[LAUIL602] Summer School with Careers & Employability: Show Me the Money with Alison Grade

 

• Skills audit available to view and download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/30bch860m8219yw/Skills%20Audit.docx?dl=0

• Resources from the Freelance Summer School webinars can be found in the Careers Portal in the "discovery feed"

• Day 2 of how to be a great freelancer. All about the money and valuing yourself. Managing money and your value.

• Financial drive

• Title of the webinar is inspired by Jerry Mcguire - show me the money!

• What do I need to live on? What am I worth?

• Individual living budget form - can be located and downloaded at https://www.dropbox.com/s/wi3i59eqmm1aifw/Individual%20living%20budget%2020210201.xlsx?dl=0

• After we've paid our taxes to the government. HMRC ready reckoner will tell you how much to invoice. Tax rates are different between National Insurance and brackets. This living budget is after tax. Gives us an idea of our annual turnover. Total abount that we invoice for the year. Doesn't indicate to us our personal value at all, however.

• How much do you need to live on? Bank statements will tell you in a straightforward way your outgoings. Household costs: mortgage, rent, council tax and utilities. If you are graduating and you're moving somewhere else, think about how much you need to live on when doing work as a freelancer. Factor in space change and rent.

• Transport costs: whether you have a car to consider car finance and running costs. Public transport costs. What does that look like? Make some estimates around that. Weekly and monthly column in the spreadsheet. 

• Personal expenditure. Groceries, entertainment, holidays, things for yourself. Difficult to estimate at the moment with pandemic. As we come out of the pandemic how will this change?

• Financial situation in general. Loans, student loan comes to of your tax return directly, pension, etc

• Other costs such as medical (prescriptions and such), childcare f you have children, carers if you need them for family members.

• Materials and tools of the trade. Do you have everything you need? Travel costs, subsistence costs. You'll need to pay for those before you start earning the money.

• We will struggle to win those clients if we haven't done this work first.

• You may want to consider an accountant if your business gains traction and you have the money for that.

• Business expenses: tools of the trade, things you may want to look at as you are starting up. Business cards, paper for printer, travel time, advertising and marketing. Things to consider as you get started. These will be tax deductible.

• Pensions: Your responsibility to organise as a freelancer. Putting chunks aside. Hard to calculate regular payment amount. May want to opt in for irregular lump sum payments. Take professional advice. May have the option to opt into a company scheme if working as self-employed on contracts longer than 3 months (some potential to do this from day one). Increasingly fintech companies looking to support freelance pensions for example Raindrop.

• Managing our money and organising our bank account. Business Current Account: Day to day business transactions. Keep things separate. Only things going through business current account are my business transactions so it's much easier. If it all going through personal account it becomes very difficult to tease apart those finances.

• Business Savings Account: tax money set aside here every time an invoice comes in. 

• Personal Current Account: personal spending. Where the fun happens.

• Regular amount monthly. Whatever makes the most sense. 

• Lots of different banks, lots of fin-tech places - Monzo, Tide. Quickbooks. How you integrate that. Coconut set up for freelancers. So much is automated. Photos of receipts to join it all up.

• What goes into an invoice? You legally need to say the word 'invoice' to clarify what it is. Unique invoice number so it can be identified. Alison uses the method of IN and sequential numbers to easily locate who has paid. When dealing with larger companies, they want to know the spend is committed. Matched up in the system. VAT registered and VAT number. When you're at £85,000 you need to register for VAT. Depending what you do there can commercial or strategic reasons to register earlier. Equipment you buy can be claimed VAT but everything you invoice will need to include VAT. two way street. Can signal you are a big company, more significant company. Take financial advice if wanting to VAT register. Can cause challenges. Can be problematic. Take advice for your business.

• Also include: your freelancer services name, address and contact information. The name and registered office of the client. The date of the invoice. A purchase order number, or contract number if given. The date the goods and services were delivered (supply date). A description of what you are charging for. The amount(s) being charged net of any applicable taxes. If you are charging VAT then add those details. You must also include your VAT registration number. Total amount payable and how the invoice should be paid.

• How do we ensure that we get paid? Sort the paperwork before we start the work. Ak yourself "does the person have authority to order this?" Get it in writing. PO, contract. An email may suffice but it isn't formal. Have that devil on your shoulder asking whether they are the right person with the authority. Ensure clarity on the payment schedule. It can be acceptable to ask for money upfront. Understanding how that works. Making sure you are ready to go, getting yourself set up as a supplier ASAP. Understand the payment process from the client - commercial or public sector? Large or small company? Who is the person paying the bill? Systems and processes, getting set up in the right way can smooth the process. Forms to fill in, do it quickly or it can slow down the payment process.

• How does the payment process work with that client? Understanding what their processes are. Who you send the invoice to. In accounts. "Should I send it to you or the accounts department?" Accounts dept. can be helpful with the payment status. Don't chase the client directly.

• If the task of payment is stuck with the client then gently probe them. Understanding that process, owning it and feeling comfortable doing it as it's part and parcel of doing this work

• Income spreadsheet. Details of the company, when aid, how much paid, how much invoiced, how much to invoice. Possible column, could be some work and keep that in one place and can be moved across the columns if it's going ahead. Good reminder to look at upcoming potential projects. Invoice number to keep track and marry with your invoices in your files and the ones sent out.

• Looking at the with turnover target and personal expenses. 

• Start looking at how much money I need to have in my tax account to cover income.

• Freelancers tend to do April to April. Only when you start to run a Ltd. company you may want look at June/July when working with schools and education.

• When you get money, you have to put money aside for taxing as you will get taxed. Invoicing template can be found at and downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2mghamrlhqgq39h/Invoice%20Template.xlsx?dl=0 This is a lotto take in but it is about being happy doing what we do. Happy sane functioning human beings. Living the life we want and doing the work we want to do. Not beans on toast forever. Do need to make estimates. Unlocking your value.

• National minimal wage. Legal requirement. 18-20: £6.56 per hour, £246 per 37.5 hour week, £12,794 per year. 21 years: £8.36 per hour, £313.50 per week, £16,302 per year. 23+ £8.91 per hour, £334.13 per week, £17,374 per year. Consider these wages against the relationship to freelancing?

• Models of charging for work. By the hour (for example, Graphic Designers and Coaches). By the day (for example, film crew and Workshop Facilitators). By the week (for example, Contractors and Project Managers). By the project (for example, Consultants and Strategists). If you are doing 10 days work over 3 months, hard to cost up over 3 months. Daily rate goes down quite a bit and could have been doing other things with your time.

