Gulf Coast Comics Creators

So here’s another theory about managing your days, trying to get the most out of the time you have without running yourself ragged. This one is espoused by Dan Sullivan of the Strategic Coach and is summed up in this article: The Entrepreneurial Time System T.

The key points seem to be what a lot suggest: make time for fun or down-time, segment your duties so that you can make the most of each block of time spent (aka multitasking must go!) and focus focus FOCUS on your core business for the better part of your week.

Taking 100 “off” days a year sounds like a lot, sounds like a third of the year but it’s actually closer to only a quarter of it, but if you figure on 52 weeks in a year, that’s not even 2 days a week. Which means you get at least a day off each week(end) and then the other 48 get used up for holidays, birthdays, scheduled vacations or sprinkled around when you need them. Either way, you’re trading time–unfortunately it is the only true non-renewable resource we creatives have.

Following the given example, my off days would be every Friday and I’m not sure where the other would fit. Buffer days (days to take care of the little ins and outs that usually distract us from our primary work) would be Saturdays and Thursdays, I suppose, with Sunday-Tuesday being my core Focus days (that’s when I do most of my comic work, anyway). Hmmm, which leaves Wednesday–I suppose I could tag-team Wednesdays: if I needed a full day (Saturday) to get a big project worked on then Wednesday could be an off night or, if I choose to play on a Saturday, Wednesday becomes a buffer day?

I like the concept (as I do most organizational styles, I’m a sucker for lists and goals and time management, even if I go on long breaks from them) but I’m still thinking it’s not 100% me. What about you, what style–if any–do you use to keep yourself productive without stress? Are you still looking for one? Or,  better yet, what’s your biggest hurdle to productivity that you might need a nudge to get over so you can get more done?

h/t White Hot Truth

Have you heard of this one-month project that goes one every year for the past 4 or 5? It’s basically a step-by-step course in Internet marketing that’s completely free. At first it may not seem like it’s really geared towards comics marketing, but there are a lot of good, basic tips and ideas that can be applied to what we do. Since it’s free, you really have nothing to lose by watching a brief video each day and picking up a few tips on how to work the Internet a bit more beneficially.

http://www.thirtydaychallenge.com

We’re all trying to sell something, even if our comics don’t always have a price on them. Understanding what compels us as consumers can make your pitches stronger and your ads more persuasive. You don’t have to be a used-car salesman to grow your readership, after all.

http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-motivate-people-to-buy/

http://www.optimumwound.com/23-ways-for-a-comic-artist-to-survive-and-thrive-in-any-economy.htm

Tips on things to do to build your brand and increase your visibility. There’s some good ones in there!

http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/expandingyouronlinepresence/article202422.html

http://www.jackhumphrey.com/fridaytrafficreport/3-surefire-tactics-to-get-more-blog-traffic-and-links/

Boosting traffic means getting more eyes on your work. Think about it!

http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/ebusinesscolumnist/article202322.html

Look under the hood every so often to make sure all is running well and true!

Do you know what your brand is? What is says about you? How to develop one, even?

Well, there’s a lot more than I can cover at the moment, but if you’re struggling with the ins and outs of developing your personal brand, have a gander at this and take some lessons from the myths and truths presented herein:

5 Branding Myths Debunked by Starr Hall at Entreprenuer.com

Or, it can be, if you’ve grown up being taught not to brag, not to boast and that, generally, it’s a character flaw to promote your own work. (or was that only MY upbringing?)

So what’s an artist to do, then, when faced with a whole, huge world to conquer through his or her art? Well, first you have to take it down a notch: the World’s a big place and while I fully support having big dreams and going after them, why not set an interim goal to just conquer your state, your city, or maybe just your street to start?

There’s a thousand books and Internet articles (or more!) that will tell you/show you/goad you into being a self-promoting powerhouse so I’m not going to pretend to tell you how to do that. Even though I admire the, er, moxie of some comickers that are totally gregarious and sell themselves like there’s no tomorrow, I don’t want to do that. Not really. There has to be a middle ground between shrinking violet and used-car salesman, right?

Sure there is: it’s the difference between a hard sell and a soft one. The soft sell is perfect for Conventions and the like because people there are already interested in what you have to offer, they are your target audience (and if they’re not, you might want to evaluate what you’re doing there), so you don’t have to start your sell from the ground up, huckster style.

But, still, how do we get over that hurdle of saying, ‘hey, look at this, you might like it’?

Maybe, just maybe, it’d be easier if instead of jumping out of the gate with your OWN property to market, maybe you start with someone else’s?

Come on, we’re all fans of one thing or another so you know that easy feeling I’m talking about, the one that kicks in when you find out another person reads a favorite series or watches a favorite show. That one that relaxes your shoulders and untangles your tongue in the excitement of finding a kindred spirit. Yeah, that one.

So, say you’ve got a table at a con and someone pauses to take a glance. You ask what kind of comics they like. Now, here’s the thing: instead of just your work, which falls in one category, you’ve got OTHER artist’s work to share, too, that cover other categories. They answer fantasy and you know that one of your buddies has a comic like that, so you start talking about that comic first, ease into the conversation. Now that you’re already talking, you have an opportunity to promote your work, as well, if you think it’ll be a good fit.

See what I’m getting at here? (in, admittedly, a rather round about way) Create a network of comics artists and writers, spread the opportunities around, and ease your own fear of self-promotion by promoting others who will, then, promote you. Not only that, but some people might find it kinda neat that you’re willing to promote others and read your stuff because you’re a nice person. After all, networking–both with creative peers as well as clients–is about community just as much as content.

So, yeah, I had this idea that maybe those of us independent comics creators along the Gulf Coast (not exactly known for being a comics Mecca, you know?) banded together we might actually all benefit.

Networking is tough, especially if you are limited to your own immediate area, and showing your work to the same 5, 12, 20 people each time only gets you so far. Wouldn’t it be nice if your work could be seen by others in the area and all it took was you showing off someone else’s work in exchange?

Cons can be expensive–not just the table fees but the driving, meals, etc. What if you had someone to share a table with? What if, through an association, you could send a handful of fliers or sample comics to a con you just have no chance to attend and all you had to do was offer the same bit of table-space to someone else at your next local Con?

It’s a nice thought, right? Well, it’s also a reality if we’re each willing to help out our fellow creators.

We’re still laying the groundwork for what could be a great networking opportunity and more, but if you’re interested and live along the Gulf Coast, drop a line in the comments section and someone will get back to you, asap!