How to share your models... so people find them
Hi all.
I decided to go on Printables and sort all models by New uploads, and I am currently in shock. I have scrolled for half an hour and I'm still at today's uploads. There must be hundreds of models uploaded on a single day where a majority of them have 0 likes, 0 downloads and 0 ratings.
Let's say I have a model that I truly believe is relevant and interesting to people. Seeing as my model would probably get drowned in the New uploads section... how would one go about sharing a model so that people actually find them? Any thoughts?
RE:
1. add tags, think about what are the keywords you can use to describe your model, and add tags based on it.
Example 1: you created a gopro mount on LEGO brick, which can be placed on gridfinity set.
So your tags are: gopro, lego, gridfinty.
Example 2: - gopro on vslot 2020 profile (aluminium)
So your tags are: gopro, vslot, vslot-2020, vslot2020, 2020.
2. remember to use good descriptions with more detailed info what it does - search process those and helps to find such models by keywords.
3. add photos of actual prints - it REALLY helps people to find things that are working and are not just some 3D rendered content.
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
This is a great question.
I have something similar that I feel could benefit a lot of people as well. I am in a lot of 3D printing groups on Facebook and occasionally there will be one posted that is asking "What are you printing right now?" or "What are you working on?" I shared my model on one of these posts and I had one person ask me for the link and he downloaded it but unfortunately, that was it. I got one like and two downloads so far.
I am going to follow this post for further input. My latest one took me a lot of time and at least a full roll of PETG to get it right so it functions as I wanted it to and also fits as far as correct measurements. I am proud of what I made. I want to get the word out so people can use it!
Some people on Printables have so many likes and downloads on their models. I wonder if that is because it is a great design that everyone loves or they promote it very well.
Maybe this can turn into a thread for all of us to learn how to promote our projects so they are seen by a bigger group of people.
RE:
I have downloads on every model I post. When I post a model to Printables, I typically include a link with the relevant article or forum for the model. For instance, I have some special tools for automotive work. I posted their existence in the relevant forum and people found them. I don't know if people are finding my models in Printables directly.
If you have a relevant model to some sort of task, industry or hobby group, post a link in that forum that you have such a thing. That's a good way to get the model in front of the right people.
And just like a website or anything else, unless you personally promote your work, it's unlikely that anyone will ever know you created it.
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
My latest model is a cup holder that clamps to the edge of a desk that holds those larger tumblers. Like the Stanley cups that are popular with ladies, and are sold out quite frequently. I feel like this would be something that can be used by a lot of people.
It has 25 views and 2 downloads so far. Its still new but I want to promote it as best as I can.
hundreds of models uploaded on a single day
Currently averaging over a thousand a day.
majority of them have 0 likes, 0 downloads and 0 ratings.
How many of them did you download and print? I'll wager none.
how would one go about sharing a model so that people actually find them?
While you might use Printables as a repository don't expect anyone to find a new model/part there. Printables has no quality control. All the search and popularity filters ensure that new entries will never be found unless linked to from elsewhere. Instead, a few models, mostly from the early days of the site, have acquired momentum and always feature early in searches thereby getting disproportionate numbers of popularity reinforcing downloads despite there being many other better examples buried deeper in the morass. The only new prints ever likely to be found are new uploads by the designers of already popular objects.
Don't be fooled by competition winners: Competitions are short, there is no time for any of the entries to be tested so their quality and fitness for purpose is unknown - even to the winner.
So: go elsewhere and link back - however the chance that many people in <interest group of choice> are able to use a 3D printer is small...
A good print may take months to test, refine and polish, then the documentation may take many days to write, test, edit and polish; since the advent of Prusameters it has not been worth publishing on Printables as the effort is wasted.
I have several dozen tested prints that I would like to share but I don't know of any repositories where they would be found often enough to justify the effort.
To answer your question: Unless you already have access to a group who would be interested in your model and capable of printing it - you can't. Printables is merely the least worst of an exceedingly bad bunch.
Cheerio,
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
I agree, it's rather sad how things one put a lot of effort into creating and documenting get buried under tons of crap on that site. I still publish most of my models there, but mainly so I have something to link to when telling people about them using other channels. Still, I do get some downloads, and every single one makes me happy. 🙂
What bugs me the most is how few people post a make. It makes me insanely happy to get that kind of feedback, and one would think that the downloaders would happily post a make to get some Prusameters - but that doesn't seem to be the case.
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
Yeah, makes are useful. I published a design of an ESP32CAM mount for a MK4, after discussions arising from a make it got improved, without the make that would not have happened.
I've got a couple of models that have a reasonable number of downloads now, I think they are getting found because I was very careful in the naming.
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
Would you mind sharing a link to your models? I have created exactly such a mount just yesterday (not suitable for Printables, though), and I'd love to know how you solved this. 🙂
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
A pleasure 😉
https://www.printables.com/model/668369-esp32-cam-case-and-mount-for-mk4
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
I agree, it's rather sad how things one put a lot of effort into creating and documenting get buried under tons of crap on that site. I still publish most of my models there, but mainly so I have something to link to when telling people about them using other channels. Still, I do get some downloads, and every single one makes me happy. 🙂
What bugs me the most is how few people post a make. It makes me insanely happy to get that kind of feedback, and one would think that the downloaders would happily post a make to get some Prusameters - but that doesn't seem to be the case.
