How long did it take to become a successful tarot reader? (Beyond just knowing the cards, I mean making a good amount of money) how did you advertise and get business? Also your deck is fabulous and your book seems the same! I'm thinking of purchasing the book and workbook when I get a chance.:)
Why thank you, good Anon. I do try to put my best foot forward.
As for becoming a successful tarot reader... I have to say that from the time that I first began getting paid for tarot readings to the time when those payments paid the bills, it was about a year and a half. But only a fraction of it came from actual tarot readings. Most of my revenue came from my books (and eventually my tarot decks).
As far as advertising and getting business, I used my other skillset for that. I started with building a website for myself and selling my books, decks and services directly from there. That way I didn't have to pay fees to marketplace websites, or compete with millions of other people on the same website who were doing the exact same thing as me. I also did keyword research and have Boyfriend do some SEO work on my website to make it attractive to Google.
As far as advertising, I didn't do nearly as much traditional advertising as I could have. I used social media and blogging to build my reputation and make a name for myself. I also reached out to other tarot readers and bloggers so that we could work together. When I published my first tarot book, I sent a copy to Brigit Esselmont (of Biddy Tarot) to ask for her review, and she was kind enough to share my book with her fans through Facebook. That kind of thing goes a long way to bring attention to your work.
Then there's things like testimonials, which are great to publish on your website. Being able to show people that other people think you're awesome is a huge advantage because people take their cues from other people. I studied a lot of neuromarketing while I was marketing myself, and tried to use as much of that knowledge as I could.
Another thing to think about is your pricing. In fact, that's a really big thing.
If you want to start making actual monies as a tarot reader, you have to treat it like a business. One of the things that makes me so sad is to see tarot readers (or any kind of diviner) charge two or three dollars for their tarot readings. It's not only doing you a disservice, but it makes the recipient devalue what you're giving them. So when they go to the next tarot reader and see what they should be paying, it puts a bad taste in their mouth. That is one of the reasons why so many people are under the impression that diviners are just scam artists trying to make a buck. It's because a lot of them are giving away the goods for extremely low prices.
But when you look at tarot reading as your business, you have to think about what your time and energy are worth to you. I watched a talk by Kate Northup recently, and she put forth the idea that the amount of money you make directly correlates to how much you value yourself. So if you're having financial issues, it's because you aren't valuing yourself enough. When you go into any business, you have to think about the value that goes into your product -- the time, the work, the years of learning that have brought you to the level of expertise that allows you to create your product -- and price it accordingly. You have to cover your costs and make a profit. That is something that a lot of people aren't doing in the tarot game, especially on Tumblr.
Another thing that I tried my best to do when marketing myself as a tarot reader was to try to make it as accessible as possible to my target audience. I didn't use woo-woo language or jargon that only other tarot readers and diviners would understand. In order to market yourself, you have to understand who your target audience is. Who are the people that you are going to attract to your website?
And saying, "I'm targeting anyone who wants a tarot reading" is not going to work. You have to figure out who your "people" are -- who are the ones who will "get" you, the ones who you will enjoy working with? Figure out who you want to work with, what they think about, and how they express themselves. How do they talk about their problems? What specific words or phrases do they use? What is the actual problem that they are trying to solve? Figure that out, and you'll be able to write copy for your website and advertising in a way that makes the right people believe that you are exactly the person that they need to talk to.
Then figure out where they hang out and what they do (how they find new information), and meet them there. I hung out in forums and talked to people in Starbucks. In fact, one of my favorite things to do (which I learned from an ex-co-worker years ago) is to sit in Starbucks and play with my tarot deck. Nine times out of ten, someone would come up to me and ask for a reading. In these settings, I would charge less, but I'd also get a lot of repeat customers. Being able to send them to my website definitely sealed the deal.
I could go on and on about this, but I'll leave it at that. Hope that helps, dearie.