• Allison has worked by the hour, day and project. Not usually by the week anymore but did in the beginning of her career with TV projects.

• What sort of models might I use? What would those different types of work be? How would it fit together. Different ways we can value our time.

• Value based on estimated rate.

• Estimated annual turnover divided by daily rate = estimated number of paid days per year. Example included is £30,000 estd annual turnover divided by an estimated daily rate of £200 is 150 paid days per year.

• Another example using a "paid by the week" structure. £30,000 annual turnover divided by £1000 estimated weekly rate is working for 30 weeks per year.

• What is my daily rate? 

• Value based on number of working days in a year.

• How many of those days are paid work? Not all will be paid. Prepping meetings, meeting clients are not paid jobs for example.

• Better chance of hitting targets if assumed at least 50% paid days and extra money can then be used.

• Technical numerical ways of looking at it

• Value based on experience. 

• Just started 0-1 years. A range of rates within any role. Expected to grow and develop. Identify which experience level we are at. 

• Early stage (1-3 years), mid-career (3-5 years), experienced (5+ years).

• Benchmarking. Sector resources. Suggested rates from professional bodies and guilds. Unions such as Bectu. Guilds such as Production Guild Uk and the Guild of British Camera Technicians (GBCT). Published opportunities, freelance callouts. Job opportunities. remember the additional costs to perform roles. Asking people - What can we find out about rates? How does that align with the experience that I have. Ask mentors, a wider network, but tread carefully. "I'd pitch in at this kind of rate, what do you think?" for example. Understanding that value. If we don't charge at the right level, people won't believe you have the right experience.

• Industry sector variation rates. Understanding the context so I can pitch accordingly. Primetime or daytime TV. Primetime rates are different, may not think you are experienced if asking for the wrong pricing. Network or Regional. Teaching or Doing. Large or Small Company. Commercial or Charity Sector? 

• Intended market for your work. Pitch work, development, self-funded, commissioned. For example: company is investing themselves the profits into a project. Lowest possible costs but with best team. Small budget, flexible with hours, pay you and take you on. Good relationship with client but beware of the "development" only clients.

• Get lots of information and pull it together into a valuation analysis. See patterns on what rate may be in different situations and get an overall sense. We can start to build up sales targets. Estimated annual turnover.

• Valuation Analysis: What do I need to do in order the live? Valuation based on estimated rate. Valuation based on number of working days in a year.

• Experience: My experience level is...

• Benchmarking: Sector resources, published opportunities, asking people

• Sector variations: I will deliver services in these sectors

• Intended audiences: Variations in intended audience are...

• Sample Rate Calculations: Daily Rate

• We have our living budget, turnover, projects: by the day, by the week, by the project, and how do I calculate that? Sense of our rate and sales targets.

• Weekly Rate: a week off can affect our finances. Bearing some of that in mind.

• Are we on track, will it work? projects may start out very small at first with lots of time and creating space and will build up over time in terms of demand so factor that in.

• Relationship between price and demand. We tend to undervalue ourselves. 

• Higher price and lower demand? Lower price and high demand? Can earn the same along the line and have time. Balancing relationship of that.

• Case study: Wedding photographer fully booked and always at full capacity. She put her prices up to have some space but still had huge demand upon increasing those prices. Only when she put prices up by 50% did the clients start to drop off. She was seriously undervaluing her work and her skills at first and could have been making a lot more money with less clients.

• Sharp intake of breath test. If you don't hear a sharp intake of breath that then you've underpriced the work. 

• Made a good pitch, why you add value, why me, there's a deal to be done. Sharp intake of breath shows there's bartering and negotiating that can be done. If a market trader agrees straight away have we underpriced ourselves?

• Overpricing vs underpricing.

• Overpricing Indicators: Insufficient work, proposals don't convert to meetings, matings don't convert to work. Questions: Are you pricing too high? Do clients understand your offering? Do clients value your offering?

• Underpricing Indicators: Too much work, everyone wants a piece of you. Questions: Too good value for the money you are receiving? Have you asked for a higher rate?

• How do I put my prices up? Make a commitment to yourself to put your prices up and follow through. Tell your clients you are going to put your prices up. Declare that it will happen on a date or drip feed it through. Then put prices up. The client can agree or disagree. Client agrees - everyone is happy. Client doesn't agree - carry on as before or walk away.

• Working for low or no pay. Relationship between supply and demand. At beginning of pandemic, national economics took a tumble. Supplies were low and demand was high.Overruns and overtime. Project work and weekly. Are we working for too little money? How do we balance that out? Is there a real benefit for you? Is there a positive for you here? Does the client really value you? "This will be great exposure, it will increase the work in your portfolio?" Can you even use that work in your portfolio? 9/10 times no and the client is trying to persuade you. Have you asked for more money?

• Hobby clients. You can give more to the client through a social media campaign than earning low pay. Seeng boundaries, knowing what you'll do, and knowing when to walk away.

• The floor was opened up for us to share out experiences in the webinar. One attendee had issues with a charity not wanting to pay much money for 5 designs and a lot of work being put into a project. Alison responded that in the charity sector, they can purport to not have much money but if you hit the sweet spot with them you are reaching an audience of their clients/supporter. They do have a pot of money for visual advertising and art. 

• Careers and Employability replied in the chat box to "always quote for the project."

• Planning the deliverables. How long is it going to take? Have a clear sense of that. We are always going to make mistakes, it is about how we take that on, learn from it, and use it as experience.

• Another user shared that they were clear they work for £30 per hour of work and a company then only requested to use one hour of their time. The illustrator spend 5 hurst's working and were not paid for that!

• Give an accurate plan and own the process and have the difficult conversations about money as you need to be paid.

• Different ways you can add value. Your secret sauce: frame it with particular clients in different ways. Key performance indicators for your services. Much more than trading time for money. Fulfilling a need for client. 

• Developing new opportunities for your client: You are opening up a new creative vision. Open up that market sector. Is that where your work sits? Increasing sales for your client.

• Saving money on the bottom line for our client. increasing profitability.

• Secret sauce that you bring. how do my services bring value? 

• Challenge: have you ever closed a deal without talking about the price? If we shop and purchase without thinking about prices to fulfil a need, then a client can buy our services in the same way fulfilling needs

• Example of a department store: Describe the value to the client; a different offering of products to bring more customers, attract a range of different customers than before. Not about the price. Drawing customers from the range of items. eclectic range on offer differentiating from other department stories.

