The Art of Letting Go: Releasing into the Wild

This is for all the artists out there, who are thinking whether they should publish their creations or not.

I felt like I’ve created something meaningful last year, something that I found as a piece of art. Publishing it made me realize that it has nothing to do with getting exposure.

"Did I do something wrong? Am I so blind that the video is just bad quality?"

Today I decided to revisit the Seeker: Quest Story Trailer (Steam page) I created and released last year. I reserved a week to draw the images, record the voice-over, make the sound effects, find suitable music and release it. I actually managed to do it with ”decent” quality.

I hesitated to release it.

I thought that ”this could be better” and maybe that it SHOULD be better. After watching the video multiple times I thought to myself, that it’s perfect. It’s as good as I’m able to do with my skill set and with the time I had reserved for it.

If I wouldn’t release it now, I wouldn’t release it at any point. So there I was, setting the release time for the video and started promoting the date and time in my socials. I thought that this would be a thing for people. Some would even dare to comment on the video, or maybe even share it. I was so wrong.

The release day eventually came.

Once the video went live, there was me, my kids and two friends of mine watching the event. After that, nothing happened. The video has less than 100 views to this date and it just got lost in the universe.

I’m still feeling proud of the creation when revisiting it. Which is obviously the most important thing for me these days. I couldn’t get the exposure for it, which is obviously sad. Luckily it ended up being a big realization and learning process to me, that even though I find something meaningful, it doesn’t bring the exposure.

"It takes courage to get going."

This is a no-brainer for people who do marketing. It’s that even for me. But it just hits differently, when you’ve done all by yourself and see it die without a glimpse of visibility.

Did I do something wrong? Am I so blind that the video is just bad quality? It’s hard to tell, since the amount of views doesn’t really communicate that.

Suddenly, a comment appeared: ”Epic! Got my cards today, gonna try them out this weekend I hope!” - I was so thrilled. Not only did someone find the video epic, but they’ve got the Seeker cards me and my kids designed in their possession as well!

Maybe I should just keep on going? Maybe there are people who find this meaningful?

Marketing is everything these days. Without it, you’ll be blind to your actions even though you’re doing something right or wrong. But to do marketing for something, you first need to learn the habit of releasing stuff.

And that needs training as well. It takes courage to get going.

The next time I’m about to release something, I need to think more carefully how I’m even theoretically going to get enough views for it to get thoughts and feedback. It should be a no-brainer, but it seems like I need to remind myself of that.

And for the artistic side of myself: To find those people, who may find it meaningful as well.

If you feel like supporting my on-going, feel free to play the demo + wishlist Seeker: Quest on Steam. I'm aiming to release it to early access by the end of year 2024. Would be great to have you on my support forces! <3