Poet Business Institute

Wondering how much art you need before you can start taking your creative work professionally with a poetry business or other arts business? Good news: you already have enough! Welcome to Arts and Offers, where we explore the intersection of poetry, art, and business. In this episode, poet Geoff Anderson breaks down why you don’t need an entire library of work to launch an art or poetry business,...

Poet and author MahLeah Cochran joins diVERSES for a powerful, deeply personal talk and reading from her collection, The Fire from Her Crown. Sharing her journey through bipolar depression, grief, and survival, MahLea reflects on what it truly looks like to choose life, seek help, and transform darkness into ink. Through an intimate reading of her centerpiece poem, "Walking On It," she e...

Poet, filmaker, and artist Matthew Pitts joins diVERSES for an honest, poignant, and humorous set exploring faith, creative liberation, and the tension between gravity and comedy. Reflecting on his upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness—giving talks on stage from the age of four—Matthew juxtaposes two powerful poems. Through candid storytelling, he reflects on breaking free from fear, finding unres...

Want to make a living from your poetry, art, or creative passion, but feel like you lack the credentials or "expert" status? You don’t need formal awards or publication credits to build trust and offer real value. In this video from the Poet Business Institute, we break down actionable strategies from The Semester workbook to help you build and demonstrate authority—even if you’re starti...

Is submitting your poetry and creative writing to literary journals, magazines, and contests actually hurting your career? In this episode of Arts and Offers, Jeff breaks down the hidden costs of traditional publishing submissions and why it might be time to rethink how you share your creative work with the world. From rising submission fees and long response times to gatekeeping, low circulation,...

How does Poet Laureate Arthur Sze write a compelling form of poem, a litany? In this episode of Fine Print, we analyze the poem "Here" by Arthur Sze to explore how contrast and grammar can transform your poetry. By looking closely at contrast involving sentence structures, concrete vs. abstract nouns, and verb choices, you'll discover actionable techniques to break predictable rhythm...

What does it take to receive a $10,000 artist grant? In this episode of Arts & Offers, poet Geoff Anderson breaks down an insider perspective from serving as a community grant reviewer for $10,000 artist project grants. Whether you're a poet, musician, or artist of a different discipline who is looking to fund your next big idea or trying to build a sustainable, independent creative busine...

How should writers, poets, and novelists navigate the ethics of Artificial Intelligence? In this interactive workshop recorded at the Dayton Metro Library for the Author & Writer's Symposium, poet and diVERSES founder Geoff Anderson leads a candid discussion with writers, poets, and editors exploring the boundaries, dilemmas, and creative potential of AI in the writing and publishing indus...

How does poetic form mirror meaning? In this episode of Fine Print, we analyze Nobel Prize For Literature winner Poet Anne Carson’s fascinating poem "Between Us" to see how poets can use structural, typographic, and linguistic choices to reinforce their core themes. In "Between Us," Carson explores the concepts of naming, definitions, and namelessness between humans and the ani...

Poet and content designer Hannah Stevenson joins poet Geoff Anderson in this episode of Pour Over Poems for coffee, poetry, and a deep dive into the craft of writing and UX design. In this episode, Hannah shares her poem "Cowlick" and discusses the surprising overlap between poetry and content design—from stripping away unnecessary words to make meaning resonate, to solving communication...

Are you trying to launch a poetry business or an art business but struggling to get noticed? In this episode of the Creative Companionship Book Club, we’re continuing our deep dive into Seth Godin’s "Unleashing the Ideavirus" to explore how you can spread your art, grow your audience, and build a sustainable creative career both artistically and financially. We discuss examples of market...

Wondering how to make a living writing poetry or creating art—even if you feel like you don’t have enough credentials, authority, or credibility? In this session from the Poet Business Institute workbook, The Semester, we break down why you don’t need decades of experience or fame to start helping others and building a livelihood on what you create. Learn how to beat imposter syndrome, leverage th...

