A Time Management System That Never Crashes

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Laurel Black

Laurel BlackI just read the guest blog about bringing cupcakes. It was excellent! I too have just posted on my own blog, a short piece about my personal time management method. (I am trying very hard to post weekly as a marketing goal for 2012.) Here's an excerpt:

At the beginning of every week, I take a piece of paper out of my printer and fold it into thirds and again into half. I then have 6 squares. Five are labeled Monday through Friday with their respective calendar dates, and the sixth is where I put a list of job tasks that have to be worked on that week.

I then prioritize those in order of how soon they're due by numbering them. Then I look in my day planner for meetings, deadlines, etc. and write them down with their hour times in the appropriate day box.

I include things like when I'm going to go to the Y and anything else that is important (like a doctor’s appointment). I now have the whole week spread out in front of me and I can see at a glance how much work time I have (provided I don't goof off playing Minesweeper and reading blogs).

As things come up, I erase and revise. Easy peasy. Takes about five minutes, nothing to install and it never crashes.

Anyone else still using paper?

Posted in All Posts, Freelancers Union, Freelancing, Inspiration, Time Management, Work/Life Balance | Tagged | 4 Comments

Post Holiday Call To Action

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Steve Gordon

Steve Gordon, Jr.We haven't heard from our old freelancin' friend, Steve Gordon, in a while. So here's an excerpt from his column at Rockport Publishing's blog, RockPaperInk.

Creative professionals have a hand in the conception and production of any number of products—be them vital, or simply too much fun to ignore. We know packaging, color theory, marketing, identity and branding; or at least we are less than 6-degrees of separation away from someone who does. We like to think we've cornered the market on bolstering brands, visually swaying the thoughts and minds of the attentive masses (oh go on, admit it—we think we're the bee's knees at this stuff). Why not turn this formidable set of skills loose on ourselves? I've heard it said that if a designer is not making something for themselves, they are failing to do their job in the worst way.

I bring this up as a call-to-action in post-holiday lull that finds the momentum of the past year exhausted, and finds us searching for the next round of energy to get us back up and moving. That will happen, as it almost always does. But as everything and everyone re-aligns and gets their motivation, we have to realize that we are a very important cog in the machine, with a set of skills that would find us very capable of creating something of our own while in the space of waiting to create something for someone else.

Here are some simple starter tips you can do to make something—of yourself—this year:

Give yourself some credit: Give credence and credibility to the ideas that you have floating around. Too often we discount what we know or what we can accomplish because we are thinking in terms of doing it for ourselves. If we were cultivating ideas for a client, we'd know what to do. Why lose that confidence when thinking about our own self-propelled ideas?

Don't take "sides": Side projects get treated as such; unimportant bits that are easily pushed out of the way by seemingly more crucial things. Well, of course they'll be deemed as unimportant if we actively treat them as such. If you are giving any effort or thought to an idea or project that you think has merit, then it is most certainly important.

Ah, yes… your name is on the list—Client #1: One way to give importance to your own ideas is to do something that we creatives are already familiar with; give yourself a "client" code or name, and give each viable idea a very real project number. The chance of following-thru gains a few percentage points if you can see yourself and your project on the list. That way you give visual—and mental—importance to what you want to work on. You also have to actively ditch yourself if you quit the project. There's something disheartening about that and I doubt you do it as cavalierly as you would a "side" project.

Read the entire post here.

And check out Steve's book, 100 Habits of Successful Freelance Designers.

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Should you bring cupcakes?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Ilise Benun

Earlier this month, in the middle of my webcast, "The Only Marketing Tools You Need for 2012," I made a request for creatives to send me guest blog posts. Here's the first of several that came my way as a result. (Just proves that you sometimes get what ask for. In fact, that's the heart of marketing.)

So, from Allison Manley, principal of Chicago-based firm, Rogue Element, an excerpt from one of her recent blog posts, "Advice for Young Designers," with a bit of editorializing I couldn't resist. This is all really good advice for anyone trying to make a good first impression, freelancer or employee, young or old, designer or other.

We frequently interview students or recent design school graduates who are eager to show their portfolio. Even if we don't have a need to hire at the moment, we are happy to do this, since we remember all too well what it was like looking for work right out of school. The feedback from an established designer or firm is invaluable, so you should interview as much as you can. There is common advice out there about how to best do an interview . . . give a firm handshake, spell check your resume, and be on time come to mind. But we'd like to go beyond the obvious suggestions and instead offer a few that are specific to our industry. So here's our short list:

1) Don't wear jeans.
It doesn't matter if the studio you are visiting has a casual atmosphere, or if most designers dress down. It is always best to dress up for an interview. When we see someone coming in our office in a pair of jeans, it sends a visual signal about how seriously that person takes the interview. If you must wear jeans, at the very least make sure they are nice and don't look worn out.

