First, why I feel somewhat qualified to offer unsolicited advice for commission sellers in a Tumblr post:
I've bought a lot of stuff - I have purchased about 70 commissions over 15 years
I've seen a lot of stuff - I have viewed countless works and commission info posts from a wide range of mediums* on many platforms**
* (digital, traditional, writing, music, plushie, customizations, crafts, cosplay, and more)
** (Tumblr, Twitter, deviantART, Instagram, carrd, Ko-fi, Google Doc, personal websites, etc.)
I do a lot of stuff - I am a varied hobbyist creator (traditional art, digital art, comics, fanfiction, original fiction, screenplays, songwriting, knitting, and other miscellaneous crafting projects)
I know a lot of stuff - I have extensive customer service experience derived from working in various facets of retail for nearly 18 years
I've been around a while - My oldest public media that I still use is my deviantART account, Kira-Ani-McGrath, which I've had for over 18 years
So, with all those solid reasons as to why you should listen to a random internet stranger, here are seven tips I've put together in the hope of helping someone seeking to peddle their wares on the web.
Any info-graphs/visual commission charts need to be simple, clear, and concise. I often see charts cluttered with far too many example images, making the graphic tough to read. Another problem that often goes hand-in-hand with the former is tiny example images, making it difficult to get a good idea of the skill/quality without hunting for additional information. You can always tell people where to find more examples of your work if you feel you haven't got enough room to showcase everything in the commission post (ex: "Find more examples in my 'KAM's art' tag!").
On Tumblr in particular, the above issues are compounded by a couple formatting missteps. 1) Large single images that are either too tall or too wide, thus being difficult to see (even when enlarged) due to Tumblr's limitations. 2) Placing multiple images side-by-side instead of stacked top-to-bottom. A vertical layout makes for easier viewing, especially for mobile users. Yes, one can click/tap to enlarge images, but it's best to assume people won't bother, and thus you have to quickly catch people's scrolling eyes with your best examples in an easy-to-see format. (Or, to put it another way, you have to slap viewers in the face with your awesomeness.)
The same principles apply to non-visual commissions (ex: writing, music) as well. Don't ramble on in a single long paragraph about your commission offerings. Bulleted lists and block quotes make things much easier to read and comprehend. I'm especially a fan of having a small snippet of your best work somewhere in the post, so the potential customer can get an idea of your style even before they delve into any examples you may have linked or referred them to.
Lots of things frustrate me about commission hunting, but one of the big ones is someone posting "Commissions open!" with absolutely no mention of where to find their commission info or how best to contact them (bonus aggravation if I go to the blog/profile and there is absolutely no information anywhere - bio, pinned post, tags, search, you name it).
The best option is to have a link to the info anytime you're advertising your commissions (ex: when posting a completed commission, include a link or hyperlink if mentioning or tagging that your commissions are currently open). However, sometimes a link isn't possible, whether due to the social media format or, in the case of Tumblr, links randomly interfering with a post's ability to appear in search/tags. In those cases, telling people where to find your commission info is critical to driving business. (Ex: "Commissions open! Link in bio!" or "Commissions open! See my pinned post!")
A big bummer in my squirrel-like stashing of commission info is saving a link to an artist's info, only to revisit it at a later time and find the post/journal/image has been deleted. Sometimes an artist has deleted their account, has stopped offering commissions, or has changed the account username and the social media platform does not redirect the old URL. Obviously there's nothing to be done in such cases. However, sometimes the artist wanted to update their commission info, and therefore deleted the old post. Thus I'm sent on a hunt for the new info. Sometimes it's easy, and other times it's not so easy. What would be of great help in these cases is if the artist updated the old graphic/text with directions to the new info (whether by link or description) instead of outright deleting the old info.
An even better option is to have one dedicated spot for your commission info that is easy for you to update. It can be a specific Tumblr post, deviantART journal, carrd website, Google Doc, or pretty much anything with a unique URL. You can then link to the info from anywhere on the web, so that even if you stop using a particular site, a potential customer can still find your latest info.
A caveat to "you can put your commission info anywhere" is this: if you want your commissions to be available to the general public, your commission info needs to be publicly available. In other words, it can't be put somewhere that not everyone has access to view.
A problem I have run into is artists advertising their commissions on other sites yet putting their commission information solely in Instagram stories. For those unaware, you must be logged into an Instagram account in order to view Instagram stories. I do not use Instagram. In fact, I deeply dislike Instagram, but, despite that, I do have an account that I made because of this issue. I refuse to have the app on my phone, so viewing commission info in an Instagram story requires I log in on my mobile browser or boot up my desktop. Someone else who doesn't use Instagram may give up on pursuing a commission entirely if they find that an account is required to view someone's commission info.
