8 Tips for Bringing Your Professional Illustration Services to the Next Level

As an artist in the Philippines, you’ll know that mastering your craft is just the beginning. Whether you're a seasoned illustrator or just starting out, enhancing your skills and expanding your client base are crucial steps toward achieving success. However, the path to taking your services to the next level is filled with challenges that will test your determination and adaptability. Nevertheless, with a solid business strategy, and a positive mindset, you can overcome any obstacle that comes your way. Here are some tips that can help make the process less intimidating.

Expand Your Online Presence

Expanding your online presence significantly increases your visibility and accessibility to potential clients. In a world where many people search for services online, having a strong digital footprint makes it easier for clients to discover and connect with you. An active online presence also lets you showcase your work to a global audience, opening up opportunities beyond your local market. Plus, you get to participate in online communities that can lead to valuable networking opportunities and collaborations, further enhancing your career.

There are several things you can do to build and strengthen your online presence. Having a professional website, for instance, provides you with centralized hub where potential clients can learn more about your services, view your portfolio, and contact you for inquiries. Leveraging social media sites, on the other hand, allows you to share your work on these popular platforms while also engaging with your followers and connecting with potential clients. Another avenue you can explore is online live streaming. Through this platform, you can give your followers a glimpse of your artistic process while engaging in conversations with them in real time.

Build a Strong Portfolio

Your portfolio serves as a visual representation of your skills, style, and expertise as an illustrator, and having a strong one can act as a powerful tool to attract potential clients. If you curate a collection of your best work, you can showcase the types of services you offer and establish credibility and trust with your audience. Begin by choosing pieces that highlight your skills and best represent the types of projects you want to attract. Include a diverse range of projects to showcase your versatility and ability to tackle different styles and subject matters. Remove outdated or weaker pieces to maintain a high standard, and make sure to regularly update your portfolio with your latest work. This ensures that your portfolio reflects your current skill level and style. Finally, arrange your portfolio to create a cohesive narrative. Doing so will allow viewers to properly view your body of work. 

Improve Your Business’s Payment Process

Streamlining your business’s payment process is crucial for ensuring smooth payment transactions and maintaining positive relationships with your clients. By implementing an efficient way to acccept various payment methods, such as credit cards, debit cards, QR Ph, and digital wallets, you can offer your clients flexibility and convenience..

Depending on your business model, there are several things you can do to improve your payment process. If you’re the type of illustrator who accepts commissions through various social media platforms, for example, you can use payment link tools like Maya Payment Links, to accept payments from your customers. This online payment solution lets you send a unique payment link to your clients’ messaging app of choice. When they click on the link, they will be sent to an online payment portal where they can pay for their purchases via credit card, debit card, QR Ph, or digital wallets.

If you have an e-commerce website, on the other hand, you can leverage the power Maya Checkout, the leading online payment gateway product in the Philippines that is trusted by merchants, big and small. With Maya Checkout integrated into your website, you can directly accept payments from credit and debit cards, QR Ph, or leading e-wallets like GCash, Maya, GrabPay and ShopeePay.

Enhance Your Artistic Skills

Continual improvement of your artistic skills enables you to stay at the forefront of industry trends and techniques. It’s a great way to ensure that you remain adaptable and versatile in an industry that experiences constant change, especially in the age of generative AI.

To that end, enroll in online courses or workshops that can improve your current skills or add to your skill set. These can include courses that make use of digital tools, such as animation and graphic design software, or traditional materials, like watercolors and pencil.

Enhancing your artistic abilities will allow you to position yourself as a knowledgeable and skilled professional in the industry, leading to new work and revenue opportunities.

Offer New, Related Services

By upskilling you get the opprtunity to offer new services that are already related to your original expertise. Expanding the range of services you offer can significantly enhance your appeal because you’ll be able to showcase your expertise in a range of mediums and art styles. It demonstrates your ability to meet people’s unique creative needs, allowing to diversify your target audience.

For instance, if you originally specialized in digital illustration, learning new techniques such as animation, 3D modeling, or even traditional painting can set you apart from the competition. The same can be said if you venture out of your usual target clientele. For example, if you’ve originally been doing only illustrations for the marketing and advertising industry, you could explore accepting commissions where you do book illustrations, client portraits, editorial drawings, or even street murals.

Sell Your Own Merchandise

Selling merchandise that showcases your illustration skills and artistic style can be an avenue for generating supplemental income and boosting your brand presence. These items, which you can sell on your professional website, can serve as additional touchpoints for engagement with your audience and give you the chance to reach new customers and to tap into new markets 

There are plenty of items you can sell; the most sought-after merchandise, however, include those that serve practical and functional purposes, or those that people might want to keep as mementos of your artistry. These can include artbooks and zines, posters post cards, stationery, home decor items, laptop and cellphone accessories, mugs and other drinkware, tote bags, magnets, enamel pins, can badges, calendars, key chains, and apparel. The sky’s practically the limit.

Whatever you do, make sure that your merchandise aligns with your overall brand image and quality standards. This is crucial for building a strong, consistent, and professional brand identity.

Attend Conventions and Art Fairs

Art conventions and fairs provide the ideal environment for art enthusiasts and artists to convene, making them prime venues to showcase your work to a diverse audience. It also gives you the chance to meet with industry professionals and strengthen your network. Moreover, participating in these events provides you with the opportunity to sell your merchandise.

To prepare for the potential sales you can make during these events, consider using a portable and lightweight POS device, like Maya Terminal or Maya Terminal Lite, to provide your customers with a seamless transaction process. These devices enable you to accept various modes of cashless payments, including credit and debit cards, e-wallets, and QR Ph codes.

Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Exceptional customer service builds trust and loyalty among your clients or customers. When you’re able to create a positive and memorable experience for these people, they’re more likely to return for future projects and recommend your services and products to others. Delivering outstanding customer service is also a key differentiator that sets you apart from competitors, which is beneficial when you’re in a competitive industry.

Start by setting clear expectations from the beginning of your client engagements. Clearly outlining your process, timelines, and pricing structure can avoid misunderstandings and ensure transparency. You should also always maintain a professional demeanor throughout the project lifecycle as this is crucial to fostering positive client relationships.

Furthermore, honor your deadlines and commitments consistently. Delivering your projects on time demonstrates your professionalism and reliability. If unforeseen circumstances arise that may affect project timelines, however, communicate proactively with your client and provide them with a solution or alternative. Being honest to your clients helps build confidence in your business.

Bringing your professional illustration services to the next level can be daunting. However, by implementing these strategies, you’re positioning yourself for sustained success, allowing your talent and creativity to shine while effectively managing and expanding your business.

Take Your Illustration Business to Newer Heights with Maya Business Solutions

Sign up for Maya Business to take advantage of our online payment solutions. We offer a variety of products that can improve your payment process, ensuring that you can keep it streamlined and convenient for the customers of your illustration business.

Signing up also lets you open a Maya Business Deposit account and use it as your settlement account. With an industry-leading 2.5% per annum interest rate, you’ll earn PHP 25,000 in interest per year on a PHP 1 million deposit. Furthermore, you’ll be able to send money to your partners and suppliers for free via InstaPay and PESONet, letting you save more.

Additionally, you’ll be qualified for a no-collateral Maya Flexi Loan offer of up to PHP 2 million in just 3 months. This gives you another funding source to further develop your business. Just use Maya as your primary processor for all wallet and card payments. The more you use our solutions, the better the loan offer will be.

Sign up for Maya Business today to enjoy the benefits of Maya Business solutions