• Secret sauce recipe - ingredients. Skills, values, lens you are the world through, the way you operate.

• How am doing that for my client? once I explain I can unlock opportunities with my clients.

Reflection and things I have learned:

• I have learned to consider what I need to live on, how to manage my money, how to work out my values and about over and underpricing my work. • Secret sauce recipe - ingredients. Skills, values, lens you are the world through, the way you operate. I found this session difficult to digest with the numbers and spreadsheets as it's very mathematical, methodical and visual. At the end of the day I need to interrogate the numbers early on to enable myself an easy transition into freelance work. How long do I need to stay within a part time job to make this work?  What is my turnover for the year? How do I manage that transition period? Making sure to pay the bills but equally enjoying the work that I do.

I have worked with charities before in the past and the money I received was entirely dependent on what they had t offer me, not the other day around. I've received anywhere from £100-£250 per project. I was young and naive, I didn't have the knowhow or skills to invoice and didn't know how to value my time  or my offering as an artist.

Now that I have that experience, a clearer portfolio and a better understanding of how things work from this webinar, I feel much better prepared for future endeavours!

[LAUIL602] Summer School with Careers & Employability: Building Brand Me with Alison Grade

• Alison is an author, film / tv producer, MBA, trainer, mentor and creative industries consultant. She describes her key skill as "transforming creative ideas into a business reality" She accomplishes this with the films she produces, the creative entrepreneurs she mentors, SMEs and freelancers she advises and in her Penguin published book, 'The Freelance Bible'. Alison "has an unique skillset in that she has formal academic training (INSEAD MBA); has worked at senior level in many media companies; is an entrepreneur who has established several businesses and is a Nesta accredited Creative Enterprise trainer and mentor. She brings her passion, knowledge and experience with her in all the work she does."

• The Freelance Bible was published through Penguin on 5th March 2020, was an Amazon Bestseller and Financial Times Book of the Month 2020

• With Careers & Employability, Alison will front a four-day summer school with a different focus each day. Building freelancing operations and arming with tools on how to reach an audience.

• Compliments and wraps around the learning in my studies

• This workshop series is essential for any student looking to work in the creative industries sector upon graduation.

• In this workshop Alison will explore how the practicalities of what it means to be freelance, from how to organise your time to meet client needs to the mechanics of tax returns.

• Being a great freelancer is more than being great at working ‘in’ the work you want do – you need to be great at working ‘on’ your freelancing.

- Delivering work for clients

- What’s wrong with overdelivering?

- Managing the process of client work

- Why feedback is important

- Mechanics of freelancing – Tax / NI / Insurance

- By the end of the session participants will have the tools and the confidence to manage a flourishing freelance career in a sustainable fashion.

• Why do clients work with me? Why "me"? How do I add value? I transform creative ideas into a business reality. Common theme throughout my career. Budget, schedule, make the TV show / film. Early part of my career. As I developed, I went to business school, worked in different areas, business reality, making a book, delivering webinars, strategic projects. I help transform creative ideas. "How do I explain that?"

• Differences between employment and self-employment. Difference in income, payment, taxes, holidays, pension, equipment, hours, schedule and work. When we are self-employed, we get all of the money but have to do the tax returns. If we don't get work then we don't get paid. If steadily employed you get £20k but at the end of the year you don't receive that full amount as it's already been taxed for you.

• Autonomy to work when we are productive. 9 to 5 makes me unproductive. Peak times and concentration times. Turn it on and off when it works for me. Organise my own time. When you are a freelancer you have to find your own work, when you are employed the company finds your work for you and if they can't they will make you redundant. Think with that freelance mindset. Entrepreneurial way. "This is 6 months' work, then I need to find the next thing" More fixed-term contracts now we are coming out of Covid. If your contract has an end-date, you need to think like a freelancer.

• Why do companies employ freelancers? Specialist skills at the point of need and to add capacity. If you are adding social media skills to a brand, you can go in with specialist skills, you can add capacity. If we are talking to an agency they will be looking at working with a team. What does that tell us about the narrative?

• Working in our freelancing is not "in" but "on". "In" spinning plates. All the different projects you are working on, all the projects in the pipeline, plates take priority. Being the CEO of many hats. "On" CEO, Finance Director, Marketing and Sales Director, Operations Director.  

• Imagine sitting on a three legged stool of the "successful freelance psyche," it will only balance when all 3 legs or angles are balanced. The desire, the finance, and the skills.

- Looking at skills in today's two hour session

- Finances in tomorrow's session

- Desires on Wednesday's session

• How do we find ways to be secure in insecurity? Can we be an employee in a permanent way? Being a freelancer - am I open for business? Am I seeing those opportunities?

• Listening challenge; framing and talking to clients, being open for business. Clarifying information, suggestions. Client liking the product, thinks it sits within in the portfolio, has selling point. Where is the "but" coming from? "But I won't sell today" So when? Question when and do not be afraid to push.

• Skillset: knowing your mindset - understanding the value that we can bring to customers. Freelance mindset. Staying secure in insecure. Feast and famine. Risk profile. How much time do I have available? We can say no, do it with a smile on your face. introduce to someone else who can do it instead. I can't do it but I now this person. Not taking everything on.

• Work/life balance. It's okay to say no. Look out for yourself. Put your own oxygen mask on first.

• Reputation - Your reputation is your currency. Building relationships with clients. Keep them coming back. Things can indeed go wrong, our best relationships can come with adversity. Can make as much of a difference and impact.

• Switching on and switching off. Easier said than done. Work zones. Blanket over the computer at the end of the day? Whatever works for you, what routines work for you? Routines. Clients' time zones. Create your own routine. Know what relaxes you, commuting usually helps with that so how do we do that now in a pandemic? Switching on and off helps with productivity. Meditation? Mindfulness? Control what is controllable.

• Getting started: What is in my control? Control the controllable. Thinking about that. Investing in planning. Where are we trying t get to? Writing lists, looking ahead, prioritising. Setting yourself up to achieve. Break down big tasks. You cannot control the pandemic, the economy, etc. You can control your portfolio and CV but cannot control the reaction to it.

• What is in our toolkit? What kind of freelancer am I? I-shaped. Depth of experience. Make-up artists, for example. T-shaped. Depth of collaboration. Producers, collaborators for example.

