As you can probably tell, I’ve been holed up in my lair, working like crazy. (Well, maybe you can’t tell—most of my work is under non-disclosure at the moment, but that’s another story.) While this has kept me busy, I’ve realized I’ve let my “presence” slip. My goal is to keep this blog updated at least once a month. Look at me, posting on the last day of February just to stick to the schedule—on Leap Day, no less. Ha!
At any rate, it’s time to step things up. I’m ready to move into the next phase of marketing. I haven’t been advertising myself to the public because I’ve had enough repeat projects to keep me busy. But hiding in a tar pit of endless work isn’t the way to expand your clientele. You never know when your dream job will pop up, so you’ve got to put yourself out there. For me, that dream job would be painting cards for Magic: The Gathering, doing concept art for Riot Games, or working on anything for Blizzard.
So here’s a start. It’s not groundbreaking, but I finally made business cards! Last week, I found myself in a situation where I really wished I had one to hand out. Lesson learned—fate favors the prepared. You never know who might need your services or who a client might know.
I went through several designs (too many, honestly) before landing on this one. I knew from the start that my card needed to match my website’s aesthetic for two reasons. First, consistent branding across all platforms makes it easier for clients to remember you. Second, I already had the files set up, so in theory, it shouldn’t have taken me long to design. That plan didn’t exactly pan out—I still spent all day on it.
Next up, I’m branching out and investing in overhead expenses for conventions and selling prints online. It’s time to put my work out into the world. Eventually, I want to create a deck of cards, calendars, and puzzles to sell at conventions and through online stores like Zazzle. Technically, you can already purchase some of my work on DeviantArt, but I don’t promote it much, so sales are minimal. The biggest obstacle? I haven’t carved out time in my schedule for personal projects. Which, ironically, is counterproductive—most of my recent work isn’t even eligible for print sales.
So, if you’re on the fence about building a presence for yourself, just do it. Setting up a simple blog like this takes no time at all—Blogger is great for that. And business cards? A super affordable way to say, “Hey, I exist!”
What do you do to market yourself? Share your tips and tricks with us!
2 Responses
I like the first one because it shows off your skills. :)
This will go against your 2-sided business card idea, but I hand out magnet business cards to my clients and it's nice to see them on their refrigerators and anywhere else a magnet will stick to.