So…you have a list of ideal clients, you have a shiny new brand, your portfolio website (filled with your fabulous new illustrations) is ready to go live, your promo mailers are designed and ready to send to the printers - now it’s time for the most important task you’ll ever do as an illustrator…
No, not creating amazing illustrations…marketing! I know, I know, I don’t like that side of things either (which is probably why I haven’t progressed as quickly as I would like to have in my illustration career so far) but it’s probably the most important action you’ll take as an illustrator.
This Week’s Task:
Simple….market, market, market!
It doesn’t matter how great your work is, if you don’t get it in front of prospective clients, how are they supposed to know you’re out there?
This Week’s Advice:
Let’s start at the beginning…
Step 1: Review whose attention you’re trying to get
Your mailing list
This is the targeted list of prospective clients based on the type of work you do (and would like to be doing) and the markets you would like to get in to that we covered in Week 3 .
Keep growing this list all the time but remember to keep it targeted and only add relevant, genuine contacts. Don’t clog up your list with fluff.
Step 2: Start reaching out
a) Find out where the prospects on your mailing list hang out
It’s important to know where your prospective clients hang out both on and offline so you can make sure you get on their radar. Assuming that your work is good enough and relevant to them, if your name keeps cropping up across the board on various online and offline platforms, the chance are you’re going to get noticed at some point.
Try a combination of the following (or all if you have the time)…
Online:
- Participate in Blogs and websites run by specific industry professionals (e.g. for fantasy and sci-fi, there’s Senior Art Director for Dungeons and Dragons Jon Schindehette’s Art Order blog and Tor Art Director Irene Gallo’s Art Department blog)
- Following relevant hashtags & join communities on Twitter
- Join and participate in relevant Facebook groups
- Join groups on LinkedIn and connect with Art Directors
- Take part in online competitions where prospective clients may be looking (e.g. for fantasy and sci-fi illustration, competitions like Last Man Standing and the weekly challenges on Art Order)
- Submit tutorials to sites like psdtuts and vectortuts
Offline:
- Attending relevant industry conventions or expos (e.g. Surtex for art licensing)
- Take part in courses and workshops (e.g. for fantasy and sci fi illustration, the Illustration Master Class)
- Submit your work to illustration annuals like Spectrum and Communication Arts
- Get featured in industry specific magazines relevant to your target market (Computer Arts, ImagineFX, 3×3 etc.)
b) Send out your promo mailers
As you may have read in the posts relating to the last week’s challenge (Jannie Ho and Holly DeWolf’s advice), creating and distributing promotional mailers of your work to your list is both fun and a proven method of outreach when it comes to marketing your illustration services.
This isn’t a one time deal though - don’t just send out a single mailshot and wait for the client calls to flood in.
You’d think it was mad if a company or service advertised themselves on TV just the once wouldn’t you? What if you weren’t watching that particular channel or show when the ad went out or you’d decided to make a cup of tea during the commercial break?
The same goes for your promo mailing, you need to plan a sequence of mailing to be sent out at regular intervals (every 2- 3 months) so that you have a greater chance of being seen - get creative and maybe tell a story with your mailers. The aim is to be memorable or as Seth Godin says ‘remarkable‘.
c) Leverage Social Media
If you’ve completed the task from week 9, you will now have your social media accounts and profiles in place - start using them. The secret to building relationships using social media is to look at what you can offer rather than what you can get.
Don’t be pushy and overtly sell. Link to and promote other people in your networks and share useful relevant resources - this is a surefire way to raise your profile online rather than being all me, me, me.
Step 3: Create a Marketing Schedule
Marketing isn’t something you just do once, in fact it should be the thing that you do more often than anything else in your business (including illustration). It isn’t something that you stop doing once you have your first commission or you’ll get to the end of the job and have nothing else in the pipeline.
It’s the same with any freelance business, you need to be constantly marketing yourself and your work if you want to ensure a constant flow of work.
The best way to do this is to use a Marketing Calendar (either online or offline, but you may find it more useful to have something on the wall that is always visible) and create a marketing schedule.
Choose a certain day of the week/month or 2 half days and schedule this time for marketing - break down what you’ll be doing on these days such, including tasks such as:
- Update social media profiles
- Research more contacts for your list
- Update your blog/website with new work
- Create follow-up mailers
- Send out follow-up mailers
The Concept of 1,000 True Fans
Remember that commissions from Art Directors/Publishers for illustration isn’t the only option you have to create a sustainable career from your illustration skills. You could choose to go it alone…
Build a loyal community and fan base around your work and you may never need to rely on commissions to make a living as an illustrator. This isn’t something that will happen overnight and will take just as much (if not more) marketing outreach than more traditional routes but in the end it could leave you in complete control of your success and independent from having to rely on someone else to hire you.
The 1,000 True Fans model is something I mentioned when Thomas James interviewed me for the Escape From Illustration podcast and it’s something that fascinates and inspires me. The principle is basically that if you have 1,000 True fans who love your work and will buy anything you release, you’ll be able to make a very comfortable living doing what you love.
I’m not advocating putting anything and everything that you produce up on sale, you need to respect your following and only release top quality products (prints, books etc.) or you will lose your loyal fans.
A great example of this is James Jean, through his top quality work for publishers and Art Directors, he built up a massive following of fans that will buy anything he releases (me included) and is now in the enviable position where he can work on whatever inspires him knowing that it will sell. Note though that every single book, print or painting he releases is beautifully designed and packaged with no detail left to chance.
You can read a great article here about the 1,000 true fans model from the man behind it Kevin Kelly.
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