Why I'm Deleting My Portfolio
There I sat, staring at that little blue button on the screen.
Would you like to delete your Behance account? This action is permanent.
My initial answer was “I don’t want to delete my portfolio! I did all this work!”
I stared at the screen, having flashbacks to all the projects I made in design school (10 years ago). All those years of effort and all-nighters… could I really erase all that with a single click? It nearly made me shed a tear.
Let’s rewind. If you’re a designer you’re probably thinking, “Girl no! Don’t erase your portfolio!” but if you’re not a designer you’re probably rolling your eyes and wondering why I’m getting all emotional about deleting a social media account.
But here’s the thing. I already have a portfolio. You’re looking at it! I just put a ton of work into updating this site. So why would I duplicate my efforts on a different platform and push visitors to follow me in 5+ places? Realistically, no one is going to do that. Furthermore, I’m running into one of those “good problems”. Now that I’m actually getting clients, I don’t have time to update multiple sites with new work. And as any business owner can attest- we need to save time and energy wherever we can.
Frankly, there’s an endless list of social media platforms. You’ve seen them rise and fall. One day Instagram was king, the next TikTok took over. And in design world, it's the same. There’s Adobe Portfolio, Behance, Dribbble, CargoCollective. Even Fiverr and Linkedin have portfolio features these days. When I was a noob, I thought I needed to put my work out there as much as possible so I could be “discovered”.
But here’s the problem with that strategy:
Your Audience Is Distracted By Infinite Choices. When your work is hosted on sites like Fiverr or Behance, you’re competing with all of the other content. It’s hard to get noticed in a sea of literally millions of other designers. It also can give you major imposter syndrome and be disheartening when you start comparing yourself to other designers. Give yourself a chance and showcase your own work your own way.
No Control Over How Your Content Is Shown. You don’t get to control any social media platform. So if another company buys up the site or they go out of business or they change their algorithm or if you get shadowbanned, there’s nothing you can do. You are at their mercy. And frankly, if a site is free, that means you are the product. Social media can be a great tool if used with a purpose (to convert followers into customers) but don’t let it use you. Stop giving away your best content for free to a giant corporation. Save your best work for your own website, where you can actually get customers to buy!
Let’s Be Real. You’re Not Getting Clicks. Sure users might stumble across my page. However, portfolio sites aren’t incentivized to drive people to your website, because then they’re losing a set of eyeballs. They might include a single link in your bio, but other than that, it's challenging to convert casual browsers into followers. I’d rather have one or two socials to update that encourage people to go to my own website.
It Might Be Doing More Harm Than Good: Too many sites to keep up with lead to a digital graveyard, which is a term I coined for long-forgotten pages. And when you only have your oldest work posted, you might feel relieved that not a single soul has visited your profile in years. You don’t want people stumbling across your oldest work, or even worse- an empty profile. At that point, having abandoned social media platforms is like building a store and then leaving the shelves empty and the front door locked. People will assume you’re not in business and never return. This is a philosophy that I learned way back in design school, but it's relevant for business strategy as well: If it's not doing anything, cut it. Simple as that. Take that time and effort and invest it in things that make more impact.
You Need To Go Where Potential Clients Are: If it isn’t working, don’t force it. I have used Behance for years and have seen zero results. No traffic to my website, no new connections, no freelance offers. People just don’t hang out on Behance like they do on Pinterest or Instagram. Furthermore, it's a site for designers. Why would I show off my work to other designers, instead of my target audience- people who actually need help with design? It seems like an ego trap rather than an effective way to share my work with potential clients.
You Could Reinvest That Time and Effort: Don’t spread yourself too thin. If you’re working round the clock and still not moving the needle forward, it's time to step back and re-analyze where you’re putting your efforts. Maybe you could work smarter (not harder) by cutting out the things that aren’t making a tangible impact on your goals, and reinvest that time and energy into things that matter. Find what works and do more of that. Business is always an iterative process- like design! It's okay to experiment and sometimes flop. That’s how we learn and grow!
Audience Prefers Quality Over Quantity: Remember that legitimacy and trust is earned through the quality of your content, not the quantity. There are 4 things your content can do: entertain, inspire, educate, or convince. If it's not doing any of those, you need to rethink the “why” of your content as well as where and how you share it. Many business owners assume they need every social platform to be taken “seriously”. But in reality, if a site isn’t useful for your particular niche or audience, then it's a waste. If you’re in the business of being a hairdresser, you wouldn’t go to a conference for realtors. That’s not your niche. Similarly, each social media has its strengths and weaknesses. Content that thrives on one platform might get zero engagement on another. It's okay to say no to that which doesn’t serve you.
In conclusion, that’s why I’m going to take my own advice and minimize the number of platforms I post on from now on. Have I convinced you? Is it time to rethink how you use social media for your business? I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments!
