Thinking of starting a commercial graphics site.

[JK-47]

I was just thinking today that maybe I should start my own graphics site for commercial reasons. I've taken various courses on the matter, and have gotten great compliments on my work when I'm constrained to set guidelines from the consumer (such as my teacher. I realize he's not the ultimate source, which is why I'm asking here).

I'm just needing some suggestions, though. Such as, which would be the best way to get traffic? What method should I take to get payments or make payments, and which would be the safest?

I'm planning on selling out banners, templates, and logos. And maybe some other miscellaneous items depending on the request. I want to keep the graphics cheap so it is accessible to anyone who desires to make a purchase.
I love art, and I've been wanting to do something like this for quite a while. I've been making things for kids at my school, and they seem to be happy with what I've made them.

So what do you think? Would it be worth it? Before I start, I plan on working hard to improve a lot more, as I realize I have room to improve. But I want to buy the domain and work on the site for a bit before I open it to the public. I'm just posting this to help get a start on everything.

[Aumaan Anubis]

Such as, which would be the best way to get traffic?

You put them in your posts, but subtly, so users don't notice but will click it anyway because they're curious. Here's an example:

"Hi my nahttp://www.insertlinkhere.websiteme is Bob, would you like a cookie?"

Go for it.

[Anetheon]

"Hi my nahttp://www.insertlinkhere.websiteme is Bob, would you like a cookie?"

Go for it.

lmao i clicked it

[Aumaan Anubis]

"Hi my nahttp://www.insertlinkhere.websiteme is Bob, would you like a cookie?"

Go for it.

lmao i clicked it

I love how after I posted that, we now have a total of 9 users online, compared to the average of 3.

Told you, it works.

[Supermodder911]

Lmao.

I think that fits under advertising...

[Tural]

lolb&

[Ombre]

Advertising isn't allowed.


JK, I'm not sure you quite grasp the difference between satisfying some teenage friends who know nothing about graphics, and satisfying a real company or professional. I suggest you start off by making a good looking flyer and posting it around town. You could also try your luck at designing graphics for some local bands.

[Aumaan Anubis]

You're just mad because you fell for it
!!!
Some anonymous user with permissions of editing users' posts changed all my links!
.......Supermodder911, did you do something to my posts?

[keeping post ontopic]JK, just place links in your signatures in HM, and even Bungie.net, because with the large amount of users, you'll get a relatively large number of hits.

What method should I take to get payments or make payments, and which would be the safest?

Paypal?

And as Ombre has said, make sure your artwork is good. Such as your signature, I'm not sayin' it's bad, but it won't satisfy a company lookin' for an ad.
[/end of ontopicness]

[JK-47]

Advertising isn't allowed.


JK, I'm not sure you quite grasp the difference between satisfying some teenage friends who know nothing about graphics, and satisfying a real company or professional. I suggest you start off by making a good looking flyer and posting it around town. You could also try your luck at designing graphics for some local bands.

You make a good point.
I was planning on starting on selling to just anyone on the internet, is what I'm getting at actually. I would hope to move up later on in life. But I'm starting small for now. I used commercial out of context, but I couldn't think of a better word.

What method should I take to get payments or make payments, and which would be the safest?

Paypal?

How safe is paypal?

And as Ombre has said, make sure your artwork is good. Such as your signature, I'm not sayin' it's bad, but it won't satisfy a company lookin' for an ad.
[/end of ontopicness]

Yeah, my signature is for personal purposes :p But as I said, I'm working hard on improving on what I've got already.

[Supermodder911]

Some anonymous user with permissions of editing users' posts changed all my links!
.......Supermodder911, did you do something to my posts?

[Inside Joke]It was me and my Dog.[/InsideJoke]

Paypal is probably the safest online money transfer utility.

That or Check.

[shadowkhas]

Paypal's pretty safe and reliable.

I'd go for just small, personal stuff, build some reputation online with some people, and maybe go onto the Ogden Craigslist and see if you can catch some local stuff there in the jobs and gigs sections.

[JK-47]

Paypal's pretty safe and reliable.

I'd go for just small, personal stuff, build some reputation online with some people, and maybe go onto the Ogden Craigslist and see if you can catch some local stuff there in the jobs and gigs sections.

Awesome, thanks shadowkhas.

[Cuda]

I don't know about trends in Utah, but the hot thing to do here is website layouts and Party flyers. You can charge high prices for a few pieces of "GFX"

but to get off the ground on any graphic design company are:

1.) Artists (duh)
2.) Materials. Many of which you'll have to create yourself, because a lot of the brushpacks, C4D Resources, Vector Stock, Fonts, etc. are for non-commercial use, and can lead to big trouble if you defy such ground rules. Also non-pirated resources/tools are very important. My dad's old company got sued around $16,000 for having pirated copies of Autocad, CS3, and Windows XP Pro.
3.) a method of transaction.
4.) a proper website(If web based). freewebs, .tks, etc. are very unproffessional. Make sure the setup of your website is clean and corporate, but still have artsy qualities to it.
5.) Advertisement. Create a proper and a stand-out flyer, or Ad or pay an advertising company to put you on rotation off of them (i.e. Google) or like Shadowkhas said, Try craigslist.

[DEEhunter]

Or do what alot of people do and just put a tiny "x" under your sig. It makes my click it for some reason....

[JK-47]

2.) Materials. Many of which you'll have to create yourself, because a lot of the brushpacks, C4D Resources, Vector Stock, Fonts, etc. are for non-commercial use, and can lead to big trouble if you defy such ground rules. Also non-pirated resources/tools are very important. My dad's old company got sued around $16,000 for having pirated copies of Autocad, CS3, and Windows XP Pro.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I don't really use brushpacks and stuff anyways, though.

4.) a proper website(If web based). freewebs, .tks, etc. are very unproffessional. Make sure the setup of your website is clean and corporate, but still have artsy qualities to it.

Yeah, I wasn't planning on even touching a free website.

[reanimation-06]

Or do what alot of people do and just put a tiny "x" under your sig. It makes my click it for some reason....

Do that. Use one of those weird alt code signs. I always click on them.

[GametagAeonFlux]

Or do what alot of people do and just put a tiny "x" under your sig. It makes my click it for some reason....

I'm the best.

[RaVNzCRoFT]

To be perfectly honest, I quite think you're well enough qualified to do commercial designing. I hope I'm wrong, but I really haven't seen you display many high-quality pieces at all.

I don't think purchasing a domain name should be in your best interest at the moment.

I'm not finding any good words to say this, and I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but...do you get what I'm trying to say?

[JK-47]

Yeah, I get what you're saying, and I agree with you. I'm going to work on improving a lot before actually buying the domain and getting out there, as I've said. I'm aware I'm not the best out there, but I also know I'm better off than others. And I do want to improve on that. I'm going to experiment a bit, and make some free designs for more people out there to see what they think, and see what I should improve on and whatnot.

[HPDarkness]

If it's really what you want. Just go for it, I don't think you'd need advice on something you have a passion doing. Just go for it, If it doesn't work out, then do something else.