A Year On Dribbble

So I’ve just renewed my pro account. I’ve been a part of dribbble now for just over a year. Got to thinking about how differently I perceive it now compared to then. I’ve had a whole bunch of different feelings towards the work and community.

I’ve seen a lot of people bad mouth dribbble for various reasons, the main one that struck me was that it was a little like a school yard at break time. There are the cools kids and the people who want to be a cool kid. This post isn’t going to be one of those bad mouth rants, I try not to get caught up with that stuff too much. But this valid point has got me thinking.

I have to admit when I first joined dribbble I had the usual question buzzing through my mind with every new shot “How do I get more followers/likes/views?” it became a bit of an obsession for a few months. I realised, as a freelancer this could bring me a lot of work. More followers/likes/views meant more work and money in my pocket. Ashamed to admit it but I started to focus on dribbling things that would purposely get me and my work some attention. I found very quickly there where more negatives than positives to this technique. Yea, I’d get a lot of comments telling me how awesome the shot was then within a few days be getting work enquiries but those enquires where based on work I tailored for views and not solid, developed work. This led to a whole bunch of projects I wasn’t happy doing and more to the point didn’t really feel comfortable doing. I decided to pull all of the work I didn’t want on there out regardless of how many buckets it was linked to or how many people tweeted about it. I felt much better.

I have a tip for new (and some maybe not so new) dribbble users, a lesson I learned that might save you some time! Just be you, you’ll gain much more respect from this industry and it’s people with a portfolio of true, honest work that you do well over having a billion followers and a bunch of shots with no passion or love. Don’t get sucked into the popularity contest. Be genuine, 10 followers or 10,000 followers, just respect yourself, your craft and your skill set by letting it shine.

If you’re really set on getting a fan base here are a few simple tips to gain honest attention for your work without running with the crowd and putting up the wrong kind of work …

- Show love to fellow players. If you see work you enjoy “like” it, comment, tell them, brighten up someone else’s day.

- If you’re serious about dribble buy a pro account (it’s only $20 and it’s worth it) use your account to it’s full potential. Use buckets, make lists. Attach files that show a little more of you’re work or maybe give people some simple freebies that relate to the shot.

- Time it right. Shoot for New York and San Francisco time and don’t shoot at weekends as no-one really bothers.

- Use twitter and other networks. Tweet about not only your work but other shots you like, 99% of players have their account linked up to twitter so be sure to @ them. Give a little back and people will be really grateful.

- Most important. The point of this blog post. Just do you’re thing. Enjoy it. Show your passion, bare the love you have for your craft and people will think so much more of you.

This stuff is pretty straight forward. Will it get you 100 followers per day? Probably not but the followers you do get will respect you for you and be more likely to talk about you with clients, friends and followers. Also if you’re a freelancer this approach is a sure way of bringing work that lets you really show off your skills … in turn making more awesome, one of kind dribbble shots and more positive attention

Cheers guys. Have a wicked day!

Vic

PS. Apologies for the terrible gramar and spelling!!!