• Perform a skills audit. We all have hard skills, soft skills, and other skills. Hard skills are technical skills that we have learned perhaps through our degree. Not very transferrable. Soft skills are simple skills, composing emails, communication skills, transferrable across careers. Other skills, our hobbies, passions, things we love and care about. Passionate about - baking, gardening, medieval history. Form part of our value. Thinking of the social media skills job mentioned earlier, if I have an interest in gardening, I may think of pitching to gardening places or stately homes. Marry both together.

• -Where am I now? Where do I want to be? How good am I? It's incredibly subjective.  Corroboration through friends, colleagues and loved ones. The things we take for granted and don't think of valuable in ourselves, we do it on autopilot, we undervalue that and don't realise how valuable it is. Others can genuinely and honestly tell us and rate our skills. 

• We can start to look at an action plan. what will improve us the most is the things we don't know well. developing confidence, talking to clients, getting work through that.

• The Dunning-Kruger effect. People's confidence and levels of expertise. People can be unaware of how bad they are because they don't have the relevant knowledge. We think we know so much, at the peak of Mount Stupid, imposter syndrome kicks in, "I couldn't possibly do this." Challenge freelancing and freelancers, understand that there is more that you need to know. Bear in mind, what do I need to know? It gives us tools and tactics. People coming up behind. Have you considered this? Have you considered that? Show our knowledge and expertise. Someone who is at the "I know everything" stage will not consider what they need to do and the scope of it. Keep ourselves in check.

• What does success mean to me? We can define success however we want. We aren't climbing a corporate ladder. Balancing between work and family life. Taking time out in the summer to spend with family, making it work.

• This is what I can do. As we work through over the 4 days we can unpick what we can offer to a client. Start building our brand. We are desirable. Customer focused thinking. What are my brand values?

• We are sophisticated consumers of brands. We know what we like. Apple products. Clean, functional, work well. My freelancer brand may align with some of those values too.

- What do I want my brand values to say? Values that I admire in other brands. 

- What brand values are important to me?

- What professional values do I have? What values do I believe a professional freelancer should adopt?

• In Alison's case it is to be trusted. She is trusted to get on with work in her own time. Trusted to deliver on time for the client. Trusted with confidentiality. 

• Why do we do an item? Based on facts. Differentiate ourselves. Connect with the heart.

• Looking at how MP3 players are sold, for example. New features are spotlighted. Everything else goes down in price.Why? We connect in a totally different way. How we can solve their problems in a different way. What provides factual understanding? What tries to convince based on fact? 

• Case study: Why are video making workshops valuable in schools? Developing literacy skills, building teams and team skills, leadership development, reading from a script. Are you selling video making workshops or literacy enhancement? Fully engage the kids while enhancing literacy. Understood what business they were in. If OFSETD some in, they can prioritise this school. They were able to explain "why me" that unlocked opportunities.

• WHY ME? I’m severely sight-impaired so it’s unusual to have someone with double retinal detachment in an art field. I think my value will be the representation of disability in the painting world and the power in my story of not giving up. Resilience and representation. Who are the clients I want to work with? What is my value?

• Advice from Alison: How I plan to use my "secret sauce." Arts Council support people from all backgrounds. RNIB, RNIB Library supported with the audiobook of the Freelance Bible. Creative Industries Federation. Sharing my story and my instagram in the presentation to professionally network and get some feedback on my element of "why me" increased engagement and networking.

- to inspire others

- to represent disability

- to think ahead in times of adversity after a terrible few years

- to consider what painting became for me which was much more than just painting. It was a very valuable tool for my mental health

• Ended the webinar with a quote from Alice in Wonderland. Where are you going? This is the direction I'm going in. This sense of freelancing, owning it and thinking like a CEO. 

• Spotting opportunities, understanding the context and culture of your industry and how your experience can translate into a valuable offering, matching your services with a client's needs.

• The buzz lightyear mindset, how to get £500 beyond the end of your nose rather than £50 immediately. Longterm mindset through trust. To infinity and beyond.

Reflection: What have I taken away from this first session of Summer School?

- A networking opportunity to share my instagram and my story

- Considering my values as a freelancer: authenticity beyond all else 

- Considering the dunning-kruger effect. Not being at the peak of stupidity or being arrogant. Questioning where I am, what I can do, and a skills audit.

- The value of what I can offer, how I offer my writing and my lens. Joining up the dots and unlocking. Looking inside myself to give myself confidence. Challenging and adding value. 

[LAUIL602] In Conversation with Toni Thornton and Reflection

• I have admired Toni's work on Instagram for nearly a year now

• She has a clean, neutral, crisp, succinct, fresh visual identity and tone of voice with the use of monotone / or greyscale colour palettes (white, grey, black, with the use of one colour - gold, brown or blue)

• Her visual brand comes across as professional to the audience. This is someone who pitches to and works with professional clients.

• Her website states she has her own team reinstating that level of professionalism.

• She uses hi-res images with a professional camera.

• Her canvases are marketed as "bespoke" and have a sense of luxury and opulence in the way they are situated in context with surrounding furniture

Beginnings of our conversation:

• It was so interesting to find that she had studied her Foundation at LAU (back then LCA!) it can be a small world sometimes but instantly built a connection and sense of rapport between us!

• She was more than happy to answer my questions for my Professional Practice work and invited me to email them across. She answered them promptly and also wanted to gift me something, supporting the connection we have built together.

Email response:

Transcription:

Good morning, Kimberley,

I hope you're well and enjoying some of this unexpected sunshine! I wanted to reply ASAP for you to allow you enough time, but if you need any more detail, do feel free to ask and I'll send anything else across right away for you. I have copied Laura in who assists with my PR too. 

• How did you start working as a professional artist?

I studied for my Foundation Diploma in Art at Leeds Art College (now LAU) and then studied at the University of Huddersfield to complete my BA Hons in Textile Craft. I have always loved surface pattern and this degree allowed me the chance to study print and surface manipulation too. As many artists I then struggled to know how to launch my own career in Art and so naturally I applied for jobs that were related and that still gave me the chance to continue exploring my practice too. I began work as an Art technician in high school and then completed a PGCE to teach Art and Technology through the Open University. It was during my time as a teacher that I continued to explore my practice and I was lucky enough to build this to a point where I now work on my artwork fulltime as a professional artist. 

• Did you build your website yourself or did you pay a web developer to do it for you?

