Creative Team advice

Discussion in 'Chatty Pad' started by abandy, Aug 20, 2012.

  1. abandy

    abandy abandy

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    I'm just wondering if anyone here had any advice on creative teams-- scrappers (and designers) what is your best advice for how to GET ON a creative team? Best practices for staying on a creative team? What has been your favorite creative team to be on? Why? What is your favorite thing that a designer has "offered" for the creative team, other than free product? (Like, a private CT message board?)

    Designers, how do you usually like to go about picking a creative team? Do you stick to your "biggest fans" or choose some outside people? What do you look for in a CT member? Do you host CT calls, or just extend invitations?

    I thought this would be a good discussion-- I know I've been wondering these things for a while, and I'm sure other people have too! :thumbsups

    Thanks in advance for any advice! :)
     
  2. melrio

    melrio I will hunt you!

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    Just my 2 cents here.......

    Find a wonderful, comfy community.....ah, like right here at the Pad ;)......and participate as much as you can in the conversations, join in on the challenges, and have a fun optimistic attitude.

    It won't happen overnight but sooner or later if you are doing the above, you have increased your chances a ton.
     
  3. abandy

    abandy abandy

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    I'm not so worried about my chances, I'm just curious. I think it's useful information. I was listening to a Digi Show episode where they touched on some of this stuff, and it just got me wondering. Especially about "what makes a good creative team." What do you LIKE to have as a CT member, other than free product?
     
  4. melrio

    melrio I will hunt you!

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    Free product is a great incentive but I like the sense of belonging on a team where everyone works towards a common goal and the sense of a place to call 'home' to share our stories with a group of women that 'get it'! I love that I get to work with products from my favorite designers on pages that I'm creating for my family and future generations and sharing them with the community, as well. I guess each designer may have their own thoughts on a good CT but I believe that if you are using their products, participating in the team forums, and promoting the designer(s) out in the community/social media, then you're doing a pretty good job.

    I hope my words are not misinterpreted wrong....it's hard to communicate via writing what my brain wants to say. :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2012
  5. lizzyfizzy

    lizzyfizzy More posts ... need more posts!

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    i would say the best advice is not to focus on being on creative teams. scrap for yourself and love the community you are involved in. when you scrap your little heart out and you have passion it shows. then, teams will just happen for you! :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2012
  6. gracielou

    gracielou Well-Known Member

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    Well, I hope it doesn't sound shallow but receiving free product from amazing designers pretty much tops the bar for me :) especially since I am a stay at home mom of 4 kids with limited funds for "extras." I also love the sense of accomplishment it gives me. I never went to college, married right out of high school and started having kids, so to feel like I am doing something and a part of something brings me much joy. I love being a mommy and wife but being on the creative team here allows me the joy of doing something for me. I also love the behind the scenes and watching the new products being rolled out by all the amazing designers here. It's truly better than Christmas for me when the BYOC thread starts filling up each month.
     
  7. abandy

    abandy abandy

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    I have to admit, another "side" of this question is also personal research-- I'm hoping to launch my buisness for scrappy design, and I want to have a creative team-- but offer things that CT members would like-- other than free product.
     
  8. mrsski07

    mrsski07 Hot for Harlequin

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    Best advice to get on a creative team? Be active in the community of the store, or the store where the designer is a resident....if the community is a comfortable fit for you. Obviously your scrapping talent will have some play in being on a CT as well.

    Best practices - follow guidelines, be active in the community, promote the designer/store product.

    Favorite CT - I've really loved them all. I don't CT for designers/stores if I do not LOVE the product and feel "at home" with the store. When my feelings change in regards to these it's time to take a look at my commitment.