Similarly, someone might advertise their commissions on Twitter, but put the commission info on deviantART in a deviation that requires being logged-in to view. Or they may put the commission info on a Facebook page or album that requires being logged-in to view. I have not personally run across these, but it's the same idea. Basically, directing potential customers to a different site that they may not be able to access is not a good business practice.
Website quirks need to be taken into account as well. Sometimes Tumblr users will put their commission information on blog "pages" that are 1) not visible on the app and 2) do not always pull up on the app even when directly linked. I have saved blog links from mobile in order to pull them up on my computer to locate commission info, but one can't count on that kind of thoroughness in a field where there's lots of competition. Also, if someone is unfamiliar with Tumblr, they may just assume the link or page was broken and move on.
Additionally, you should be able to be contacted on any site you post your info on, or, if not, have an email you can be contacted through. For example, if you advertise commissions on both Tumblr and Instagram, you should not require contact solely through Instagram DMs. If you can't guarantee being reachable through a site where you've posted your commission info, then email should be an option. Email is near-universal. [Insert particular social media platform here] is not.
As a side note, I'm aware there are cases where an artist does intend for their commissions to only be available to a certain audience. For example, some artists have their commissions available only to Patreon supporters or Discord server members. That's fine. I'm referring to artists that have their commissions open to everyone and advertise on multiple sites but don't take into account that not everyone uses their preferred site. That's just lost business.
I've signed my name to more vehicles than I care to count over the years, which means I've done quite a bit of car shopping. I am a researcher, and I've had times where I have many browser tabs open, pouring over the various listings and comparing all kinds of factors - such as mileage, gas mileage, safety rating, features, and, of course, price - in an effort to narrow down my choices and arrive at the best deal possible. Sometimes in these searches, vehicle listings will say "contact dealer for pricing" for various reasons. That instantly knocks the vehicle down a slot in my rating system. I have enough anxiety dealing with certain things even when I have all the facts and know exactly what I want. It's even worse when I have to cold-call for a very important piece of information and risk getting roped into a conversation I don't want to have.
Yes, I have a point to this anecdote. I have many times compared commission shopping to car buying, even joking that I put more research into my commission purchases than I have into our last few vehicle purchases. "DM/email me for prices" is an artist's equivalent of "contact dealer for pricing," and thus is an instant back-button for me at this point. It's just not worth the hassle when there are so many other options out there that give me all the information I need front-and-center.
Publicly laying out the scope of your commission offerings as well as the precise purchase process is a good way to avoid confusion and miscommunication. For example:
What are your "dos" and "don'ts" for commission types/subjects?
How many WIPs and revisions are given?
How should a potential customer contact you?
What information should they include? (Have the customer follow a basic form if that makes things easier for you.)
What is the turnaround time for communication and for the commission itself?
Through what method do you take payment (Paypal, Venmo, WesternUnion, etc.)?
What is the payment process (ex: full payment after sketch; full payment up-front; half up-front and half after confirmation of a heavily-watermarked final product with watermark to be removed after second payment)?
How may a customer use their finished commission?
Another component of clear communication is timely communication. Even if you can't actually respond to the content itself, you can say something like, "I received your message, I will review it tomorrow!" - especially if the turnaround time is longer than what is normal for you. But, again, if you set the expectation beforehand, a client will know they have to give you [x] hours/days of time before they send another message.
To heighten your visibility, use a combination of common tags plus actual text, even in a mostly-visual post (ex: "commissions open", "art commission", "commission info"). This particularly applies to Tumblr and deviantART, where the search function takes into account both the tags and the text within a post. (I am not familiar enough with other social media to know whether or not the same mechanic applies.)
Also, consider using common descriptions of facets of your work, such as style (ex: realism, first-person), theme (ex: nature, LOTR), medium (ex: portrait, poem), color/mood (ex: blue, peaceful), or anything else you think a customer might search for. Just remember that only the first five tags count toward Tumblr's search (IIRC) and you don't want to unknowingly trigger any spam filters by having too many seemingly-random words in your post.
If you want to succeed in selling commissions, a key component is making the process as smooth and simple as possible for your potential customers. One can't rely on casually-browsing viewers taking the extra step(s) to fill in any missing information, especially in this fast-paced world. You are the one responsible for how you present your skill and business ethic, so take the time to do it well.
[This is my perspective based on my experience. You are free to disagree.]
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