Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my post and for sharing your advice. Your work has been a huge inspiration for me, and I really admire the quality and creativity in your asset packs. I agree the name isn't a great choice but I haven't thought of a better one yet, I might change the name so the style isn't so pigeonholed. If you have time, I've love to know more about how it was for you when you started out on itch.io.
Thanks again for the advice!
Viewing post in Hi Just released a game Icon Pack
sure man! There were two things that were like cheat codes for me, although they're pretty common sense:
- Having a niche, and
- Marketing.
Having a niche is great because it's difficult to be the best overall, but it's pretty easy to be the best in a smaller community (as long as you have at least some skill, which you definitely do).
By way of example, I started by making Minecraft logos. I wasn't great, but I was good enough to make 20 bucks here and there. Gradually my skills improved, and I had to charge more because I didn't have enough time to meet demand.
Doesn't have to be Minecraft, obviously. Find a community you like, see what graphics they need - which is not necessarily what you want to make, or what other people are making - and become the best at it.
Marketing is a bit of a "no duh", but I feel like people on itch ignore it, instead assuming that they're going to get "discovered" and suddenly start raking in the cash. Goes for games and assets alike.
When I started, Twitter was great for marketing. That's still true, but if I were to start again today, Tiktok is the far better choice. The trick is to post visual content regularly. For me, that's twice a week.
Luckily, our content is necessarily visual, so that gives great options for content: finished products, WIPs, timelapses, etc. When you get a bit more established, updates and releases get good engagement, and you can of course interact with your community.
All in all, I'd recommend spending 40-50% of your time on marketing and general business tasks, and the rest on actually creating stuff.
Hope that helps!