Marketing & Self Promotion
Jul
Going From zero2illo: Lessons Learned So Far (Part 2)
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Following on from Part 1 of lessons I’ve learned since embarking on this journey from full time Graphic Designer to full-time Illustrator, lets dive straight into Part 2:
5: Ask Questions
It’s easy to be intimidated by those illustrators whose work and careers you admire – thinking that they wouldn’t give you, a lowly aspiring illustrator, the time of day.
Don’t let this put you off – all of the established illustrators I have approached so far have been warm, friendly and only too happy to answer my questions. Some of the illustrators I’ve approached have also been kind enough to give me a thorough critique of my work too.
Not everyone will be super helpful and you may find, as I have, that on social networking sites like Twitter, Illustrators sometimes band together and can be a little cliquey – but don’t let this put you off, for all those people I’ve encountered I’ve also connected with 10 times as many illustrators that are only too happy to share their experience.
(NOTE: Asking questions is great, but be sure to give back too – platforms like Twitter shouldn’t be just about what you can get. Sharing the tips and experience that you’ve gathered on your journey with other aspiring illustrators is just as important.)
Remember, it’s also always a nice ego boost when someone likes your work and values your opinion enough to contact you for advice – your email may just make their day! Read the rest of this entry
May
The Moo Promo Cards Have Landed
I’ve not had chance to post on the blog so far this week due to other work commitments, but I’ll be more than making up for it with an interview (hopefully) next week with amazing illustrator Cory Godbey of Portland Studios.
If you’d like a sneak peak preview of the interview, be sure to sign up to the free newsletter (over there on the right) as that’s where it will appear first before it hits the blog.
In other news, I received my Moo promo note cards through the post a few days ago and I’m really pleased with them (you never quite know what is going to come back from online printers, but these were spot on).
I have some tweaks to make to the portfolio before sending them out, but it really feels like things are moving forward now and it’s very exciting!
Here’s a peak at my new promo cards:
May
Blogging For Illustrators 3: How To Market Your Blog
In last weeks post ‘Blogging For Illustrators Part 2: Which Blogging Platform Should An Illustrator Use?’ I presented the three main blogging platforms to choose from.
In this final part of the series, I’ll be highlighting 11 great ways to market your illustration blog and help you get the word out there about you and your work.
On Blog Activity:
1 Set a regular posting schedule and stick to it.
Search engines love fresh content & your readers like to know what’s coming up and when to expect new content (especially if they don’t use your RSS or email feed), so set yourself a regular posting schedule and be sure to stick to it and get your posts out on time.
2 Create keyword-rich copy
To ensure that your site gets picked up in the search engines, use keyword rich content in your posts (eg. if the new illustration you have posted is a collage illustration of the Eiffel Tower, be sure to use the words ‘Eiffel Tower collage illustration’ in your post).
If you’re stuck and don’t know what words to use, think about it from an Art Directors perspective, what would they type into Google if they were looking to commission an illustrator to produce a blue collage illustration of a snake? If your post about the new blue collage snake illustration you’ve just created has the appropriate keywords – bingo, the Art Director has just found you!
This also applies to the file names you assign to your images too.
3 Links
Inbound links are one of the best ways to bring new traffic to your blog (or website) as one of the ways search engines rank the importance of a site is based on the number of inbound links it has. Try to get your blog linked to from as many other relevant sites as possible – the more popular the site (in Google’s eyes) which links to you, the more weight that holds.
However, don’t be fooled by companies wanting to share reciprocal links with you – search engines prefer one way links and you also don’t want to be constantly directing people away from your site.
4 Interview other prominent people in your field
A great way to gain credibility by association is to interview other prominent people in your chosen field (it’s also a great way to bring traffic to your blog, see point 2 above).
For example, if I were to land an interview with James Jean for this blog, anyone searching for ‘James Jean Interview’ via Google, may very well end up on my blog – and featuring someone as prominent as James obviously gives this blog additional credibility.
5 Use a specific & relevant url
Always use a specific domain name for your blog (or website) eg. www.illustration.com rather than illustration.blogspot.com – not only does it look much more professional, it will be easier for people to remember when they are spreading the word about your work or trying to recall your site.
6 Set up RSS feed
Set up an RSS feed for your blog (Wordpress blogs do this automatically for you) so that people can subscribe to it and receive all of your latest posts straight into their feed reader – and make sure you register your blog feed and url with all of the blog directories and search engines.
