Tips for Getting the Most out of LinkedIn
I belong to a lot of social networking sites as I truly believe that having a strong web presence is great for business and networking. But by belonging to several online networking portals, it’s hard to keep them all updated and it’s hard to grasp the abilities of each software. I use Facebook as a personal social networking site. Biznik is my main go-to website for professional interaction. LinkedIn is great too, though, for some reason, I can’t seem to get my head around it as well.
A friend of mine, Joan Olsen who owns/operates Pathways Career Success Strategies, sent out a very helpful e-newsletter yesterday. She posted a checklist of daily, weekly and monthly items to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile, which you can find on her blog here.
She also recommended a FREE webinar to me, “LinkedIn A to Z - Use LinkedIn Like A Headhunter,” presented by Paul DeBettignies of BeYourOwnHeadhunter.com. I took part in the 1.5 hour presentation yesterday and really did learn a lot. If you visit the website, you’ll see there are other webinar presentations available for sign-up now as well.
Here are a few of the tips I took note of from both sources:
1. Update your status as often as you can.
By updating the status, you help your profile to stay current, thus higher amongst the other individuals in the search rankings.
2. Saturate your profile summary and resume.
By loading your summary and resume with lots of keywords and thorough content, you’re more likely to turn up in searches.
3. Have a complete profile.
Take advantage of all the space LinkedIn gives you to write about yourself/your business. A complete profile allows more content, thus more search engine readability. Plus, you’re providing viewers with more opportunity to learn about you and your qualifications.
4. Take advantage of the links portion.
Be sure to link to your blog, website, company website, etc. Providing these links is a great way to gain traffic to your website(s) while allowing a portal for the viewer to gain more information about you/your services.
5. Join groups.
By joining groups on LinkedIn, you’ll be able to discuss topics and actually interact with other users. This is the place to flaunt your knowledge on certain topics and to position yourself as an expert.
These are just a few tips I learned. I highly recommend taking a peek at Joan’s website and attending Paul’s seminar. The information is priceless.
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Want to connect with me? Join one of my professional networks!
Funny Video
A friend/colleague forwarded me this YouTube video this morning. I’m sure a professional from any industry can relate to this. Enjoy!
Produced by Scofield Editorial, Inc.
Email for July
Each month I try to send out an email newsletter, although I know I’ve been slacking lately. Sometimes I try to make it educational and general enough for any designers or prospective clients that may be on my list. Other times I try to run a promo of some sort. I feel mixing it up and not always offering the same info keeps it fresh.
This month, I decided to try a new approach to a promo. Instead of just sending out a discount or a certain dollar value off, I decided to cater a bit more to the needs of each client. A big part of why I started my business is client-designer communication, and with that, comes budget discussions. I want to take the opportunity this month to invite prospects to contact me and to discuss their project goals with me. While I don’t believe in altering my prices individually, I do believe in adapting my process (if I can) to find a design solution. Below is the design for the promo:
We’ll see how it goes…
I’m Embarrassed.
I’m feeling a little embarrassed. Actually, a lot. My long-awaited copy of Cathy Fishel’s Freelance Design in Practice
I tore it out of the mailing package and frantically flipped through the pages searching for my name or my work. Nada. I then went to the back and looked under the list of featured designers in the book. Nothing. My first thought was, “Did I get the name wrong? Did I order the wrong book?” After double-checking the title, and my emails to confirm the name, I was left disappointed. I didn’t get in.
My last effort was to flip to the index itself to see if anything I had submitted was included. Ironically, page 13 did contain a quote from me. After feeling embarrassed about flauting this opportunity a bit, I realized a graphic on the cover was also a clipping mask of a design I had done. See below:
Freelance Design in Practice by Cathy Fishel
See the green iPod-looking item in the lower right? That’s all me — not the clipping mask, but the work that serves as the clipping mask content. You can see the full design here. I’m so happy that I was even included, truly, just a little embarrassed that I thought I’d play a bigger part and told everyone I could think of. Lesson learned.
