Thursday, January 8, 2009

My first self-promotion postcard! & IF: Contained

I am getting all my promotional pieces ready for the SCBWI Florida conference and this week I thought I would write about the postcard I created.
I used vistaprint for my printing. They were having a promotion and I just paid shipping. It was a great deal!
Since these are to pass out at the conference, I did not worry about a printing service that offered direct mailing. I may send some of these out to publishers and editors, but I still have to build a mailing list. (That may be a task for next month).
If you would like a postcard, send me an email with your info, and I’ll get one out in the mail.
I created the postcard in Photoshop with all the printer’s specifications (size, bleeds, resolution, etc) and saved the files as .jpg. 

Here’s the front of it:


The first thing I came up with was a ‘theme’ for the card and tied in the words, front illustration and back illustration to them. (I guess my advertising background comes in handy). I picked an image that had great energy and was vibrant and colorful so it would stand out but wasn’t too busy. I thought it also fit IF's theme because the boy is well contained in his  go-kart.
I also added my contact information on the front, as with my business card, I think contact information should be on the front to make it easy for Art Directors to contact you.




On the back I included all of my contact information, as well as company name, name and title, and I also used a black and white spot illustration that tied in with the theme. The right half is left untouched on purpose, this is where the address label and stamp would go. If you are making your own and want to use some of the space on the right, check with the post office to find out how big of a blank area you need to leave.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

wonderful work Edrian....I have so much to do....I have to write my Business plans for 2009....but I have so much work on these books that I am going to wait till I get things under control....

Wonderful work....

Hugs
Diana

Amy C said...

So sweet, wishing you lots of success with your mail out - the little armadillo chap is my fave!

Bella Sinclair said...

Woohoo! This WILL win them over. Really excellent energy and colors here. And the armadillo!!! LOVE him! Good luck to you.

valerie walsh said...

Really awesome! you go girl :)

Stacia said...

I too, like the armadillo spot illo on the back...simple, cute, detailed, and not a creature one sees every day. Nice job!

Flor Larios Art said...

This is my first time on your blog,it is very intresting and you have beautiful illustrations.

I wish you the best. good luck!
Flor
ps.I invite you to visit mine. I am having a Frida Kahlo necklace giveaway!

Vanessa Brantley Newton said...

This is wonderful for contain and so full of energy and life. Excellent Illustration. They will really like it. Have fun at the conference!

Tanja Bauerle said...

Love it. The color palette is great and I too love your little armadillo on the back
Tanja

Anonymous said...

Very cute!! I hope you have tons of fun at the conference, I'm sure it will be amazing and they will love your work!

INDIGENE said...

Fun and lively work! This is a cute zany postcard and should win you lots of admirers!

Jannie aka Chickengirl said...

a GREAT card! This made me smile :-) Be sure to let us know how the conference went!

flower girl said...

Perfect! I really like your work =)

Anonymous said...

Nice work with the self promotional material. Look forward to seeing your work published soon. Your're work is great.

Gai said...

I love your design. great work.

Bearded Lady said...

beautiful postcard. You made good use of the back too - The armadillo is great and shows that you can work in black and white.

I am an SCBWI member too. Good luck in the conference!

Di said...

Go Win them Over! And good luck at your SCBWI Conference!

cathyjune said...

Brilliant colors & very fun... Love the armadillo too! Good luck at the conference!