Name of your website?Alebara
Your name?
Alejandra Barahona
Your Location (city, etc)
Guatemala
It shows some of my illustrations and comics through out 2006 and 2007, some of them have been in some exhibitions in Brooklyn, NY
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I want people to get to know more about what I do and also start supporting artists from countries like Guatemala
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
2004, it was also some illustrations I started at that time in conjuction with my industrial design projects, this helped me win a grant to continue my education in Trondheim, Norway
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I thought my name was the best way to make people remember who I am and what I do
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
there aren't that many cartoonists in Guatemala, specially females who advertise themselves, my site shows everybody that there are good cartoonists in my country.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
advertise myself as much as possible, get offers to continue doing exhibitions and eventually I would like to publish some of my short stories which I have done as zines or short comics so far.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
more people are getting to know what I do and log on my blog to see what else I am doing, I have had great reviews from people who have seen my work.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
right now I have a main site that throws you to other free sites, If I had an unlimited budget, I would probably make everything in one site, with hight resolution pictures and the possibility for people to buy my illustrations and comics through the web.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
this is what I like doing, so If I see people like it I would be thrilled and spend more time updating it.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
I am not so savy with websites and have spent hours trying to make this work.
What has been your biggest challenge?
designing the main site and updating it with new illustrations
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
e-mails and pins with my URL
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
it is like a full time job, a lot of marketing involved
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
two years by myself, and I hope to keep it for a long time, still have ideas and projects I want everybody to see, and it would be great to make a living out of my art, I would deffinetly put more time on it if it got popular and people start buying.
what is the thing you like most about your site?
the intro, It took me a while to think of a simple intro to call attention.
What is your website address?
Alebara
