January 2011 - Design Theory

As a designer, either in graphics, coding, programming, or in web, we tend to get totally involved in our projects. A lot of times we juggle more than two projects at a time without our clients even knowing, but still providing full support and service. Over time we get used to this type of multi-tasking without even thinking about it, scheduling time to plug in updates, billing, and more. Now what about projects and to our own websites? When will we have time to post new blogs? Update images and links? Yea, this is one of those things I can say (generally speaking) that we all put of way too much.

Between client emails, conference calls, meetings, and the occasional work here and there, it’s hard to find the time to actually do work on our own projects. That includes updating those little annoyances about our work that people may have caught and we still haven’t had time to fix. You also have to consider time to learn new apps and technologies pertaining to your trade.

I’ve learned that time management is such a necessity but is often overlooked. Most of us pretty much go about our days with a general idea of what tasks we will accomplish. Whatever is most important and approaching a deadline, we put to the top of our list of things to do, and the rest is a bonus or shelved for a later date. However there are days where this could totally bite us in the rear for lack of planning. I’ve come up with 5 quick and easy ways to find ways to get to our own projects while keeping in step with our client ones.

1) Populate your calendar down to the hour. This may seem like a big task, but once you get it started and up to date, filling in your tasks and projects by the day and hour will really help you find open times.

2) Create a To-Do List. There are many books out there on Getting Things Done (GTD), and all will recommend a list of some sorts with all of your tasks. Since we’re so tech savvy, there are also smartphone apps and web sources to help with this also. Toodledo is a great free one to get you started.

3) Set Realistic Goals. If you know you need to make some serious adjustments to your own site or work, set a goal for when you want to complete it. Not just a mental one, but actually write it down and place it somewhere that you’ll be constantly reminded of it. Be sure to make these goals tangible. After completing a few you’ll feel proud and accomplished.

4) Eliminate the fluff. The constant checking in on your social sites, spam email accounts, watering the plants, watching sunsets, calling to check on mom. You know what I mean. These fillers are nice “fluff” but take away from what you really need to get done. Though it may be important

5) Make yourself accountable. Now this may be the toughest off all, but I promise it works. Being a freelancer, you really are only accountable for your deliverables to yourself and your client. As an employee, your tasks need to get done so that the next person in line can do theirs. So appoint a fellow designer, friend, or significant other to monitor your projects. Maybe start with the big ones at first so you don’t start resenting them with the smaller tasks and projects.

If you’ve come up with ways other than what I’ve described please let us know in the comments below. It’s all about helping others improve, and we all know we can use improvements every now and again.

Learning to say NO (to bad freelance projects)

All Posts, Web Design

The word “NO” may be one of those forbidden words in the vocabulary of most freelance designers. We may be used to hearing it from time to time from prospective clients or recruiters, but actually saying “no” to someone is something we seldom do. Why is that? For me, I’ll say it’s because deep down I’m in business to help people. It’s not all about the money – though the money is a factor. Really it is about helping people understand why they need my services, and how I can make their dreams come true. Essentially fulfilling a worthy need. This comes with strings that may be harmful to that blissful and wonderful life we know as a freelancer though. Let me explain why.

There are a growing number of design freelancers out there either straddling the line of full time or part time work, and the main dream is to one day only work for self. In working for self, there are some preconceptions about how tasks and work will be from day to day. This may include getting up a bit later in the morning, watching the news, going to the gym, hours or work, quick snack for lunch, then more hours or work into the wee hours of the night. Sprinkle in some emails, phone calls, social media engagement, and research; and that would complete a typical day.

Here’s where things can go wrong. When you’re currently juggling a few projects and a new prospect is eager to work with you and ready to pay – but their project isn’t really within your scope of work or expertise. Obviously you want to take the job because you’re thinking of the money and maybe some bills it would pay, or new iPad you’ve been craving. I won’t call it greed, but you accept the job. Things seem to be ok at first, but after a few days or weeks the project takes a turn for the worst. The client is very needy or lacks feedback you need to continue. Their requests are over your head and out of your know-how. You’ve spent entirely too much time contemplating how to do or what to do. And my favorite, you’re now running behind on your other projects that are completely within your realm of service.

