Boost Your Twitter Phraseology With Hashtags & Word Play!

©Holly DeWolf- #Twitter Buzz!

Social networking is a regular daily event for many of us. It can also be one great big learning experience too. With that said, it pays to rock your networking vernacular so it counts! 

Social networking isn't just about discussing your day or a great link you just found. We all use it regularly to promote ourselves. With some simple prep work we can get more out of it by expanding our clever lingo too.

When I was in High School I loved reading Shakespeare. I was often asked to read it aloud in class because I had a good understanding of it. You may think I just swerved off topic here with the literary speak but I have a twisty point to make. The main reason I love Shakespeare is this: it's word play! Just like that! Word play is fun and it can be used to market yourself online.


"No, there is too much. Let me sum it up." -Inigo Montoya, Princess Bride

Twitter is one the best ways to get information out quickly. When you use the right buzzwords and hashtags this will help spread your information farther. But there's a trick to it-you have to do it just right within the 140 character limit. Summarizing takes practice and research.

Hashtags-

You've all seen hashtag dialect on twitter- with '#'. A very popular one is #followfriday.

Certain topics, events, groups, and trends are promoted daily with hashtags. You may ask what the purpose of all this is? Quite simply, using hashtags helps to organize information. Hashtags break down your posts into small snippets of thought. Indeed it is fragmented but if written carefully this can be very informative to your viewers. 

Hashtags need context. Place informed meaning into your hashtags so it relates to what your tweeting. If you're promoting a new illustration try: #illustration #newwork #blogger #blogpost #latestnews. Make sure its relevant, serves a purpose and makes sense to your viewers.

Look up hashtags on twitter- top right hand side of your twitter page labeled '#Discover'. Type in hashtags to see if they exist and to see what type of information comes up. If you don't see any hashtags that you want to use then create your own. Just remember to be consistent. Best advice- make a list either on your computer or a notebook ...if your feeling old school!

Some hashtag wording tips:

• Always make sure you spell your hashtags correctly. Sounds pesky but if you misspell your tweet it will not go to the intended hashtag destination.

• Avoid symbols such '?', '&'.  Use #creativeandtalented instead of #creative&talented.

• Avoid spaces in between words. Use #professionalillustrator instead of #professional illustrator.

• Don't overdo it! It still needs to resemble English and not something off of Star Trek! 

• Avoid hashtagging every single post. Break it up. 

Now that you've got a good idea of what hashtags are for and how to create them then it's time to punch up your words.

Buzzwords-

Create a buzzword list for Twitter to help create interesting tweets to go along with hashtags. Best places to jump start ideas:

• Look in your email. We all get newsletters, emails and posts from businesses, blogs and websites. Jot down any wording that gets your attention.

• Look at Magazines. Your favourite publications are full of crafty word play.

• Look at how others use words on twitter such as @Starbucks, @lifehacker, and @boingboing. 

• Look at how other illustrators and designers tweet.

• Use a Thesaurus. Try the handy book edition or http://www.thesaurus.com can help you expand word play range.

Buzzword tips-

• Avoid the hard sell approach. 

• Write in a down to earth understandable way.

• Keep it friendly while using interesting words

Again, make a list on your laptop or in a notebook. The more you use these twitter strategies the quicker you will be a wordy champion. The time and attention you spend on your social networking will help you gain the audience you want. Keep it informative, keep it real to you and for a little extra bonus, add some humour in there often and you'll be a pro in no time.

Cover Photos- A Quick Spec Guide!

If you've got Google+ and Facebook then you know you can change the images that pop up on your many pages. From what I gather Google+ does not give out a disclaimer of what kind of information that can be included on your photos but Facebook does. However, if by chance you do post images that Google+ finds offensive they could flag you. 


From the Facebook Help Centre- Cover images must be 399 pixels wide and may not contain:

• Price or purchase information, such as "40% off" or "Download it at our website".
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page's about section. 
• References to user interface elements, such as 'Like' or 'Share', or any other Facebook site features.
• Calls to action, such as "Get it Now" or "Tell your Friends".

