To sell on the internet, you have to persuade visitors to take a chance. The more information you give them, the more comfortable they feel about spending money on you. You need to create a strong and trustworthy image with content that answers visitor’s questions, rather than leaving them guessing.

A personal portfolio page is all about promoting you and your skills as a Flash developer. Here is where you show potential customers what you can do and how good you are, so they purchase your files. Also, this is where you show visitors what you’re made of and use it to build your online presence. It is essential for you to have a good portfolio page if you want to get visitor’s attention and, even become a brand.

We’re going to show you how you can improve your presence on FC, build a credible image and, last but not least, get more sales.

1. Think big!

Think of yourself as a brand, even if you’re just starting off. Be creative with your name and logo. Don’t forget that, like on first dates, first impression matters. Like you choose a hairstylist because his hair looks fancy and well taken care of, this is how your visitors can choose you over other developers.

If you’re trying to promote yourself as a top-notch Flash developer, you should firstly choose a logo. You can even personalize it by including your own name. Make it attractive, yet simple and easy to remember. This will help you stand out and, also, develop a strong identity.

Check out these examples to get a clearer picture:

2. Use colors and design to create your brand

Colors are essential tools to building your identity, just as logos have the same role. This is a great way to brand yourself, by using a particular color for all the files you develop. Let visitors become familiar with your color and, after a while, they’ll become more familiar and connected to you. Here’s how easy these two authors on FC are building their visual identity:

3. Who are you?

Most of the visitors usually have a better look at your portfolio to find out who you are, where you’re from and see other samples of your work. This space is all about you and no one else. That’s why we strongly encourage you include a short presentation on yourself. This should be a short yet catchy paragraph in which you’ll have to summarize the main ideas that differentiate you from other developers. Be professional, yet personal, technical, if you need to, but clear. And remember, less is more, so don’t share your whole life.

Here’s a few things you could include:

* Who you are
* Why you chose to be a Flash developer
* When you started developing Flash files
* Share your professional background as a Flash developer
* What you specialize in: templates, galleries, etc
* Where you’re from
* If you’re available for freelance work.

Take a look at these examples:

This is no place to be shy or secretive. The more valuable information you include, the better your visitors will get to know you, form an opinion and trust you.

4. Organize!

Your portfolio page on FC is very important, as it’s actually a showcase of your entire work and developing skills. People will most probably want to see your other files to decide whether you’ve got potential or not. To give them a better glimpse of your work, include high-quality screenshots to present your files.

Also, include a short presentation for each file, emphasizing on its strongest features, the ones that differentiate it from the other files from the same category. Take your time while organizing this page as it will have impact on the visitor’s purchasing decision.

You don’t have to include all your files there. You can choose to include your best selling files or your best files from certain categories of Flash components, how this author did:

5. Provide contact options

This is also a very important thing you should keep in mind. Aside from the “Send private message” feature that your (potential) clients can use to contact you, you can also provide them with your e-mail address in case they’ve got questions or concerns regarding your files, or just want to hire you for a private project. Just include it at the end of your description.

6. Promote Yourself

We’ve got tons of visitors but with little time on their hands. If you’re not going to show them what you’re capable of, they’re not going to search for it. If you’ve got a non-commercial portfolio or a blog where you talk about Flash or anything related, don’t just keep it to yourself. Put it out there, along with the rest of your description. Not only will this help you promote yourself, but you’ll also gain visitor’s trust as a specialist in this area and show you really know what you’re doing. Use an appropriate message to link to it, like “Hire me”, “Check out my Portfolio”, “I’m also Here” etc.

7. Offer support on social networks

Social networks are the real deal these days. So, if you’re active on different social networks, invite people to follow you on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or wherever it is that you’re hanging. Let them know you’re available to offer support whenever they need it and on whatever grounds they prefer. Let them know where they can find you, this way you can build their trust. Also, this is a great way for you to meet people, make connections and, nevertheless, expose your work.

We experience these things with you guys, so we’re all learning together, side by side. That’s why we’d love to receive your comments on what it is that works for you and how you managed to create your identity on FC. Send us your insights at authors4fc@flashcomponents.net and we’ll be sure to include them in a future article. If you’ve got some great insights, you can even write your own piece with tips&tricks and we’ll publish it here. Join the club!