As a result of having a portfolio on the site, I’ve been presented with numerous opportunities including:

• 2 educational children’s books
• Packaging Illustrations for a global brand
• A self published children’s book
• A specialist rights-managed stock library requesting to use my Illustrations

As with all inquiries, not all of them have turned into commissioned work, but the work I have completed as a result of being on Hire An Illustrator has re-paid the annual fee many, many times over.

I hope you enjoy the review and wish you much success if you decide to try Hire An Illustrator for yourself…

But, how many of these barriers to success are we actually creating for ourselves? Do these barriers really exist or are they just excuses?

Let’s look at some of the common excuses barriers we put before ourselves and how we can overcome them.

Excuse 1: My work isn’t good enough.

Do you really think that the top professionals whose work you admire are always happy with everything they produce? Could they too be plagued with self doubt from time to time? The difference is, they just get on with the job at hand and work through it.

Do you think that an Art Director is going to want to hear you moan that you’re not feeling very confident with your work today? No, and it’s highly unlikely you’ll receive any more commissions from them in the future if you do.

For the longest time (and I mean years) I allowed these issues cripple me and it got me nowhere. If I had just told voices in my head to take a running jump years ago and ploughed on regardless, I’d be a lot further on in my career today.

Sure, I still have self doubt, but now I know that just stopping gets me nowhere – as long as you take action, you’re moving forward and making progress.

These voices are in your head and you are the only person who can tell them to shut up – just get on with it!

Excuse 2: I don’t have time.

Before becoming a parent I really have no clue what I used to do with all the time I had – I could spend all day, every day just working away on my Illustration career but I didn’t.

As much as I hate to play the ‘you don’t know what it’s like if you don’t have kids’ card, I’m going to. If you aren’t a parent (or have other real world responsibilities that genuinely demand your time), then you do have time.

How much time do you spend browsing the internet every day? How much TV do you watch? How long do you spend playing video games? How much time do you spend socialising and spending, instead of earning money?

I’m not suggesting that you don’t do any of these things, but if you’re truly serious about wanting to be a successful Illustrator you will always be able to carve out the extra time to devote to your Illustration work.

The secret is to make it count – use the time wisely, set specific goals for the extra 4 or 5 hours a week that you carve out for Illustration. When time is genuinely limited (e.g. having a new tiny little screaming member of the family), it’s amazing how much you can get done with that forced focus!

Excuse 3: I can’t afford to send out promo mailers.

Because it’s still held in high regard as the tried and tested method of self promotion, sending out physical promo mailers seems like the way to go.

But even if you can’t afford the printing and postage costs (here in the UK postage is about to go up by a whopping 30%), saying you can’t afford to market your work is just not good enough and will get you nowhere.

Although it can be a bit hit and miss due to spam filters and the volume that Art Directors and Publishers get, email promos don’t cost a penny.

Due to the cost effectiveness, you’ll be able to reach a far wider pool of prospective clients via email. If you are mindful of the title of your email so that it doesn’t get marked as spam and if your work is a good fit for the prospect you’re contacting, you’ll probably get a reply. Having tried both physical and email promos, I’ve had far greater success with emails recently.

The key to any self promotion (physical or email) is the follow up. Keep a spreadsheet of who you emailed (or posted promo mailers to) along with the date you sent them and then follow these up with another email at intervals throughout the year.

Don’t bombard your contacts with endless emails every time you create a new piece of work, schedule your contacts at intervals throughout the year – create a promotional calendar to remind yourself to send out new emails/mailers every 2-3 months and make sure you have something new (and interesting) to show – there needs to be a reason that you’re making contact again.

There will always be hurdles to overcome and problems to solve in your Illustration career but realising which of these are self imposed and can quickly be eradicated with a change of mindset is the key to achieving the career you want.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got started as an illustrator?

My journey to become a children‘s book illustrator was rather round-about. I had always loved both art and science, and had a tough time deciding which to pursue in university.  I eventually decided to go the science route and earned a BScH in Life Sciences from Queen’s University. I then worked in a Medical Research Laboratory that studies cell signalling.

I left it behind to become a stay-at-home mom to my 4 young children. During this time I fell in love with children’s books and started to think about making a career change once my kids where in school full time. With the support of my husband I decided to take that scary leap. I did a ton of research, developed a portfolio, created a website, and sent out my first batch of promotional mailers to perspective clients.

About 2 months later I got a call from, the lovely Christie Harkin, Children’s Book Editor at Fitzhenry & Whiteside. I think I must have done a happy dance around the house for days after that phone call. I am very excited to share that I will be illustrating my first picture book “Skink on the Brink” by Lisa Dalrymple (Fitzhenry &Whiteside, Spring 2013)

What hurdles and challenges have held you back in the past?

