Behance is an enormous online professional network, connecting some of the best creative minds in the design community. As a result, it is a platform upon which you can promote yourself as a web designer. Upon creating a profile you can post your work and interact with other designers in order to boost your online presence and communicate with prospective clients. If you possess a competent portfolio with skilled work, you can attract a great deal of publicity and status for your personal business enterprise using Behance.
Although Behance is a members only website, anyone can request an invitation to join. All you have to do is complete an online form with an email address and description of your web design work in order to acquire free membership.
Creating a professional and polished Behance profile is fundamental to successfully promoting yourself and your work. Your profile presents your background information such as profile photo, name, website, designer bio and location, as well as a detailed portfolio of your web design work to date.
In order to promote yourself more effectively, you can visually personalize your profile to make it appealing to visitors. Moreover, you can expand your profile to incorporate the various creative fields within which you work such as web design and development, the type of work for which you are available, your professional level and any relevant qualifications which you may have. Additionally, you can designate search tags to your work or provide links to any sites which feature your work, as well as incorporating references and recommendations from previous clients.
Utilising Behance, you have a wealth of options at your disposal through which to publicise your current work. These options include the ability to select project details such as the type of work and media in with you are proficient. This wealth and depth of information efficiently promotes your capabilities as a web designer to any visitors who view your profile. Visitors are able to scrutinise your profile, familiarising themselves with you and your work before contacting you. You can also authorize visitors to comment on your work, which will help you to learn the specific designs which are favoured by clients and what you can improve upon in order to gain further employment.
As well as customising your site with regards to visual and informational depth, Behance enables you to specify the copyright information, project ownership and relevant tools you used in your web design projects. You can also save projects to be published at a later date, thus granting you complete creative authority over the promotion of your profile, permitting you to specialise your profile to appeal to your target market.
Upon publishing a project to your Behance profile, you can promote it further by linking it to your various social networking accounts. Behance is an immensely trafficked site, exponentially elevating your online exposure to prospective clients and employers. Digital marketing agencies including Realia and Cuckoo Design recommend networking your social profiles extensively.
Furthermore, Behance allows you exclusive access to creating public or private groups with other Behance members. Within these groups you can promote your web design services to individuals with similar mindsets and interests. This provides a lucrative opportunity for project feedback, discussions regarding new technologies and designs, as well as transferring crucial career advice and references. Moreover, if your work is currently for sale, you can link your Behance profile to an existing online store or establish an eCommerce feature within the Behance Network.
Ultimately, Behance provides you exclusive access to a vast online network of prospective clients, employers, and potential colleagues. If you exercise precision and accuracy to the development and promotion of your profile, Behance can provide a springboard upon which you can launch a lucrative and sustainable web design business.
Guest author Bradley Taylor is a freelance writer from Derby, England. He is a motoring enthusiast who loves writing about cars and everything automotive but is versatile and also writes across a variety of other topics. You can connect with Bradley on Google+ and get his updates on Twitter.