Starting off as a young creative or marketing professional is challenging. You’re faced with trying to pick up on new information as quickly as you can and are put in situations that have you and your work going up against the best in the business.

Making ends meet is difficult and it gets frustrating when your work is passed over time and time again. Be kind to yourself and stick with it if you’re passionate about what you’re doing and see yourself making this into a career. Keep in mind that many others have been in your shoes and made it big. See tips for improving as a young creative.

Learn from the Best

Seek out information and research individuals and companies who’ve made a name for themselves in the business. Take a look at tough industries that are difficult to break through like vape marketing. Successful companies understand the tactical intricacies of working in regulated environments. They help their clients position using the best marketing media available for their campaigns and guarantee approvals. All they do is bespoke and tailored to the specific brand.

Join A Community

Find programs, communities and people like yourself who are looking to better themselves as a young creative. These professional groups offer networking opportunities and resources to help you improve your skills. There are tutorials and the chance to exchange ideas with those who are just as passionate about design as you are. Oftentimes the communities will offer blogs to help you gain knowledge and tools to help you build confidence and succeed. Involving yourself with a group of people who are just as zealous as you are will only help motivate you more.

Practice

Spend any extra time you have perfecting your skill and getting better at what you do best. The more time and energy you put into your design and artwork upfront, the more experience you’ll have when you start looking for jobs and freelance gigs. Practice will ensure you make less mistakes going forward and help you see where you want to focus your energy in your career and specialty area. You can never prepare and train too much, but remember to take breaks and socialize with other professionals who may have additional pieces of advice to offer.

Attend Conferences & Seminars

Attend a conference or seminar to get outside of your own head and bubble. You’ll meet new people and learn fresh techniques that you won’t be able to achieve when you’re at home with your head down working. Take classes and sign up for programs that will help you polish your skills and give you the chance to ask questions. Being around other creatives will open your mind to new ideas and ways of tackling your work.

Conclusion

Everyone has to start somewhere in their career. The same goes for you and your pursuit to be a successful creative. Do all that’s in your power to educate yourself and learn as much as possible along the way. These are tips for improving as a young creative.

Email etiquette for creatives

We exchange emails with clients and potential sponsors on a daily basis. Sometimes multiple emails in a day. It’s vital that these messages mean what they say and say what they mean. Here is a guide to writing emails that make you look like the professional creative you are.

Ask Google first.

Have a question that you think Google can answer? Definitely check there first. There is nothing more annoying than receiving an email or IM and thinking ‘Why didn’t they just Google this?”

Be positive always.

Avoid using negative verbiage in your email. Make sure that everything has a positive spin to it. No one likes an email that starts with: “Unfortunately…” or “I’m sorry to have to annoy you with this question, but…” Either put a positive spin on it or rethink what you’re sending.

Provide value in return.

When you send an email with a request for value, make sure you’re giving value in return. For example, when reaching out to a possible mentor, asking to pick their brain about everything they’ve learned about business in 30 years, you’ve got to:

– Only offer them something valuable right back and
– Give them an easy way out in case they’re busy or uninterested.

Do not put them in the position where they have to feel rude if they have to/want to say no.

Be a unicorn in a field of horses.

Here’s the thing to keep in mind. Time is currency. I don’t know about you, but I have a constant rush of emails flooding my inbox on any given day and it seems like they never stop. The most refreshing emails that I open are the ones that have a few lines or less…what I like to call the magical unicorn of emails. They get to the point and even better, make my ability to respond a whole lot easier.

– If this is an initial reach out with a sponsor or potential partner: introduce yourself, say hello, who you are, and that you see a synergy between your brand and theirs. Attach some information about what they do and ask that they get in contact with you should they agree.
– If this is your ordinary email and you need something or have a question: ask for it, ask it. Be polite, but leave out the fluff.

Pro tip: Leave your social media links in your signature, so that potential clients or brands can take a look at your work if they’re so inclined. This will reduce the amount of material you have to put in the body itself.

—–

Good luck and happy emailing!

Graphic Design Pricing Tips

Here at Go Media, we receive countless emails about how we price our design work. This is a fantastic question, but a complicated one, as it depends on a couple of factors – mainly your skill level and the number of customers you have / the amount of work on your plate. Too, we don’t mind giving advice, but we never want to lay out what your pricing structure should be. You’re the boss here!  Read More ›

How to Run a Successful Graphic Design Kickoff Meeting

Any great project starts with a great kick-off meeting. For this reason, designers must know what it takes to participate in a successful one, including how to dress, look, act and express themselves. Today, we’re sharing some tips we share with young designers about kicking a** in kick-off meetings. We hope they help you, as well.