I work with a wonderful team based in Essex on my website, I design most of what I want it to look like and how it is all presented and they make it happen, because this technical side of things really isn't my skill set! I also feel that when the value of the artwork is of a high price point, you really need a website that is professional and easy to navigate to match this.  

• Do you sell your work exclusively through your website or through other shops?

I sell my work mainly via my website and also via my social media by taking on commissions. I have some artwork on display with interior design stores that I have worked with, then these stores pass the customers on to me too. 

• Do you sell your work in person through art fairs, galleries or shops? – if so, how did you get started with this?

I worked until 2020 as a teacher, whilst working on my artwork part-time, therefore with covid I haven't had chance yet to sell via fairs, galleries or shops just yet, but this is something I aim to explore in the future. 

• Do you have a team that helps you ship your canvases? If so, how did you develop a team?

At first I did everything myself, with the help of my lovely husband who is incredibly supportive. However since the business has grown our team now consists of the web team as mentioned, a PR team who work with me each week and also our lovely Studio Assistant Meg. As the studio became busier, we knew we needed help with packing and shipping and organising in the studio as I was working 7 days a week to try and keep up. We then made the decision to start a family and I knew I needed to find someone to keep the website and studio running while I take some time away. This isn't something we rushed into and I would suggest working for a few years doing as much as you can yourself, before taking the leap and employing anyone else as it is a big responsibility, but eventually a good team should help you to increase sales and make the business more manageable, which my lovely team have certainly helped with! 

• Do you market yourself or do you have a team that helps with marketing?

I have a lovely team who I work with on PR and marketing. I was lucky (and also I do believe it was due to a lot of hard work too) that I managed to secure some wonderful press coverage and get my name out there before I started working with Laura - but since working with the company, I have featured in more editorials and we have had more wonderful opportunities too. 

• Do you have any tips about self-advocating for yourself as a practising artist?

Always stay true to your practice and believe in your work, this authenticity is so important. 

• Do you have a digital or a physical portfolio, or both?

I see my Instagram as almost like a digital portfolio, but I have a physical portfolio of work too (well I actually probably have too many!) I think when texture is so integral to your practice, it is wonderful to have physical examples too to be able to touch and feel. 

• How do you effectively document your paintings in your portfolio?

This is a difficult one as most of my artworks are sold and my portfolio often consists more of the development. With any limited edition prints that I create, I always display the originals in our gallery space. I also have an online database and each time a customer buys a limited edition print, their details are stored so that we have a record of who owns which number print and where in the world my work ends up! It is wonderful to look through and it does make me really proud. 

• What is the main way that you attract clients?

I have found that Instagram has been a fantastic platform for me. I would say most of my business has come from there and I have managed to build a very loyal and amazing group of clients who now follow my website closely and they are so supportive. 

• What is the benefit of using social media as an artist?

I think you are able to show more behind the scenes and more of your practice and this is very engaging for potential customers. I am always cautious of keeping my working Instagram professional and whilst I often support charities and other businesses on my platform, I am cautious not to use it for much other than showcasing my artwork and studio. As well as the benefits, there are also some negatives unfortunately, as I didn't always have the correct balance and worked late into the night because I was always accessible through my phone and I never switched off! I would say whilst this is amazing and means you can work on your business from anywhere and at anytime, it is important to find the balance that works the best for you and not to feel pressured into not being able to have some time to relax. I have had struggles with other people copying my artwork on social media too, I am very happy to inspire, especially with my background in teaching, but it is hard to protect your artwork on such an open platform - I am now a member of ACID and would recommend for other artists to explore the option of having this kind of protection too, as it does make you feel more secure and in control. Overall we are very lucky to be able to share our work on social media and it is an incredible platform to connect with people all over the world! I have also made some really incredible friends through Instagram too! I need to work more on my other social media but this is something I aim to do naturally as it aids the business. 

• What type of studio space do you use – is it part of your home or do you rent a space?

I started out working from home, from a desk in our living room, then as the business grew we converted the garage into my studio space - then we quickly outgrew this and I now have a wonderful studio space based in Featherstone where I work from full time. We have an in house gallery space which we added during lockdown which helps to showcase my artwork, provides a space for visitors and is a lovely area for the team to work in. With the larger artworks I am now commissioned to work on, I am very lucky to have the space I do although again this comes with it's own pressures and I made sure we needed the space and the business allowed for this over a long enough period of time before we decided to commit to the space. I think the best place to work is always one where you feel the most creative and inspired, this doesn't have to be a huge space, so long as this helps you to get into the correct mind space and creative way of thinking.  

I hope this helps Kimberley, anything else you need do just let me know. I wish you all the very best with your graduation and with your art career too, after learning about you, I just wanted to say I really admire your determination, your courage and your work ethic and if there is ever anything I can do to help, please just reach out. I am honoured to be asked to help you on your art journey! Do you have an address I could send a little something on to? 

Take care - Toni x

Summary of Answers:

• Foundation Diploma in Art at Leeds College of Art. BA (Hons) in Textile Craft at University of Huddersfield.

• Loves surface pattern and her degree allowed her the opportunity to study print and surface manipulation

• As with many graduates, struggled with next steps and launching her career. Applied for many jobs that allowed to expand her practice at the same time. Began working as an Art Technician in a high school and completed a PGCE to teach Art and Technology through the Open University.

• Now works on her artwork full time as a professional artist.

• Has a website team, who are based in Essex, who helped with the development on her website. She knew the way she wanted it to look and they designed it to a high level. 

• Also has a PR team who works with Toni each week as well as a Studio Assistant.

• Developing a team has taken a number of years and shouldn't be something that you jump into. It depended on the success of your work. Shipping rates increased as Toni and her husband were packing and shipping everything, working 7 days a week to do so. A good team should help you to increase sales and make the business more manageable but is a responsibility in itself.

• Toni's PR and marketing team secured some press coverage and got her name out there. Featured in editorials with wonderful opportunities.

• Sells work mainly through website and also via social media by taking on commissions. Some artwork is on display with interior design stores that Toni has worked with,. These stores pass the customers on to her.

• Hasn't had the chance to sell via fairs, galleries or shops just yet, due to the pandemic, but this is something Toni aims to explore in the future.

• Always stay true to your practice and believe in your work, authenticity is so important.

• Instagram has become a digital portfolio, but Toni has several physical portfolios. When texture is integral to your practice, it is important to have physical examples to be able to touch and feel.