    Favorite perks - really, I just love to be a part of a community and to use my layouts/cards to promote products for others. The fact that I get to work with awesome product for free is really just a secondary perk :)
     
  9. gracielou

    gracielou Well-Known Member

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    Oh, and I just thought of this and had to add it. The reason I love this place so much is because of the amazing encouragement that goes on behind the scenes. There are times where we need reminders to step it up etc... but there are even more threads that go on to point out the good things we are doing and the designers take time to comment on pages and comment in threads with encouraging words. I feel like a rock star still every time one of the designers comments on one of my pages. There is just an overall sense of thankfulness here. Yes, I get their product for free and that should be (and would be) enough but they go the extra mile. Love it!
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2012
  10. mrsski07

    mrsski07 Hot for Harlequin

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    Yes! This too. I love the behind the scenes stuff. And I get a big, goofy smile every time a designer comments on my pages.
     
  11. staciahall

    staciahall Quidditch, anyone?

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    I second all of the above. Being active in the community, participating in challenges, posting in the gallery where the designers that you love sell their products. Most designers also have newsletters and/or blogs where they might also offer other opportunities to work with their specific product for a personal challenge.

    I love working with the designers that say scrap with what you love! I'm not creating pages for my CT stuff that aren't stories that I wanted to tell and had on my list of stuff to scrap. If I can't make it fit into my subject matter, I'm not going to create a page that I don't plan to print.

    I love being able to see what is going on, new ideas and trends, the behind the scenes as well. All of the CT's that I have been on have message boards or Facebook groups where you get to know the other people (and their kids because you keep seeing them in layouts) and their encouragement about your work is also really nice. Every time I get a comment it makes me smile! I agree with what Amanda said about when the designers post in the gallery about my layouts, I still get a little thrill.

    I'm of the mind that I spend my free time scrapping, if I can help someone build their business by using their products and posting in the galleries I post, it's a win-win for both of us.

    I'm sure you'll get lots of replies about this thread because it's a question in many people's minds.
     
  12. Peppermint

    Peppermint One Little Bird

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    I'm like Amanda, free product from designers I loved was about all the incentive I needed. Plus it was nice to be behind the curtain and build relationships with those designers.

    As for how I went about picking my creative team - most of my team consists of scrappers I worked with on creative teams years ago. That has worked really well for me because I can guilt trip them and threaten them into staying. But I have added a few people over the past couple of years whose pages I just really love. I didn't worry too much about whether they're customers of mine or not, or even fans of mine .. haha. I just asked and hoped they'd say yes. .
     
  13. misserin

    misserin New Member

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    I think these are good questions to ask! When I designed, I looked for potential CT members when I had calls, or sometimes girls would message me out of the blue. I always took everyone into consideration. Sometimes there wasn't room at the time, even though a scrapper was fantastic. And I know it sucks to get turned down, but sometimes designers don't want to or have the time to oversee what is going on with 30+ people scrapping! If I had to turn someone down and they were awesome, I put them on a waiting list in case a spot opened up in the future.

    Things I looked for in potential CTM's.... a positive part of the community, friendly, outgoing. I looked to see if they already had any pages made with my kits (wasn't a big deal if they didn't, but was cool to see if they did), and of course, their scrapping skillz and creativity. I was also interested to see how many other scrappy commitments they had. Some people are GREAT at multitasking, but I didn't want girls who might be spreading themselves too thin either. Those things, I think, really make a great member to have as a part of your team.

    Now, as a scrapper, I love to CT. It makes me feel a part of something. I don't know that there's any "extras" that make it more special though. I work for some pretty awesome designers that I adore and that makes it more than worth it for me! I feel like, well I'm on FB a lot anyways, so sharing and promoting that way is no big thing to ask. And I was going to scrap pages anyways. So it's a win-win.
     