One of my biggest hurdles initially was myself, in that I had major pangs of self doubt. I worried that not having an art degree would pose a problem. And being the critical person that I am when it comes to self critique, I felt like my art was never good enough. Taking that first step to get “out there” was quite scary for me. I also had a million questions about the industry and didn’t know exactly where to begin.

How did you overcome these?

I got online and began to do lots and lots of research. I joined CANSCAIP, SCWBI, and social network sites like Twitter LinkedIn and Facebook, to follow other illustrators, editors and children’s book people. At first I lurked around these sites, soaking up lots of great tidbits of knowledge, then once I felt more comfortable I started a blog and introduced myself to the online illustration community.

Another eureka moment came the day I stumbled onto zero2illo. I knew I had found a golden nugget of information. I am so thankful to Jonathan for sharing his journey with us, and taking the time to put together such a fantastic wealth of information for aspiring illustrators. His site gave me the tools I needed to get started, and a framework to follow. I felt like I had a good plan of attack and now knew what steps I needed to take to get my work out to potential clients.

What role has zero2illo played in your illustration career so far?

I think zero2illo was instrumental in helping me get to where I am today. Zero2illo’s tutorials, 12 step challenges etc. helped me create my own plan of attack, and provided tools so I could build my own website, create my first promotional mailers, and more. Plus I had the added benefit of interacting with the wonderfully encouraging zero2illo community of illustrators, comprised of both aspiring and working professionals.

Any tips for illustrators who are just getting started or want to take things to the next level?

Be brave! Do lots and lots of research. Define your goals, find your unique style then focus your portfolio to attract your target clients. Join CANSCAIP, SCBWI, and get into social networking, like Twitter, and Facebook. I have found illustrators to be a very encouraging bunch. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

I joked with Jonathan when he asked me to do this interview that I felt way too “green” to be considered a success story. He reminded me that I had achieved my first dream contract…and that is a big success. It made me giggle because I still have those nagging feeling of self doubt sometimes, having like-minded illustrator friends to encourage and inspire are irreplaceable.

Join a critique group, or create one. Having a fresh set of eyes (or a few) to provide constructive feedback will help you grow as an artist/illustrator and improve your craft.

Get yourself and your work out there, start a blog, keep practicing and learning, and take the time to make connections with like-minded people as you go. Take a chance and send that targeted promo mailer to that dream client, you never know; it just might be a perfect fit.

To see more of Suzanne’s work, check out her website and blog.

If zero2illo has helped you in your career and you’d like to be interviewed for a future spotlight, get in touch. You don’t have to have ‘made it’ in the Illustration world, we think it’s important to celebrate any success in moving your career forward, however small.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got started as an illustrator?

My passion for images goes back a long way. I have always been fascinated by books and more particularly picture books. I love the way the images interact with the text and I love the way there is always more to it than just words and images. Mixing images with text somehow always opens up space for the imagination and I love to wander in that space (“Little blue and little yellow” is a long time favorite in that sense).

It is not like I was always drawing, it is more like I was always thinking up stories and ways to render them not only with words, but also with images trying to open up as much space for the reader’s imagination as possible. And not surprisingly, most of my images either contain text or are meant as a story in themselves.

Now, when time came to choose my studies, I sincerely hesitated between medicine and illustration, the last one ended up to be my final choice. I studied illustration for four years and then worked as a graphic designer for a long time. I am now going back to my first love, illustration and I am happy with the way things turn out but every now and than I still question myself as to whether I made the right choice.

What hurdles and challenges have held you back in the past?

Lack of self-confidence for the most part. Not knowing exactly how to go at it. As I said, I love working with images but I am not the kind to doodle all the time and to draw great characters from the top of my mind on a napkin just like that. Not me. And so I did not see myself as a real illustrator since I could not do what others seemed to do effortlessly. I could not picture myself in the illustration world as I imagined it. Finding what really excited me about illustration, about images, about picture books took me a long time. I’d say I am not there yet, but I am already half-way there and I am on the right track. I can feel it. Things are starting to happen, I am starting to really like what I do and feeling excited about what is still to come.

How did you overcome these? And what happened when you did?

Doing stuff. Getting in touch with other illustrators. Showing and promoting my work. And all the while I keep reflecting on how this or that piece feels to me, how fluid was the process in creating it, how well (or not) it is received by the people I show it to. Again, it really all comes down to self-confidence. And doing stuff. Good work, bad work, it still is work and it’ll still lead you somewhere as long as you keep at it. Patience is also a big part of this process. No practical tips here. I am not good at giving practical tips, some people do that very well, I don’t.

What role has zero2illo played in your illustration career so far?

Almost three years ago, I had my first child. At the time, I was working as a graphic designer full time. The birth of my girl somehow made me question my job and the way I was living my life (a very common thing I hear). I felt like I wanted to draw more, to go back to what really brought me in this field in the first place. I started following a few illustration blogs and right at that time, the zero2illo 12 week challenge started. I immediately felt it was a good opportunity for me to get down to business, to take matters in my own hands and to see what or how I could change the way I handled my (nonexistent at the time) illustration career.

