Networking and Self-Promorion

After listening to a few veterans of the design world, and from what I’ve been working out myself, I’ve come to the conclusion that self-promotion and networking are two important factors of this lifestyle. After all, how are you going to generate a fan base or get commissioned if nobody out there knows that you even exist?

This theory has been proven to me in recent weeks. I have a twitter account that I now mainly use for Illustration-based posts, and I follow a lot of other Illustrators and designers on there. I’ve also made a facebook page, showcasing some of my work, and currently have over 120 “likes,” but I’m aiming on improving this over the next year.

What I like about these methods of networking is that you can find out what people like about your work, and it helps not only what you can improve upon, but it boosts your confidence as well. I’ve also has other designers asking for collaborations, which I was surprised about, but it’s something I’m planning on doing more of after uni finishes, so I’m flattered to have been asked.

The only types of promotion I have at the minute are my page, my site and my business cards, but I’m interested in other ways of making myself stand out from the crowd. I’m interested in creating a small-scale comic, or maybe a zine, to leave in places of interest. I also love the idea of using guerilla advertising as a form of self-promotion, and I’ve looked at how businesses come up with these ideas.

The one thing I still want to do though, and I haven’t yet, is to attend more social meetings with artists and talk about my work and theirs on a more personal level. It seems like a perfect way to meet new people and really get in there with the crowd, and this is definitely something I’m looking forward to doing in the future.