Google+ cover photo specs:

• Width: 940 pixels
• Height: 180 pixels

Facebook cover photo specs: 

• Width: 851 pixels  
• Height: 315 pixels

If you want a detailed idea of how the Facebook cover is broken down have a look here:

Facebook timeline cover photo template.

Despite Facebook's rules you can still be creative with your cover photo. You can create your own mini cover promos without breaking the rules with your work. This is my

current Facebook like page cover:  

© Holly DeWolf- http://www.facebook.com/hollydewolfstudios

If you need more ideas then start having a look on Google+ and on Facebook to see how many illustrators and other businesses are utilizing this new format on both sites. 
 

UCP- Your Very Own Unique Creative Position!

You've heard of having a unique selling position or a UCP but did you ever wonder what your unique creative position is...or a UCP? 


I know! It's a dizzying collection of words so lets grab a cup of coffee and mull this over shall we.  


Your very own unique creative position is what makes you unique in this very large world of illustration. Questions to ask are:

• What do you do that is different from any other image maker? 
• What makes your style stand out from the rest?
• What can you offer clients that no one else can?
• What ways do you creatively problem solve that makes you very appealing to a client? 
• How do you describe what you do in your own distinctive way?
• What do you do that is exclusive to you? 

You may not have an answer to all of those questions however it opens the hand of the thought. Break it down:

• How do you create your work? Hand-on or digital? 
• Who is your target market?
• What inspires you?
• What do you focus on?
• What do you want to get paid for?
• What steps do you take to create your work?
• What are your fans/supporters/clients saying about your work?
• What kind of testimonials do you receive?
• What does the market ask of you and your work? 

What is the purpose of all of this you ask? Essentially, your business and your work do not always speak for themselves. The way you describe your work online, in person or on your promotional materials will set you apart if done with the right creative flair. This will give you the attention you want while providing the right information your audience needs to know. 

Good examples that are straight to the point:

• Alanna MacGowan- MacGowan is one half of the Seatle/New York studio The Dye Lab. Her work deftly merges strong type work with iconic styling. http://thedyelab.com/
• Anna Goodson Management (AGM) is a contemporary creative boutique representing some of the most prominent artists from around the world. http://www.agoodson.com/
• Andi Butler Studio & Workshop: Andi is an illustrator and surface pattern designer based just outside of Chicago. http://www.andibutler.com
• Peleg Top is an entrepreneur, a branding and design expert and a business and marketing coach. http://www.pelegtop.com/
• Kula Partners- At Kula Partners we create stunning websites and execute marketing programs designed for the way the world works now. http://kulapartners.com/

The idea here is to describe yourself and your business. Try to write it in a way to visually sell yourself without boasting. Not an easy thing to do I know. Often we write what we feel our audience should know instead of what your audience wants to know. In other words, step outside of yourself and write in a manner that invites the audience in without ego getting in the way-put yourself in your audiences shoes! Keep it simple, keep it descriptive, get straight to the point in a friendly inviting way and you are off to good start! 

So I Heard You Got A Bad Review...

Bad reviews, negative comments and flat out rejection happens to many of us-it's a sad fact. Too many contact me that they want to give it all up because they can't take another rejection or negative comment. 


Negative feedback is hard. I agree. 


Here is another way to look at it:
You're going to create anyway no matter what... so who cares about what others think, right? Right! 


As illustrators, writers, artists and designers we have always made work even when there was no money in sight. Many in our creative fields have trudged on without support, a large budget, no audience or little to no guarantee that what we are doing will work. 


Quite simply:
We took a chance! We take chances daily. We get up. We have many ideas. Some work. Some don't. Some will love our ideas. Some will not. 


