I just thought I would sit down and write out a few of the things I do that make my experience in Red Bubble a lot more enjoyable. I’m putting these ideas down in a form of tips, please don’t take these as Gospel!! These are the things I do that I find helps my work get recognized. Things will be different for each of us and we all find our own place. With that said, a lot of these tips will be placing emphasis on recognition. If you wanna be noticed within the Bubble, you have to know what the best way to do that is. Hopefully you can take a little something with you from this that helps you out too :)
Oh and just a sub note … I am a photographer, so a lot of my experience is with getting my works seen. Hopefully I don’t place too much emphasis on JUST that side and anyone else can apply some of these tips to whatever creative works you do :)
If you can think of any more tips you use … or you are a better writer than I am (THAT MEANS MOST OF YOU!!! LOL) feel free to ADD to this and post it in your own Journal!! PLEASE!! :) Just link back to this original :)
- Part One – Uploading
Choose what you upload carefully
It’s soooooo easy to have a group of wonderful works you want to upload and share with everyone that you upload work after work after work. My advice … don’t do it. Why? Because your work will pass so quickly through other people’s Activity Monitor that by the time they look at it again, they probably would have missed a lot of them anyway. Another reason is that if you do this on a regular basis … you may actually stop a lot of people from seeing other works on their AM and so, they may even unadd you as a contact for that very reason. Assume most people are only going to have the time to comment on ONE of your uploaded works. We all have a lot of contacts in RB and like to keep up, so doing the rounds is a Quick way of visiting. It isn’t an indication of our work … it’s a matter of time restraints.
Think about what you are going to upload. Have a small list of choices and pick the better 3 or 4 of them. If you have 12 really cool works you want to upload … split the uploads into Days of 4 each … or Half Days of 3 each. And always upload what you consider to be the BEST in these Groups ….... LAST. There are two main reasons for this.
Usually the last thing you upload is going to be the FIRST thing others see of you. The other reason has to do with timing which I will touch on now.
Choose when you upload
Timing when you upload your work has such a significance on the reaction and response to it. Think about it … you are up late … it’s 3am and you just finished working on something and are so excited. So you uploaded it to the Bubble and wait. And wait and wait and wait. Hmmmmmmm. No one is there!!!! Maybe in the morning when people start getting up and load up bubble, the first few might see it … IF they get that in their AM’s. For the most part as people start getting up and posting stuff … suddenly yours starts disappearing off their AM’s and even off the Recent page on the Gallery Page.
The best time to upload is when your work is going to be see by the Maximum amount of people. I find the best time for this is in the morning (Before work) or in the evening (After Dinner). It’s most likely at this time you will receive spontaneous responses.
And as a last point with timing …. again … upload the 3 or 4 you have picked … timing it so that the LAST and BEST is uploaded at the time that it is going to receive maximum exposure.
If you like to see your photos on the Popular pages … try to follow these tips but upload in the morning. The more views, comments and favs you get .. .the higher up the pop. lists your work is going to move .. especially in Today’s most popular list.
Elaine van Dyk, about 1 year ago
Thanks Craig – that is very helpful.
Craig Shillington, about 1 year ago
No worries Whirli :) I’ll try to get more up in the next few days. :) These work for me (from my experience in Flickr too) But hey …. LOL, I don’t strictly stick to them eh :P
AbyssalSoul, about 1 year ago
hahaha, I wish I could post my stuff at the “right” moment but my “right” moment is 3:00am at Australia (VIC zone)
But you have a good point when you said the last one should be the best. I made that mistake with a couple of images and one got totally ignored.
Isn’t a random image displayer available through the galleries menu? If not, I think it could be useful so help people randomly scan this huge and amazing archive of art.
Craig Shillington, about 1 year ago
Yeah I hear you AS …. I’m Western Australia so I need to make sure I adjust for the Eastern Timezone. I should have mentioned that eh. Being from where you are I can see it would make it a little difficult eh. What time is it there when it’s say … 7am in Melbourne?
I don’t think our works would get totally ignored for ever ;) People would still find them eventually. I am actually thinking of deleting some of mine (the ones with no comments … and just reposting them, because they do get overlooked eh.
