“Promoting Your Children’s Book Illustration Online”
I thought I’d share a few of my favorite ways to promote children’s illustration online. You’ll want to start out with good 72 dpi JPG images of your work and a basic bio and contact info. of course.
Building a web presence… It is really best if you have a website to showcase your online portfolio. Create your own, or post your images on a free social network site or blog. It will definitely look much more professional and you are more likely to be taken seriously if you have a website of your own.
Avoid an ametuer-looking website
Start a Blog: This is a good idea if you have something to share that may benefit others. You can also start a blog of weekly illustration samples and promote it with a link to a site such as Illustration Friday which features a weekly subject to illustrate.
Show your Published and In-Progress work: I can often fit images and information into my monthly blog with examples of what I am currently working on, or news and new release information. It usually fits the topic in some way.
Social Networking Sites: Set up a page on social sites such as twitter.com, facebook.com, or LinkedIn.com for promoting your work or any new books that will be released. An industry-specific social networking site for Children’s Books is JacketFlap.com.
Join a Group: There are groups such as SCBWI that feature their members portfolio images and information on their websites, included in the membership fee. They are also a great source for regional and local events and critique groups as well as a great place for finding valuable industry information.
Advertise with Trade Websites: Childrensillustrators.com is one of the industry leaders but there are several others as well. The cost per year is minimal considering that many publishers and agents use this site and have access to your work samples. Try an online search for “Promoting Children’s Illustration”.
Cross-Promote: Add a link to your blog on your website. Include your social networking links on everything. Tweet about any updates and any news about you and your work, and include links to your blog or website in your tweets. Many of these sites like Facebook have a feature to allow you to connect your other social network sites like Twitter so you can update your posts for all your SN sites at once.
Update Your Portfolio: Try to update your work samples frequently and keep a current online portfolio of your best work. Treat your online presence as you would your actual portfolio book. Think; fewer images that focus on your individual style and your absolute best quality work.
Good Luck!
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This month’s featured site…”Hire An Illustrator”
A promotional site for Illustrators to showcase their work.
Artist and Illustrator 
