No, I am NOT asking the universe

7 things I've done this year to ensure the future success of my illustration business

I’ve had the most productive start to the year ever, and my hope is that in the long run this is going to pay off with some dazzling success. I don’t judge success by money alone, but I do need to earn more than I did last year and that is not going to happen by asking the universe / moaning about the instagram algorithm / doing versions of the same work I’ve always done. So I started 2024 with a plan and I’ve stuck to it during those echoey early months.

If you’re an illustrator / artist / freelancer and know you need to do *something* but don’t know where to start, then perhaps pick something from the below list and give it a go.

I HAD A PORTFOLIO REVIEW

As a member of The Association of Illustrators (The AOI) I could have a £40 portfolio review. I had mine with with Alice Desmond and she was brilliant. We had a really positive chat, she told me what she thought my strengths were and suggested ways in which my website could better reflect my work. As a result of this re-jig I feel really confident that the work I’m sending out to attract commissioners is strong. It was also great to hear that she loved my Instagram :)

I then had some free time and so offered to give portfolio feedback to a few people on Substack. It was actually really helpful for me to analyse some other people’s sites and I realised some of the advice is stuff I need to follow myself (for example I need to relook at my About page).

I HAD A NEWSLETTER RETHINK

I started this Substack in February and using it for a month has helped me to put a bit of a strategy in place. I’ll still send my monthly “The Illustrated Newsletter” from my Squarespace website and it will be a general overview of the month & a way to remind people about my lovely prints (oooh lovely prints). I’ll still keep my website blog to drive some SEO, but Substack will be an area where I can talk about a whole heap of new things (fashion, travel, cats, who knows). I used to waste so much time on Instagram stories, I’m now putting that energy here.

I’m sending posts out when inspiration strikes, rather than following a plan. I know from experience that I only use new platforms if I enjoy them, and as I don’t like routine I’m not putting restrictions on myself here. So my advice is if you are intrigued by something then just try it, be ready to adapt, and make it work for you. If it doesn’t work, you can stop. As wise young owl Katie Chappell said to me, “you don’t have to get married to it”.

I’M GROWING MY LIST OF PEOPLE TO CONTACT

I find cold-emailing really soul destroying and I tend to do it once or twice a year. Otherwise I just hope people will recommend me or I’ll be seen on Instagram. Well, that system may have worked for me in the past (just about) but those days are gone. I’m now going to be emailing clients (existing and potential) every 6-8 weeks. showing them either new or season-specific work. I have an AOI list of people to contact and I’ve been busy going through past emails to save details of anyone I’ve ever been in contact with. I’m also looking at who I’m connected with on Linked In and seeing if I can find their email addresses. IT IS SO BORING and it’s so necessary. As my dentist said to me when I was 9, and had flown over the handlebars of my bike, smashing my front tooth, “life is not a bowl of cherries, Nicola”.

I’M LOOKING AHEAD AT NEW AREAS

The fashion industry is struggling and budgets are tight. As a result I see no point in me chasing work in that sector. Instead I’m thinking about what I love to draw (people & places) and working out who else might want drawings of those things. Once you look outside of the box you realise you can cast your net wide. I love watching sport, so am now developing my portfolio to contain more sport and movement. I’ve got ideas for animations too, it’s exciting :) If you’re a bit stuck and can’t think of areas you could potentially work in, then tell me what you love to create in the comments and I’ll see if I have any brainwaves.

I LOOKED IN MY SECRET BOX OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS

This sounds very magical, and it is really. Over the years I’ve started collecting things that I just LOVE. Vintage magazines, packaging from far-flung places, bus tickets I like the font on. Every now and again I get the box out and just have a look though. I don’t share this stuff anywhere, it’s mine alllll mine and is guaranteed inspiration every time. Way better than getting lost in an instagram maze.

I CHANGED UP MY STUDIO

Until recently I did my creative work in my hired studio and my computer based stuff on the kitchen table at home. I really liked the separation and it worked well for me. But this studio costs me a big chunk every month and if I don’t earn more soon then I’m at a risk of losing it. Something has to change so I’m testing how I use my workspace to see how it might help. So I now have a standing desk for my computer / scanner etc in my studio and it means I can’t ignore all of the boring admin jobs (I pretty much count everything that’s not making art as admin) as the evil computer stares at me all day.

Home really is now just home. I’ve rented out my spare room and all I have there internet wise is my phone (I’d love to say it means I’m online less but actually what it means is my eyesight is deteriorating even faster). Since the computer has been in the studio I haven’t done any painting, but I’ll see how the year pans out to see what I will do going forward. Can you shift things about to see if it impacts your productivity, even if it means just means moving your desk to a different spot in your kitchen (maybe closer to the snacks!)?

I’M SENDING OUT A PRINTED MAILER

I approached a local printer (Taylor Brothers) who I have worked with for years and explained I wanted to send a luxury mailer to high end clients. They kindly offered to produce some for me free of charge as long as it features their logo. I then had lots of fun coming up with ideas that I thought could work well for my hotel and travel clients, but that would be a good introduction to my work too for those I haven’t worked with before. I’ve shared the process of this on here in the paid section. I’ll share the final instalment once it’s all done!

……STILL ON THE TO DO LIST

There’s obviously still lots on my never-ending to do list - as soon as you get productive it spits out more ideas to add to the list (for example must draw more sport / must get those images on my website / must work on my SEO / must connect with people who work in sport / must sort out my instagram highlights / must drink water / must stretch more). But that’s great, it’s all positive energy and spurs me on.

I hope the above has been a bit useful & if there’s anything you’ve done that I might love too then please share in the comments.

(incase you don’t know me, this is me….)