Archive for December, 2007
Experiment: Desk Daisy
A while back I had written a post about some office feng-shui one can do to help bring prosperity to their career/business. The subject fascinates me and while I try to place my desktop plant in the right corner of the desk, I haven’t done much else to push the “feng shui energy” along. Some [...]
Stumbling
My aunt Chris, also an artist – oh yeah, check out her link on my links section – is really into blogging. She’s very good at it and has lots of tips and tricks. Just a few days ago, she published the following post about using Stumble Upon to promote your blog. I thought about [...]
A Blogging No-No
I use my blog to promote my business, my passion as a designer and to give the occasional “go green” plug. I think blogs are an awesome opportunity to give clients and colleagues a more personal vibe and to throw a few educational tips out there. There are a lot of business owners out there [...]
Keeping It Real
Isn’t weird how the saying, “When it rains, it pours” is so accurate? Client work seems to pick up or slow down at the same time, referrals roll in all at once or not at all, and compliments from caring clients come in bundles. Strange. Yesterday was a good day – it was one of [...]
A little scary
In chatting with a friend yesterday we were talking about my business. And during the conversation she said, “That has to be scary. You’re solely responsible for your own income. So if there’s no work, there’s no money.” Sure I just nodded in agreement and offered up a flimsy, “Yeah.” But my eyes definitely widened [...]
Email Manners
We’re all busy and we all suffer from making spelling and grammar mistakes from time to time. But recently, I’ve found that poorly written emails can slow projects way down, cause for major editing, and what’s worse, possible printing errors. I hope I don’t sound like a major crab here. In fact, most of the [...]
My Thoughts On Newspaper Advertising
One of the most common ways for companies to advertise is in the newspaper. Ad space isn’t too pricey (depending on your choice for placement) and you’re putting yourself in front of a wide audience. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of this advertising outlet is lessening. Many clients ask me if they should spend their marketing budget [...]
Referral Program
Want to see my latest gimmick? Here it is:“‘Tis the season for giving. You give 13thirtyone a referral, 13thirtyone will give you $150.00 off!” Having a “sale” on graphic design is kind of weird. But I’ve heard it’s a big deal and a good way to bring a few referrals in the door. Of course, [...]
Here’s a Thought
I’m really into finding ways to promote myself and my clients that’s a little different than what most people would do. In earlier posts I’ve blogged about sending unique holiday cards, different self-promotional ideas, etc. Today, I’m working on an ad for myself. It’s a full-color, half-page horizontal for a bridal magazine. Because advertising is [...]
Times Are Slow? Give Back.
We all run into it. The phone stops ringing, incoming emails are only from those pesky retail stores having a sale, and the communication with clients is slim to none. There’s no work coming in, which sadly, means fewer pay checks. I often find it humorous that as designers and business owners, our knee-jerk reaction [...]
