Complete Guide to Products Promotion for Designers and Creatives: from Quora to Social Media
The biggest problem most designers encounter is promoting their products to drive sales. You can have awesome designs and the perfect platform to sell them, but it’s not much use unless people know you, or can discover you.
To promote your products and make sure people find your work, you must use different channels and exploit the strengths of each of them. In this article, we offer an overview of all the best channels to promote your work, and we will follow with specific articles on how to get the best out of each platform.
If you are already strong at promoting your brand and just want to know how to optimize your products on MasterBundles, watch this video. Nonetheless, we suggest you stick around for a little while longer 😉
Now, let’s get your product found!
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Promote yourself as a designer
Customers buy from trusted sellers. Let this sink in for a minute.
You need to become the superhero of your niche.
Before selling anything, you need potential customers to trust you as a designer. If they trust you, they’ll buy from you, no questions asked.
To become a trusted designer, you need to build a community around you, so here are a few pointers on how to do that.
Don’t sell, showcase
Show your best work. Be very selective and choose work that you think appeals to your target audience. Write clear descriptions that explain what you did and why you did it; this will give you credibility in the eyes of your followers and will provide value, increasing trust as a result.
Don’t stretch yourself too thin
There is no point in having 10 social media channels if you can’t manage them properly. Start with the two channels that best suit your style and medium (e.g., Instagram and Flickr if you are a photographer, or Pinterest and Instagram if you are a designer) and master those channels. Then you can add one more channel at a time when you are confident that you can manage them.
Be part of the community
Facebook Groups and Discord are fantastic to get to know like-minded individuals. If you are active and appreciated inside your niche community, chances are that fellow creators will give you a boost by sharing your content. Also, communities are great places to stay on top of the latest trends.
Build a brand
This tip is also called “Don’t stretch yourself too thin, part 2.” Having a million interests is great, but right now the niche is what is selling the most. Specialize in something and get recognized for it. This is the quickest way to build a name for yourself.
Article is reviewed by Shelley Morris
I find personally that design specific creative networks - dribble, behance etc, are good for inspiration and connecting with fellow creatives, so if your goal is to join a community and expand your skillset, regular posting and engagement on those channels is worthwhile. However, to promote and share work for the sake of obtaining new clients, especially as a freelancer - using the channels that are consistent across more industries will give you broader exposure to decision makers looking to engage designers. Which makes sense - if you are trying to get a job freelancing for the corporate sector for example, those in that sector who make hiring decisions are unlikely have heard of Behance, but will very likely be on LinkedIn. Plus, if you choose to use the premium version of LinekdIn you can actively approach leads and even run ads to reach the right decision makers.
On channels such as Instagram, I have found that hashtag research, consistent posting and genuine interactions (i.e. being social!) increases your engagement and have met some great connections there. What I will say in summary, is that the same is true across almost every industry: you want to focus on building your network and creating genuine connections with people. Word of mouth is the best promotion there is, and online channels help to build those connections and get those referrals.
Promote your products on Social Media
Social Media is the best way to get your product known. We know how overwhelming it can be trying to build an audience. This is why we will post detailed guides on how to reach the right audience for every platform. For now, here are a few quick tips.
Use what you have
Create a business profile, but leverage the followers you have on your private profiles on the same platforms. If you are a creator you probably have shared some awesome content on your personal profile, so chances are potential customers are already following you. Let them know that you are in business.
Pick only the best platforms
Very much like building an audience, advertising your products is all about choosing the right platforms. For example, if you are a content writer then a Medium profile is much better than a Pinterest profile.
Facebook, particularly Groups, is an incredible way of getting the word out there. Subscribe to Groups that are relevant to your niche and start interacting. Give clear, well-structured answers and opinions. Quickly enough, people will start to accept you and your content. Facebook Groups are cool because they can be all about networking; as long as you are always helpful and don’t spam, you can get recognized without the need to focus on keywords, SEO, and all that jazz.