2) Never say "because it looked cool."
We take our client strategy very seriously. We don't make things look pretty/cool/fun/etc just for the sake of it. We consider what's appropriate to the audience who is using the end design. Even if a client says they hate yellow, we will push for using yellow if their audience responds to it in a way that meets the project goals. It's about creating a product that works for our clients, not what works for us (we like to say "communication, not decoration"). The last thing we want to hear when looking at a potential employee's work is that you made a decision on one of your designs "because it looked cool." You should make your color/image/font/layout choices because they impacted the goals for the project. And you bet we're going to ask you why you made those decisions, so be prepared to stand up for those choices.

If your goal for a project is to make cool-looking stuff, then guess what: you are not a designer. You are a decorator.

We're not artists. We solve problems for clients. It's not about what you want for your portfolio. Making stuff look cool has no value. There are thousands of kids graduating every year all over the world that can decorate a great-looking page, and do it for less money than you. Just look at any online "logo shop." You want a career that can grow and sustain you? You had better be ready to offer clients something more than "because it looks cool."

3) Bring cupcakes.
Not required of course, but bonus points if you do. We like cupcakes.

4) Show us how you think.
We can train people on software, best practices, printing techniques and the like. It's fantastic if you have that experience already. But frankly, we want to know that you've got a good mind. So show us that you can solve a problem. Show us process sketches, or talk about the process of the project, so we can see how you got from your initial idea to final execution. We are more impressed by this than your experience with a ton of software.

(This goes for anyone offering a creative service. If they can't see how you thought through a problem to find the solution, they won't be able to value it and/or pay what it's worth. Like your math teacher used to say, "Show your work.")

5) Be curious about the interviewers too.
Ask questions about the firm. Ask them about their working process, their office culture, and expectations. Learn about the type of work they do, and if they specialize in any one type of design or client. You're getting to know them just as much as they are getting to know you, so be sure to ask your own questions.

(Click here to see the lovely cupcakes that went with this post.)

What do you think? Anything to add? Have you tried bringing cupcakes?

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Productivity and 100-Calorie Snack Packs

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Henry Alpert

Even if you’ve never been on a diet, you’ve most likely noticed 100-calorie snack packs on store shelves. In this selling tactic, a food manufacturer will take a brand of chips, cookies or crackers and package 100 calories worth of them into a small bag. Although this food trend is probably past its peak by now, these snack packs still sell very well. Their success is rooted in dieters’ struggle with self-control, and considering that many of us self-employed creatives have difficulty staying focused in our home offices, snack packs can teach us a lesson about willpower and productivity.

Hundred-calorie snack packs are not a good deal in objective terms. According to Consumer Reports, consumers are paying 16% to 279% more per ounce than if they purchased the same product in standard bags or boxes. “If you can buy snacks in their regular packages and use an ounce of willpower, your wallet will stay fatter,” says the magazine.

But apparently that “ounce of willpower” is hard for some people to come by. Shoppers who pick up the snack packs undoubtedly know they are paying more than they need to, but what that extra cost ultimately buys them is portion control.

External controls can help people stick to their goals, whether that means eating less or focusing on work. As a self-employed writer, I understand that the more I work, the more I get paid. At the same time, I can find myself tempted by distractions. So over the years, I’ve developed a number of tricks to help me shore up my willpower and stay focused on what I need to do:

  • Track time – I track all the time I spend on my business using an online service, whether or not the time is billable. Whenever I take a break, I clock out. I’ve set goals for a certain number of hours to work each week and run a report every Monday to see how I did.
  • Write detailed task lists – When I have big project or just find myself struggling to get started, I take the time to write up a list of small tasks and then gain a sense of accomplishment each time I check off a completed item.
  • Use the Pomodoro technique – I’ve been experimenting with this productivity strategy and have never been able to do it all day long (and am not sure I’d want to), but sometimes it does help me get into a productive groove. Basically, the Pomodoro technique has you work in 25-minute increments broken up by five-minute breaks.
  • Keep a “distraction dump” – When I’m working and I feel a sudden urge to check Facebook or look up something pointless on Google, I note that urge in a little book I keep on my desk. Simply writing it down can make the urge go away, and if it doesn’t, I’ll take care of my curiosities during a break.

