Promoting yourself

For many artists, the most challenging and intimidating aspects of running a creative business are marketing and promotion. The fact is, most of us are uncomfortable with the act of talking about ourselves from a sales perspective, and this is only reinforced by the vast amount of intrusive advertising that exists in the world. Something that I hear time and time again at Escape from Illustration Island is that nobody wants to be that typical annoying spammer who sends out unwanted email blasts or shouts from the rooftops about how great they are. The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way.

Promoting yourself doesn't have to mean talking about yourself. There are so many other ways to get your name out there and market your brand. This is something that is too often overlooked by creative professionals. The best part is that the alternative methods that I'm referring to not only serve to draw more attention to your work, but also allow you to interact with the larger illustration community and feel the rewards of giving back to your fellow artists. Let's look a few simple ways to promote yourself without talking about yourself.