If you are a content creator you need to be on IG. It doesn’t matter what kind of content you focus on, Instagram allows you to connect with people that are interested in it. Instagram is a double-edged sword though. Competition is very high and you run the risk of getting drowned by the excessive noise. Don’t worry though, by selecting the right niche and researching the best keywords and hashtags, you can turn Instagram into a great channel to advertise your products. All it takes is practice and resilience.
Pinterest is a visual search engine. Basically, it’s Google for images. If you are a visual creator, Pinterest is probably the best place to advertise your content.
Pinterest takes time, patience, and study. Its rules are different from all other social media and it follows search engine logic. This means that, while your pins may never “go viral,” you can train Pinterest to show your content more and more in people’s searches.
Twitter is all about the here and now. It’s about community and interaction. Once you have picked your niche, start interacting with other players in that space. Follow them, retweet their content, reply to their tweets with your amazing insights that are on top of the latest trends. Twitter users appreciate an expert, and if you pose yourself as one, you will soon gather some momentum. Building an organic audience on Twitter can be a slow process, but you will have super-fans ready to buy and recommend your product.
Dribbble and Behance
Dribbble is often described as the Twitter for visual artists. A Dribbble Shoot is like an image Tweet; people can share, like, or even Rebound them (a reply with a relevant image). Dribbble is full of high-quality content, and to be able to post images you need to be Drafted by another user. To start, you can follow artists in your niche, like their work, and comment. Get noticed and wait for your invite, then start sharing your work to build an audience.
Behance is a social network for visual artists, property of Adobe. It’s the equivalent of having a portfolio, and you need to make sure that you post only your best work because Behance is for professionals and is viewed by professionals. In Behance, you can create Projects that collect all your work on one topic. Different Projects are like different sections of your portfolio. Getting recognized by the Behance community is a great way to build a reputation, and reputation always helps with sales.
Article is reviewed by Ryan Mungia
There is no shortage of channels designers can use to promote their work. Ultimately, it would be best to focus on two or three platforms so you don't put all your eggs in one basket or spread yourself too thin. Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest are great options because they are highly visual. To use me as an example, I started a unique Instagram handle to promote a book I designed, which helped me find an audience for that particular subject matter. Creating a WordPress blog is also a great idea because it can lead to a mailing list which is one of the best ways to promote your work. Additionally, a blog is yours to keep forever. Think of social media platforms as an apartment that you rent, whereas a blog is a house that you own.
Be persistent! It is easy to compare yourself to others, especially on social media channels. Still, the best thing you can do is be strategic and intentional about what you post and be persistent enough to post regularly. Eventually, you will connect with more people who respond to your work.
Quora
Quora is a Q&A platform where users can ask questions about any topic and receive relevant answers. People whose answers are marked positively are regarded as experts on the topic, and this can drive traffic to your products. When using Quora it is important to be 100% sure that the answer is correct and clear, as negative votes can have big impacts on your reputation.
One very cool thing about Quora is that you can link articles or examples of your work. If you think that your content is relevant as an example, link it to attract more visitors to your site.
Communities and Forums
We talked about Facebook Groups, but there is a plethora of communities and forums that you can leverage to advertise your product and work. Surf the web for niche communities that talk about your specialty and dive in! Remember, being useful and active always bears fruits if you keep at it long enough. Think of it as building your digital karma.
One word of advice: the line between being helpful and spamming is a thin one. For example, in Quora or in Facebook Groups, only post links to your work if it’s genuinely helpful in that situation.
Free samples and useful content
Actions speak louder than words. Offering a free sample of your work for everyone to enjoy can take you a long way. You can post a link to your freebies as examples in your Quora answers or in forums and communities. You can also offer them to your Social Media followers to get them one step closer to purchasing.
Useful content, like short tutorials, is also greatly appreciated. It starts a psychological mechanism that makes the user feel “in debt” with you, hence making them more likely to purchase in the future. Good content also establishes you as an expert in the field, making your name the first to pop up in someone’s mind when they are ready to purchase.
Hungry for more? We have a video dedicated to promoting your work. Knock yourself out!
Promoting your designs is important but it’s also important to choose the right marketplace! Upload your works to MasterBundles and start earning money! More details: https://masterbundles.com/sell-your-deal/
Want to know all about MasterBundles? Have a look at our presentation 😊
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