• Portfolio often consists of the development work.

• Has an online database and each time a customer buys a limited edition print, their details are stored so that there is a record of who owns which number print and where in the world the work ends up.

• Instagram has been a fantastic platform for Toni. Most business is generated from there and she has built a loyal and supportive group of clients who follow her website closely.

• The benefit of using social media is being able to show the "behind the scenes" of the work which is engaging for potential customers. Toni is cautious of keeping her working Instagram professional and not to use it for anything other than showcasing her artwork and studio.

• There are some negatives to social media, and Toni didn't always have the correct balance and worked late into the night. She felt she was always accessible through her phone and never switched off. "You can work on your business from anywhere and at anytime, it is important to find the balance that works the best for you and not to feel pressured into not being able to have some time to relax." 

• Toni struggles with artists copying her artwork and it is difficult to copyright your art on such an open platform. She is now a member of ACID and would recommend having this kind of protection too for security and control.

•  Focuses a lot of Instagram and need to focus on other social media and its benefits too.

Reflection:

Toni has a clear sense of professionalism and where she is at in her career by having her own company and team. She has shared a lot of invaluable knowledge with me where I can start to consider the beginnings of my practice and professionalism after I graduate, which may develop alongside my Masters degree. Things to consider:

• At which point do I start do I build my website?

• Do I require other people to help me at this stage or is this something that can be done in the future? Can I build the framework of my own website now? Through a Tumblr? Is instagram sufficient for now to build up my customer base?

• Toni mentioned showing more behind the scenes and in-development pieces in the portfolio and on social media.

• How do I recognise when I am "successful" and need to employ a team? I realise it will come much later down the road. How does one measure success?

• To consider joining ACID to protect and secure work

• I put a lot of focus on instagram too. Which other social media outlets are there that can run in congruence with Instagram to gain a following? 

Toni has shared her struggles and hangups with me, and that she hasn't even sold at art fairs yet. It is important for me not to put others in an untouchable light and they have struggled too and art still learning and growing their practice.

[LAUIL602] In Conversation with Molly Fairhurst

• GiFs, editorials and zines

• Sense of immediacy and accessibility through cut shapes and quick line, shape, texture and limited colour palette

• Playful, childlike, and naive tone of voice

Beginnings of Conversation:

• Molly and I have been following each other on Instagram since my first year at LAU, in academic year 16/17.

• She was part of the Student Symposium so it was nice to network professionally and reconnect beyond the student lens.

• I didn't have the opportunity to ask any questions so it was incredibly valuable to connect in this way, having a bit of a background together, and gaining a deeper understanding of her professionalism since graduating.

Transcription: 

 • How does social media help you find potential clients – do they reach out to you or do you approach them?

A lot of my clients approach me, but with something like editorial that is regularly commissioned it is good to get details of art directors you can contact knowing they consistently have jobs to offer.

• Did you make a client list of who you would like to work with/for?

I did when I was at uni. I think it is a good idea, but it just fell from my head and I don’t really think like that any more. Some of the most fun jobs have been completely unexpected and for brands I wouldn’t have expected to have such exciting visual ideas. But I keep an eye on things and make notes of people to talk to about work. 

• Do you feel like Instagram is the best social media platform to present your work, reach out to potentials clients and attract customers?

Yes, but it’s changed a lot since when I was most prolific on there, so I think some of my approaches on it are old, and sometimes the current state of instagram feels disheartening. Regardless, posting can be as quick as you want it to be, I know a lot of people get intimidated by it, but at the end of the day all you can do is do it. I like being able to present the work I make in my life, and my silly thoughts, and finished complete work. I like the holistic approach. Post artwork without fear, everything moves quite transiently, which is both good and bad.

• Do you have a personal website? If so, did you build this yourself?

I do, and I made it through Cargocollective.

• Was your website created whilst at uni or after you graduated?

I first had a website during third year of uni. I think everyone needs a website that can be a more professional front, but this can also be a tumblr page or something. Just something that is clean and big and the pictures can be viewed big on a desktop away from social media.

• Do you have any tips about self-advocating for yourself as a practising illustrator?

Don’t disregard yourself because you are a student or early in your career, i.e. don’t apologise all the time, be direct and confident with your communication with clients. You don’t deserve any worse treatment or money for doing the same job as everyone else!

• Do you have a separate portfolio or do you use your website/ Instagram as a portfolio?

I have both, the website portfolio is a good way to present yourself to clients, and instagram is a good place to get in touch with friends, community, and also customer interest and clients. Have fun with them both!

Summary of answers:

• Social media is greatly beneficial to Molly who can find the details of Art Directors who can help her with consistent commissions and paid work.

• A "client list" (something I was going to do and work from) is great in theory but not practice. Some of the most fun jobs have been completely unexpected. 

• It is important to note that Instagram has changed (I have noticed this too on my personal account where I had much more engagement earlier last year and now experience just a fraction of that). It can be intimidating but is great for an immediate documentation of ALL visual work - ideas, in-progress, and completed projects.

• Molly built her website on Cargocollective: https://mollyfairhurst.com

• Molly had a website during her final year. Anything that is clean with pictures has great visual value.

• Be confident and don't over apologise just because you are a student/have just graduated and are early in your career. You deserve work and respect!

• Instagram and your website can both be used as the portfolio to present to clients. Instagram helps to build your community, customer interest, and clients.

Reflection:

There's a lot of valuable information in these answers. I currently use Instagram already to build my community and customer interest and will continue to do so to hopefully get the clients too. I need to start adding in-progress photos and ideas photos as I don't currently have those, only completed and polished works Everything holds value and is part of the journey and people will be interested to see how the canvas is build up. Upon finishing my course/graduation I can start to think about the need for a website. Being confident in what I do is something I need to work on. I need to start considering the art directors and people of note to follow and approach with my work, rather than building up a client list of people to work with.

[LAUIL602] Webinar: Lunch + Learn - Launching a Business on a Shoestring Budget

 

• https://lexistreats.com Lexi's Treats. Plant based, vegan, low calorie, high protein, gluten free

• @lexistreats on Instagram

• Set up in August last year but sold 10,000 in first day

• Compelling story of growing a company from nothing during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Lexi had an idea and now has a team behind him.

• How has he done this? Taken some loans. Everyone has different circumstances. Saved a lot in advance of quitting his job to amen it happen

• Tips: Be as frugal as possible.