As for the book itself, it’s awesome. I can genuinely say I wish I would’ve had this when I decided to make the leap from a cubicle to my own business. A must read for anyone contemplating the same.
Feature Article
I subscribe to the FunctionFox e-newlsetter and this week’s article was really good. Take a look:
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Estimating Pitfalls
By Creative Business
Pricing and estimating are inextricably linked. All the benefits of valuing your firm’s activities properly will be lost if the process of estimating the effort involved in individual projects is incorrect. Listed below are the ten mistakes that both new freelances and experienced shop principals most commonly make.
Pitfall #1:Too much guessing. How deep is the ocean?… how blue is the sky?… how long is forever? These questions are as difficult to answer as the one often asked by clients: how much will my (brochure/annual report/ad/Web site) cost? In all cases, the answer is the same: it all depends. Specifically, it depends on the problems or opportunities to be addressed, the timing for doing so, the medium to be used and its specifications, and the client’s desires, taste, style, sophistication, and budget. Without knowing all this, in detail, it is impossible to produce a valid estimate. Although this may seem elementary, preparing estimates on insufficient information remains the biggest single project pricing problem.
Pitfall #2: Fear of making some assumptions. Because most clients are not communications professionals, they often don’t know or can’t articulate what they need. They look to us for help in defining it. When you sense this is the case, it may be wise to prepare something they can react to, either positively or negatively. First, get a feeling for their budget. (”Is the $0,000 to $0,000 range I indicated what you anticipated?”) Then, spend a few (no more) hours coming up with three hypothetical approaches to the problem as best you understand it. Ideally, an economical (good), moderate (better), and quality (best) solution. Find previously-produced examples of each type of approach, or do some very rough sketches so the client can visualize what you have in mind. Prepare a single-page “ballpark” estimate for each example. Then explain the positioning/cost/quality trade offs of each approach. Note that this should probably not include preparing concepts (new ideas). This crosses the line into spec work, which is considerably more risky.
Pitfall #3: Confusing quotes and estimates. A quote is a fixed price based on fixed conditions; an estimate is an approximate price, based on flexible conditions. This is not legal hair-splitting. Clients asking for a quote may be expecting just that—a price that’s locked-in up front. There are certain situations where providing quotes may be appropriate, such as routine and highly-predictable assignments. But by and large, the strong likelihood of changes occurring between cost estimating and final delivery makes it better not to provide them. Quotes should be limited in most cases to individuals who are gamblers willing to take the risk of winning big, or losing big. Moreover, unless you are actually providing a “quote,” avoid using the word. Most clients will be satisfied with an estimate (the right word to use) presented either as a proposal or letter of agreement, especially if they’re assured that the price will not change unless they are notified first that job conditions have changed.
Pitfall #4: Not segmenting the tasks. The bigger a project, the harder it is to estimate—unless you think of it as several interconnected tasks. Even with small projects, the more discrete steps you can identify, the easier it is to figure how much time each will take and the less likely you are to overlook any steps.
Pitfall #5: No padding, no checkpoint. No matter how long you’ve been doing them, and how finely you break down all the tasks, assignments nearly always take more time then anticipated. If you’re new to estimating, they end up taking lots more time. One reason is the optimism most of us have about our own (and our clients’) efficiency. Another is our desire to hold prices down to be more competitive. Whatever, be aware of this universal tendency. One cure for underestimating is to add a little padding to discount the “optimism factor.” If you’re inexperienced, increase estimated time by up to 20%; even if experienced, increase it by at least 10%. Granted, this may affect your competitiveness. But don’t forget this point either: it’s not smart to prepare a “competitive” price estimate if you end up making little or no money on the job. Another underestimating cure is building in one or more check points for fine-tuning the estimate as the job progresses. The most logical place is after the concept/first draft is approved. If you inform the client at this time that you’ll be able to beat the estimate, you’ll look like a hero. Even if you must inform him or her that changes have made the estimate no longer valid, it is still better to face the situation sooner rather than later. He or she will have a better understanding of why, which allows a more rational discussion of the situation.