What was it like getting that first Make? That’s what I am striving for. As little and insignificant as it may be in the grand scheme of life, it’s a small goal that I have.
I post makes of just about everything that I print if it is found on Printables.
RE:
I am in no way a popular maker on printables but I guess I have managed to have at least some modestly successful prints published and no zero download models.
I think other than the mentioned meaningful title, description and especially keywords, it is important to put the model into the right sub-category. Ignore the entire Printables turnover. In many sub-categories the turnover of models is much slower, giving new entries enough time to make it into the "trending" segment of that sub-category. That is if the model is really as interesting to others as one believes.
I agree as well with the statement that you should always post entries with real pictures of the printed model. People will ignore renders usually, rightfully so. If you can't be bothered with test printing your model, why should anyone else?
Be realistic in your expectations and know that the counting at Printables is much more restrictive than on some other sites. Only unique downloaders count, so every user once, no matter how many individual downloads they do. I think thats reasonable but it also leads to lower numbers.
Don't spam other sites but there are forums where your projects are in fact welcome. There you can post a short description and a link, improving visibility of your model. If you do a Voron mod for example, you can post a link on the Voron discord in the Mod channel. It will disappear there very fast too but the Discord search is very good and people are searching there for mods. If you have what people are looking for you'll get downloads.
Mk3s MMU2s, Voron 0.1, Voron 2.4
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
What was it like getting that first Make? That’s what I am striving for. As little and insignificant as it may be in the grand scheme of life, it’s a small goal that I have.
It was a lot more uplifting than I had imagined. It was actually a very simple model, but useful in its context. Reading that comment made me really, really happy and helped a lot to keep me motivated to learn FreeCAD properly. 🙂
I post makes of just about everything that I print if it is found on Printables.
Yes, that's also what I do. It's just common courtesy to post a make if you get any use out of the work that somebody else shared with you for free, IMHO.
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
Makes are much harder to get than downloads (but it depends, with small useful prints its easier to get makes). In my case I have a make for every 100 downloads and a remix for every 400 downloads on average.
Mk3s MMU2s, Voron 0.1, Voron 2.4
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
Yeah it can be difficult to be found in amongst the deluge. It doesn't help that I don't really do social media or advertise models elsewhere. Thejiral is right that proper keywords and category ca make a difference though.
I recently broke the 1000 downloads mark on one model, although that is more due to the recent release of a certain movie than anything else. Weirdly enough it also seemed to mark the start of requests to allow prints to be sold in etsy shops. And yes it is always a great feeling when someone posts a make of your model.
RE:
What bugs me the most is how few people post a make. It makes me insanely happy to get that kind of feedback, and one would think that the downloaders would happily post a make to get some Prusameters - but that doesn't seem to be the case.
One would think, given the huge number of pointless models that get posted for no better apparent reason than to garner prusameters, that it would not be so difficult to get users to post makes. Because you can only get PMs for your first 10 models posted, but you can get up to 100 PM's per month by posting makes. Snap and upload a picture or two, write some words, and you get some PMs for having printed something you were going to print anyway. I thought when they changed the rules to limit somewhat the number of PMs that could be awarded by posting makes, and especially if a model already had makes, that it would negatively impact makes received. But I think that it has largely been irrelevant, given the difficulty in even getting somebody to post the first make of a model. It boggles the mind.
Another fun one is when you do have somebody post a make, and they give a lower rating because it lacks some feature that is stupid and goes against what you were trying to accomplish. Only had that happen to me once so far, and I probably let it annoy me more than I should have. If you're going to do that, how about message the designer and ask if they would make you a version with the feature you want; the worst that could happen is they say no. I had a guy do this once and I was like, "OK, but I would appreciate you posting a make of it in return." The change he requested wasn't stupid, so I added another version of the model incorporating it, and the dude actually followed through on it by posting a make.
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
Why is anyone concerned with PMs? So you can get an overpriced spool of filament for the shipping charges, which are quite high.
I'd rather just buy a random spool from Amazon with no shipping. The prices for a roll of PETG is actually cheaper than shipping it from Prague.
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
Why is anyone concerned with PMs? So you can get an overpriced spool of filament for the shipping charges, which are quite high.
I'd rather just buy a random spool from Amazon with no shipping. The prices for a roll of PETG is actually cheaper than shipping it from Prague.
Well, not everybody lives in the US. 🙂 Shipment from Prague to me in Germany is 6 Euros, so it's absolutely worth it.
RE: How to share your models... so people find them
As a designer, the question isn't whether you should be concerned with PMs, it is whether your users are concerned with PMs. It may be that most of them are not, hence the difficulty in getting people to post a make even though the site offers an incentive for them to do so. In addition to the point made above about many people being in the EU where shipping is less, you can also let the PMs accumulate and order 2 or 3 spools at once. I understand that recently Prusa has temporarily restricted this based on availability of Prusament, but this should only be temporary (I think it's entirely reasonable to reserve filament for paying customers, at times when they can't keep enough in stock). Also, PMs can be exchanged for things other than filament.