This is a 3-part series on marketing yourself in the furry fandom, each part will be released on Sunday this July, this is the first part of the 3-part series – enjoy!
Introduction
I’ve been a business person for a number of years now. Before I went into business for myself, I worked in the hotel industry, it took some time before I decided to become self-employed. That background in being able to sell something (a hotel room or a place to visit, or a piece of artwork or a fursuit costume) has helped me get where I am today when it comes to marketing my work to a fandom audience. I am a self-supporting artist, that is to say, I do not have a 2nd job or another person to support me, but rather my income from the things I create supports me fully in life. Sometimes you see that written as “full time”, but my hours definitely vary.
It never was my dream in life to be a self-supporting artist, but it has definitely been a long-term hobby turned fun business to be involved with. When I finally decided to go into business for myself, I made sure I was already in a good spot. I worked by saving up money at my job, I had my debt paid off, and I had money in my savings account so I could buy supplies for my business without worry. I also did not start with a blank slate and practiced while I worked my previous jobs– I concurrently illustrated and made costumes for myself on the side after work, and my hobby revolved around the sort of things I shared as tutorials on my website. I really tried to be prepared when I got started, and did not dive into taking custom work right away (saying “no” to people who want to give you money is a difficult thing that I’ll talk about more in this article). I dipped my toes into things while I had a stable primary job to build up my repertoire and worked on the projects that excited me. It took me a long time to be ready to take custom work for other people.
In my years building up my business I learned a lot of things, and while these things worked for me, it may be different for others, but I do hope this article helps offer clarity for those looking to get into selling their work in the furry fandom.
Getting Started
Presenting yourself online is a big part of your image, especially when it come to how your audience sees your work. Sign up for all the social media websites you are comfortable maintaining and maintain a username consistent throughout those sites so your audience can recognize you between spaces. If you are an illustrator or artist, posting frequently is key. The more often people see your work, the more they will recognize you. You will build an audience slowly but surely this way.
When it comes to picking a business name, keep it simple. I kept my business name the same as my username and website URL (Matrices.net) so people could find and easily associate my website with me, and me with my website. Name association is more important than you may think, since it takes effort to build your audience back up under a new name.
Pricing
Look over my article on pricing, You can find that article to read here: http://matrices.tumblr.com/post/138592633528/article-timing-and-pricing The most important takeaway is: Keep track of the time you spend working and don’t price below minimum wage in your region – you can work any number of less-specialized jobs for the same amount of money. I want to make it clear: The furry fandom exclusively deals in luxury items that are often custom made, artists and creators deserve to be paid fairly for such specialized effort.
You are just not benefiting yourself or your audience by undercharging. If you wish to sell to an audience like the furry fandom, get comfortable pricing your work at a fair price to you. Undercharging breeds an environment where clients are conditioned to expect too much from low-priced work. Not only does this not benefit you as the artist, but it doesn’t benefit the market as a whole because it is unsustainable in the long run. Burnout is a real issue and seriously affects artists who overwork themselves for low wages. The furry fandom is a place where “if you build it, they will come” is still a valid mantra, if you aren’t finding an audience you need to either practice and hone your craft more, or expand where you market yourself. I talk more about advertising tactics later in part 2 of this series.
What if I get complaints on my prices? Learn who your clients are. Ask yourself – Are those people truly clients you want? I don’t want a client who is going to doubt my pricing or second guess me on my work, I want a client who will admire and respect the work I do. You will receive a lot of critique on your pricing often from people who are not clients you want, find the audience who can respect the effort you put in your work.
What it comes down to is the question of who is best to take pricing advice from. If you are timing yourself and deciding a fair wage for your efforts, it’s a question that is already answered. However, there are always going to be people in your life who want to guide your decisions for different reasons. Among them are: Your friends – they are good to stick ideas to, but aren’t always going to be the buyers of your work. Your family – often they are either supporters or doubters, not always the best for price sense within the furry fandom, however. Your colleagues are good to take advice from, people in the same industry (those actively selling art or costumes in the furry fandom). Ultimately be choosy on who you take advice from, with a grain of salt so-to-speak. If you are seeking advice, find it from those who also work as self-supporting artists – while part timers who have something or someone else to support them may still offer decent advice, it is other colleagues who are self-supporting and live off their work that are the best to take advice from.
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