Minecraft Forums

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Congratulations! You’ve opened up your own little shop right here in this section, but somehow you aren’t getting as many clients as you had hoped to get when you were considering starting. Or maybe you’re having quite a few disputes with your current clients over which services you offer and what they’ll be getting in return. Or maybe you are just one of those people that is actually taking the initiative and looking for ways to improve.

That’s what this guide is for.

We’ve compiled a list of things that your shop should do so that you can attract more customers and possibly minimise disputes. We’ve split up this guide into two sections for your reading and organizational pleasure - one for what to put into your thread’s main post, and one for etiquette tips to follow while running your shop.

Without further ado, let’s begin!

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Here you go; some general tips for content to have inside your shop’s main post. These tips aren’t strictly necessary, persay, but they will definitely help with streamlining operations, so feel free to pick and choose which ones you’ll want in your shop thread. It’s recommended to have all of them included, though c:

Title your shop accordingly

Your title is the first thing that people see when they glance at your topic. It’s the one (or two) lines of text that tells them what your shop is about and what you’re doing with it. Since that’s the case, it’s best to make your title as informative as possible without overdoing it.

Try to use tags in your title, since they can come in handy. Title tags are basically those few words in brackets that you see before and after a title. They allow for easy classification - for example, separating [Free] from [Paid] and [Free/Paid] or [Mixed] shops in one glance. Brackets aren’t exactly strictly necessary or anything, they’re more like tools to bring a reader’s attention to a few key words of the title.

Generally, you should try to include your price and services (images, videos, etc.) in your title, as well as a catchy shop name. If you can’t come up with a catchy name, “Username’s Art Shop” works just fine - it all depends on what you want and what you’re comfortable with.

Make it clear what you are selling in your shop

This one shouldn’t be too hard to manage with.

If you only offer a certain type or types of art - for example, intros or YouTube/Twitch banners - you’ll want to include that in a prominent place in your article (or even your title) so your clients know what you offer and know not to ask you for something like a Forums signature.

If your shop offers “everything”, you may still want to take the time to list what exactly “everything” includes so that clients don’t ask you for something you aren’t prepared to do.

Make your prices clear

This one should be another one of the obvious ones.

If you offer free services, make sure that is put somewhere prominent in your thread. If you are offering paid or mixed services, that should also be in a place very easily spotted. Tags are a great way to emphasize your price point, since, like we said, it’s usually the first part of your thread that people see.

]If you have certain specifics about price - for example, promotions, “first ___ people are free” deals, etc - make sure to put that in a prominent spot in your thread as well. Finally, you’re also going to want to place all these prices and deals in a common place.

Give your clients a template or a request form to fill out

You should consider including something along the lines of a request form for clients to fill out since it allows for a more organized approach for requesting an artwork.

Let us make something clear here though; when we say “request form” it doesn’t need to be anything complex or standardized, feel free to make it as simple or as complex as you want as long as it provides enough information for you to create an adequate piece of work. If your shop provides services for reskinning a fixed model based on a player skin, maybe an IGN is all you need. However, if your shop offers something complex, say, fully custom YouTube intros, you’re going to want much more information in your form; for example, a detailed description or a similar existing intro to get a basic idea of what the client wants. Make sure not to overdo the template; four or five fields maximum should be enough for just about any request.

And, as always, provide a field for your client’s preferred method of contact so you have a place to poke them when their requested work is done. This can be something like a Forums PM, email, or skype and it helps keep your thread clear of clutter. It should be up to them to find a communications medium that is convenient for them.

Include samples or prior works!

This should come as a no-brainer, but I still find that many shops don’t include these in their original post.

Most people tend to skip over shops (even free ones) that don’t have prior works listed, so don’t let that happen to you!

Have a queue list somewhere in the post

This is a pretty vital addition that honestly should be included in every shop, since it saves you the hassle of having to deal with clients bugging you about when you’re going to start on their artwork or when it’s going to be done. It’s also very helpful with load management, which is a great if you don’t want to have to be doing twenty requests at the same time. I would suggest a maximum of about five or six slots that people can sign up on, since anything more would just be overworking yourself.

Your list doesn’t need to be anything complicated - just a list of slot numbers with names next to them should suffice. However, be sure to remember to update the list with every new or completed request, otherwise it becomes fairly pointless and you’d be better off without it.

Leave your contact information as well

It’s pretty important for clients to have a way to contact you, instead of it only being a one-way deal. This way, they can ask you questions about pricing or the services you offer, or offer feedback or changes on your creations for them. It’s best to include a few options for contact information; 2-5 should be more than enough. Options such as Forums PMs, Email, Skype, and Steam should be your go-to contact spots, but other options should work too. This point doesn’t need to be too fleshed out or anything; a small list of your different accounts will suffice.

