“Digital Coffee” Networking Online
Digital Coffee
“Make use of time, let not advantage slip.”
-William Shakespeare
Now that you’ve mastered the art of cold outreach, it’s time we strengthen the power of our efforts and start doing what I like to call, “Digital Coffee.”
In a paper published in 2018 in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Professor of Communication Studies, Jeffrey Hall, conducted a series of studies on friendship. He wanted to figure out how many friendships a person’s brain is capable of handling at once, as well as how much time it takes to build those friendships into true bonds.
His research led him to find that a person is typically able to handle about 150 friendships at one time, and that it takes about 40-60 hours to go from acquaintances to having a casual friendship, 80-100 hours to build a casual friendship into a true friendship, and about 200 hours to become good friends.
In our efforts to build strong friendships and connections in our field of work, that means we need to be investing a lot of time into the building of those relationships.
This can be really simple if you live in one of the big art hubs of the world like Burbank, Paris, Florence, São Paulo, or New York City (just to name a few.) When artists in your field are all around you, you can build a habit of reaching out to people to meet up for coffee or lunch, or even better, for a drawing or painting session in person on a regular basis!
But for most artists, and with the way the art industry has been preferring contract work rather than in person hires, the “art world,” so to speak, has become much broader and more spread out. But just because you may not live near the people you are trying to build friendships with doesn’t mean that you don’t have the opportunity to spend the time needed with people to really connect.
Start hosting and inviting people out for a digital coffee. It may feel intimidating at first, but it doesn’t have to be. I have found that a nice 20-30 minute conversation through a video call like Zoom or Google Meet can be extremely effective, and overall just a really lovely way to spend time with people, get to know them, and connect. It’s usually really easy to coordinate a time together, and I have found that doing these on my daily lunch breaks usually falls during a great time that typically works for most people.
If you were to only have three digital coffees a week, that’s anywhere from an hour to three hours on a weekly basis that you are putting toward growing relationships with your connections (depending on how long your conversations are.)
Over the span of a year, that adds up to anywhere from 52 hours to 156 hours that you have poured into your friendships. That’s some really meaningful time spent! And it will get you far in your efforts to build your network of professionals.
Again, I do think it is even more valuable for a friendship to have these meet ups in person, so if someone you would like to connect with lives close by, definitely get together in person. But these digital coffees are still really excellent ways to connect and build relationships when distance is between you. And there are actually some additional benefits to the digital coffee as well. Here are some that I’ve found to be true:
They require less of a time commitment. Without all of the traveling time that is usually required to go grab a coffee with someone, a 20-30 minute call is less of a stress on the professional you are wanting to meet with. This will result in more people agreeing to spend time with you as you begin to reach out and ask for meetings.
Professional artists are humans too. There are many people with social anxieties that might struggle to agree to in person meetings, along with many who simply feel more comfortable having a digital meeting as a protection for their safety rather than meeting up with a stranger in person.
You still get the benefits of talking face to face but there are fewer social pressures to worry about. For example, when I get nervous my hands begin to sweat. I hate this and always have! But when I first started attending in person animation art conferences like Lightbox or CTN I felt like this was a real handicap and made my introductions awkward and unpleasant. With Digital Coffees you don’t need to worry about sweaty handshakes, bad breath, or anything else that might cause worry in person. It is also very convenient to share your screen with each other so that you can show your portfolio and pass along emails, links and other social media contacts while in the discussion.
How To Schedule A Digital Coffee
Scheduling your first Digital Coffee is very simple and we’ll be following the same process we discussed in the prior section regarding cold outreach. But before we reach out to anyone, we’ll want to identify who we should be reaching out to for these kinds of meetings.
When working as an artist in animation and entertainment, I would say it’s always best to speak with an art director when the opportunity arises. But this isn’t always possible. So if you aren’t able to speak with an Art Director then it is always great to meet and speak with other artists that are currently working at the places you want to be working at. I’ve had great success reaching out to other artists that are willing to hop on a call and talk with me.
Here is a good example of a message you could send them:
Hi (Artists Name)!
I hope you don’t mind me reaching out. My name is (Your Name) and I’m a huge fan of your work! I was wondering if you’d have 10-15 minutes next week for a quick Zoom call where I could ask you a few questions about breaking into the industry. I’m just getting started in my career and would love to get your insight as I highly admire what you’ve been able to accomplish.
All the best,
(Your Name)
Now, not everyone will say yes. You’ll need to send out a few of these for every 1 meeting that you schedule. But when someone does agree to meet with you, remember that you will need to be the one that takes the initiative to set everything up. Ask them what their schedule looks like and what days and times could work best for them. Be very flexible on your end to make it as easy and painless for them as possible. Once a time has been set, get their email and promptly send them a meeting link so they have it on their calendar.
On the day of your meeting, make sure to be on time. Not a minute late. Come prepared with a list of questions and lead the conversation. Remember, you called this meeting so they will expect you to have a direction in mind for the meet up and specific things to talk about. Make sure you show up very prepared.
If you struggle leading conversations, here is a great list of questions you could try:
(NOTE: I use the animation industry in my examples, but if that industry does not apply to your career field, sub it out with whichever artistic industry you’re involved in.)
How did you get started in the animation industry?
If you were trying to break into animation now, how would you approach it?
What was your educational background and how did it influence your career?
What skills or techniques do you consider essential for a successful career in animation?
What kind of work should I include in my portfolio to stand out to potential employers?
What are some common misconceptions about working in the animation industry?
How do you see the animation industry evolving in the next few years?
How important is networking in finding opportunities in animation?
What is the work culture like at your studio or in the animation industry in general?
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome them?
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in animation? (Or other career field?)
What’s one thing you wish you had known when you were starting your career?
How do you balance personal projects with professional work?
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your career in animation?
When in the call it's important to, “read the room.” If the person you are talking to doesn’t feel pressed on time, seems to be enjoying the conversation and isn’t giving signs of needing to get off the phone, then continue the conversation and ask one or two more questions. Otherwise, it’s important to not take up too much time. When it feels appropriate, politely thank them for their time and end the call.
The Follow Up
“The key to success is follow-up. The fortune is in the follow-up.”
-Harvey Mackay
Once you’ve had this initial conversation, it’s important to wrap up the experience with a short but very grateful thank you message/email. Try to make sure you send it within 24 hours of having your meeting. As always, make it your own and always be genuine, but if you’re struggling to know what to say, it can look something like this:
(Artists Name),
I just wanted to say thank you so much for your time today! It was extremely helpful and I absolutely loved talking with you. I will be implementing everything you shared with me and I look forward to the day I am able to update you on my progress. Thank you again!
Best,
(Your Name)
In the coming months as you put true effort into the implementation of the advice given, reach back out to this individual and show them your updated work.
This will do a couple of things:
1. It shows them that you valued what they had to say and didn’t waste their time.
2. It shows that you are able to take criticism and implement feedback, and
3. It puts you in their mind again. And at this point, I’d say they will most likely never forget you.
I have received many jobs this way and have found it to be a very effective way to build relationships with the people I would like to someday work with.
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