“Good business is the best art”

“Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” –Andy Warhol

As an email copywriter there is much I appreciate about Andy Warhol.

He made the above statement during the latter part of his career, when his goal was to cement his legacy as a “business artist.” Unlike many artists, he was a meticulous businessman and made a lot of money.

In that way he was adept in both left and right brain activities, much like us copywriters who have to be both creative and able to do research and know about things like split testing.

Warhol started out as a commercial artist in the 1950s. He had success on that front but, as a result, he wasn’t taken seriously when he would having showings of his paintings.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, when he showed his series of Campbell soup paintings to the public, that he finally gained acceptance as an artist.

Warhol was able to see the beauty in everyday things like soup cans, Pepsi bottle caps, and Brillo pad boxes.

As an email copywriter, I’ve learned to do the same. I can look at a story in Google news about, say, the metabolism of orangutans, and find an analogy that works for an email in almost any niche.

Or look at an artist like Warhol and find the inspiration for my own life and work.

Filed under: Email Copywriting

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