• Business is in the first year, it's still testing a concept. Putting a product out there. Gauging how people react, change, pivot. When things are harder to change, with branding. Cheap as possible. So can survive. So many stats on businesses going bust in first year.

• Branding may change in time so have an idea to start with that you put a little bit of money behind but know that you will change. 

• So many services and things you think you need to spend on, but those people may be miles ahead of you. Who do I need to spend on? Be on a budget. Look at it on an angle of how it will push the business forward. Don't just spend the cash because you have it. If you have no cash would you really spend it?

• Build website himself. When Lexi got quotes from people, he already started to make his own website. lexistreats.com. Not the best website but it is functional and doing what it needs to do. Smooth, customers can buy the products through Shopify. Could have extra features, could be working better in the background, but that doesn't matter at this stage and can be a future endeavour.

• On the other end don't be so cheap and ruin the customer experience

• You can always spend money further down the line

• You learn what is important and where the value is

• You can spend all your money very quickly that you may need in the future

* Plan costs for the future. Doesn't matter if you are working in your bedroom. Try to plan and guess your costs, do your research on Google. Guess costs, incorporate them in, don't bury your head in the sand. When you have no overhead it looks good in the beginning but you will get a surprise in future. 

• Get your item out there. Lexi started as a perfectionist who wanted the perfect box, wrapper, item but will people even want the product? Try to get as close as possible but spend money on the relevant things.

• As business grows, outsource.

• When do you think you need extra hands? Next stage of growth. Consider others making your website then you have a little bit of expense.

• Government kickstarter scheme. Hire people on 6 month placements. No permanent things yet.

• Transition from doing it yourself, your standard, your taste. You have to learn, takes someone else much longer as they aren't you.

• Create documents for other people to help them learn what I want. Invest time in that. Do things with them in mind.

• Before, Lexi would do things on a scrap of paper to-do list as he knew what he wanted and could easily visualise it. Not possible now with a team.

• Implement things that everyone can use

• Investing time into staff-proofing

• An excess of 200,000 lexi treats sold in 12 months

• All coffee shops Lexi wanted to sell in were shut because of Covid, retailers were interested in stocking toilet paper, Instagram was where Lexi was documenting his journey. This is where he has an audience and people who are excited. Majority of business has come from Instagram, Facebook and Amazon. The odd office as they have opened recently. Most business is online. A business can exist online. Direct consumer - can hear from them.

• Lexi did design what he wanted as logo and packaging and invested a few thousand pounds with a designer. Where you pay the most is giving designer control but he did as much of the design as possible. Asked the designer not to come up with 10 ideas, just 3 to limit cost.

• Get it out there in a nice way but listen to customers.

• Did Lexi get marketing help? No. Marketing and social media is all Lexi. He is the person behind the brand, keep it personal, he taste tests everything, makes everything in the kitchen, so named it after him - Lexi's Treats. His marketing was - just try to get something out on instagram.

• Don't look at the end result. Built-up over time an engaged audience. The more open and honest it is. Embrace that it's small. Don't be polished, because there won't be anything to talk about. Development and growth gives engagement and content.

• Low calorie treats, allergy friendly treats, tapped into audience needs, google ads, insta ads. Don't need to have a lot of advertising money. Talking to people is the best form of advertising.

• How did you go about finding manufacturer? It wasn't easy. Lexi attended sessions like this asking questions. Salsa. BRC. Two accrediting organisations who check factories for standards of production, go on website and check factories. British Library for business plan. Get mind in order and you can sell products.

• Nielsen reports. All the big companies use these. you can access it for free at British Library.

• Lexi trademark the brand name, logo, design, did that out of worry and out of brand registrars. Necessity for selling on Amazon, trademark document is needed. If you want to sell on amazon you need that document. Did it early on in the company development stage. Around the time of the wrapper design. Lexi can't tell if its beneficial to trademark but from Amazon selling perspective it was valuable and needed.

Reflection: This webinar has inspired me a lot to get started with my business, providing me with the confidence that anyone can be successful no matter their starting budget. What matters is a marketing strategy, having products to sell (in my case this will be prints and painted canvas), a strong story as people enjoy engaging with real people and following a journey, and customer engagement. Always engaging and valuing the buyer/client/customer and answering their questions, engaging with them, which I do often on my instagram. Knowing that Lexi created his own website, using the Shopify add-on, gives me an idea of where to start with my own and to be functional above all else. Other things will fall into place at a later stage.

[LAUIL602] business.connected Webinar: What is SEO and How Can it Be Used for Your Business?

• Sarah-Jane Vincent:  "Sarah Jane Vincent is a serial entrepreneur, leading social media marketing expert and ultimate small business supporter. With over a decade of online marketing experience, she has built a multi-award-winning business and helped clients generate multiple 6-figures worldwide."

• Search is the main reason people find websites. Ranking high is important. Focus on your SEO strategy.

• There is a paid method and organic method.

• A lot of businesses have had to close their doors because of the pandemic and go online.

• Local search SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Any business with a physical location can benefit from local SEO.

• Important to consider this with the likes of people doing staycations and not travelling abroad currently. People might be looking for cafes, shops, play areas etc. That will be what people are looking for in the summer. Optimising local search is so important.

• Ranking factors that google uses - algorithms on social media but algorithm on Google.

• Three factors we are going to focus on - relevance, distance and prominence (which is content, reviews, things going on). 

• Google has so much content to organise.

• No such thing as hacking the algorithm but you can work with it to work in your favour.

• How relevant to the search query you are

• Google changed Map Pack from 7 results to 3 results. Possum update - proximity matters. BERT update. Deep learning algorithm.

• Contextualised learning because of speech software like Siri and Alexa. Is it a cup of "tea"? Golf "tee"? "Tee" shirt? for example. Think about how people are searching and using contextualised learning within content.

• Map Pack: used to be 7 but now there are 3. Really competitive places in the map overview search and it's important you find yourself in this space.

• Breakdown of what it is - Directions, reviews, opening times, phone numbers, link to website.

• We want your business to show up in the result.

• Paid ads at the top (those are the paid results). When you are just starting out, you can get to the top of Google using a paid ads strategy. It will give you data, which will help you with your marketing strategy. If you have just set up your website, paid ads will help you get found, and will help you gather some "clout."

• Map Pack - 3 places available. Shows reviews, information as mentioned before.

• If you look at those companies the most trustworthy one is the one with reviews. 

• Organic results and directories below (Yelp, for example)

• How can we help customers find us? Make every time count with fresh content.