Pitfall #6: Sloppy or inaccurate time keeping. Even under ideal circumstances, estimating project time is largely a trial-and-error, learn-from-past-mistakes process. Thus, the most accurate estimates usually come from individuals and shops with the best reporting procedures and most complete time sheets to draw upon. Every hour spent on every job should be logged, and all records archived. Even if you occasionally decide not to charge a client for all your time (e.g., the extra effort to create a “portfolio” piece, or the extra hours spent working out a computer glitch), it is still important to have complete time records. The accuracy of future estimates depends on the accuracy of records compiled today.
Pitfall #7: Sloppy or inaccurate expense accounting. Estimating project-related miscellaneous expenses is not as problematical as time estimating, but experience and accurate records are still very beneficial. Anticipated expenses should be included in estimates as a separate item. Except for unusually significant ones, it is probably not appropriate to break them down at this time, although it may be preferable to do so when invoicing. (Example: “We estimate miscellaneous expenses—delivery charges, reference materials, etc.—will be approximately $000.”) Additional services such as writing, design, or programming help, service bureau charges, photography and illustration, and printing or production should also be treated as separate items in the estimate. When doing so, be sure to include (but not necessarily identify) your markup.
Pitfall #8: Too many rates. It used to be that every shop, and most freelances, had several different billing rates depending on the task performed. Today, when most work is done by one person at a single workstation, the norm is one rate per individual. It makes bookkeeping easier, and it is less confusing to the client.
Pitfall #9: Different rules in different situations. It is usually best to estimate all jobs on the same hourly-rate(s)-multiplied-by-anticipated-time basis, regardless of how busy you are, or who the client is. This keeps the estimating process relatively simple. It also makes the estimate easier to defend, eliminates any potentially embarrassing inconsistencies from job-to-job, year-to-year, and client-to-client, and avoids any impression that you may be charging “whatever the traffic will bear.” If the job actually turns out to be different than the one you estimated, a typical situation, estimating consistency makes it easier for you to come up with a new estimate, and also makes it easier for the client to accept. If necessary to lower costs to be more competitive, do so by reducing the estimated hours the job will take, not your hourly fee(s).
Pitfall #10: Gilding the lily. As much as we’d all like to do “perfect” work for our clients, we should recognize that it’s an impossible objective to achieve. Moreover, the closer we get to perfection, the more time and expense are involved in attempting to achieve it, and the more illusive it becomes. Thus, to estimate a job based on perfection is to set a trap that will snare us every single time. As an example, let’s say that giving a client a creative solution that’s 90% of perfection (your definition) will take 90 hours. To go from 90% to 95% won’t take a proportionate 5 more hours, it’ll probably take 10. To go from 95% to 97% of perfection will probably take an additional 20 hours! And so forth. Does this mean that you shouldn’t give your clients 100% of your very best efforts? Not at all! It simply recognizes that at some point the quest for perfection will outpace either the client’s budget, or your profit.
This article has been provided by Creative Business, and is excerpted from the publication “Pricing and Billing Standards For Single & Multi-Person Creative Service Firms.” The entire 12-page booklet can be downloaded from http://www.creativebusiness.com/books.lasso
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Book Release!
The long awaited Freelance Design in Practice
I just ordered my copy this morning and I’m confident there’s lots of good advice in here from many different freelancers. Be sure to check it out!
Scenario 9: I’m Just Going to Get Some Feedback via Facebook…
Social networking sites are certainly shaping the way we communicate with people around us. They’re great for networking and for locating other professionals. Only once have I been asked to provide Facebook-ready images that the client could post for their “friends” to approve. This was a new one.