1. Be Prepared. A designer must read through the proposal, creative brief and do research on the client. You must come across like you KNOW about the project. If a client tells a sales person all about their business, then the designer comes in and asks all the same questions – the client is going to get angry and feel like we’re not communicating internally! This is a bad way to start a project off!

2. Have a list of questions ready to go before the meeting. Whether you’re selling or having a kickoff meeting – it’s easier to participate if you’ve pre-written a bunch of questions. Coming up with good questions on the spot is hard. Hopefully, as you do your research and read through the creative brief some questions will come to mind. Fortunately, Go Media has been doing this for some time, so we do have a boilerplate document filled with common questions. So, we never have to go in cold, but this is no excuse to not do research. The more detailed your questions, the more it will show the client you give a damn and will help your design process. This is your BEST OPPORTUNITY to start brainstorming design ideas and to pick the customer’s brain about what they want. So, take this opportunity and do it RIGHT – because it’s easier to get your designs right in the first place instead of having the client displeased and have to do them again!

3. Make them like you! This is a VERY powerful design tool. Did you know that if your clients like you, they are more likely to like the designs you send them? So, how exactly do you get a client to like you? Be friendly. Look for opportunities to connect with them on common interests. If you like fishing and they like fishing and that comes up during the meeting – awesome… talk about fishing for a while! Tell a joke. Show them pictures of your kids… whatever it takes. Get the client on your side!

4. Match the client’s body language and energy. This relates somewhat to the previous item. You want to make your clients comfortable! A great way to do that is to match their personality. If they are stiff and all business, you should be too. If they’re laid back and want to talk about their kids for an hour – do it. If they talk fast and have high energy, you should talk fast and have high energy.

5. Watch your own body language! You are subtly communicating to your clients based on your body language. Are you focused on them or staring off into space? Are you biting your nails or playing with your hair? Are you slouching in your chair? Sit upright, be alert and LISTEN CAREFULLY. Your body language should be saying: “I care about you! I am alert and listening intently. THIS is important to me.”

6. Dress the part. Show your client that you care and kick it up a notch for the kick-off. This is just another way to show your client that you have an interest in their project.

7. Take detailed notes. Unless you have a photographic memory, you’re sure to forget something was discussed. Even hand-written notes are unreliable. If you do prefer to hand-write notes go straight to your desk after the meeting and transcribe them onto your computer.

After the kick-off meeting is done, don’t forget to sincerely thank your client for their time. Throughout your working relationship, continue to connect with them and show them you care, carrying these tips with you even if you’re not face-to-face with your client. Good luck everyone!

How to Construct an Email List

We all want to create an email list that matters, but doing so takes some know-how. Here are some of our suggestions for cultivating a community of email subscribers. Read More ›

Peddling Your Design Services the old fashioned way in 6 simple steps…

There are a million different ways to market your design services nowadays, and countless tools to connect with potential clients. Thanks to the advent of technology, the conquest of the internet, and the proliferation of the social network, connecting with people across multiple boundaries, real or imagined, is just a hashtag away. Sure, the search for new markets can often feel like a search for life on other planets. But in the celestial spheres of business, niche markets be damned. The possibilities are endless. The potential for new business, boundless. The ability for an enterprising young designer to plot a course through the far corners of the galaxy, and penetrate sectors of the marketplace once deemed too remote, have become a heck of alot easier. Sadly, however, much of this technology has rendered our communications with one another soulless.

You can email, tweet, instagram, WHATEVER your clients to death. But, sometimes, nothing moves the needle more than simple, honest-to-goodness human interaction.

And so, today, we re-examine the importance of connecting with clients through the lost art of the dreaded cold call.

Part One: Going door to door. It’s a necessary approach to doing business that can solicit dread among even the most ambitious among us. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The following is a kind of instruction manual designed to help you overcome the dread, find the joy, embrace the challenge, and master the art of the cold call in six simple steps:

• Determine a need in the Marketplace. Identify your Target Market

Maybe you’ve already done your homework and identified your target market. You’ve catered to them for years. Your loyalty is charming. But let’s face it, you can’t live in a bubble forever. It goes against the natural order of things. You run the risk of stagnating. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to expand into new territory and hunt for bigger game. Take stock of what it is that you do best. Then take a moment to think outside the box, step outside your bubble. Think of the most popular item in your portfolio, then do a complete 180, aesthetically speaking. Imagine your work being applied at opposite ends of the commercial spectrum. There are a lot of companies out there, for instance, whose brand and marketing collateral could use a re-boot, an upgrade. On the surface, it may appear that they are part of the “old economy”. Not as glamorous, true. But that’s beside the point. They have the means. They just lack strategy and guidance. Like treasure on a map, you can find them. Make it your business to educate them on the importance of getting their house in order.