But here is the big question to ask yourself: Do you like what you create? If the answer is yes, then you have reached an equilibrium of acceptance that rejection happens. You accept the ups and downs of this industry. It's all part of the process. If the answer is no, than you may feel compelled to stop or even lash out at your critics which never does any good. You are essentially taking on their negative comments as a complete fact. 


I once heard an old online expression that went something like this: 'Do not feed the trolls!'
If you comment back, they will sling another comment back and keep commenting until you stop. If you ignore them they will starve or essentially go away. Trolls are generally in the anonymous category online. They hide, they lash out and hide again until someone calls them on their negative statements then they take it up a notch. Ignore them. They will go away. They are not worth the time and attention. There is no winning because their sole purpose is to disagree with you at all cost. 


Many times the comment has nothing to do with you or your work. Perhaps they are not your target audience. Another way to look it-you did not meet their needs with your particular work. That's fine. They will find someone who will. Or better yet, they might take on the challenge and do it themselves. 


Bad reviews happen. However, the words expressed are not fact. It's an opinion. So, if that's the case then...Create! Create daily. Keep moving forward. With any luck combined with a lot of dedicated work, many will love what you do!


Is it really a huge concern in the grand scheme of your creative world? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I think it depends on our mood and our expectations. One thing is for sure, naysayers exist and they always will. If 20 people love your work and 2 do not then the percentage alone tells you that the negative 2 get cancelled out. Focus on the energy from what those 20 give you and move forward.


Remember this: Success, working hard, doing what you believe in pisses off all the right people. Who are those people you ask? They are the ones you can never satisfy. They are the trolls. They are the ones who look for things to complain about. They are the ones who do not believe in what you do. But that's ok because many believe in your work and so should you! 

Protecting Your Work Online- Not A Simple Task!

I read a lot of articles online. Some good, some bad and sometimes I come across articles with illustrations. Today I read an article and the illustration looked really familiar. I couldn't remember the illustrator but I remembered where I saw it. 


There was no mention of the illustrator on this article but a link that went back to Pinterest. Hmmmm... interesting. I poked around further. Again, this was not a pinterest page from the creator but by someone who pinned it. At the top was a blog and... voila... there was the illustrators page. 


The author of this article used the image without her knowledge. I'm seeing this all too often lately. I gently mentioned to the author that the illustrator needs to be contacted prior to using their image. Seriously, I'm not the illustration police of the Internet. I just happened to fall onto this and it gave me a weird vibe so my curiosity went with it. 


Luckily, the illustrator contacted the author and removed the image and reimbursed her for the usage. That was very a professional and very respectful thing to do. High kudos to her!

Sadly, many of us have our work used daily without our knowledge. We don't always get that kind of response when we approach folks who use our images without asking. I know that I would want to be contacted if my work was used without my knowledge. Most definitely!

The author was not trying to be harmful to the illustrator. She wanted an image for her article. She honestly had no idea that she was doing something wrong. She was unaware that grabbing an illustration online was the incorrect thing to do. 


Which brings up a good point-Isn't this supposed to be common knowledge? If everyone is posting on pinterest then I can post it on my blog, article or website right? Wrong! 


To many folks who are not in this industry are confused about image use online. Pinterest is making that process even more confusing for those not in the creative industry. But of course, we were all supposed to read the terms and conditions right? Sadly, only a small percentage do. 


What to do? Well, there is no simple answer. Many love Pinterest. I myself, love looking at the craft ideas with my two daughters. Some of the pins are very inspiring and creative. Oh, and the recipes...don't get me started. This is the huge appeal for many. 


I don't mean to be all negative here but the idea of protecting your work online is a misnomer I'm afraid. The concept of digital property is open to many interpretations and many do not care that you own it, spent hours creating it or that you are putting it online to find work. If you place your images on a publicly accessible website there comes a large chance that your images will be adored by many and taken by some. It's a sad fact but the only other approach is to not post at all. I'm not guaranteeing anything but you can try the following approaches:


1. Placing a friendly disclaimer on your work such as:

• © Your Name/ www.Your Nameblablah.com Please ask before using illustration other than the purpose of Repinning on Pinterest. Thank you. 
• Copyright © 2012 Your Name. All Rights Reserved
• © Your Name- Please don't use my work without permission. Ask first!

