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Can you give me some tips on self-promotion? You seem to be pretty good at it.

I used to teach a seven-week course on self-promotion and business  at SVA. Considering how many hours I used to spend teaching this subject, it is not something I can quickly write in short paragraphs, especially that the strategy should be different according to each artist and his/her interests and goals. However, I can point out some universal and basic advise here.

  1. Build a really good website; It doesn’t have to be elaborately designed. Just make it user friendly, organized and show who you are as an artist. Once you are out of school, you need a real website and not just a blog.
  2. Update your site as often as you can. Website that does not get updated often is worse than not having a website, especially in the early stage in your career.
  3. utilize social-networking skill and promote your site and work well. You are young, and you know how to use them better than I do.
  4. Get a real e-mail address. Free e-mail address makes you look like an amateur. Get “mail or your name@yourdmain.com”, you can even forward that to your gmail. At least you look like a pro to them.
  5. Learn to write good e-mails. E-mails are often recipients’s first impression of you. Don’t be a spammer, don’t be a stalker. Don’t write like if you are text messaging a friend. Ask politely if you are asking stranger questions or favors.
  6. Do research on whom you want to work with. Make your own mailing list by visiting newsstands and writing down information one by one. Sending cards is a good old fashioned way that stil works. 50 hand-picked names on the list works a lot better than 5000 random names on a list you buy.

Here is a list of the books you should read. Although I recommend them all, the first one is A MUST for all new illustrators.
+ How To Be An Illustrator by Darrel Rees
+ Inside The Business Of Illustration by Steven Heller and Marshall Arisman
+ How To Be A Graphic Designer, Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy
+ It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden

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