• Strategize: Ground Game

After you’ve determined a need in the marketplace, a void that you can fill, get excited about it! In fact, get very excited! It’s okay. Thanks to this article, you’ve just accomplished – within the span of only a few short minutes – what a lot of designers have struggled their whole lives to figure out. And now you just can’t wait to get in touch with your new clients, and show them what you can do. Develop a ground game. Prepare a list of companies that meet your new target market criteria. Map these companies out in your area, and break them up into manageable, geographic segments, or territories. But be sensible. If you have an opportunity all the way on the other side of town, identify opportunities that surround it. Build your day around tackling them together. Identify key players within the organization, and, if it’s public record, gather the necessary phone numbers and email addresses of those individuals. Reach out. Provide a friendly heads up, and inform them that you’ll be in their area soon and you would appreciate a moment of their time to tell them about your design services. [*Note: we will explore the art of cold calling by phone in more detail in Part Two of this series.]

• Get all your ducks in a row. Gather your collateral.

Of course you don’t want to  go out there empty handed. But don’t overdo it. Travel light. Keep your message lean. Don’t overwhelm potential clients with too much information. Distill your message down to a small sample of bite sized collateral describing your business, and put them in a sales folder with the usual suspects (and maybe even a few surprises): Business card (because it’s more than a calling card, it’s a badge of honor), a one page description of your services, a special “for your eyes only” promotion, exclusive to the recipient. And, by all means, be sure to include some swag from the office if you have it. But no junk. Make sure it’s useful. Something as simple as a pencil or pen with your company name & logo on it goes a long way in breaking the ice. It’s important to make clients feel like they’re getting something they can use for giving you the time of day. People appreciate it, and it makes for good conversation.

• Get scripted, but don’t tell anybody, sort of…

You may look good on paper, but it won’t mean a thing if you can’t speak with confidence to the value of your design services. No one appreciates a message more than when it comes from the horse’s mouth. Be the horse. Get scripted. Formalize your message into a brief set of talking points, but don’t sound so formal. Keep it simple. And avoid language that sounds too insulated, or trade specific. Think about what you’re saying and who you’re saying it to. Grab a thesaurus if you have to. Never mind the tricks of the trade, because people hate feeling like they’re being tricked. Clients want to hear about solutions. Respect your audience. You’ll earn their trust a whole lot faster.

• Pop in for a chat

And now the moment of truth, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Time to hit the streets. Get your map. Grab your collateral. Get in your car. Hop on your bike (they don’t call it peddling your wares for nothing). Whatever it takes. There’s gold in them there hills. Now go get it. And let your conscience be your guide if dropping by unannounced. Let’s face it, you wouldn’t like it if someone popped in on you and demanded time out of your busy schedule. Always go in with the courtesy of a deliveryman, but be prepared to have a conversation. Bare in mind, for every nine people that are just too busy to engage with you, there’s always that one individual with a genuine need, and a little time to spare to talk about your design services. Know when to split and when to stick around. Follow the performer’s maxim: always leave your audience wanting more. Deliver the script. Pass the collateral. Confirm a time when it’s appropriate to follow up, and move along.

• Follow up

It’s important to maintain regular communication with your new target market. After all, you’ve already invested a great deal of time and effort in them, and you’ve only just begun. Take heart. You’ve worked hard in the old school tradition. And now’s the time to take advantage of all that new school technology. Revisit your new target market regularly from the comforts of your office through inbound marketing, and other appropriate forms of communication available to you these days (email, LinkedIn, whatever works). And when going out again in search of other opportunities, be sure to leave room in your calendar to touch base again when you’re in the neighborhood. Just be sure to give advance notice. And, no matter what, always be willing to get on the horn and reach out with a simple phone call. You can’t beat the human touch. 

Tune in next month for

Mistakes on Design Resumes –

Hello job seekers! We’re back to talk about what it takes to get the dream design job you’re after. Last week, we discussed, “The Number One Item to Include in Best Graphic Design Cover Letter Ever.” If you missed the post, please go back and check it out.

