Gaining a reputation online might seem daunting. Given that the internet has millions upon millions of users generating traffic every day (human or not), it may seem like everything you do is a scream into the void. In many ways, that is correct, however that does not mean that you can’t change your tune to something that somebody might want to listen out for.
So, what might you want to do in order to change your tune? Well I don’t do singing lessons, so it’s a good thing I’m being metaphorical. If you wanted to get yourself known, there’s a few things you can do which are actually fairly simple despite sounding quite daunting at first. It might take a bit of time and commitment, but being serious about this sort of thing leads to that usually not being a problem to begin with.
One of the first ways to get out there is just to, well, get out there. Nobody is going to see you if you don’t try, so the best way to get the ball rolling is simply to share your work and the things you’re proud of. Show off your work in progress bits and pieces! Where you share your work may depend on your discipline or preference, of course. For me, as an artist, I used to share my works on X (formerly Twitter) back when I still liked the platform. Nowadays, bsky fills a similar role for me personally. It’s my preference since it’s a platform with a high number of users, who may be searching for art using tags. Other platforms for artists may include things like ArtStation, DeviantArt, or even Instagram.
Shameless plug, go check me out at https://bsky.app/profile/masongoddamnwright.bsky.social – I’ll be posting my older works from Twitter soon! In the meantime, while I do that, enjoy these works of mine:
When I start work on doing game design, my preferred method of sharing what I’ve made is YouTube. What makes it attractive as a platform is that it’s mainstream, very easy to use, and allows you to choose between unlisted videos and public ones. It means that I can save my proper game showcases for public videos where I can show them off in a nice attractive way, but if I just need to share a random clip I might have, I can toss a link to that unlisted video of mine I want to show, but the world isn’t quite ready for yet. Want an example? Here’s a trailer I made for a game that doesn’t exist (yet), shared easily with YouTube: https://youtu.be/UrDb4lIR2J4
Now that we’ve got some posts ready to fire online, we should be ready to go, right?
Well, that depends. Who is your target audience when you’re posting these?
If you’re wanting to get really serious about the industry of your choice, you might want to cater towards what an employer be interested in seeing. What does that include, you may ask?
Put yourself in their shoes for a second – what would be great to have if I really wanted to hire an artist right now? Things like contact details, and lots of them, is a great place to start. Of course, ensuring that you actually check those inboxes. They likely will want to see quite a few examples of your work, to really get to feels with your style. An underrated thing to do – post your works in progress! In an age being slowly taken over by generative AI, being able to see how a work evolves over its creation is an undoubtedly human touch and can really help to sell your style too by showing it in this way. Here’s a breakdown of a relatively unserious doodle I did recently:
Posting often is also a good way to get noticed, as many social platforms run off an algorithm that rewards frequent, consistent uploads. Lastly, don’t be afraid to be expressive! Every artist has their own quirks and subtleties to their works, and your own creative expression is the key to making yourself stand out compared to others in the space.
So, what should you post, and what should you not? If you’re going for a space in the professional world, it’s best to share what you’ve done and what you’ve got on offer as often as you can. Make yourself active in the space! As for what to avoid – it’s probably best to avoid sensitive topics or giving yourself a reputation for the wrong reasons. After all, you can technically be famous for being the guy who broke into the Louvre and ate the Mona Lisa, but is that really what you want to be known for? Well, don’t answer that. Would your potential future employer want an employee who was known for devouring DaVinci’s finest works? Probably not, and you should keep that in mind. Show what you’re good at, show what you’re proud of, and get people talking about your talent.
So, in summary, what should you be taking away from this? Let me make it simple:
- Post often on social media
- Show off your works in progress
- Tag your posts if you can!
- Keep your business side professional online
- Creative expression is what makes you really stand out, so embrace it!
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