The list of my little tricks goes on. They won’t work for everyone, and truthfully they don’t always work for me. My processes are always changing. But generally speaking I find that if I want to remain productive, willpower alone won’t cut it. I need to develop an external structure for my workday.

To an outside observer watching me work, my productivity habits might seem overly complex and even counterproductive. For example, someone might argue the process of writing down lots of little tasks simply to check them off is waste of time. Sure, maybe it is a waste of time. Then again, 100-calorie snack packs are a poor value. Whatever works.

--

Henry Alpert is a New Orleans-based copywriter and business writer who works with design studios, ad agencies, and companies’ in-house marketing departments. More information about Henry can be found on the website for his company, Action Copy. Also, check out his blog The Awkward Adverb, a periodic look at substandard Standard English.

Posted in All Posts, Freelancing, Time Management, Work/Life Balance, Writers | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Do you have an online marketing plan?

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Ilise Benun

If you don't already have an online marketing plan in place -- one that uses strictly online marketing tools to find clients anywhere -- I hope you'll consider joining my new online course, Developing a Successful Online Marketing Plan. The new session starts this week and it's not too late to join in.

In 8 weeks and four lessons, you'll learn easy, low-cost strategies for finding great prospects, building relationships with clients and marketing your creative business.

Here's the official description:

Ilise Benun, a widely recognized expert on marketing for creative businesses, has developed a series of reading materials, audio and video presentations, and online resources to help you build an effective online marketing plan for your business in four steps. Plus, you’ll get practical exercises and worksheets designed to help you apply what you’re learning to your own business. And you’ll have a chance to interact with other students to ask questions and share your own experiences.

Course outline:

  • Lesson 1: Finding Your Ideal Target Market
  • Lesson 2: Building or refining a marketing-smart website
  • Lesson 3: Using LinkedIn to find clients
  • Lesson 4: E-mail Marketing Strategies That Work

In this course you’ll learn:

  • How to identify your ideal target market
  • How to find your best prospects, online and offline
  • How to build or refine your firm’s website to effectively drum up new business
  • How to use LinkedIn find new clients
  • And how to use email to strategically stay at the top of your clients’ and prospects’ minds.

Who should take this course:

  • Creative professionals who need the tools and guidance to develop an online marketing plan
  • Creative professionals who want to expand their reach into new markets using inexpensive online marketing strategies

Recommended materials:

What is HOW U?

A HOW U workshop is a purely online class—you can work at your own pace between the start and end dates. Each lesson is made up of reading material, related articles and a few videos to watch, with an assignment to test yourself on what you’ve learned. You can also chat with the instructor and the other students on the discussion board. There’s no specific time “class” is in session, so you can log on before you go to work, on your lunch break or in the middle of the night. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Any questions?

Posted in Announcements, Designers, Featured | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Advanced Marketing Plan

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Ilise Benun

Yesterday I shared the Simplest Marketing Plan I could think of for creative professionals who don't have any marketing in place.

Today, for those of you who do have a few marketing tools under your belt -- and want to find clients all over the country (or even the world!) -- try the Advanced Online Plan.

This builds on the Beginner Online Plan but adds one more tool:

  • Networking (online via LinkedIn and/or in person)
  • Marketing-Smart Web site
  • Email marketing
  • Blogging/Twitter

That's plenty. Really. Once you've got these tools in place, you can always add more.

The Advanced version of the 2012 Creative Professional's Marketing Plan + Calendar Bundle will provide the structure to implement these tools.

These are just a few of the highlights from last week's annual peptalk/webinar, The Only Marketing Tools You Need for 2012, (see what people tweeted with #mktgpeptalk).

Share your experiences with any of these tools, please!

Posted in All Posts, Business Plans, Designers, Freelancers Union, Freelancing, Growing Your Business, Marketing, Resources, Speakers | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Simplest Marketing Plan

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Ilise Benun

Keep it simple!

That's another suggestion I made in last week's peptalk/webinar, The Only Marketing Tools You Need for 2012, (see what people tweeted with #mktgpeptalk).

So you don't get overwhelmed and so you are less likely to get in your own way, I am simplifying all of my marketing recommendations. (That's what's new in this year's Creative Professional's Marketing Plan + Calendar Bundle.)

So I suggested that creative professionals who haven't done any marketing (to speak of) start with what I called the "Beginner Plan." I proposed two versions:

  1. Beginner Online Plan: emphasizes online marketing tools if you're looking for clients anywhere. (This is the one I teach online through the new HOW U, with new sessions starting this week and Feb 6.).
  2. Beginner Local Plan: if you're looking for clients nearby, especially small business owners.

