Why Your AI Art Isn't Selling (and never will)

Brad Colbow
19 Jun 202308:18

TLDRThe video discusses the misconception that using AI to create art or write books can lead to significant financial success. It shares a cautionary tale about the print-on-demand service by Amazon, which initially allowed sellers to profit but eventually became saturated, leading to decreased earnings. The speaker emphasizes the importance of building a personal brand and creating valuable content rather than relying on AI to churn out products. They argue that a strong brand is built on consistent positive experiences and sharing one's journey, which fosters a connection with the audience. The video concludes by stressing that while technology evolves, the value lies in creating something people genuinely want.

Takeaways

  • 🚫 Don't expect to make a lot of money using AI for art or writing without a strong brand presence.
  • 📉 The saturation of AI-generated content will likely lead to a decrease in quality and market value.
  • 💼 Success with AI requires more than just technology; it involves building a meaningful brand and customer relationships.
  • 🎨 The value of a brand is built on the cumulative experiences people have with your content, work, and products.
  • 🕹️ Nintendo's success is attributed to a strong brand built over decades of positive experiences.
  • 📈 Building a brand takes time and effort; it's not a get-rich-quick scheme.
  • 🤝 Artists succeed by sharing their process and building a connection with their audience, not just by selling art.
  • 📚 AI can be a tool for efficiency, but it shouldn't replace the personal touch and authenticity in creating content.
  • 🛍️ For those looking to sell online, platforms like Squarespace offer all-in-one solutions for building a brand and an online store.
  • 📈 Use analytics to understand your customers and improve your marketing strategy based on data.
  • 💰 While AI can help in creating content, the real value lies in creating something that people genuinely want and connecting with them through a strong brand.

Q & A

  • What is the main message the video aims to convey about using AI for creating and selling art or books?

    -The video emphasizes that relying solely on AI to create content for the purpose of making money is not a realistic goal. It suggests that without a strong personal brand and unique value, the market becomes oversaturated, leading to low returns on effort.

  • How much time does it take for the Sci-Fi author mentioned in the Newsweek article to write a book using chat GPT?

    -It takes the author six to eight hours per book, with an average of seven hours as per the video's calculation.

  • What is the hourly rate the author earns from writing 97 books using AI, according to the video?

    -The author earns approximately 2.94 cents per hour, based on the time spent on 97 books and the total earnings of two thousand dollars.

  • What was the new service discussed at the conference the speaker attended?

    -The new service discussed was 'Merch by Amazon,' a print-on-demand service that allowed entrepreneurs to upload t-shirt designs onto Amazon without any inventory or printing costs.

  • Why did the market for Merch by Amazon decline after it opened to the public?

    -The market declined due to an influx of people creating and selling t-shirts, leading to an oversaturation of low-quality or spam content. This caused Amazon to de-prioritize print-on-demand content to maintain the relevance of its search results.

  • What is the key takeaway from the speaker's experience with Merch by Amazon?

    -The key takeaway is the importance of building one's own brand rather than relying on the success of others. The speaker learned that to run a successful business, investment in quality and originality is necessary.

  • What does the speaker suggest is the future of content created using AI?

    -The speaker predicts that the amount of content created using AI will skyrocket, but most of it will be of low quality, leading to a saturated market where it's challenging to stand out without a strong brand.

  • How does the speaker define 'brand' in the context of an individual or a business?

    -The speaker defines a brand as a culmination of every experience a person has had with the individual or business, including their content, work, art, and products. It is built on consistent positive experiences and a clear, unique identity.

  • What is the significance of the Nintendo brand in the context of the Mario movie's success?

    -The success of the Mario movie is attributed to the strong Nintendo brand, which had established positive experiences and expectations in the minds of the audience. The movie's record-breaking performance was a result of fulfilling these expectations.

  • What is the speaker's strategy for building their brand in the video?

    -The speaker's strategy involves providing honest and helpful reviews of products, particularly drawing tablets. Instead of using AI to mass-produce content, the focus is on quality and building trust with the audience over time.

  • Why do people buy art from artists at conventions, according to the video?

    -People buy art not just because of its aesthetic appeal but also because they connect with the artist's story and want to support their work. The personal connection and the artist's journey are often more important than the art itself.

  • What is the role of Squarespace as mentioned in the video?

    -Squarespace is presented as an all-in-one platform for building a website and an online store. It offers tools for selling physical, digital, or service products and provides analytics to help businesses grow.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 The Pitfalls of AI-Generated Content for Profit

The first paragraph discusses the allure and misconceptions surrounding the use of AI for generating content with the aim of making money. It highlights a Sci-Fi author who has used AI to write 97 books and earned nearly two thousand dollars, but upon closer inspection, the hourly rate is quite low. The paragraph serves as a cautionary tale for those hoping to get rich quickly using AI, emphasizing that such endeavors are often not as lucrative as they seem. It also recounts the speaker's experience at a conference about t-shirt design and the pitfalls of a business model that relies on print-on-demand services without a strong, unique brand. The importance of building a genuine brand is stressed, rather than merely leveraging AI to produce generic content.