The 12 weeks challenge helped me in fitting all the pieces of the puzzle together. I had always been working on some illustration project now and then but never before had I placed all of those different ideas and projects in a bigger perspective. Zero2illo gave me the blueprint on how to make things work as a whole and not as different projects at different times. Taking those 12 weeks to think about my illustration career, how to go at it, what to do about it was the first step towards living a more satisfying professional life. Since then, I keep following the blog for new tips on how to run my business.

Two other blogs here, which also helped me a lot on the way were Escape From Illustration Island and Skinny Artists.

Any tips for illustrators who are just getting started or want to take things to the next level?

Do not try to fit where you don’t fit. Do not do things because you think you should or you ought to. Do what feels right to you and try to find a place doing what you like. It might take a longer time to get there but I guarantee it is much more gratifying.

To see more of Philippe’s work, check out his website and blog. If you’re also a Jazz fan, Philippe runs a brilliant site called Jazz & Draw combining two of his passions, Jazz music and drawing, that is well worth checking out.

If zero2illo has helped you in your career and you’d like to be interviewed for a future spotlight, get in touch. You don’t have to have ‘made it’ in the Illustration world, we think it’s important to celebrate any success in moving your career forward, however small.

Alex Mathers of the Red Lemon Club has just released a new eCourse: The Freelancer’s Guide to Winning Incredible Clients Through Google+ Mastery. We were given a copy to review and here’s what we found…

Comprehensive & way more than just a G+ Guide...

What We Liked

If you’ve ever purchased anything from Alex Mathers or the Red Lemon Club previously, you’ll know that he delivers excellent value.

The eCourse is HUGE – it’s so big that it comes in 3 parts (3 separate PDF documents) and it covers much, much more than just Google+. Let me explain…

The course is designed to help you set your business up to get the most out of your G+ (and other social networking) efforts:

• So the first part is all about ensuring your business will benefit from your marketing activities on social media – it covers the basic sales cycle process, your marketing strategy, setting up your website /portfolio and how to set yourself up on the other big 3 social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook.
• The second part helps you get set up on Google Plus as well as how to set up G+ buttons on your website and elsewhere (such as your newsletter, your blog etc.) so that you can maximise your Google Plus activities.
• The third part is how to use Google Plus to win friends and influence people and of course, gain new clients.

It’s comprehensive, well-written, very detailed with screenshots and clear instructions throughout.

You also get a raft of bonuses which, when combined give you the know-how to really take on social media and use it as a powerful self-promotion tool.

The proof of the pudding is Alex Mathers himself who has shown mastery of all the social media tools and is clearly someone to learn from on this front.

Jonathan’s additional comment: The illustrations commissioned for the eCourse are fantastic – they’re by Dan Matutina. Here’s an example…

What We’d Change

I’m going to get nit-picky here because the eCourse is really very well produced and if you’re looking to get started on G+, you probably won’t find anything quite as comprehensive.

However, in my opinion it’s strength could also be a weakness. There’s a lot of material to go through and if you’re anything like me, you want to get under the hood of a shiny, new tool and start playing with it straight away.

It would be very easy for me to just ignore the first part, ignore the 2nd part (until I realised I hadn’t got it right and would then need to refer back to it!) and dive straight into the 3rd part…the actual using of G+. But perhaps that’s just me – and my speciality is business strategy so that’s probably why!

What would be great to see would be a “Quick Start” summary sheet or something similar – in fact, the last 2 parts could really benefit from some sort of summary sheet which lets you dive straight in to setting yourself up on G+ and could also serves as a reminder of how to use it once you’re there – the “rules”, if you will. The guide would then serve as an excellent manual as you get into the guts of the tool and using it.

Bottom Line: Would We Buy It?

In a word, yes…

At the current launch price ($29 which ends on February 10th, 2012) with the bonuses and unlimited updates (which is very generous since we all know how these tools are prone to change!) this is exceptionally good value and almost a no-brainer if you’re at all interested in how Google Plus could benefit your business.

Even if you ultimately decide not to use Google Plus as a marketing tool for your illustration business, the first part and bonuses alone are more than worth the launch price.

At the regular price of $87, this probably falls into the category of “quite expensive” for many illustrators on a budget or if you are already doing an ok job of marketing yourself and don’t have the bandwidth to take on another approach.

It is worth paying the full price however, if you DO need help with the basics of getting the right things in the right place, in order to market your business more effectively online – not just on Google+.

Purchase your copy of the Google+ Mastery course at the launch price of $29 (until Friday 10th February) here.

Full Disclosure: We were provided with a free review copy of the eCourse. The links used in this post are affiliate links.