another way that I get new clients is by creating educational social media content for music artists. I try to simplify the trends that I see so that artists are equipped to create on their own. My philosophy is that I want to help artists grow to the point where they can eventually hire me to work with them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://evansmith.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evxnsmth/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanpmsmith/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@evxnsmth