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Faster Better Cheaper: Traffic Funneling for Content Creators by skylerbunny

If you don't produce content for money, you want part 2: Faster Better Cheaper: Traffic Funneling for Social Media Mavens!

'...I am about to leave X thanks to it...But I'll lose all my commissionnnnns!'

I've read this a lot -- and of course, I can see where it's absolutely a real concern!

I might suggest, If you would like to make a given site your primary, and Other Site is where you make your commission sales (it doesn't actually matter what site), it's likely to not go well if you simply pull the plug on Other Site, especially if you don't have an established base at the new location. It amounts to saying 'I'm open for commissions!' to an empty house, and then (understandably) declaring the effort a failure to everyone who follows, reinforcing the belief that it can't work.

Redirect, don't remove! When funneling your audience toward a new place, don't make the mistake of removing all the content from the old, leaving your audience to figure out what you've just done. Even if you're mad enough to leave a social media site Forever, an angry journal coupled with blanking your content won't make it easier for your audience to transition with you! Leave the old submissions (so existing audience can still see what you've done), create links to new commission and contact information, retain or add links to your profile to places you're active!

I might suggest deploying a 'faster (or) better (or) cheaper' incentive from one site over another, if you want to nudge traffic and ultimately your business to a new location - just as a storefront would.

Faster: Offer commissions on your preferred site some number of hours or days before you do on other sites, and advertise on all sites you do business on (and have an audience share) that this is what you intend to do, in advance! Then, when you get the inevitable 'But you filled up' on secondary sites, said person has noone to blame but themselves - unless, of course, they go to your primary and nab that spot first. If your slots fill up on the preferred before the others? You don't have to open on the other sites at all. Done.

Better: Offer more complete/more complex/on demand (like stream) commissions in one location. Perhaps 'full color' is only offered in one place, while you can get sketches in multiple. Again, advertise on all sites frequented that you intend to do so. The caveat for this one is that you have to go through the trouble of making the account on the new place to take a spot for UberNeatCommission.

Cheaper: Offer discounts on your work when that work comes in through your preferred mode. Just as before, advertise on any sites you have a presence on that this is what you're doing. Whether at its core this amounts to a higher price on other sites and keeping your prices 'the same' for your preferred, or offering a discount below that baseline on the preferred is technically immaterial; it again incentivizes coming in via the path you want.

These sorts of moves don't remove you from places you don't want to be overnight, but they do nudge your audience in that direction over time. In the end, that's the ideal, from a business standpoint, right?

Ready for the next step? Time to build your business audience in your new neighborhood! Read on at Faster Better Cheaper: Traffic Funneling for Social Media Mavens...

Disclaimer: I am a member of Weasyl staff, and as such have personal interest in seeing the site succeed. That said, this advice can be applied generally, including to move away from Weasyl!

Faster Better Cheaper: Traffic Funneling for Content Creators

skylerbunny

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Comments

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    Quitting sites outright is decidedly not the smart thing to do. If you really want to make a difference in people's viewing habits, you don't do it by taking your ball and going home. All that means is you end up with yourself and your ball at your house, forever alone. Use sites for what they're best for. If one site is great for getting views, but is unstable or treats your work poorly, then only give them the hand-me-down quality and post the better stuff to friendlier sites you actually want to use.

    For the record, I first to post my newest comic to www.gonechoo.com in 1200x res (currently a tumblr). Next, put my old comic on Weasyl in 2000x . Third, I post an even older 1200x comic to other sites, and make it clear the place to see stuff the fastest is my .com site, and then link higher quality content to Weasyl and socialize there. Et voilà!

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      I second this by suggesting you can cross post "View the full image on Weasyl" pictures

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    You have good presentation in your writing

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      Thank you very much! I appreciate the kind words.

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    This is great advice. How would you respond to that-one-person who calls it "unfair to offer ______ there but not X"? (by no means am I that-one-person, I'm preparing myself for responses that may happen when spiking deals) :>

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      As I think on this, if you are in fact advertising 'the site exclusive things you do, on all sites you have a presence on' (which is probably why they know to ask this at all!), probably like this:

      'I'm really glad you replied, and I'm excited you want to commission ______ from me! When these open up, I'll be making sure I mention them on sites X and Y, and also tweeting before they open so you have advance notice to jump on them. I'm profile on those sites, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you there as well! Have you got an account there, so I'll recognize you if you note/shout/tweet me?'

      The choice of how you make commission selections (and where the queue is formed) -- where you set up an open business kiosk -- is ultimately a personal one; seeking understanding for where you're coming from and meeting the person halfway like this is likely to help. You haven't said simply 'This is how it is' or made a long winded explanation about why; in fact, you're asking who they are on the other site so you'll be able to connect with them efficiently when that time comes.

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        I really appreciate the reply. Definitely a good view point on how to approach this issue without sparking any personal issues or harsh words. Thank you!

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    As someone who hasn't completely broken off contact with "X" (mostly because of lazy people who refuse to get their butts over here), it's definitely been a good idea to keep stuff up, for the sake of anyone who stumbles across my comments. They can see my avatar, maybe get curious who I am, and get an idea of what I draw and what they might be missing out on. That wouldn't happen if all they saw was a blank "MOVED TO WEASYL" icon.

    I mean, even for people who are upset enough to leave in a huff, leaving behind a record that they were actually an artist worth following is just good sense, dang it. 'Course, it would be easier if "X" offered a way to lock down an account without wiping out everything.