self-promotion Tag

29 Apr

Posted at 09:12h in Art & Business

Every year at the CTN Animation Expo I give a workshop on the business side of freelancing for artists. I’ve finally recorded it as a 2-hour webinar, which launched today at TaughtByAPro.com: http://taughtbyapro.com/course/be-your-own-boss-freelancing-tips-tricks/ I did my best to share what I know about promoting yourself and pricing your work. Topics include: The Pro’s and Con’s of Freelancing How To Stand Out As A Freelancer Getting...

07 Jul

Posted at 00:00h in Art & Business, Character Design, Illustration, Just for Fun

A couple of weeks ago I announced my new finger-puppet business cards. I designed them to serve several functions: To demonstrate my abilities as a character desginer; To stand out and be a good conversation starter at networking events; To display not just my contact info but list past clients and quotes/endorsements from satisfied art directors. So far the cards have been a big...

09 Jun

Posted at 00:00h in Art & Business, Character Design, Illustration

Recently I came across a terrific article about business cards from the ProFreelancing blog. According to the author most business cards are largely a waste of money. People will quickly lose interest in you and your work if all they have to remember you by is your contact info. It's even worse at a networking event where everyone is collecting...

07 Mar

Posted at 00:00h in Art & Business

Marketing Mentor is an excellent website and blog for freelancers run by Ilise Benun, a consultant who specializes in helping creative professionals do a better job of marketing themselves. Her blog posts are short, direct, and very helpful. For a sample, check out her recent posts "What does it take to be your own boss?" and "Hourly rates and salaries". Last...

31 Jan

Posted at 00:00h in Art & Business
I originally posted this on my blog back in August. However, my blog traffic has increased five-fold since then and I'm guessing most of you haven't seen it. So, an encore... For a freelancer, a website is an essential marketing tool. It proudly displays your work to potential clients 24/7. It trumpets your accomplishments to art directors all over the world. Most will not even consider hiring you if you don't have a website. But not all websites are created equal. There are some little extra touches that can go a long way in making sure your website pushes you up on the hiring list. Some of these tips I've just recently learned myself. I'm planning to completely redo my website to take full advantage of them. Put your contact info at the top. Make sure your email and phone number appear on your header, so that they are readily visible on every page. It's not that uncommon for an art director to print out samples from two or three artists to show to the boss and/or the hiring committee for a project. If they are having a tough time deciding which artist to call, having your contact info at the top of the page might push you over the edge, especially if the art director is busy and doesn't want to take time to look up the contact info for the other artists.