Make sure you have a clear refunds and alterations policy

Oh boy does this one come into play a lot.

Having a clearly written refunds and alterations policy can save you a lot of hassle down the road when dealing with people who were not satisfied with the quality of their artwork and want either the artwork changed or everything refunded. Be sure to cover which details or aspects you will be willing to change and, if applicable, the prices associated with them.

This sort of policy generally isn’t required, but it’s a very good idea to have one in your main post.

Let the client know exactly what they will be getting in return

You don’t need to get too specific here. Make sure the client knows what project files they’re getting before they apply for a slot. If it’s an image project (like a banner or signature), be sure to specify whether they only receive a final image (.png, .jpg, .gif, etc) or also the file used for image editing (.psd, .ai, .xcf, etc). If you’re offering video services (like an channel intro or trailer), specify whether they receive a final video (.mp4, .mov, etc), or also the project file (.aep, .c4d, etc).

Again, this will help you to avoid disputes by telling people of their options ahead of time.

Make your thread pretty!

This one’s the really fun part. Your shop’s main post forms the client’s first impression, so you’d better make it look good. The layout and eye candy of the main post can make it a bit more organized (because everyone loves sections, right?) and also nods a bit to your art style while making your shop seem more professional and credible.

Don’t be afraid to show off your ability in any of the formatting or images you use - it’ll only encourage more clients if things look nicer. Headers and titles (like the ones found in this guide) should be very easy to make - just make sure they’re consistent and you should be fine.

As for the rest of the post, feel free to use your creative opinion to discern what you think looks good. As a general rule of thumb, try to stick to using the default font (14pt Verdana, black) as much as possible, though it’s a good idea to accent a few important bits in a more prominent color or size.

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At long last, we’ve come to the important bit of the guide. This is the part where you’re strictly recommended to follow if you don’t want people thinking you’re an idiot.

Of course, we could just answer the question posed in the title as “be professional”, but that really wouldn’t be helping anyone out, would it? You might not even know what ‘being professional’ means. So, here is a small list of things you should watch out for when dealing with clients and just acting around other people on the forums in general.

Act courteously towards other people, regardless of whether they’re paying or not.

Here's a small comparison for you: when you go to your local neighborhood cornerstore to cash in on a free soft drink deal, you still expect the employees to be courteous towards you even if you are not buying anything.

Similarly, regardless of whether your shop is free, paid, or mixed, you should never treat any client with contempt or with unequal regard, no matter what their price point is. Of course, when I say "treat with contempt", I don't mean something like not offering them the same amount of detail corrections as paid customers - you can put that in your refunds/alterations policy if you want that to be a thing.

Just remember to follow the golden rule - treat others the way you want to be treated.

Try to keep your posts simple and readable

What I mean by this is to avoid cluttering up your post with either unnecessary content and formatting or otherwise making it difficult to read.

For starters, you're going to want to try to use proper grammar and capitalization when posting. Nobody wants to read a post where Every Single Word Is Capitalized or none of the words are capitalized at all, nor do people want to read a post that has zero punctuation in it. Especially if english is not your first language, it's very helpful to have someone else - be it a friend or just someone nice on the Forums who's willing to help you out - to check over your grammar and spelling for you.

If you're one of those people who likes to use fonts or colors other than the default ones or sprinkle meaningless emoticons throughout your posts, try to refrain from doing that. It severly affects the readability of your posts and possibly your reputation with your clients. You are running a semi-professional (if not fully professional) business here, hence putting your client's readability and well-being in front of your own convenience.

Try to stick to a rigid timetable for requests

You should generally try to set a fixed schedule, say, two or three days per request, for clients' artwork. This way, you can avoid having people ask you when their artworks will be done, and will also facilitate with your shop schedule if you happen to have a fairly busy life. Although it's generally not a nice thing to be rushed by someone, this should minimize the chances of that happening, so both you and the clients should be better off with an estimated time of completion available.

Try to keep disputes outside of the thread

Obviously, you should try your hardest to avoid disputes altogether. However, sometimes disputes and quarrels are inevitable - say, a client is unsatisfied with an artwork no matter how much effort you've put into it and provokes you into lashing back. If something like that happens, try to keep it out of the shop thread. Take the initiative to contact the dissatisfied client elsewhere (Forums PM may be the most convenient), and settle the dispute there.

Even if you settle the dispute quickly and fairly on the thread, the posts will still remain and may affect the way future clients view you and your shop as a credible operation.

And as always...

Follow the forum rules

This one's the most important of them all, and should also be the simplest one to understand. Just remember - it may be your shop, but it is someone else's forum.

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And there we go! That should sum up the guide fairly nicely. If you have any questions or any suggestions for this guide, please don’t hesitate to post it in this thread or PM one of your friendly neighborhood Show Your Creation moderators about it. We’ll be more than happy to help you out with it.

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