5 Marketing Tips for Graphic Designers
Tips for Marketing Your Graphic Design Business
- Create Free Resources
- Upload Work Everywhere
- Participate in Forums
- Write Tutorials and Articles
- Submit Work to Books and Magazines
In today’s world, there are many artists hoping to be noticed, and there are a number of marketing tips for graphic designers that can help professionals achieve their goals. With design software so readily available, anyone can be a designer. However, graphic designers who are serious about getting their name out there should consider the following five tips that will ensure greater exposure and more sales.
Create Free Resources
Nothing drives traffic more to a company than free resources. Determine your target audience and with whom you would like to work and then offer free materials. Some possibilities to get you thinking include free Photoshop brushes, free fonts, and other goodies. Why? Not only does giving away free resources drive traffic to your site, but people also become familiar with your brand and your work. If they like what they see, they will tell their friends, who will ultimately come to you when they’re in need of a talented graphic designer.
Upload Work Everywhere
It goes without saying that you need a website to showcase your work online. However, it’s also a solid marketing practice to post your work in other places as well. Search online for websites that best meet your style and focus such as Portfolio Magazine Online and DeviantArt. This generates an even greater awareness about you and your business. Remember: the more sites that house your work, the more exposure you’ll gain.
Participate in Forums
Participating in online forums establishes you as an expert at your craft — as long as you are a respectful forum member and you offer solid advice. Posting often, making sure your posts are relevant and intelligent, avoiding spamming, and just simply being nice will go a long way. Most forums allow you to place a link to your website in your signature so that people can click through to your company’s page. While this certainly drives traffic straight back to you, posting in a forum also allows people to get to know you in a specific community dedicated solely to the field of graphic design.
Write Tutorials and Articles
People love to learn, and learning for free is even better. Writing strong, intelligent tutorials and articles will drive traffic to your website and earn you exposure. Blog posts, how-to articles, and other “teachable” pieces help to establish yourself as an authority while building loyalty and trust at the same time. Avoid writing about cliche topics that are overdone; find something unique that few have tackled before. For example, you might consider writing about how to become a published graphic designer in books and magazines.
Submit Work to Books and Magazines
Most people believe they can write an article out there and become a published author right away. However, in order to get your work into print, it must be good, and it needs to fit the publisher’s criteria. Nonetheless, keep your eyes open for submissions and calls for entry. Books, magazines, and other publications always need content, so locate the company’s contact information and/or editors to show them what you have to offer. At worst, they will reject you, but even if that happens, at least you were able to put your work in front of a new set of eyes. If you end up receiving an offer of publication, you’re guaranteed a significant amount of exposure.
Conclusion
These are just a few tips to get you started, and while most of them rely on common sense, each of them also takes motivation and work — and lots of it. There is no easy, surefire way to gain exposure; you need determination and effort. However, these five marketing tips for graphic designers are a great way to get started so that you may come up with your own marketing plan customized specifically for your business goals.
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