By now you’re thinking, “I shouldn’t have taken this assignment.” Hence, you should have said “NO.” I’m here to tell you its quite ok to just say no to a project. The level of stress you endure when taking these non-essential gigs can start to ruin your ideal day of work. You remember that blissful feeling you had when you first starting reading this and reflected on your perfect day? Well that’s what keeps you doing what you do.

Here are some tips for saying “no” and being polite about it:

Increase your prices: Provided that you don’t have your prices listed on your website or posted service, you can accept a project, sub-contract it to a known associate that you trust, and still make a little money while retaining a new client.

Delay the project start date: Chances are that client may be looking to get started yesterday. (which is already a bad sign) Explain to them your current workload and defer to a date in 30-60 days. If they’re still interested you can contact them back. This also works when current projects are about to expire and you’ve got nothing else lined up.

Admit to your limits: This is a bold step here but can be accepted as a humble gesture. Explaining to the client that their project is out of your scope of work and that you wouldn’t want to accept it without full confidence in what you’ll be able to produce in the end.

Offer a recommendation to another freelancer: This may seem like your passing them off, but if you can explain to them softly why they will understand. Especially if the recommended person is an associate of yours that you can make a warm introduction to this client. Now their project can be done with confidence, your associate will be happy with the referral, and you can keep your day bright and shiny.

Bottom line is that you have to respect people when they come to you for work, and also respect your existing clientele to ensure adequate service is kept for them. One common complain I hear with people I’ve met is that their current or past designer doesn’t seem care about them. Either by not responding to emails, phone calls, missed deadlines, and more. Word of mouth is so powerful and a kind word goes far; while a bad word goes even further and impacts a lot deeper. As a freelance designer, we’re a dime a dozen. What sets us apart is our reputation, keep this in mind with the projects you do take and the ones you probably shouldn’t.

As always, your thoughts are appreciated. Please leave a comment and let me know if you agree or have different views.

Guess what else you need on your website

Social Media, Web Design

I have some goals I set out for this year and one of them is meeting new people. Specifically business professionals and entrepreneurs. By now most of them have websites created which is great. If you’re in business you should have a website, period. Well I used to preach that and actually that’s not all of it. Your website needs a few more elements than just content and contact information.

By now you should have already heard the term Web 2.0 already. Basically it means a new way that websites use to communicate and interact with visitors. You’ll see this with short videos, social media, instant chat, blogs and comment options. These are great ways to mine information from your visitors but also create a more personal connection to them while keeping them engaged to stay longer on your website. Obviously the longer they stick around the higher the chance that they will use or purchase your services and products.

Lets start with Social Media. Depending on your business and service, you may want to use a few of the many social media services that are currently popular.

Facebook I would recommend starting with. Setting up a Fan Page isn’t difficult and may take up to an hour to do. Add some pictures and comments and anything else of interest to your page and profile. Once properly setup with all your profile and contact information, you then need to suggest this page to all of your friends on your personal side of Facebook. This is so that whenever you post from your Fan Page, they will see your post and hopefully comment on it – but also their friends will see it and hopefully become fans too.

Twitter is another great service that helps get your business to people who otherwise would never know you. So whenever you have a new blog post, or sale, or promotion, or event, you post that info in a Tweet. Now Twitter isn’t the place for only trying to make a sale, its a place to make new connections with people who are in all types of likes and industries. Most connections are with people you never met before, but engaging in brief conversations develops a relationship going forward which can lead to sales and referrals. Twitter is also a form of Micro-Blogging which then leads into Blogging. If you’re not a writer, you can train to be by using these means.

Blogging. If you’re not doing it yet, you’re missing out on creating wonderful and meaninful content about your industry. I make the analogy with blogs to how having a website years ago was like being ahead of the game; and now having a website is vital. Same thing with a blog. Your posts should be about tips and information about your industry and services. Things that would appeal to people who seek your services and people within your industry. These posts get indexed into search engines and when people are looking for such information your website may pop up. Create valuable content and build your reader base. In turn, they’ll pass along your posts via social media links and draw in more readers who could then be potential clients and customers of your trade. Are you seeing the pattern here?