  14. abandy

    abandy abandy

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    Must add to my to-do list today.... "Get Peppermint to like my pages"
    I'm curious-- in stores and for designers, do you have private forums todiscuss/download product? The facebook page idea intrigues me too.
    Peppermint, you said something on a Digi Show episode about how when youfirst got back into digi scrapping, you went looking for CT's for the"push" you needed to continue scrapping. Do CTs often offerchallenges, prompts, etc to scrap with their products as well? Is that common practice?
    Thanks for all of the advice and thoughts everyone!
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2012
  15. carolee

    carolee Humming along in the Neil mobile

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    I agree with what Lizzy said. Having a passion for scrapbooking shows in your gallery. Designers love to see a person's body of work, and I know they love to see how customers use their products. Not only do I think they like to look at your pages and your general scrapping style, but I think they like to see someone who has been creating pages on a consistent basis and just likes to do it!

    I think I've seen a CT call from just about every designer over the years. Some do it more often than others. That is the easiest way to get on a team. Some have extended personal invitations as well, it depends on the designer. Here at the Lilypad there are guest calls for our site team once or twice a year. There is also a guest spot given out every month as part of the challenge system.

    The biggest piece of advice I could give to CTMs is not to overextend yourself when it comes to teams. It is easy to get excited about it, especially when starting out, and end up with more page requirements than you can handle. I don't create tons of pages each month. So it would be impossible for me to be on more than a few teams. In the past I've taken on too much and I ended up getting stressed out. Which doesn't make it fun anymore. For me it is better to do more for a few teams than not enough for several.

    As far as staying on teams, I think it works out when it is the right fit for the designer and the CTM. Communication is key. So is a passion for what you are doing. The teams I have now are ones I've been on for around 3 years. They are great fits for me and I love being on them. I love to create with their products and I feel like the time and effort I put into creating pages and doing other things for my current teams is appreciated and valued by them.
     
  16. Nikki Epperson

    Nikki Epperson I'm really a spy.

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    This.
     
  17. Angie4b1g

    Angie4b1g A hundred jobs but Bob Villa ain't one

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    The "free" stuff isn't even on the radar for me. I could afford to buy whatever digi stuff I wanted. (That sounds way snottier than intended, I'm broke as a joke really, but kits are not that expensive, so I could buy them if I wanted to is all I'm saying. LOL) I do CTs because it makes me actually scrap, where I'd probably procrastinate for ever otherwise. So, I only take teams I ADORE, since I'm genuinely scrapping these pages to be in my albums forever, and not just to fulfill my obligations.
     
  18. heathergw

    heathergw Singing in the Neil mobile

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    HA!!! Yeah, the "free" product is nice, but I don't consider it free, since I technically "work" for it by creating a layout and promoting it or whatever else the designer needs me to do... that being said... scrapping is a hobby and therapy for me and I hugely enjoy it so it doesn't feel like "work" it makes me feel alive and happy and brings me great joy... ultimately, I like to help and inspire scrappers/customers and I hope that's what I do with my layouts and I think that's what designers see in me... I'm a pretty eclectic scrapper and like trying new things, so I don't think I really have a "style" which I think is why I have such an eclectic mix of creative teams... and I like to tell my stories or vent or sort through my thoughts on a page and then make it pretty... it really is therapy for me, LOL.... if it does stress me out or feel like "work", then I take the time to re-evaluate my commitments...
     
  19. abandy

    abandy abandy

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    That's a good point. It's not free if you work for it.
     
  20. Sara

    Sara Riding in the Neil mobile

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    Yes, there are private team forums to chat and share products and pages and other things. :) Most every designer and store team has them. Some also have private FB groups..but in my experience those are more a matter of keeping up in an *additional* fun and convenient way. FB pages on the other hand are a must really, for any designer and store as a means for marketing and branding.

    I wouldn't say that challenges and prompts are offered as a common practice; every now and then there will be some kind of additional challenge or prompt, but it's not usual in my experience. And I can't speak specifically for Peppermint but I know for myself when I was actively scrapping as a CTM, a creative team did offer a kind of "push" to continue scrapping -- simply by virtue of the team dynamic, the relationships between team members and the designers and the structure of deadlines...the idea that each party is depending on the other in a mutual kind of way. That kind of dynamic in and of itself can be an encouragement to scrap.
     

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