Awareness + trust = opportunity (but there’s more nuance than people talk about)
Awareness plus trust equals opportunity. You may have heard that turn of phrase before, or something similar. Content creator educators talk about it a lot. They preach it, teach, and sell it. It’s true.
But from my perspective there’s more nuance to it, especially if you’re a creative or artist trying to build a sustainable career. When I’m coaching or consulting people, it’s the nuance that I come back to the most. Because each of these, Awareness, Trust, Opportunity, has two sides.
First, what does “awareness” even mean?
Awareness is simple. People are aware that you exist. When you show up online, they see you. But just as important, they see your art. That’s it.
The obvious side of awareness is what you already know. When you start sharing your work, your audience becomes aware of you. Consumers become aware of you. Future customers become aware of you.
But there’s another side that most creatives don’t realize exists. There are people who are never going to buy your stuff, and they still matter.
These are managers, agents, investors, producers, gallery owners, collaborators. They aren’t leaving comments. They’re not DMing you. They’re not buying anything.
They’re just watching. They’re becoming aware you exist.
Trust doesn’t happen instantly
People aren’t going to land on your Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, whatever, and instantly trust you.
Trust is a relationship.
Trust is:
They trust you are who you say you are.
They trust the work is actually yours.
They trust you will deliver what you say you will deliver.
They trust you will keep showing up.
And honestly, in this growing age of AI, that trust is becoming even more important.
On the consumer side, trust is what turns people into real supporters. The people who come back.
On the other side, it’s the same trust, just from different people. An agent trusts that if they bring you on as a client, you will deliver. An investor trusts you’ll follow through because you keep showing up. A producer trusts your the kind of filmmaker they want to work with. A gallery owner trusts you’re worth representing.
Opportunity comes in two major forms
Most people talk about opportunity like it only means selling. And sure, we need people to buy our work so we can keep making work.
But opportunity has two sides.
One side is selling. When awareness is higher and trust is stronger, selling gets easier. You sell more work, and you build real support over time.
The other side is career growth.
You start getting opportunities you didn’t even know existed. An investor reaches out. An agent or manager reaches out. A producer. A gallery owner. Someone wants you involved in something you never planned for.
When I started writing on LinkedIn, I did it because I wanted to talk about filmmaking. I didn’t realize what would come into my inbox.
Investors. Producers. Studios. Agents. Managers. Directors. Writers. People that would never respond if I cold emailed them.
And another one I didn’t see coming: startups. At this point it’s been something like 10 different startups asking me to consult or help out, or even be part of the company in some capacity. I haven’t said yes to all of them because that would be overwhelming, but still, that wasn’t on my list of expectations when I begin creating awareness around me.
Those opportunities came because I showed up. People became aware of me, that consistency built trust, and then opportunity showed up that I didn’t even know existed.
A weird analogy: Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is one of the biggest beverage brands in the world. Everyone knows what it is. And they spend a ridiculous amount on marketing, something like 4 to 5 billion dollars a year.
If Coca-Cola stopped marketing for one year, their sales probably wouldn’t instantly collapse.
So why keep spending?
Because they understand the same concept: awareness, trust, opportunity.
“Okay, but I don’t want to be a content creator”
I get it. It’s hard to get in front of a camera and talk. It’s hard to show work in progress because it’s not done yet, it’s not perfect.
But this is part of the job now.
I’m not saying you have to do this seven days a week, and I’m not saying you have to be on five platforms.
Just figure out what works for you. Choose something you can actually sustain. Then start building awareness.
Because awareness builds trust. Trust creates opportunity.
P.S. Here are the three best ways I can help you right now:
One-on-one coaching: Want help building your creative career? Work with me privately.
Hungry Artist Cohort: Join other creatives and build your sustainable career together using the Four Core areas.