2. Another approach is to place information on the illustration file itself. This can be done in photoshop-file info. There are many sections here to add information depending on what version of photoshop you have. Be as thorough as you need. You can even add your website, email and phone number. 


3. Make a blank file over the original illustration. This takes time and be confusing to pull off however there are 2 sites that can help with this concept. The idea is this: when you click on the image, it will come up as a blank.gif.

• dwProtector for MooTools
• dwProtector for jQuery

4. Splice the image. Once again, this is time consuming. The concept: the illustration is sliced but presented as a whole. The downside of this will be many image files to create one final image. 


5. Use the caption field to add information. Not everyone will open the image in Photoshop-sometimes only clients will do this. Again, in the caption field add what you feel is necessary before you post the image. 


6. With standard HTML, make an illustration into a link that will be re-directed back to your website. If you are web savvy this could be another approach. If not, there web developers and sites that can help you with this. 

7. Lastly, you can go with a watermark although this is not always a popular approach. Many use this on their websites, Facebook and their blogs. Out of the 7 choices, this is always the most unpopular because it distracts from the image unless done in a very crafty and creative way. Adding a watermark needs to be done properly because of these cons:

• the illustration can still be downloaded.
• a screen shot can be taken of the image.
• the illustration can still be cropped.

All of this can sound like a big online buzz-kill I know. Warning labels and image tinkering can be annoying. It can be time consuming to put warning labels all over your images for your member sites. Remember this: Protecting your work online starts with you. Your added effort can make it clear to many that you own it-it will not protect the image from being stolen unfortunately. Like I mentioned in my book-a little education can go a long way but you are still taking a chance if you post! 

Again, I cannot guarantee that these will work for everyone. Post and beware. Always keep a record of where you post your work and when. Always read the fine print and terms and conditions. Sign your work. Copyright your work. Stand up for what is yours! 

Illustration- So Much More Than Just Pretty Pictures!

© Holly DeWolf 

Marketing And Other Golden Rules!

I recently came in contact with a company that tried to use hard sell tactics on me. Needless to say it didn't work and they did not make their sale. Surprise!

There are many reasons why this did not win me over:
1. The information I wanted should have been available on their site. Why all the secrecy?
2. They required my phone number to explain to me what I needed. I'm pretty sure I can decide that on my own if the information is there in front of me.
3. It was a long distance call to my iPhone twice! Huge mistake that I will be billed for!
4. I asked them the first time not to call but email me instead. They failed to obey my wishes and called anyway. Their response to me was, "But this is how we contact our clients!"
5.They failed to listen to my needs.
6. If they are in the business to help people run their businesses then they need to do that instead of inconveniencing them and wasting their time!
7. They hung up on me after I brought it to their attention that this approach was unacceptable and completely unprofessional!

Marketing Fail 101

This company forgot I was part of the equation. Perhaps this was due to them being on a commission basis. Money and making the sale was the only focus.

They never did help me. They never gave me the information I initially asked for to begin with. I still have no idea if they could have helped my business or not. Instead, it became like work. It was a  secretive cloak and dagger maneuver all the way!

If they wanted my business, they should have given me the information I asked for. Sounds simple right? I do not need to be called on my phone to be sold services like a used car salesmen.  The sad part about this-their business is supposedly designed to help illustrators, designers and many others in the art industry.

I Was Reminded...

• Listening to a potential client is HUGE!
• If they ask for information about what you do, provide it. Don't make them wait for it or work for it.
• Marketing does not include harassing people, inconveniencing them or being defensive.
• Include them in the process.
• Market to clients the same way you want to be marketed to!
• Be nice!

My Latest Interview-By Request From A Future Illustration Student!

What made you want to be an illustrator?