• Strong organic foundation.

• Google ads account, free to make. They have a keyword planner. Gives you an idea of search volume - high search volume for kayaking for example. May, June, July maybe put a good bit of money behind getting found during these times. Use the data to help you with your strategy.

• BERT. Use different synonyms and variants. Keyword phrase - related keywords - secondary keywords. Outrank competitors.

• Link building tips. 

• Build relationships - guest on podcast or blog. Very popular way.

• Create internal links (anchor text). "Services" can be clickable for example. Linking to other pages on your site, google will reward you. Any opportunity to use internal links on your website. Do not use "click here" because google doesn't understand what that means. Hyperlink words like "services", when google is crawling and the bots are crawling your page it will understand the word "services" and rank you higher.

• You can sponsor local events and fundraisers, see it as an opportunity to sponsor them. Providing with your logo. Link on their website and linking back to yours.

• Citations on local listings. Directories.

• Add location page to website. Map Pack is looking for your name, address and phone number. Important to have that on your site, can implement a map which will boost your SEO.

• Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. all get pulled into a Google Search. Look at regularly auditing your descriptions. If you've updated information, super important to link across your channels. You will get penalised by Google.

• Write reviews for others and ask for backlinks. 

• Turn your mentions into backlinks - another free tool to use, any time a newspaper mentioned my brand or name I was able to add that to website and ask them to hyperlink back to my website.

• Create useful directories on your own website (places to visit, things to do, more support available, etc.) Create helpful pages, list them on your website, it doesn't have to be added to your main navigation bar but it's floating in the background and will help boost your SEO juice.

• Google My Business - super powerful platform, free, easy to set up. Will help you with SEO, finding customers.

• Don't forget your unstructured citations with Google Alerts.

• Take care of your social media. 

• Audit your website regularly.

• Moz is a great tool to check your online presence. Quick way to find information that isn't up to date and you can rectify it and shows where you don't have a presence and you can add yourself there.

• Whitespark. Free. If you are hairdresser, hospitality, etc. pick what you are in the category and it will tell you what will help you most.

• Optimising your Google My Business page. Focus on this. Hidden gem for your business. Covers your website, adds your address, etc. on mobile it shows even more information. More optimised for mobile for people on the go and aimed at them.

• So many great features that are built-in and free. Because of COVID lots of great features have been added like hygiene, click and collect, etc.

• Encourage customer actions by sharing helpful information.

• If you write a blog post, you can share that on Google My Business. Get into the habit of sharing on Google My Business. SEO juice you are looking for. Don't forget to share any new art or recipes on GMB to attract customers! Loads of data and analytics. What's working? Better informed decisions

• Connect - respond to messages and reviews. Encourage google reviews. Customer loyalty. Template email sent to customer, link to Google Reviews, so they can update that and help get you at the top of a search. Link Google Reviews in email signature - "Want to give me a review?" hyperlink to it.

• URL link to reviews.

• Top tip: when someone writes you a review, good or bad, make sure you respond. When you write your reply, make sure you get your keyword in your reply! When replying back get the keyword in "Thank you for attending social media strategy session" helps.

• Q and A, if you have an FAQ section you can copy and paste them onto your Google My Business to increase conversions, help with search engine, provide additional opportunity for SEO juice. If you don't have one, you are missing a trick. You can answer the most recent questions. If it's 11pm and it will help someone with question about delivery and returns. More likely to follow through with the purchase then and there.

• More reviews and positive ratings will push a local business ranking. You will rank higher by default.

• Making sure you have your link, correct keywords like that.

• Optimise. Learn how customers are interacting with our business profile.

• When looking at stats it will tell you how people are finding you; calling, emailing, What'sApp-ing you

• Whch photos are getting the most attention?

• If you have photos on GMB, the more photos the more you will outrank your competitors.

• Geo Locate your photos, add location in background, meta tags, meta descriptions, increases chances of you being at the location.

• Upload photo, add Geo Location, download photo, upload to GMB. A lot of competitors aren't aware of this. Great way to increase SEO.

• Build a strong organic foundation, build prominence (name, address and phone number al the same across channels), set up a Google My Business. Pimp it out, free to use, and it's directly linked to Google.

• Encourage Google reviews, Facebook reviews from customers.

• Useful Links to tools. Answer the public for better blogs. Test website for mobile friendliness, page load speed.

• Question about address if you work from home and have a small business: Perhaps buy a PO box address so you don't have to link your home address, when setting up GMB you need to add your address but once receiving postcard, remove your address and put in "Ireland" or wherever you are located to target the whole of Ireland or England. You can manipulate it but Google will probably sort this out in the near future.

• For the SEO. on your website if working for big name brands (authoritative websites), put those logos on your website, "as featured in" or "clients we've worked with", add their address to the logo. Found in the URL section of the photos. Hover over the logo can give a sneaky backlink. If you're an artist, you can have your portfolio. Don't forget to add link to website to client.

• Question: Adding phone number. Can get a lot of cold callers. You can use what's app for business - separate business acocount. You can add auto replies (only open from this time, be with you shortly). Not using my number hasn't affected me. It's good for service based businesses like cafes but if you work from home it isn't needed.

• Question: If everyone is using the same keywords how do you differentiate between multiple businesses? Unique selling point vs what your competitor has. SEO is great for having you find, the person clicking on keywords will see which is the most suitable for their needs. This is where you need to be strategic. If you are offering more value, more user friendly website (simple to navigate), ultimately you will outrank your competitor in other ways. Millions of companies using the same keywords, down to location too. Use blogs, case studies, how you have used the level of keywords, how frequently you are updating. Quality. how google understand if your blog post. Dwell time on your website, blog posts. Good indicator that you have quality content to google. Google's primary focus - time, quality, dwell time. You will outrank your competitors.

• If you are sponsoring an event or fundraiser. Any awards events, if they look for sponsors. Network Ireland for example. Event that showcases women in business. Events like that will look for sponsors, tap into that audience and get found.You are piggybacking on their PR but also backlinks. Directory type. Really going to increase searchability. Proximity is a ranking factor. Citation link that's local. 

• IF your business is of a sexual nature, selling dangerous items like knives and fireworks, pharmaceutical. You need to work on organic strategy. Posts on social media to boost yourself. Do listicals or articles or how to tutorials and add to blog. YouTube perhaps. Google just don't allow that kind of thing and won't promote it, even blocking it.