One place you should never look for free stuff. June 8, 2008

Today I came across yet another request for free work. (Not from me) I see this all the time, unfortunately, and everyone who tries to score free work off of someone else is doing it wrong.

This particular sin was committed by a gal on a networking site. She wanted a web designer to punch up her page but not charge her anything. She was cash-strapped, see. But to sweeten the deal, she’d tell anyone who asked that he made the page and she’d even let him put his company name at the bottom of the site. Needless to say, she got flogged right off the board. People don’t take too kindly to being asked to perform “spec” (free) work. And the industry affected most by these requests is the marketing and advertising industry.

Frugal Resource! Cheap, high-grade photos and illustrations June 8, 2008

So, you’d like a new logo. Or some photos for your website or brochure. You go to Google and type in “stock photos”. And you find several sites that want you to pay hundreds of dollars for a single photo.

Even Getty Images wants you to start with a web-ready only photo for $49. Sheesh!

Enter istockphoto.com. Well, not really enter, because they’ve been around for a few years. I’ve been using them since just about their inception, and they keep getting better. You can get high-quality photos or illustrations, even video or flash work, from $1-$20 each. Sign up, buy some “credits”, and start downloading. Easy breezy!

Oh, and FYI:
72 dpi means web-only. You can’t use that photo for a commercial printing project.

http://www.istockphoto.com

 

You CAN get professional business cards for the home-printing price. April 15, 2008

Back in 1999-2000 or so, Avery and other brands came out with what was then a godsend: perforated sheets of business card paper designed for the self-employed or home-based business owner who couldn’t afford hundreds of dollars for professionally made cards.

Did you see what year I put in there?

It’s 2008 and I still see homemade business cards. And nothing says “home-based” like a perforated card with blurry inkjet print. And all that says to potential customers or clients is:

I don’t make any money doing this

I don’t have any customers

I don’t have the time or inclination to make something even Kinko’s could do

You can’t be in business without a business card, and yet many small business owners are walking around committing business suicide every time they hand out this type of card.

WLS QuickTip: Brochures Aren’t Save-Alls April 15, 2008

Brochures should be used–and only expected–to generate interest. If it could close the sale by itself, you wouldn’t need salespeople. Design your brochure to focus on key benefits (NOT the features of your product or service), use some photos, keep white space, make it easy to contact you. Don’t try to cram everything under the sun in there and blindly mail it to everyone thinking the calls will just roll in with people frothing at the mouth to buy from you. There’s a reason why brochures are only done on one sheet of paper!

Think of your brochure like a resume: you don’t expect to get the job by sending it in–only an interview. Treat your brochure the same way and you may very well land more interviews!