Motion Design as a Subscription Service? Austin Bauwens of Ravie Studio
Nov 1, 2023
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Austin Bauwens, co-founder of Ravie Studio, shares his journey of dropping out of college to build his motion design studio and using social media to gain clients. They explore Ravie's subscription-based motion design services and the challenges in pricing and client retention. The podcast also discusses the growth and revenue generation of motion design businesses, the evolution of animation skills, and the discovery of talented motion designers in the industry.
Transitioning from a solo artist to managing a team requires trust, transparency, and open communication within the team.
Consistently posting creative and engaging motion design content on social media can attract a large following and generate leads for client projects.
Building individual brands within a team empowers team members, encourages collaboration, and expands the studio's network and reach.
Deep dives
Transitioning from a Solo Artist to Managing a Team
As the co-founder of Ravi Studio, Austin shares his experience of transitioning from being a solo artist to managing a team. He discusses the challenges of trusting others to handle client work and the importance of maintaining transparency and open communication within the team. Austin also highlights the need to balance his own production work with the responsibilities of overseeing the company. Remote work has been successful for their team, using platforms like Discord to maintain a sense of connectivity and collaboration.
Harnessing the Power of Social Media for Business Development
Austin explains how Ravi Studio has leveraged social media, particularly Instagram, for business development. By consistently posting creative and engaging motion design content, they have attracted a large following and generated leads for client projects. Austin discusses the significant growth they experienced on social media, resulting in increased visibility and a boost in revenue. However, he acknowledges that maintaining the same level of organic reach on social media can be challenging as the platform algorithms change.
Building a Personal Brand within a Studio
Ravi Studio has focused on building individual brands within the team, rather than relying solely on the studio's brand. Each team member has their own social media presence and audience, allowing them to showcase their unique skills and creative work. Austin discusses the importance of empowering team members and providing them with a sense of ownership over their work. This approach encourages collaboration and innovation within the team, while also expanding the studio's network and reach.
Exploring Alternative Sales Strategies
While social media has been their primary sales channel, Ravi Studio has also experimented with other strategies, including cold outreach and attending industry events. However, they have found limited success with paid advertisements and have struggled to achieve the same level of quality leads as organic social media. Austin highlights the team's discomfort with traditional sales tactics and focuses on building genuine connections with potential clients instead. They use personalized video messages and other creative methods to stand out and make an impression during outreach.
Challenges of a Subscription Model
The podcast episode discusses the challenges of implementing a subscription model in the motion design industry. The speaker explores their attempt to offer subscription-based animation services to clients. However, they encountered difficulties in quantifying the value of the subscription, as the deliverables could vary significantly based on factors like animation type and length. Additionally, they found that potential clients were hesitant to trust the low pricing of the subscription service, questioning the quality and value of the work. Despite initial efforts, the speaker concludes that the subscription model may work better for freelancers rather than studios.
The Future of Motion Design
The podcast episode also delves into the future of motion design. The speaker highlights the need for the industry to embrace creativity and explore new avenues beyond traditional client-based projects. They suggest that motion design might evolve towards experiential content for events, conferences, and digital experiences. They emphasize the importance of interactive and immersive designs, noting the rise of tools like Rive in enabling interactive motion design. The speaker also expresses hope for studios to expand into games and other interactive ventures, showcasing unique creative endeavors. They aim for a resurgence of fresh and exciting motion designers who can bring unique perspectives to the industry.
If you follow “motion design Twitter”, you’ve probably encountered the work of Austin Bauwens, co-founder of Ravie Studio. At 21, running his own 8-person studio, Austin is a bonafide motion design influencer. In this interview Joey explores how Austin dropped out of college 2 years early to focus on Ravie and how he’s seemingly cracked the code of using social media to actually get client work. They’ll also dig into a business model that Ravie tried out, where they offered clients a subscription to motion design services.