I suggested the Random Displayer in another JE somewhere. I think it might have been the RB post about the new Gallery. It doesn’t appear to be there now, but I think it would be an awesome inclusion to the gallery, for those of us that just like to browse and comment on what catches our eyes :)
AbyssalSoul, about 1 year ago
Hell, yeah. When it’s 7am saturday in Melbourne here is 6pm of friday (meaning that, for me, you are the people of the future, like a poem says). A good amount of time, huh?
I usually upload stuff at my 3pm (sadly, 4am…) but recently I opted to do it at 23:00 (12:00, lunch time!) My clocks already went mad. Soon I will end up like Doc Brown with 12 clocks on the same arm.
Cool to see the idea has been suggested as the more we are the better it will be and the “Randomizer” might be quite useful! Ah, it’s incredible there are even more time differences between both aussie sides. I sometimes forget about the huge territory size plus the planetary distance * goes sci-fi *
Stephen Mitchell, about 1 year ago
Agree totally with this. Choosing what you upload makes a difference to the color of the money lining your wallet/purse. I’m sure most Australians prefer greens and oranges, not purples and platypus-silvers.
As to when I upload depends on the visiting-residents of my house. While my “FIL” and “MIL” have taken over the bathroom, kitchen, and weekends, – uploading only happens in the early mornings when everyone else eats breakfast.
But usually I upload ANY time I can find a spare moment. The RB-Addiction is still there – but now I want to shoot stuff (with my camera!) more often which means getting out of the house into the Real World !
Who knew the internet would eventually get us outdoors and getting more exercise?
Given the time and money, I would be here all day everyday.
thickblackoutline
,
about 1 year ago
hey craig, maybe its not working b/c other fab people are knocking me out of your activity monitor… with their excellent activity! maybe it means i need to lift my game?? ;) but who knows – you’ll just have to stay on your toes perhaps? ;P
Princessbren2006, about 1 year ago
very true craig but I just try to put a few on as doing it one at a time takes time.
Bernd Jansons, about 1 year ago
I’m glad you started this thread, Craig. I guess like most of us I get really excited when I’ve just completed a piece and I can’t wait to upload it. Then, when no one says anything I get really down. That’s probably silly because I don’t set out looking for praise. Ego’s a drag. What I’m really scared of is this becoming a competitive thing for me. I don’t want to compete with anyone but myself. Many, many years ago they made a (not particularly brilliant) movie of the life of Michaelangelo and the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. They called the film “The Agony and the Ecstacy”. I can sometimes relate to that. RB is a great marketplace but as it keeps getting bigger it gets easier to get lost in it.
kookylane, about 1 year ago
SUPER Craig!!
I totally agree with you, especially the timing thing. I knew timing is very important but I always forgot when is the right one, i don’t keep track of the time i upload and when it gets most response, so thanks alot for clearing that up about morning and evening =D
i would opt for evening though, since morning is usually very busy and am at work.
And yes, I too believe in Quality over Quantity.
Thanks heaps Craig!!
webgrrl, about 1 year ago
ahh well.. i cant fit in anymore ‘perfect timing’ with the stuff i do.. It dont worry too much if the ‘regulars’ miss out seeing my pix (more surprises for them later!) or comments.. I suppose i get my fix from my flickr – which is about to hit 300,000 pageviews for me
If i cant keep up with the amount of creative obsession that i have, why would i think anyone else would..hahaha..
but yes..it IS very quite in RB after midnite….. it sometimes feels im all alone in a BIG gallery… hear me echo!
Joe Mortelliti, about 1 year ago
Having been laid up in hospital for a while, I have simply loaded up a couple of hundred fairly quickly during the day and many of my images have received no comment for that reason.
I think the tags are critical however as that is how the buyer will find images…nice to have the support of comments from fellow artists…. to help the prospective buyer feel more confident of the choice they maybe about to make.