Off Blog Activity:
1 Guest posts
Approach other big blogs/sites in your illustration field or niche and offer to write a guest post for them (with a link back to your site obviously). Aside from the traffic to your blog that this can generate, it’s also a great way to build your profile and credibility in the illustration industry.
2 Use social media tools to raise your profile
I’m surprised that more illustrators these days aren’t taking advantage of all the social media tools available to them. Set up a Twitter account, get on LinkedIn and if you have a Facebook account, create a Facebook Page for your illustration business.
It goes without saying that you should make sure that your blog and/or website urls are clearly displayed in each of your social media outlets. Not only are these sites great for networking – they’re also a valuable tool in building up a community around your work.
3 Set up Google Alerts to monitor your ‘brand’
Once set up, Google Alerts tracks any mention of you or your website anywhere on the web and alerts you to where and when it was mentioned. This not only allows you to see how far reaching you and your work is getting, but by following up on these alerts with a friendly comment or email to the person that mentioned you, it helps to build up a valuable online and offline network.
4 Comment on other blogs
By commenting on other blogs, you are essentially creating an inbound link to your blog/website. While this is great for driving traffic to your site, it is also good practice to support other people in your field. If you like another illustrators work or have a web resource that you think they would find interesting, let them know via a comment.
The freelancer’s life can often be an isolated existence without work colleagues around us, so it’s always nice to have someone stop by your blog and say hi.
5 Use your blog url in your email signature
Add your illustration blog and/or website url to your email signature – don’t waste any opportunity to get it out there and in front of people.
I hope you’ve found this series useful and don’t forget to check out my resources page for a free guide to ‘Setting Up Your Own Wordpress Blog From Scratch In 60 Minutess.’
May
Blogging For Illustrators Part 2: Which Blogging Platform Should An Illustrator Use?
In last weeks post ‘Blogging For Illustrators Part 1: Why Should An Illustrator Blog?’ I discussed the benefits to an Illustrator of having a blog.
In part 2, I’ll be presenting the three main blogging platforms available including the pros and cons of each. Let’s start with…
Read the rest of this entry
Apr
Blogging For Illustrators, Part 1: Why Should An Illustrator Blog?
These days it seems everyone has a blog, from the ‘Dear Diary’ type personal blog to the corporate insight-style blogs run by big blue chip companies. But, as an illustrator, can a blog help your career? The answer is a definite YES.
First, let’s start with the basics… Read the rest of this entry
Apr
The Importance Of Multiple Revenue Streams For Illustrators
If you, like me, are just starting out on the road to becoming a professional illustrator it isn’t likely that those high-paying commissions will be flying through your door immediately.
Even for established illustrators it seems that it can often be a feast or famine situation, so how do you set things up to ride out the early days or slow periods of your career when those bills still need to be paid?
Apr
Why Finding A Niche Could Lead To Illustration Success
The prospect of working within a specific illustration niche can be a scary one to some people – the thought of getting stuck doing only one type of work or work based on one subject for the rest of their career can feel restrictive and take the fun out of it.
If you, like me, are just starting out in illustration the natural inclination is to reach out to everyone and try a blanket approach in order to land your first commission but here’s is why I’m going to try a more targeted, more strategic approach:
- It helps create a stronger portfolio that better showcases my natural strengths
- It gives me a clearer focus for my marketing efforts (i.e. rather than blanket contacting any and all art directors for all sorts of publications I can focus on contacting only those ones which feature my type of work)
- It helps me brand myself as the ‘go to’ illustrator for the type of work I want to specialise in – which will hopefully give me a solid base from which to then expand the type of work I might want to do in the future
The first reaction to focusing on a smaller niche area is usually one of horror for many illustrators (myself included). We tend to think that if we niche, we will miss out on all of the potential commissions and jobs that don’t fall within that niche.
But here are a few examples of how finding a niche has worked exceptionally well for some illustrators:
- Alex Ross - is there anyone else who is more well-known in the realm of painted comics?
- James Gurney – the “go to” guy for dinosaur illustrations
- Jacqueline Bissett – a fashion illustrator with a recognisable style, featured in many UK national publications
Niche’ing may not be for everyone and it won’t necessarily mean instant success but over time, making a name for yourself as the ‘go to’ illustrator in your area could equal a long term career in illustration with art directors approaching you, versus being a general all-rounder who has to compete with every other all-rounder and fight for every commission.
