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Case study | Graphics International | 2015
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spin on funding. Importantly, the member firms have all signed a code of practice.
- Market yourself
With the hard business decisions made, you now need to move into marketing mode – you need to get your message out as far and wide as possible.
Funding sites will generally let you produce a shopfront page on their site where you can tell your project’s story.
One of the most potent ways to improve this page – and so your chances of hitting your funding goals – is to produce a video pitch. It’s by far the most effective way of telling prospective funders what’s great about your product.
With your video make and your pitch page complete, it’s time to em- brace social media with a fervour close to madness. The key is to have a constant output of messages. Don’t splurge and then go quiet.
- Tell your friends and family first
Finally, before you launch your project, talk to friends and family, and persuade them to back your project with some small contributions. When your campaign goes live, their financial support will give your project an instant lift.
This is beneficial because investors generally don’t like to be the first to back a project. They’re more likely to smile on a project that’s got some momentum and is heading somewhere.
This article first appeared in Computer Arts 235: Branding Secrets, a special issue exclusively revealing the brand strategy secrets at the world’s biggest agencies.
Why work for a boss when you can sell directly to the public? These websites make it easy.
Whatever kind of design job you have, the time comes when you ask yourself: “why am I working for a boss when I could sell design work I’ve created directly to the public?”There are loads of ways to make money from your talents, and it’s simpler than ever to sell design work online.
You no longer have to invest huge amounts of time and money building your own online store: there are many existing ecommerce websites which will allow you to reach a wider market and sell your products.
So whether you’re looking to publish a book, create your own T-shirts, or sell a series of art prints, the following sites offer a tried and tested way to make the most of your design work and start generating an income from it...
Art Web is an ecommerce site that specialises in selling art online to buyers around the world. A community of different artists and creatives use this online platform to network and share their work, as well as make money from it. The service works on a no-commission basis, and there’s a free plan that gives you an online gallery with up to 15 images. There’s also a paid-for version that gives you more images and a profes- sional-looking website.
Bouf brings together creatives, artists and designers who create unique products to sell their works to consumers who are bored of the mass-produced items on the high street. Featuring designer home and garden items, quirky accessories, and ‘gifts with a twist’, the site is selec- tive about who sells through it, so you first need to go through a simple application process.
Want to see your designs come to life by applying them on design- er skins for iPads, iPhones and so on? Then head to Gela Skins, which features some gorgeous designs and explicitly aims to “support and promote independent artists everywhere” through their business.
Designers and artists who are looking to publish a book or graph- ic novel – but don’t have the funding – should make a beeline for Unbound. Like a kind of Kickstarter for books, this site helps you find people to fund your project and see it come to life.
Launched in 2004, Big Cartel is one of the most popular platforms for any creative looking to sell design work online. Unlike a lot of websites, it allows you to build your store and customise it to give it a unique feel as well as it adapting to your existing website.
Giving you all the professional tools you need to conduct market research – such as a tracking and social networking – you’re given total freedom and control over the ways in which you choose to sell and promote your work. The price plan ranges from free to $29.99 a month depending on the support and facilities you wish to use, as well as the number of products you are offering. It could also be characterised as a folksy version of eBay.