Ok, we've done it. We have now created the ultimate marketing tool on the web... It's free, easy to use and combines business and pleasure. It's called Social Media. Social Media has leveled the playing field for many new design businesses. You now have the opportunity to market your product or services for cheap, no TV required. So no longer can you brand yourself by simply having a bigger marketing and advertising budget than your competitor's... Now you need to do a little more, you need to think, be creative, be smart and be relevant.

Now you have to find a new way to be competitive, innovative and "special" to your demographics. What am I talking about? I'm talking about getting back to basics. That is, focusing on your core asset, your product or service. We are all guilty of seeing a great idea out there, and wanting to improve on it. But if you plan on improving it, improve it in a huge way, or if you plan on providing better service, go all the way - pick up your client's dry cleaning, if it's on the way...

Don't just add 2 more features to your competitor's product or keep your business open a few more hours than your competition and expect to make a splash. Really give your potential clients something they can sink their teeth in. Spend your time on building a valuable product and less time on figuring out who is following you back on Twitter. Lisa Barone at Outspoken Media wrote a great post on this very topic, A Great Product Needs No Advertising. The market is officially saturated with the basics. We've got all the basics we will ever need, seriously. It's time to go hard or go home.

So here you are, just coming out with a new product probably similar to your competitor's product - the only difference is that everyone knows your competitor, and no one knows you exist. What is the first thing you do?

Create a website? No!

Sign up on as many social media sites as possible? No!

See if you can get Oprah to interview you? No!

The first thing you do is take a breather. That's right, sit back, relax and clear your mind.... then make a decision. A decision to jump in without a life jacket. To go for it with everything you've got. Because at this point in the game, second guessing your motives is no longer an option. Get your mindset right first before wasting your time and money on something you'd like to "try".

Find your market and vow to give them exactly what they need and everything they want. Vow to become the go-to brand for your specific product or service. Put your bags down because you'll be here for a while. Once you've made the decision to succeed, everything else, including temporary setbacks and failure, becomes a part of the process, hence managing your expectations, while keeping you in the game until you've become branded.

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We've been working hard, very hard these past few months on some major projects I believe will assist my designer colleagues who are looking to create some success in 2009 and beyond.

We are now in beta for our new website: www.styleapple.com which has been going very well, Thanks to all our beta testers for taking part in our bug hunting process. BTW, We are still accepting beta testers as we continue to develop the site. [Become A Beta Tester]

Branded Designers - The Agency,  Camille Wilkinson - Fashion Designer From New York City

We have also started Branded Designers - The Agency. I've always had a desire to help young designers grow their businesses. The Agency will do just that. Branded Designers - The Agency is a talent agency focused in the creative industry. We will represent a selected group of designers, providing the personalized service designers need when starting a new venture or simply finding new freelance projects.

We are currently accepting applications until we have reached our capacity. The Agency will only represent a few selected designers in order for us to effectively serve the designers we represent. All remaining applications will be placed on our waiting list.

To apply simply submit your profile on www.styleapple.com and send us an email title: Branded Designers Application, please include your name, title and location in the email.
I looking forward to working with you.

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Since this is the final month of elections for the Presidency of the United States - Election Day November 4, 2008.  I've decided to dedicate the next four weeks on the elections and show how social networking and branding can be effectively utilized.  That being said, I wanted to share with you what I believe is the most effective branding strategy in recent American history.

After watching the vice presidential debates last week It struck me that I'm in the middle of a very historical event.  I've never been so engaged in American politics before.  Seriously, this has been such  an experience to be right in the middle of what will go down in history as one of the most notable periods in America - the probable election of the first African American President in American history.

What's even more interesting is how clearly branding played a major role.  Two years ago Senator Barack Obama was a name that no one knew or cared about.  Two years later Senator Barack Obama is positioned to becoming the first African American president of the United States.   Knowing the colorful history of Blacks in America you could easily see why this event is simply extraordinary.   With that said.  I'd like to give credit  to Senator Barack Obama and his campaign for an exceptional campaign thus far by effectively creating a brand in 2 years what simply would  take other companies or organizations decades to accomplish.  

The Obama campaign proved that by effectively utilizing the tools of social media one can take down arguably "the most powerful Democratic family in a generation - one that understood the power of money in politics and commanded a network of wealthy donors that has financed the Democratic Party for years" - the Clintons.   Of course it goes without say that many factors played a role in the success of  this campaign thus far, some of which can be seen simply by a visit to the Barack Obama's website - http://www.barackobama.com/.  This website is a blueprint for anyone looking for a reference of an absolutely flawless machine of effective internet marketing which by the way has helped propelled this campaign to raising nearly half  a billion dollars in donations - A political campaign record.  So how did they do it?  Well,  I will attempt to dissect certain marketing elements that I believe assisted in the extreme success of this campaign and hope  that I can shed some light on areas where you can improve your  marketing efforts in your design businesses.

