Self Promotion

I think Dee and Johanna have given some really great tips about self promotion. I have found that my website is my biggest advertisement with conferences getting a large amount of hits and targeted postcards running a third.

A few additional tips on how to get the most from this advice.

Track your website hits.
Statcounter, and google analytics are just two free tracking sites. It really helps to see who is looking at your site after a conference or postcard mailing. I saw that a particular publisher was really looking at my site extensively after my last postcard mailing and I plan to prepare a complete package to send to him to continue his interest.

Participate in collaborative online ventures.
illustration friday, picture bookies showcase, sugar frosted goodness are just a few examples of places to share your art and network. I don't know if any art directors frequent these sites but they are a great way to make friends and connections. And you never know where the next connection will lead you.

At conferences, plan to talk.
I love conferences. They are a great place to hear fantastic advice, meet people who share your passion, get feedback and expose your work directly to your intended audience. Don't go into a conference expecting to walk away with a deal or on winning a top prize but do go in with lots of business cards and your friendliest game face on. I met Leezy, Dee and Johanna at the NY SCBWI conferences as well as many other cool illustrators and writers. Take lots of business cards and talk to the person sitting next to you. I met super talented illustrator John Rocco that way.

Use your postcards wisely.
As Dee suggested, if you have a small budget research your audience and use a site like the USPS postcard site which is one of the most reasonable I've found. (lower your saturation by 15%) Also, choose your image wisely. I've done about four postcard mailing and had the most success with the piece above.

Use it all.
For my last postcard mailing I put the question on my blog about which image to send. I used the advice of my friends that I have met through illustration friday, at conferences and through my site and then tracked the hits I received using sitemeter and google analytics.

The key is to put yourself out there in as many ways as possible. The more people who see your site, the more support you'll get, the more friends you'll make and you might just hit the right person at the right time.