After rounds and rounds of revisions on a logo design, a client said they thought the look was great. They were happy with it and couldn’t wait to get feedback — via Facebook. Now don’t get me wrong; when it comes to creating a new brand, it’s important to get feedback. How is the logo being perceived? What is the typical response like? Close friends, family, and/or colleagues who know the values and goals of your business are great focus group members. They understand your company and what objectives your logo should be accomplishing to best communicate to prospective customers. However, posting on a social networking site can be ineffective and slow the process way down.
As with any project, bringing in opinions from outsiders can be dangerous. How can your mom’s neighbor’s cousin properly critique a piece when they don’t know the goals we originally started with? How can that girl you never talked to in high school but is now on your Facebook page going to appreciate the solution we’re looking at if they don’t know all the ins and outs of the business we’ve researched and discussed? In a more gentle tone, I explained these points to my client. Luckily, they completely agreed and the logo concept never went “live” on their profile page.
There’s a great article by Eric Karjaluoto called “How to Disarm 10 Difficult Client Observations/requests.” In his article, Eric touches on the point, “My neighbors don’t like it,” which also covers how to handle clients bringing in outside opinions. While it doesn’t deal with Facebook, as mine did, it does offer great advice. Definitely worth checking out.
So that brings us to the end of 9 Difficult Client Scenarios and How I Handled Them. I hope that if you didn’t walk away with any new insights, you were at least a little entertained with my stories.
Scenario 8: Can We Use This?
If you’re a designer, chances are at one time or another a client has come to you with a design or image they love. They’re sure it’s going to solve their design challenge and can’t imagine themselves using anything else. The problem? It belongs to someone else. Copyrights surround us daily, yet sometimes, clients can forget their importance and some will even request we use concepts or images without authorization anyway. I’m a stickler on copyright issues, as I think I should be. Using materials illegally could not only get my client in trouble, but jeopardize my business. I run across this scenario about once a year, so I’m pretty familiar with explaining to clients why we can’t use certain items.
A while back I was working on a postcard for a client. They hadn’t loved any of the images I pulled from stock photography websites. As a result, they decided to take matters into their own hands and jump on Flickr. A few days later, I was approached and asked to drop this Flickr image into the printed material I was designing. My first question was, “Do you have a release to use this photo?” The client tried to reassure me that he didn’t need one. He stated, “Flickr is a resource for people to take images for free. If an individual didn’t want their images used, they wouldn’t be putting their pics on the web in the first place.”
I highly doubted these attempts to reassure me so I jumped on Flickr’s website and looked through the copyright info. While I’ve seen personal blogs use Flickr photos before with credit given to the photographer, this was a business and furthermore, a printed piece being developed to generate profits. This was by no means a web page where a quick click could take a user to the individual’s Flickr account. I told the client I’d be happy to use the image if they could get the permission, in writing, from the photographer. As a side note, there were models in the image. I would need a signed model release for each model in that photo. After we were covered with signatures and the appropriate paper trail, I’d be happy to use the photo.
As expected, the client did not want to do all this legwork. Surprisingly though, they didn’t want to finish the project at all. Instead of revisiting stock photo websites or hiring our own photographer to create a comparable image, they thought the whole postcard was worth dumping. While I can certainly understand the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” I was, and am still, confident we could have found a worthy photo for the piece.
Refusing to use certain materials in your clients’ designs can cause frustration, which is understandable. Remember, though, that a good client-designer relationship is built on mutual respect and trust. If you’re client is forcing you to use an image or copy a design concept, realize there’s more at stake than just your client’s business — your own business and welfare is as well. This is one of those scenarios where I think it’s perfectly fine to say, “no.” Just be sure to offer other alternatives instead.
Scenario 7: Let’s Go A Different Direction
Say you’re pretty far into a project. You’ve asked for the client’s approval and have received it over and over along the way. You’re just about to wrap things up and then one day, out of the blue, the client tells you the project solution isn’t what they really wanted. I once ran into this exact situation.