Call to action. I have said it before in previous posts, but you have to give your readers something for free if you want their contact information. A website that receives 2,000 hits a day but gains no information about the visitors and converts none of them to leads is not a functioning website. Most sites with great call to actions have items like free e-zines, newsletters, image downloads, website analysis, and more. But everything they offer is free. The only string attached is a vistors email address and maybe their name on a simple form.

None of this should be done over night. Proper implementation does take a bit of time. I strongly suggest a web consultant if you’re not versed with the “lingo” to make these adjustments yourself. Or if you are you can always Google you way through it I suppose. Just know that these things are important to your bottom line if you want to see a greater ROI on your website. If you have any ideas to add to this short list please leave a comment below.

News Feed Optimization: How To Get Your Facebook Content on Top News

All Posts, Social Media

News Feed Optimization (NFO) is like SEO, but specific to Facebook.

News Feed is the carefully selected and optimized content that shows on your Home page. NFO is the process of improving the visibility of your Facebook content.

Why is News Feed Optimization (NFO) Important?

NFO is important because 99% of Face book users will see your content on News Feed and not on your wall!

In fact after a person ‘likes’ your page or ‘friends’ you for the first time, they’ll probably never return to your wall again. The only way to make sure they see your updates is to ensure that your content is visible on their News Feed. And that is no easy task!

Not all your updates appear on your fans/friends’ News Feed. Face book is very selective about the content that shows up on anyone’s News Feed. They decide what they want to show you.

It is not clear what criteria they use to do this, but suffice it to say that Face book uses an undisclosed, complicated method to pick and choose the content that shows on your Feed.

Generally though, the more engaging your updates are – measured by the number of ‘likes’, comments and shares – the more likely they are to appear on other people’s News Feed.

News Feed has two components – ‘Top News’ and ‘Most Recent’ Feeds.

‘Top News’ is where you (and everybody else) want to be. It indicates how influential you are within your circle. ‘Most Recent’ Feed carries less clout.

It shows most updates displayed in reverse chronological order. However, this Feed is also censored! You might think that it includes everyone’s updates based on the time they posted. That is not exactly how it works.

For example Face book can (and sometimes does) ignore some posts altogether – posts coming from brand new users are one example. New users obviously have very few friends and fans and therefore their content is not in high demand. Face book can afford to ignore it!

So if you’re a brand new user on Face book, it is likely that your content will not appear on Most Recent Feed let alone Top News! However as your audience grows, then your content will start to show on the News Feed. Persistence is the key!

So how do I make sure that my updates show on News Feed (and specifically Top News)?

There are several things you can do to increase your chances of making Top News:

On Facebook, the most important thing is to expand the size of your audience. Facebook assumes that if you have a large following, then your content is in demand. Demand then pushes the supply of your content!

Make lots of friends on Facebook and suggest your page to them. Also, ask them to suggest your page to their friends as well. Again, Face book gives preference to people with a bigger circle of friends and/or fans.

Be sure to post highly engaging content. Examples of rich content are: Polls, Questions, ‘How-To’ tips and resources, free give-aways, links, pictures, videos, book or movie reviews, sharing your appreciation of other users, providing special features every now and then, and occasionally surprising your audience with new, interesting and off-topic content.

Get more of your friends and followers to interact with your content. Ask them to like, comment and share your content. You’ll be surprised how willing people are to help you grow your audience. Besides, social interaction is the premise of Face book so it is totally appropriate to ask! The more interactions others have with your content, the more likely that it will show on Top News.

Make sure that you’re always the first to ‘like’ your own content. This encourages others to do the same, and it is also an interaction – (even though you’re interacting with yourself)!

Try to update your posts regularly (at least a couple of times a day). While this is not a guarantee that those updates will show on News Feed, persistence does pay off especially with a good mix of content.

Once a few people start to notice your presence (measured by likes & comments) it won’t be long before others also start to notice you, and their interaction will gradually push your updates to the Top News.

Facebook prefers Videos and Photos to simple text updates. That’s because videos and photos are more interesting and usually receive more likes and comments than pure text. So be sure to diversify your updates by posting photos and video’s every now and then.

The key thing to remember is that NFO takes time. It takes time to obtain a large circle of friends or fans, and it takes time to build shareable content that people will interact with. So be persistent and try different things.

Finally, remember that NFO boils down to TWO things: