*** From the Archives ***

This article is from August 17, 2012, and is no longer current.

A Swap Meet Every Creative Pro Will Love

Last week, I went to a swap meet and found a 1973 Polaroid camera still in its original case. On eBay, it could sell for $100, but I paid just $1. Now there’s a digital equivalent of a swap meet that targets creative pros, except it’s even better because you don’t have to pay a thing. Adobe SWAPP is a new multi-issue iPad publication that’s like a tutorial swap meet where Creative Suite users trade tips, tricks, and inspiration with each other. Although Adobe handles the more tedious aspects of production, such as pulling together individual articles and submitting them to Apple’s iTunes App Store, the content comes from people like you.

What’s In It For You?

Anyone can download the app for free and benefit from the how-tos. But to take full advantage of the offering, go to the app’s website and download the professionally designed article templates and all their assets. Even if you never submit a how-to, those templates and assets are yours to keep and use in any project, no strings attached.

This tutorial from the first issue of SWAPP includes two movies that play when you click on them. The author used the Video Template to create the how-to.

Contributing an article to SWAPP is an easy way to get your name on the App Store. In addition to sharing your smarts with millions, being in SWAPP is also a great way to promote yourself, since every tutorial ends with a full-page author profile. You can use that profile to show samples of your work; link to your website and social media accounts; publicize your products or services; and more.

You can choose from three author profile templates; here’s an example of one of them.

There’s more information on contributing here.

And You Don’t Even Have to Get Your Hands Dirty

I happen to love swap meets. But even people who think of them as piles of discarded junk will find value in the Adobe SWAPP iPad publication.

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