Slumps: Do you ever feel like giving up, as a sound designer?

[Lotuzia]

Pay attention to your audio demos : This is the only real musical link you have with your users.

Words and artworks are only there to transmit and precise what you have wanted to do with your presets, but music/audio are the real thing.

Price should simply reflect the amount of work put in the presets (aka ROI).
Beeing cheap won't make you sell more. Or less. Beeing too expensive will make you loose more/less sales. So just find the right/true price.

Finally, find and meet your audience, and try to make them aware that your work can add something to their music (else, why should they buy your sounds ?) . This is probably where audio demos take all their dimension : They reveal at once the identity of the soundset.

Everything else is not really important.

[synaesthesia]

I think the key thing for you at the moment is to get back to enjoying doing it. Sales go up and down, but if you're not enjoying it the slumps will always feel much worse.

I'd take some time to reflect on the sound design as an art form, rather than as a business.

Have a think about the sort of sounds you want in your sonic arsenal, what do you need to create the music you love to make... especially if you think there's something that's not out there. Making osunds you think will sell but isn't really what you want to be doing is ALWAYS a terrible idea. Sure, you might hit the sweet spot a few times, but if your heart isn't it in your work, it'll be obvious and it'll put off potential customers.

Give yourself a long deadline, but work out a schedule. Note down things like when you want the soundset finished, when you want to have done the demo tracks, the artwork, etc. Make sure your revamped website's ready in time. Maybe have a nice freebie available at the same time as your new soundset, get people on to your site, they'll be more likely to have a look around if you've enticed them with a free gift.

Work on relationships with your customers. Mail list is vital... but you have to get it right between being informative and spammy! But also, have a Facebook page for people who dig your stuff. Gives them an opportunity to comment on your sounds, throw ideas your way, just general interaction can create good relationships that turn into things like loyalty and respect.

Everybody talks about price of course. I think your price has to reflect the quality of your work and also the market you're targeting. I have no doubt that a lot of people think my soundsets are expensive. But I also get a lot of emails/messages from people who say they'd happily pay more. So, don't necessarily think that cheaper is always better, it isn't. There's perception involved.

But, as I said at the outset, the most important factor is getting back to enjoying it. You have to do that first, before you worry about any other aspect of it.

Because synth programming is horrible if you don't enjoy it!

[aMUSEd]

It's rather depressing when people won't even bother with a thanks or some feedback for downloading something free that you have worked hard on, let alone actually paying for or donating something. Not that I make them for that but it would be nice to know if people are using this stuff - zero responses of any kind can be soul sapping.

Best thing is to just make stuff you enjoy - if others' can use it too that's a bonus but it seems more about karma than anything else tbh

For me making patches is a byproduct of making music anyway - not serious 'sound design'

[Lotuzia]

It's rather depressing when people won't even bother with a thanks or some feedback for downloading something free that you have worked hard on, let alone actually paying for or donating something. Not that I make them for that but it would be nice to know if people are using this stuff - zero responses of any kind can be soul sapping.

Best thing is to just make stuff you enjoy - if others' can use it too that's a bonus but it seems more about karma than anything else tbh

For me making patches is a byproduct of making music anyway - not serious 'sound design'

I remember a nordic freeware/donationware vsti developperstating this 5/6 years ago years ago on kvr : thousands of downloads, less than 3 donations, if any, and nearly zero responses/thanks/greetings. Very sad, but a lesson in freeware I never forgot.

[OOBE]

My opinion is that the problem is not YOU as a sound designer, but people themselves. Heck, you can see that in these forums. I awoke long time ago and my post count shows. I just don't bother with people. The Internet is a toxic place, and is very disconnected from real life. What I'll write is all over the place, but I hope I get my point across.

You can have the most amazing website and most amazing soundsets, and you will not get any more biters. We live in a day and age where everyone wants everything EASY AND FOR FREE. It's a human mind issue. We as a society are constantly bombarded through all our senses, and are...unfortunately...evolving for the worst. People are selfish and live distorted realities. Their world is different than yours. Moral values keep decaying. It will not get any better. Unless you can provide something that no one else can provide, forget about making money. It's just not happening.

Everyone wants to be a YouTube star nowadays, become viral, and be the center of the universe. It's an ego-driven society. They want to receive, not give. It's ingrained in them...that spirit of selfishness and entitlement. No one will buy your soundsets if they can get soundsets for free elsewhere. But again, the problem IS NOT YOU, so do not give up...and just enjoy your God-given talent without expecting anything good from other people. I'm not being negative or pessimistic...just being real. I absolutely abhor the fact that good people let go of what they love because they think they're the problem...

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

2100 year - earth population 14 bilion people,statistic: poor 99.99% rich 0.01 ...who d fuk gives a sht for something called sound design ...I do ... :):)

[Aleatoriac]

The approval of others is a nice little cherry on the tippy-top of life.

You're an artist. I'm an artist. I'm a noisemaker and a monster maker and a girlie pin-up art maker, and I don't give a f**k about what anyone else thinks about what I make - I cannot stop making it (I have no free will) and no one can make me stop. It can be shit in the opinion of absolutely everyone else in existence.

No problem. Opinions noted, opinions are irrelevant because I say so. Because I feel so. Because we're conscious, and without consciousness, value is not possible. Value is derivative. You feelin' what I'm layin' down? In your loins?

If it makes money, great! Nice bonus. Still no f**ks given, taken, all we are is post-hoc rationalization generators, really.

Can't stop even when I want to. Weeeeee!

[V0RT3X]

Lots of times I've wanted to give up as a sound designer. Until I realized I didn't want to make sounds other people enjoy but make things I want to enjoy and hear.

So now I make stuff I like to listen to, and I'm quite content with this.

I used to make stuff other people enjoyed, but I often felt too pressured to continue that trend and it just got tiresome.