If time permits would love you to look at my portfolio and add in some comments
cheers
Joe
georgiegirl, about 1 year ago
Very interesting and even really really useful!! Thanks for all this everyone! I’ll keep it in mind ;D
botanicfanatic, 12 months ago
Thanks Craig. That’s very helpful. :)
I know that my dial-up service restricts how many images per portfolio or even people to visit each time I’m online. It’s not a matter of not liking anyone’s particular image… it may even be that the work has ‘hit me’ emotionally and I don’t quite know what to say that could possibly do it justice.
When I’ve got spare time (or have succumbed to the RB addictive pull) then I scout around more, following my nose really. Look how long it’s taken for me to find this journal entry, and I pop in on Craig frequently! :)
Craig Shillington, 11 months ago
Hehehe Alison … look how long it took me to get back here too :P
Thanks everyone … hope this helped a little :)
K.D. Hemi, 10 months ago
wow…thanks for that Craig…. i never actually thought about this sorta stuff… till now…
Graeme Pettit ..., 9 months ago
Had considered the logic of this, but I really need to put my brain into gear to appeal to Aussie and NZ times, as I’m based in UK…..or even 6 hours after UK to appeal to USA.
With more ?internationals? like me joining the community, I think it may make little difference in time. Lifes just too short, and I’m afraid the little grey cells have had too much abuse over the last half century to work that well with timing uploads! Excellent advice though, even so Craig. Thanks for your other how-tos as well – organising and linking is next on the agenda…
TANYA WILLIAMS, 8 months ago
HEY CRAIG JUST DROPPIN BY 2 SAY THANKS 4 UPLOADING ALL THIS TECHNICAL STUFF! GOT MY SITE SORTED THANKS 2 U! VERY WELL EXPLAINED!
aphoto4you, 5 months ago
great job!!!!
Maybe u can give me code how to….have image in ABOUT ME and make it clickable…when clicked will bring you to CHECKOUT BASKET?
~ Fir Mamat ~, 3 months ago
Interesting info, thanks for sharing :)
EnPassant, about 1 month ago
I wish I’d read this before I started! ... I’m having an uploading session today from a place that has broadband but is only open during working hours. I only have dial-up access at home so this really means large uploads from town. – Not ideal RB etiquette but I guess I’m stuck with it for the time-being.
RosaCobos, about 1 month ago
Thanks for the information..
I live in Spain… difficult to know what hour is there.. on the other side of the globe..
Your advices are valuable and reasonable too..
I am a complete newcomer… and I signed for other spaces too.. so I know what you mean..
My name is Rosa Cobos…. for sure I il read all your entries little by little..
Warm regards..
Rosa
Dawne Olson, about 1 month ago
oops… I should have read this BEFORE I added some of my “bests” in the wee hours of the morning all at once! I will have to think about what you said—to take off some with no views and re-post them on a weekend or different time of day maybe. Its frustrating because I have stupid slow dial-up and I wait forever to get an image up. I go about 4 or 5 days with less than 10 views TOTAL on my portfolio and I start thinking “I must really suck” and then I’ll put up something that, to my mind, isn’t my greatest thing and I’ll get a bunch of lookers all at once. Timing… timing…. timing….
I sure appreciate these tips though. :o)
coppertrees, 25 days ago
Thank you for the tips, I am in the US on the west coast time is in the wind cannot tell who is up and who is asleep so far been here two months. I only download two or three at any time.
Ivor Tetteh-La..., 25 days ago
When I joined it was late at night here in Edinburgh and morning in Australia, but I also visited a lot of other members pages and left comments and chose favorite work, and a few hours later I had over 500 views.
Al Bourassa, 25 days ago
Whose morning?? We are all in different time zones.
Craig Dick, 25 days ago
lol damn someone beat me to being a smartypants
Craig Shillington in reply to Al Bourassa’s comment, 25 days ago
Sorry Al … maybe I need to update that part? When I wrote that, the majority of users in Red Bubble were Australians (East Coast to be precise) and so I was trying to help others from the west and from Overseas to upload at a time when most were on. I am not sure now where the largest democratic of users are from … and actually, maybe that part of this help file is not AS relevant now, because most of our friends that see our work when we upload are worldwide.