A long time ago, shortly after I started my business, I worked with a client on their website design. It was a relatively large site so the design process took a number of months in itself. The work was approved at each phase of the process and I was well on my way into programming. With just a week or two left of site development, I received an email from my client. They liked the site we were working on, but saw another website they fell in love with. Could we start over with this new piece of inspiration in mind? My initial reaction was a bit panicky. What about all the time we’ve put in? All the research? Did the client know this would cost more? What about the other client deadlines I had lined up after this project was supposed to be completed?
After gathering my thoughts for a few moments, I picked up the phone and gave my client a call. I explained that I was glad they found a site that resonated with them. I was also happy that they wanted to share their ideas with me and felt that our relationship was open enough to talk about moving in different directions. However, we had gone through the approval process already. While I had no problem designing for them, all day every day if they wanted me to, it was going to take much more time, thus a new estimate and a new deposit. After my spiel, they said they completely understood. They didn’t have much more in their budget to dedicate to the project though.
I think one necessity designers must have is the ability to adapt. I interviewed my client for a bit on what they liked about the newfound website. What was it accomplishing that ours wasn’t? Together we developed a new game plan and decided to make a few revisions to our current website project. This helped to give the client what they wanted while keeping the budget as low as possible.
The point of this post is, if a client switches gears on you, don’t panic. Find out what’s putting them off with the current piece and try to find a solution. There are instances, as designers, where we feel we need to defend our work and urge the client to reconsider. In the end though, new ideas can give the client more involvement with the process, bring new ideas to the table, and even push you outside of your comfort zone in a beneficial way; a good portfolio piece or a new service you can provide could be the result. Balancing these considerations while following your instincts, working in the client’s best interests, and remaining a professional, should help you and your client to reach a solution you both are proud of.
Scenario 6: No Contracts Allowed
Sometimes contracts can be a nuisance. There’s usually a lot of legal jargon followed by confusion and questions. But by presenting a contract to your client at the beginning of your working relationship, you’re making sure everyone is on the same page and all possible issues are out in the open.
My contract is quite thorough (aka, lengthy) as I started with a template provided by AIGA. From this, I’ve adapted and created a contract that suits my design process, pricing and policies (note that whatever contract you use, it’s wise to have a licensed attorney review it for you). It’s no surprise to me when I first hand this over to a new client and I hear “wow, this is long,” or “I’m gonna have to get back to you on this; it’s going to take me a while to get through it.” What does come as a shocker is when someone doesn’t want to review it, nor sign it at all.
Almost all freelance design and small business forums stress the importance of having everything in writing. So what do you do when a client is ready to work with you, check in hand, but is hesitant to sign?
Create a smaller document. If it’s just the length of the contract that’s bothersome, maybe keep a less verbose one at hand. Who knows, maybe this one could work better going forward with all new clients as well. Try speaking to your lawyer about drafting a more concise contract that still covers the necessary points.
Ask for their help. Is there something in your contract that is unsettling to the new client? Let them know you’re open to discussion, if such is the case. Is there something they’d like added? Removed? What could be done to make them feel more comfortable?
Fair is fair. Perhaps the client is hesitant because their signing YOUR document. Would they feel more reassured if there was something they had you sign as well, such as a confidentiality agreement (confidentiality should be covered in your document to begin with, but sometimes the offer alone can be reassuring if this is the issue)?
Write everything from here on out. If worse comes to worse, your client still won’t sign and you want to move forward, write down EVERYTHING. When sending emails be sure to point out that you need written approval on items, make deadlines clear, note all charges clearly, etc. If for some reason you did need records down the road, emails are an easy and paper-free way to keep track of your correspondence.
Don’t work at all. If you’re really uncomfortable and refuse to work without a signed contract (as most actually would), then don’t. While it’s great to be optimistic, lack of a signature on your contract’s dotted line is a huge warning sign. You could just be saving yourself some trouble down the road.
As with all legal matters, it’s best to discuss with your attorney. Perhaps your willingness to adapt to better suit the comfort level of your client will be noticed and offer reassurance in itself. Regardless, make sure you worry about your own comfort and welfare too. If you have a bad feeling, it’s always best to trust your gut.