I was always interested in art way before I can remember. Drawing and sketching were a huge part of my childhood. Ed Emberley books were a staple in my household. I was lucky to have been in a school system that had art courses from Elementary all the way to High School. It allowed me to explore and focus on my dream to continue in the arts. In High School, I decided in grade 10 that I wanted to go to art school and I did everything I could to prepare myself. With the help of my art teacher at the time, I applied to NSCAD University and got in! 

How many years have you been an illustrator?

I have been an illustrator for about 15 years now. My early days in this career were part-time. I often worked another job along with my freelancing. After I had children I decided to focus on raising my kids while being a full time illustrator. Needless to say, it is a delicate balance. 

About how many hours do you work a week?

I put in about 50 to 55 hours a week. Because I work at home, I can be flexible about my schedule. I often break my day into sections. I work early in the morning, then take off some time after lunch, works some more in the afternoon, take some off after supper to hang with my children, a try to do small jobs late into the night before bed. Yes, I do often work o the weekend. I say the word 'work' lightly because due to the nature of this career it does not often feel like work. Illustrators are always on and creatively thinking and coming up with ideas. It's part of the creative habit! 

What helped you and how did you come up with your own unique style?

What helped me develop my style was drawing every day. I focussed on words, narratives to come up with work early on. I experimented with many mediums till I found one that I loved to work with and that is gouache paint. Knowing what inspires me and what felt natural were huge helpers when it came to finding a style. Also, just experimenting with ideas and letting go of control and just creating was another way of letting my natural process develop. 

What is a normal day like in your job?

A normal day for me is well orchestrated juggle of work, kids, business and social networking online-don't forget the coffee! After I get my kids off to school my day begins. I try to designate different days for different tasks which depend heavily on deadlines and other tasks that need to be done. Creative business is a huge part of any illustrators day that can involve social networking, promotion, emails, job searching, along with writing invoices, paperwork and the day to day creative projects. All this is mingled with the day to day activities that go on around you in your studio and your household. Again, it all becomes part of the daily creative habit. 

What so you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy many parts of my career. For starters, I enjoy my independence. I enjoy the fact that I get to create images for a living. I love that I do not have an off switch when it comes to ideas and creativity. I love that it becomes part of my living as well as my household which makes it fun for my kids. As an illustrator I am doing something that is truly me! I feel that I contribute to the world one idea at a time. Being in this career means I'm never bored nor am I ever finished. There is always something to do, to create or explore. Being an illustrator comes with a well defined sense of purpose. 

What is the most challenging part?

Finding steady work is challenging. Finding a balance when its is busy can be frustrating at times. Balancing business with my art can be challenging especially on the days when I wish I could just create. It can be isolating at times being that I work at home and live in that space too. It's important to have sense of community even if the area you live in does not provide that so having one online community often helps. The concept of doing it all yourself, although gratifying, can be tiring at times. Again, as illustrators we first want to create so paper work, looking for jobs and dealing with clients are not always something we want to do.  

As I approach my high school years what could I be doing now to prepare for being an illustrator?

For starters, I would become well researched online. Read up on as much information as you can from books, articles, blogs and websites. Carry around an idea notebook and a sketchbook. Focus on drawing. Become aware of the purpose of illustration-what is and why it is needed. Research the history of illustration. Have a clear understanding that illustration is a process, it involves working with a client and and that this is a career and not a hobby. 

Understand that this visual communication. It involves you visually creating an idea that will be used by a client or yourself such as promotion. Also, knowing how to communicate what you want in this industry by way of knowing how to negotiate, asking for what you want as well as knowing how to talk about yourself and your work will help you greatly. 

Start building up a body of work. This can be accomplished my creating your own projects or themes that will help you create a portfolio. Lastly, look to see what others are doing in the industry. A good place to start is checking out illustration Friday (www.illustrationfriday.com). This site posts a weekly theme that you can illustrate. It is a good motivator and it helps you understand the importance of a positive, inspirational online community.