Should I Send Sale Sheets or A Portfolio?

There are no doubt a LOT of opinions on this subject, and mine is only one of them. Several people have asked me whether they should send art directors a full portfolio when they are pitching their work for licensing. The short answer in my opinion is no, but let me tell you why I think that.

I LOVE the idea of a portfolio and I have seen so many beautiful ones. I love portfolios that allow you to flip through them like a book online. I always drool over portfolios filled with wonderful mockups, pattern swatches, and information about the artist, and their process. Don’t get me wrong they are wonderful, but for me, they are not an efficient use of my time.

As soon as I learned about sale sheets I was like, “Yes! I’m in!”. I love their versatility, the way they can make your work easily viewable, and how they make my pitching process move quickly and smoothly. If I haven’t sold you on the idea, here are my top three reasons to send sale sheets instead of a full portfolio.

3 Reasons to Send Sale Sheets

1. Sale sheets help you be strategic. When you are pitching your work you need to be tailoring the selection of artwork you are sending to that specific company. If you are pitching a fabric company you want to send full collections. If you are hoping to get your artwork on dishes you need to keep that in mind when you are choosing what to send. They are a great option if you are pitching your work in a variety of licensing categories. Sale sheets help you choose exactly the artwork you want to send for each project.
2. They allow you to slowly drip out your artwork. I LOVE the idea of a portfolio, but as someone who is slower at making artwork waiting to have enough work to fill a portfolio can cause problems with pitching consistency. Dividing up my artwork into sale sheets allows me to send artwork to art directors at a consistent steady pace.
3. They save you time. Creating a portfolio can be incredibly time-consuming, even when you are a pro at InDesign. When I complete a collection or a one-off pattern I go ahead and create a sale sheet for that pattern using my sale sheet template. That way it’s ready to be sent off to art directors the next time I pitch my work.

Have I convinced you yet? If not I completely understand, portfolios are wonderful and if they are the right direction for you I completely understand. But, if you are looking for an easy way to prepare your artwork for art directors I suggest giving sale sheets a try (even if it’s only for a little while).

Is there a place for portfolios?

Of course! Here are some situations where I would send a full portfolio instead of sale sheets:

1. You are planning to pitch several companies in the same category. If you already know you want to pitch a large body of work to let’s say the fabric industry a portfolio may be the right way to go.
2. You want to pitch your DREAM company. If you are feeling ready to share your work with the company of your dreams why not send them a stunner of a portfolio? I would. Make them feel special and show off your work.
3. Maybe you are a wiz at InDesign and already have all the templates, mockups, and other pieces of the puzzle all laid out. Then I say use them! You’ve put in all the work.

Now, I’m dying to know. Are you team sale sheet or team portfolio?