05:01

🎨 Building a Brand Over Quick Profits

The second paragraph expands on the idea of building a personal brand as a long-term strategy for success, as opposed to seeking quick profits from AI-generated content. It discusses how the value of a brand is built on the collective experiences people have with the creator's content, work, or products. Using Nintendo as an example, the paragraph illustrates how a strong brand can drive success based on the positive experiences and emotional connections it creates. The speaker shares their own journey of building a brand by providing honest reviews and gradually improving their content over time. The paragraph also touches on the significance of an artist's personal story and connection with their audience, which can be more important than the art itself. It concludes by emphasizing the enduring importance of creating content that people genuinely want, regardless of the technology used to produce it, and promotes Squarespace as a platform for building a strong online presence and selling products.

Mindmap

Keywords

AI Art

AI Art refers to artwork that is created or influenced by artificial intelligence. In the context of the video, it is discussed as a potential avenue for generating income, but the speaker argues that it is not a realistic goal due to market saturation and the lack of personal brand attached to such works.

Squarespace

Squarespace is an all-in-one platform for building websites and growing businesses online. It is mentioned as the video's sponsor and is highlighted for its capabilities in building online stores and providing tools for e-commerce, which is relevant to the discussion about creating a brand and selling products online.

Chat GPT

Chat GPT is a language model AI that can generate human-like text. The video references a Sci-Fi author who has used Chat GPT to write 97 books, illustrating the ease with which AI can produce content but also questioning the quality and earning potential of such content.

Print on Demand

Print on Demand is a service like Merch by Amazon, where products are only produced when a customer orders them, eliminating the need for inventory. The video uses this as an example of a business model that was initially lucrative but became less so as the market became saturated with low-effort products.

Brand

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes a seller's goods or services from those of others. The video emphasizes the importance of building a personal brand as a means to stand out and succeed in a market where AI-generated content is prevalent.

Market Saturation

Market Saturation refers to a state where every possible market segment is already being served by competing products or services. The video discusses how the ease of creating AI art and literature can lead to market saturation, making it difficult for individual creators to profit.

Arbitrage Drop Shipping

Arbitrage Drop Shipping is a business model where a seller purchases goods from a manufacturer or wholesaler and immediately resells them to customers for a profit. The video uses this as an example of how some entrepreneurs initially profited from Amazon's Merch service without focusing on design quality.

Content Creation

Content Creation involves the development of various forms of content, such as writing, visual arts, audio, and video production. In the video, the speaker discusses the role of content creation in building a brand and the pitfalls of relying on AI to produce large volumes of low-quality content.

Mario Movie

The Mario Movie refers to an animated film based on the popular Nintendo video game franchise. The video uses the success of the movie as an example of how a strong brand can lead to commercial success, even if the product itself is not universally acclaimed.

E-Commerce

E-Commerce is the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and it also involves the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. The video touches on e-commerce as a means for individuals to sell their products online, emphasizing the need for a strong brand in this space.

Social Media

Social Media are websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. The video mentions social media as a platform where artists can share their process and build a following, which contributes to their brand's value.

Highlights

AI is being used to write books and create art, but earning significant income from it may not be realistic.

A Sci-Fi author has written 97 books using AI and earned nearly $2000, but at a very low hourly rate.

The allure of AI is the promise of high earnings with minimal effort, but the reality is often different.

The story of Merch by Amazon and its print on demand service illustrates the pitfalls of a low-barrier-to-entry market.

As Amazon opened its service to more people, the market became saturated, leading to a decrease in earnings.

Building a strong brand is crucial for long-term success, rather than relying on AI to produce content.

The value of a brand is built on the cumulative experiences people have with the content, work, art, and products.

The success of the Mario movie is attributed to the strong brand experience, not just the quality of the film.

Building a brand takes time and consistent positive experiences, similar to Nintendo's approach.

Using AI to produce a large volume of content can lead to market saturation and devaluation.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating content that people genuinely want, rather than just producing for the sake of it.

Artists who share their process and story on social media gain followers not just for their art, but for their journey.

People often buy art to support the artist they connect with, which is more important than the art itself.

The speaker's brand is built on honest product reviews and sharing personal experiences, which took time to develop.

Technology is always changing, but the underlying value is in creating something people actually want.

Squarespace is highlighted as a platform that can help build an online store and sell various types of products.

The importance of using analytics to grow a business and understand customer behavior is discussed.