Dave Hile

on Oct 06, 2008 at 3:41 PM

Leighton,

I find it interesting that you have found email promos responding to your blog over your main site. Our company is in the process of a major site renovation (to be launched at the end of October) including the introduction of an associated blog. I'll keep your comments in mind. Very helpful.

Leighton Hubbell

on Oct 06, 2008 at 3:08 PM

In this current economy, self-promotion has become more and more important. This year, I've done quite a bit of research and learned a lot about different types and techniques.

First off, I have a pretty small studio (just me) and a rather limited self-promotional budget. I am always trying to maximize my efforts and trying to keep things fresh.

For the last five or six years, I have been utilizing various online portfolio sites with some success. Most of it seems to depend on which site your work is on and what you want that site to do for you.

To date, my work is displayed on about fifteen different portfolio sites. Most of them cost next to nothing. (Coroflot, Behance, Flick'r, designer ID, design:related, Illustrationmundo) They all link back to my website or to my blog site. Everything is posted and designed to look consistent and promote my brand.

I have had a listing on Portfolios.com (Creative Shake) for about four years, with rather spotty success at best. Certainly not worth the $600 a year for the titanium listing. I also don't appreciate the salesman calling me every year for a renewal. That one I have discontinued.

Creative Hotlist has been good and significantly cheaper for about the same coverage from the search engines.

I have been sending e-mail blasts for about three years now with Adbase. It has worked pretty well and been a great tool in learning about who is looking at the work and what is getting them to the website. I opted to do the e-mails because of the tracking aspect of sending them versus sending postcards.

With postcards, you have the expense of printing, postage and the time to put everything together for mailing. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing if the piece made it to its intended contact and whether or not they even looked at it before going in the circular file. This also avoids the awkward follow-up phone call of something they may or may not recall seeing.

The e-mail has far more tracking ability with minimal additional expense. With my e-mails, I can schedule when it is sent and where ahead of time so it happens even if I'm busy that day. Every contact that opens the e-mail is tracked and the software automatically removes contacts that want to opt-out. This has been a very effective way of getting work.

One of the big pieces of key information I have found with the e-mail tracking is the interest that contacts have with blogs. Right after I started my blog, I added a link to my e-mail template. The first few mailings had over 75% of the respondents go directly to my blog over my website. It seems that people are impressed with the work on a nicely designed site, but many are interested to know about who you are as a creative person. Blogs seem to be a more casual and relaxed setting, with current work and issues being posted often.

Currently, I am migrating from the free Blogger site to a more versatile blog site from a CSS based template. I have seen that a few designers are using a blog as a primary portfolio site now and can see why. It's easily updated, is search-engine friendly and can acquire feedback on work or posts-not to mention the networking possibilities with other blogs/sites. I think it is definitely a growing trend.

Well, that's my two cents. I hope that something I said inspires your next promotion.

Dave Hile (reply to Chris Smith)

on Oct 04, 2008 at 1:07 PM

Updating from when I first posted back in Nov of 2007, Portfolios (which is now called CreativeShake) continues to be my best online source. I have gotten one client off that site that continues to give me ongoing work, so far totaling about $30,000 which is a good return on the annual fee of $450. I have also gotten a number of other solid leads and a couple of other paying jobs.
Wondering if any one has tried email blasts? I know my good friend Thodoris Tibilis just did, and while he has gotten about 130 access clicks out of 1000 emails sent, to my knowledge he hasn't gotten any bid requests off of it. But it's very possible he still could. Any thoughts?

Responding directly to Roger, I agree a good site with good search engine functionality is the backbone of promotion. You have to have somewhere to drive that direct mail recipient to see a broader selection of your work. Recently, I have spent a fair amount of time getting on other industry sites (like behance). Having more than a single online footprint definitely is beneficial with search engine optimization. Also linking to other illustration and/or design sites, and hopefully getting return links, is another advantage.

In terms of my ad firm, direct mail continues to be a very compelling marketing tool, and we do it perpetually, usually aiming to get 90 to 120 pieces out per week, while we continue to expand our database. I have someone who comes in twice a week to handle direct mail fulfillment and database development. I would say that in the last 2 years we have landed 8 new substantial clients and slew of smaller ones. So consistency is key. Just keep your name in front of your potential customers. With all the talk you hear about online marketing, good old print direct mail still works best for me and my firm. We usually try to hit each of our database customers 6 times a year.

Roger Xavier

on Sep 25, 2008 at 6:00 AM

I'm not very active here so I apologize for the late response. I also think this is a great question, btw.

Adbase recently started sending me audio interviews they recorded with art buyers in major advertising agencies. It's pretty enlightening hearing what they look for and how they find talent. So far, I heard 5 buyers interviewed and all agreed that they look for websites via "googling" when they wanted a particular style or artist/photographer that came to mind.

They also look at mailers, and if the samples intrigue them, bookmark the talent’s website for future reference. (BTW â€" postcards were preferred since they didn’t require any effort to open. They get tons of direct mail and find it taxing having to check them all out when they’re busy.)

Out of all the sourcebooks only The Workbook was mentioned. That's not to say no other sourcebooks or portfolio sites are good but it seems Workbook is the first choice among those particular buyers.

I believe everyone should have their own website that showcases their individual style and emphasis. Your website is the primary tool in reaching potential customers. Everything else is secondary, IMO. That said, SEO (search engine optimization), a strong style/brand, and effective copywriting that emphasizes your skills, services and how clients can reach you should be implemented.

I have advertised with The ISPOT, Portfolios.com, The Workbook , Showcase (now defunct) and Folioplanet (along with direct mail). My best clients have found me via direct mail or The Workbook. For me, Portfolios.com was the only one that produced no jobs or even an inquiry.

This is just my experience. I know everyone will have better or worse luck because we have different audiences.

Chris Smith (reply to Dave Hile)

on Sep 24, 2008 at 3:16 PM

That's a great question Dave. I think mailers are still the dominate promotion item for illustrators but your online branding and exposure has to be strong as well. Your online portfolio is definitely the wingman to the mailer.

Holli Conger said that she had good results from portfolios.com. I may have to try that this year. Have you ever tried Altpick?

Dave Hile

on Nov 26, 2007 at 5:27 PM

Hi all,

I just renewed my illustration samples for another year on portfolios.com and after taking a couple of years off from theispot.com, I'm thinking of giving that site a try again starting in January. In the past, I have also tried the Directory of Illustration for 3 years but didn't get much action. While I got a good return on investment off portfolios.com this past year, my best promotion vehicle has consistently been direct mail which I do perpetually. This is also true for the advertising/agency side of my company's work.

That got me to thinking - how do you folks promote yourselves and services? What have been your successes and failures. I'm looking forward to hearing what all you talented people have to share.

Best,
Dave