Want to become a better reader and writer of poetry? One way to begin approaching your work in a more professional way with dedication to craft is to track the movements across your poem--what lines are worldbuilding and observing, versus analyzing, versus arriving at a new conclusion. By defining these moments in a piece, it can help us find the movement in our own work and better see where to de...

If you are a poet or artist who wants to live on art and what you create, this is a discussion for you! Visual artist Gisele Muzones has crafted a living from a monthly mail club where she sends prints, stickers, and words to people for a variety of low price-points. She discusses how she made it happen, the logistics behind an art business that ships regularly, and ways artists in other disciplin...

Learn how to price and monetize your poetry with this step-by-step creative positioning guide from The Semester, the poetry business workbook from the diVERSES Poet Business Institute. Together, we're going to learn why traditional poetry struggles to sell (and what to do instead), how context dictates value for the people we want to engage with out art, and the simple 3-part positioning formu...

Why do so many artists and poets struggle with selling their work? It usually isn't a money problem—it’s a relationship issue. In this episode of Arts and Offers, Geoff breaks down the 5 hidden mindset hurdles and relationship issues creative artists face when it comes to marketing, pricing, and selling their art. Learn how to stop viewing sales as sleazy or greedy, or having uncertainty over...

Are you trying to launch a poetry business or an art business but struggling to get noticed? In this episode of the Creative Companionship Book Club, we’re continuing our deep dive into Seth Godin’s "Unleashing the Ideavirus" to explore how you can spread your art, grow your audience, and build a sustainable creative career both artistically and financially. We discuss examples of market...

One reason a poem may not be as strong as it could be is how well it develops and lingers in a scene before moving on. A failure to fully create a world is a missed opportunity; let's talk about what staying longer in a place and fleshing it out can look like and how to create a scene that transcends. Ever feel like your poem is "good," but it hasn't quite reached its full potent...

The worst way to price poetry and other forms of art is based on time! In this episode of Arts and Offers, we break down the biggest pricing mistake poets and other artists make and why your work isn't valued by the time you put in, but by the valued it gives to the buyer. Learn how value-based pricing, psychological framing, status, and audience alignment can transform your creative business...

In this episode of the Pour Over Poems poetry podcast, we sit down with poet, educator, and indie bookstore champion Tracy Resonance for an inspiring conversation about the power of words, finding humor in the everyday, running two bookstores and navigating the independent publishing world. Tracy shares a live reading of her poem "Resonate", opens up about her creative writing process, a...

Ever feel like your poem is "good," but it hasn't quite reached its full potential? In this diVERSES livestream, we dive deep into the professional editing techniques that transform a decent draft into a powerful, resonant work of art. Whether you're a slam poet or writing for the page, these tips will help you sharpen your voice and refine your craft. New to Fine Print? Every We...

Learn how to build a sustainable, fulfilling career as a writer and artist with the Poet Business Institute framework, captured in the workbook, The Semester (www.diversespoetry.com/institute). In this session, we break down a 4-part alignment exercise designed to help poets and creative entrepreneurs find their unique focus, identify marketable skills, and connect their artistic voice with real-w...

An entire creative business can be made around just a single poem! In this episode of Arts and Offers on diVERSES, poet Geoff Anderson explains how artists, poets, and writers can achieve financial sustainability without needing a massive catalog of work if there is the right planning. Learn how to shift your mindset and use poetry not just as the end goal, but as a vehicle to contribute to others...

Ever feel like your poem is "good," but it hasn't quite reached its full potential? In this diVERSES livestream, we dive deep into the professional editing techniques that transform a decent draft into a powerful, resonant work of art. Whether you're a slam poet or writing for the page, these tips will help you sharpen your voice and refine your craft. New to Fine Print? Every We...

Why do poets, writers, and other artists often get frustrated with using social media for artistic purposes? In this episode of Arts & Offers, we explore the complex and often draining relationship between artists and social media. While these platforms offer unprecedented reach, they also demand a stream of content that can feeling stifling to true creativity. We dive into how social media af...