We recently connected with Jimmy Xie and have shared our conversation below.

Jimmy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you 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?

My name is Jimmy Xie, and I am a Conceptual Artist based in Southern California. Although I have put on numerous contemporary art shows and made viral videos for businesses across the spectrum in the last five years, I am most known as a Social Marketing Strategist & Coach in the entertainment circle in Los Angeles.

My specialty in Social Marketing Strategy started from my undergraduate studies in Sociology, with double minors in Art and Leadership Studies, at Chapman University. I later went on to get my Masters in Leadership Development. My lust for studying people and understanding social dynamics was fully tested by the rigorous academic courses we had to excel in — all of which were to prepare us for the one-hundred-page dissertations for each degree.

I pursued freelance filmmaking for small to mid-sized businesses at the beginning of my creative career. Having made numerous documentary-style art projects in the past, I saw a tremendous amount of value in pushing this effective format to the like-minded business owners who were looking for something different for their marketing. Of course, my filmmaking turned out to be a great success, creating one viral video after another and reaching millions of views within weeks. My success did not surprise me one bit because I was confident in my marketing judgment and the ultra-unique perspective I could bring to the table with all of my social science knowledge. What did surprise me, though, was the sheer amount of business owners and independent creatives who were in the dark about their marketing hooks and desperately needed a social marketing professional to get them started on their marketing journey which they had neglected for years due to fear and missteps.

You go to any social event and ask any entrepreneur about their biggest challenge right now, and almost certainly, they will say it is marketing. After witnessing so many people struggle with marketing, I knew that I had to double down on the marketing strategy part of my practice over content production — this not only shed light on what I do best, but also preserved a lot of time for me to help more people.

My judgment was right again. Within just a couple of months of my switching to coaching social marketing strategy, I began to pull in a six-figure annual income. People responded, the market responded. Most business owners and creatives want to film their own content and edit visuals to their liking, but they want to have all that autonomy under the guidance of a seasoned marketing professional who can precisely tailor a marketing blueprint to the current stage of their businesses, informed by a profound scientific line of thinking.

Making a full-time living with my Social Marketing Coaching Program did not happen overnight. It took me years of high-level education under renowned social science scholars and countless media production successes to identify my strengths and to make the right switch at the right time.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a Social Marketing Coach & Strategist, my job is to evaluate and analyze the key highlights of businesses within the social context of their targeted audiences. I will then make a detailed social marketing blueprint that breaks down the approach to their upcoming campaigns and regular content posts. I am their coach, mentor, and best marketing resource. Business owners are masters of their craft — they do not have hours and hours every week to brainstorm and make marketing content. I am their secret weapon that can run an effective advertising department, which is typically a luxury that only big corporations can have. My clients can focus 100% of their energy and time on what they do best and leave all of the marketing headaches to me. Of course, every client is different, so I would highly suggest any motivated entrepreneurs to reach out to me as soon as they can to get a quick free consultation. The consultation gives me a chance to learn about your business and marketing goals, and then I can tell you exactly how I can be of help. Let’s make procrastinating a thing of the past!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I am going to restrain myself from making a lengthy speech here, but this is actually a common obstacle for most creatives when trying to make a full-time living at the beginning of their careers. Unlike most professions on this planet, creatives offer intangible products rather than tangible products. When people go to a restaurant, the food they get is a tangible product. As a society, we shame those who dine and dash. As a society, people feel ashamed for not tipping service workers enough. As a society, in order to support a cause, we sometimes pay for things we do not need or even like, such as flocking to a small local women-owned organic cotton clothing store. However, the same social awareness and compassion almost never extend over to the creative professions. Think about how common it is to see and hear about people illegally using and downloading music without the proper license or paying for it. Think about how many people share movie-streaming service accounts and maybe even occasionally brag about sneaking into movie theaters. Then, hitting closer to home, I recall hearing people ask their artist friends to “make a little film,” “paint a little something,” “sing whatever song” at parties, or “casually give us consulting services” for free. The list of examples goes on forever, and most creatives can relate to this. The general public always fails to see intangible intellectual works as legitimate services and products that need to be paid for — just like people need to pay for their meals at restaurants. No matter how close you are to a restaurant owner, you would never say, “Oh, just cook us something for free and serve the whole party.” So to all of my fellow creatives out there, I want to tell you that the sooner you stop feeding into this vicious cycle, the sooner you learn how to say no, and the sooner you start to value your own work, the quicker you can get to making a full-time living like everybody else. Lots to contemplate about.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I get up every morning at 5am with a ton of energy, knowing that today is another day I can help people. My Social Marketing Coaching work does not overly focus on technical stuff. Rather, my practice is almost a therapy that helps people discover themselves. It makes my day to hear my clients say: “Jimmy, you gave me so many ideas on what I can do since I met you, and I feel more motivated now;” “Now, I finally know how to approach marketing for myself and my brand — you broke down all of the important facets for me that I did not even see;” and “Jimmy, for self-fish reasons, I do not want to make referrals, because I do not want you, my secret weapon, to be discovered by my competitors!”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jimmyxie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmyxieart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-xie/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyXie
• Other: www.jimmy-xie.com https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmyxieart?_t=8ixLaFRSw3P&_r=1