They both have essentially the same 3 (count 'em!) tools and no more!

  • Networking (online and/or in person)
  • Marketing-Smart Web site
  • Email marketing

This will fill your pipeline, if you do it! (If you need help figuring out how to use them, take my online course, Developing a Successful Online Marketing Plan.)

What do you think? Simple enough for you?

Posted in Designers, Featured, Freelancers Union, Freelancing, Growing Your Business, Marketing, Marketing Monday, Self-Promotion | Tagged | 1 Comment

How to spend your daily marketing hour?

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Ilise Benun

In last week's peptalk/webinar, The Only Marketing Tools You Need for 2012, (see what people tweeted with #mktgpeptalk), I suggested that creative professionals should spend 1 hour per day interacting with prospects.

Since then, I've been surprised to receive the most questions about that. They're essentially all variations on "How should I spend that daily hour of marketing time?"

One person wrote, "You recommended spending one hour a day on outreach. You also talked about developing a target market and acknowledged that it takes time. Should that one hour a day include the time it takes to work on a target market or should that be counted as separate time?"

Here's a short answer, but if you want to see exactly how I think you should spend your time, you'll find it in my latest Marketing Plan + Calendar for 2012.

First of all, the point I was making is that marketing must become a habit if you are going to keep a constant flow of prospects coming your way so you can choose which ones to work with instead of desperately taking whatever comes along.

I suggested that a minimum of 1 hour per day should be spent interacting with your prospects -- as opposed to perfecting your marketing materials, which will never be perfect!

However, if you don't have a lot of work on your plate and therefore have more time, by all means, spend more!

As for how that time should be spent, this is where it gets difficult to generalize (and if you want to chat with me personally about it, take me up on the free mentoring session I offer) -- but I will try!

By interacting, I mean "prospecting" (listen to this podcast with Martha Retallick of Western Sky Communications, about how she spends her daily prospecting hour):

  • On LinkedIn, adding people to your network with a personalized message....OR
  • On LinkedIn, initiating or adding to discussions where your prospects will see your "expertise" ...OR
  • Emailing and calling your best prospects, to let them know you're serious about wanting to work with them....OR
  • Attending a networking event.

Those are a just a few ways and no, that doesn't include the time it takes researching the events or finding places to connect with your prospects, because it's too easy for that to take too much time and then suddenly the hour is up and you haven't done any real interaction.

Let me also add that one of the most important elements of marketing is momentum. That's why I recommended doing whatever's necessary to make it a habit. Spending an hour every single day can move you in that direction.

If you have trouble figuring out what to do, my latest Creative Professional's Marketing Plan + Calendar will tell you, whether you're an Advanced or Beginner marketer. It even has an eCalendar component that will add the tasks to your iCal every day.

Posted in All Posts, Connecting, Designers, Freelancers Union, Freelancing, Growing Your Business, Marketing, Self-Promotion | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Did you miss the marketing pep talk?

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Ilise Benun

Thanks to all 1562 people who signed up for my "marketing pep talk" last week, "The Only Marketing Tools You Need for 2012." I do hope you found it useful. I got some good feedback.

In case you missed it, I'll be posting the highlights here on the blog this week. But in the meantime, if you want to watch it, here are the links for the video and the pdf of the PPT:

And if you need some structure for your marketing, try the Creative Professional's Marketing Plan + Calendar for 2012. It comes in Beginner and Advanced versions.

Posted in Announcements, Business Plans, Featured | Tagged | Leave a comment

Designers: Enter the Regional Design Annual

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Ilise Benun

PRINT'S 2012 REGIONAL DESIGN ANNUAL - America’s National Design Competition is now accepting entries.

Click here to enter online now!

Winning entries will be:

  • Featured in the December 2012 Regional Design Annual issue of Print magazine.
  • Celebrated on the Regional Design Annual website.
  • Showcased live at the HOW Design Conference in the Design Awards Gallery -- that's this June in Boston.
ENTER YOUR WORK HERE- Print's Regional Design Annual 2012 will be seen by one of the largest audiences of creative professionals ever and will be an ongoing resource for clients looking for exceptional designers.

Read more at PrintMag.com: Regional Design Annual
For great design products, visit our online store! MyDesignShop.com

DEADLINE: All entries must be postmarked no later than February 1, 2012. A late fee of $35 per entry applies to entries submitted after the February 1st deadline.

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