Can’t find time to make art?
Are you struggling to find time to make art? Do you spend hours answering emails, uploading designs, or finding companies to pitch your portfolio? Then, after all those task you don’t seem to find time for your daily art practice. I hear you! Let’s take a look at what we can do to find sometime!
Single woman operation here at Moshito Design. Plus mom of two beautiful girls that demand my undivided attention!
As a surface pattern designer, you know that creating art is what fuels your business. But sometimes, it can feel like there's not enough time in the day to get everything done.
so how can you automate your business to create more time for art?
If you feel like it can be difficult to create new designs and manage the business at the same time. You are not alone! However, by automating different aspects of your business, you can free up more time to focus on the creative process. This article will explore how to automate your surface pattern designer business with practical tips and tools.
Here are some tips:
Create templates for your designs. This can be things like color palettes, repeat patterns, or even social media graphics. By having these templates already created, you'll be able to quickly and easily create new designs without starting from scratch. Plus, you'll have a consistent look and feel across all of your work.
To generate templates for social media (especially Pinterest) I highly recommend using Canvas. You can generate a beautiful layout and then reuse it by just changing up the design!
Use automation tools like scheduling apps for social media. This one is a huge one for me! This will allow you to plan out your social media content in advance, so you don't have to spend time every day thinking about what to post. Pick a day each week to plan out your content, and use a tool like Tailwind to schedule it all in advance.
I have recently just started using the Meta Business Suite from Facebook because it allows me to schedule unlimited posts to Facebook and Instagram at the same time and customize it a little bit differently for each platform. For Pinterest, I simply schedule through their platform. You can schedule a whole month in advanced if you want.
With these tools, you can create a week's or even a month's worth of social media content in one go, and then schedule it to be posted at specific times.
Scheduling your social media content in advance will ensure that you have a consistent presence on social media without spending too much time creating and posting content frequently.
Outsource some tasks. If there are parts of your business that you don't enjoy or that take up too much time, consider outsourcing them to a virtual assistant or freelancer. This could be things like website maintenance, bookkeeping, or even customer service.
I, personally, haven’t outsource anything just yet, but I have definitely hired help to assist with house chores. And that has definitely been a game changer for me!
Use e-commerce platforms that integrate with your website. Platforms like Shopify and Squarespace have integrations that allow you to easily sell your designs right from your website. This can save you time and streamline the process for your customers.
Set up systems for organizing and managing your work. This could be something like a project management tool or a shared spreadsheet to track deadlines and progress. Having a clear system in place can help you stay on top of your workload and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Additionally, most platforms offer analytics tools that can help you track your sales and identify which designs are doing well. By using this information, you can create more designs that resonate with your audience, improving your chances of making more sales.
Canvas allows me to create cute designs quickly and I can easily change them up to create new content!
By automating some of these tasks, you'll be able to free up more time to focus on what you love – creating beautiful designs!
So, in summary, automating different aspects of your surface pattern designer business can save you time and increase productivity. With online platforms like Spoonflower, and Redbubble, email marketing campaigns, social media scheduling tools, and administrative task automation, you can streamline your business and focus more on creating and designing.
By automating as many tasks as possible, you can free up more time for creative processes, which is essential to growing your business, improving your designs, and ultimately achieving your goals as a surface pattern designer.
What do you do to streamline your business? What are you going to try implement next?
Remember, keep it simple and one thing at a time!
I would love to hear from you!
Until next time,
Ana