I've made a post about this previously but my workflow had changed slightly since then, so it's easier for me to simply make a whole new post about this.
To clarify up front, yes I do all posts across all platforms, manually. I do not automate the process besides being able to pull from my own templates I made on-the-go. I do not have a static workstation like a desktop PC or even a laptop. I do all of this on mobile. So let's walk you through my journey.
Let's say you want to commission, great! You and I will discuss all details over Telegram (platform 1) and I'll collect your reference images, your email for the invoice payment, and the general idea of your commission. Cool. Now I take all that information and build it into my notes (platform 2). After I am done, I send this back to you to confirm all the information is correct. No spelling errors on the email, making sure the price is accurate, and of course the details are logged proper. Pretty straightforward! Once all is approved I'll build your invoice (platform 3.) next and notify you as soon as that's done. Once all is complete, I manually add you into the Queue (return to platform 3) with the confirmed notes which is automatically sorted by the date of the order or the date of the payment. So far that's not too hard to follow, right?
Now all orders are typically processed in the order they are received, except for seasonal or time sensitive items, and of course Ko-Fi members. Those often take priority, for obvious reasons. Once your commission is completed this is now where we get into the chaos a little bit.
I'll upload your finished commission on Ko-Fi (platform 4) first. No matter what. Ko-Fi always comes first. This is because we manually pay Ko-Fi themselves for a subscription that allows us to allow you to download the full-res file. It's $80/year and this is why your support is extremely helpful, as it goes directly back into funding stuff like this for both of us! Neat right? Once Ko-Fi is uploaded and done, I now move on to the most voted platform to post on. Bluesky (platform 5) I'll post the commission there and of course add a link to Ko-Fi where you can easily collect your finished commission whenever you like. Even if you download it and accidentally lose it, you can always go back to that link and get it again! If you've provided me your username ahead of time, then I'll have included you in that post so you can find it easier. Still with me? Good. Now that Bluesky is covered, to be sure I grab the direct link to the post on Bluesky and paste it into the comments section of the post on Ko-Fi, so now they always link back to each other! Isn't that fancy?
Author's comment: "I used to manually include up to 3 various social platform links inside of the Ko-Fi post but never knew Ko-Fi has a character limit and can sometimes look very broken on desktop. So I stopped doing that and moved on to using the comments instead."
Now lets move over to Mastodon (platform 6) to upload eveything there too. Same kinda style, and I include the Ko-Fi link. Easy enough right? This now captures the core 3 platforms at the moment; 1- Ko-Fi, where you can download your file. 2- Bluesky, because our community voted for us to use it. 3- Mastodon, as that's our preferred platform. Then lastly is Telegram which you could say is our true primary platform since that's where I personally deliver the posts to you and update in the channel.
Well we're not done yet. Even if those are 3 major platforms before ever circling back to Telegram, I usually don't stop here. Let's keep going.
Now we dip into experimental and legacy platforms. As a small not-so-hidden backup, I actually upload over on BuyMeACoffee (platform 7) which also allows downloads without subscriptions or payment of any kind? However I don't fully understand how that platform works and I always provide a warning to use and download at your own risk. And of course to direct to Ko-Fi instead. Still I utilize BuyMeACoffee as a backup just in case. Like Ko-Fi I also add the Bluesky link in the comments section.
After that I can post to another experimental platform like, SoFurryBeta (platform 8) like the name suggests it's currently in beta so it's not particularly stable but it's good enough for my needs. This platform also allows me to allow you to download the full-res file for free?? Again I agvwnr extensively tested this so like BuyMeACoffee it's at your own risk. I also once again add the Bluesky link in the comments on the post.
Not quite done just yet. Now I move over to Pixelfed (platform 9) because I've gotten into a pretty good rhythm of including the SoFurryBeta link within the post on Pixelfed instead of Ko-Fi. Why? Well all links do point back to Ko-Fi anyways so it just makes sense to me. Once in a while I'll put a different link like BuyMeACoffee or Weaysl (platform 10) buy it depends. I have fun with these ones. Can you tell?
Once Pixelfed is done which can only be completed when SoFurryBeta is done. See the steps? Now I hop on to the Legacy platform Weasyl (platform 11) Honestly I really do enjoy how Weasyl hasn't changed at all over the years and has a sense of stability more than FA in my opinion. Easier to work with than DA. And is actually an art platform unlike X. Weasyl also supports Markdown and I absolutely love that as it makes my process so much nicer and easier. I love it!
See now on Weasyl because it's so classic and supports markdown, I can plug all the other previous platform links into one spot. It just sits there. Like a big directory!! Isn't that cool? I find that to be extremely satisfying. So that it right? We're all done now? Not quite!
The end of the road is actually Pillowfort (platform 12) mostly because it's experimental and I mean more than SoFurryBeta from what I can see. It's an invite only and pay-to-enter platform, for artists..but it's pretty empty and niche? Either way it's almost like Weasyl (doesn't support markdown) but I can embed links and use a little bit of formatting to make everything look a little nicer and easier. So it's almost like another backup directory?
Okay okay, that should cover eveything because now I circle back, all the way back to Telegram (platform 1) and share the two primarily links; Bluesky and Mastodon. Then I include a 3rd experimental link just for fun. Once that's posted in the Channel, I forward that post from the channel to you directly on Telegram via DM. If you do not have Telegram and you are from a different platform, then I just ping you there with a Ko-Fi link and that's it! Done.
Yes for reals this is it. I am constantly adjusting my templates for my own use, and trying to word some of my posts better. So they are not as robotic as you might think if you assume I'm simply copy-pasting eveything! If only it was that easy. This doesn't even cover all the manual tags I have to choose across platforms that have tags. This also doesn't cover Alt-text as that's mandatory on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Pixefed. So those are little bits of hidden work I do that truly blends in and often goes unnoticed! However if you're reading this then now you know, so hey thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I do appreciate it when you take a few minutes out of your day to hear me out.
Should I shill that I don't get paid for any of this? That I only get paid based on TIPS over on Ko-Fi? Or if you commission art with my character, technically that counts in some ways. Idk. Anyways this will stay here for a while until I need to update my workflow again.
~ Velvet (aka SelfDugGrave.)