QuietYell QuietYell
29 Dec 2016, 17:10

@Lee-White Another question about agents came to me:

How can we help the agent? (This is a more post-agent-illustrator-relationship question but may imply some things important to do/prepare beforehand)

What is it that an agent may need or want (or not want) in order to help them be “the best agent they can be.”

Obviously, there are things like “deliver when and what you say you are going to deliver to a client” and “don’t bad mouth clients”, “act professionally”, etc., and while it is good to get a response of such things, I am talking about how to help the agent in ways like:

• How many new, relevant pieces of work are beneficial to an agent per month/quarter/year? (I’m assuming that a “stagnant” portfolio is unhelpful and that “fresh new work” is helpful, regardless of whether it is contracted or personal work)

• How much self-marketing efforts are helpful? (I’ve heard, that some agents even contractually discourage self-marketing)

• What information and/or approach on the illustrator’s website, marketing material, & social media accounts would help/hinder an agent? (such as a more personal bio vs. strictly professional one, blog entries, client listings, personal-vs-exclusively-business social media posts, personal information (perspectives, interests, experiences, etc.), and so forth)

I’m sure there are many other areas where an agent can be helped or hindered (e.g. with proposals, contracts, availability & acceptance rates of projects, project postmortem documentation, thank you cards, etc.) and maybe others here could chime in on some thoughts.

It just seems to me that it is important to support the agent as best as possible (and definitely not hinder them) throughout the relationship and am interested in knowing how to aid in “supercharging” their efforts.

Thanks again!