 For the next few weeks I will be talking about:

• The role social networking played in the success of the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
• Branding and Logo Design - The techniques and strategies used to effectively brand Senator Barack Obama as the "CHANGE" candidate.
• SEO and inbound marketing efforts that help create an influx of web traffic to the Barack Obama website.
• Website esthetics, ease of use and how the Barack Obama website manages the customer's buying cycle and website conversion
• The advertising and marketing tools that contributed to effectively reaching even more supporters to help build the campaign base.
• Final results of the 2008 American Election 2008.

To make it more interesting I've decide to do a comparison of the two candidates running for president:  Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain and see if we can deduce who is utilizing their  marketing  efforts most effectively.   So stay tuned - the next post will be on The Role Social Networking Played in the Success of the Barack Obama's  Presidential Campaign.

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Image credit: Square Magazine

Advertising Agency:  W/Brasil

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I'm sure it's no surprise to you that the phrase "Free Download"  is more popular that the phase "Buy Now" in the eyes of your site visitors.  As a matter of fact just out of curiosity I looked up the  search volumes for each phase and found  that customers are searching for  "Buy Now " roughly 860 times per month whereas  "Free Download"  claims roughly 89,000 visitors per month.  No surprise there but as a designer and businessman, the question becomes how can you get a piece of the "Free Download"  search volume pie without losing your shirt giving away all your products and services?

Designers and design companies  alike should  be using  the free download  strategy as an effecitve internet marketing tool to engage new customers.  Giving away  freebies like web templates, graphic images, fonts, tutorials, and Photoshop brushes are all great ways of engaging your site visitors.  Great free stuff gives your customers a chance to get familiar with your company's brand and services which will put you on their short list for future purchases.  Here is a list of 5 great benefits for implementing  the "free download"  marketing technique to increase your bottom line:

1. Free downloads can assist in an increase in your opt-in email list. This can lead to building customer relationships though email newsletters and promotional offers. Being consistent and informative will put you on the short list when your clients are ready to buy.
2. Free downloads of products and or services has viral marketing potential, if what you're offering is worth telling friends about - your site visitors will surely tell their friends and colleagues about it, who in turn will tell their friends and colleagues about your free offer and before you know it... you're viral - sending an obscene amount of traffic to your website.
3. You can offer a free software download or trial of your product with limited functionality that can be easily upgraded to the fully functional paid version with all the bells and whistles your customers really wanted in the first place.
4. Free download of graphic or fashion images can be a great source of free advertising for your design company. Many people use images on blogs and websites and throughout social media networks. Be sure to place your web address and copyright information on the images or request that your site visitors credit the images to your design company though backlinks or photo credit on their websites.
5. And lastly, by simply having the phrase" free download" as part of your page content helps when users are searching by keywords, which is a great way to end up on the SERPs of major search engine for the 89000 customers looking for "free downloads".

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Just for kicks I've entered Twitter's URL:

According to cubestat.com, Twitter ‘s net worth is around 2.5 million dollars and can command $3500 per day in Ad revenues. That might be small potatoes for some design companies but could be a great supplemental income for your design business... that brings me to my next point.

I'm sure we all know that it's better to have multiple streams of income as opposed to just one. As designers most times our only income comes from the work we do for our clients. We build our business website with the portfolio as front and center and hope to get enough clients interested to keep us employed for the long term. What if that client or clients decide to go with someone else. Do you have a plan to keep your income consistent? Or are you solely depending on your client base to support your business? HERE'S AN IDEA: Build your website as a business with a multiple source of income philosophy and create the kind of traffic that will not only woo new clients for your creative work but also spark the interest of advertisers.

Now the real question is not how much Is your website worth but rather what are the steps needed to increase your website net worth? There are many factors that will help to increase your website net worth but I would like to focus on the ones that I think are the most important. PageRank, Backlinks, and Web Traffic. Here is the short version:

• Web traffic comes from visitors interested in your product or service,
  
• Great content (blogging) helps visitors find your product or service,
  
• Backlinks come from having great content,
  
• PageRank comes from having lots of backlinks.

Let Me Explain:

The list might be a little overwhelming at first glance but is easier than it looks for one reason. You only have to control your product and/or service and your content; well at least initially. We'll get into more advance internet marketing techniques in future articles.

Start with creating your design portfolio and website, simultaneously start your blog if you haven't already ( I recommend that your blog be the center of your design business, for reasons I've outlined in the Top 15 Most Effective Marketing Techniques For Designers) Focus on your area of expertise and start developing your blog voice. I've written a pretty informative article about blogging, titled:  15 Things Super Successful Bloggers Do All The Time. which will assist in getting you started. 

Once your blog is up; and you've manage to start bringing traffic to your website, other websites and fellow bloggers are going to start linking to you (if you're content is link worthy, of course) giving your articles and pages more authority on the web. With more authority comes a better search engine position when someone is searching for what you do.

Once you're showing up on Google's and Yahoo's front pages for a few choice keywords , generating more web traffic is inevitable causing an increase of your page rank, hence increasing your website net worth(a website net worth is directly related to its visitors and pageviews which is directly related to more advertising dollars)

This process can take some time but is worth getting started immediately. Once you've started you'll gain the necessary information and experience necessary to grow a successful multi-source income design business.

I would like to know your thoughts on showing Ads on your business website for additional income?

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