Today, we’re moving on to part two of your submission to the graphic design studio of your dreams – the resume. Before we go on, quick note: We highly recommend applying to companies you’re interested in working for even if they’re not advertising any open positions. Some companies get so many applicants that they don’t advertise. Some companies may not be hiring, but if a strong candidate comes to them and says: “Hey – I ONLY want to work for YOU.” they may consider it. It can’t hurt right? Right.

Okay, let’s get into it! Here are a few mistakes we see quite often on design resumes, as told by our President, William Beachy:

Failing to design your resume and cover letter. Shockingly, this is frequently not done. Many designers use a basic Word resume template. A candidate once told me that their design professor specifically told them to use a plain-jane Word template. I’m not sure where this professor got their information from (maybe the year 1950), but I think that professor was wrong. Your resume, cover letter and web-portfolio need to be a perfectly matched set, and they should be as pretty as everything in your portfolio. As I said before, this is the FIRST IMPRESSION you’re giving your potential employer. Make it shine!

When designing your resume, don’t be afraid of getting creative! Bold type and infographics can be a plus – so long as they are handled well. A concept behind your application is also a plus. I had an applicant give me a resume that was a ‘Top Ten’ list. Specifically, it said: “Top ten reasons you should hire me.” Then she creatively worked all her education and experience into a list of ten items.

Rating your skill level on various software. I see this constantly. It says something like: Illustrator 90% | Photoshop 95% | Word 85%. What does that even mean? Is there a standardized test that I’m not aware of? It’s funniest when I see stats like this, but the applicant’s portfolio sucks. First of all, I’ve been using Illustrator for 20+ years and I’m only at maybe 85% proficient with it. So, how are you – a student who is just graduating at 90%. The simple fact is this means nothing. Don’t try to put a stat to how proficient you are in your software knowledge. The employer will know exactly how proficient you are based on the quality of the work in your portfolio. Instead a simple list of software you know how to use with no additional qualifiers is fine.

Adding extra fluff. Remove any and all work experience that is not art or design related. The fact that you taught kids martial arts is great, but I prefer my candidates come across like their entire life is focused on art and design. You can imagine my feelings when I see a resume that says: “McDonalds (cook), Progressive (insurance salesman), Lincoln Electric (assembly), Chipotle (cook), Freelance Designer.” It paints a picture of someone who has not been focused on design! This candidate would be better off if they left off ALL their previous experiences, and just said: Freelance Designer.

Now obviously, if this topic is brought up in an interview… do not lie! Tell them all about the other previous work experiences you’ve had and what you learned from them and how those will apply to your new position. And if they ask why those were left off your resume, just say: “I didn’t think those jobs were applicable to this position.”

With this approach… they think of you as a DESIGNER FIRST… who has some other life experiences… as compared to a resume that makes you look like an EVERYTHING ELSE FIRST… oh… and with a little design experience too.

See the difference in that?

Ok, now that we’ve covered our mistakes to avoid on design resumes, promise us you’ll do your best to do so.

Stay tuned, as next week we’ll be back with our favorite rules about creating the best design portfolio ever.

Narrow Your Focus for More Success

As entrepreneurs, we often have lofty goals. We want to be all, do all, achieve all. However, when we concentrate on fulfilling everyone’s needs, instead of becoming experts at our craft, we need to take a step back. Though we all may have a variety of skill sets, we should ask ourselves: What is it that I do best? Where do I shine? What can I bring to the table to truly impact my client’s business?

Narrowing your client focus can give you an edge over your competition in our increasingly competitive market. This is also a unique way to brand yourself and a way to begin to develop a unique personal style that clients will come to recognize and seek out.

We sat down with Gary Irwin, founder and creative director of the boutique design agency, Variant, who has found that specializing has been the key to growing his firm organically. Irwin’s particular client focus is the independent film industry and finds him spending the majority of his day partnering with distributors and filmmakers to create one-of-a-kind posters, packaging, and digital art. Concentrating on this market also fulfills both of his passions: filmmaking and graphic design. Win, win.

Ready to narrow your focus? Here are some tips to set you up for success, paired with Gary’s wisdom.

Decide where your efforts will be concentrated

If you’re ready to narrow your scope, take time to focus on where you’ve had past success and where your passions lead you. Do the majority of your clients come to you for packaging design versus hand lettering? What creative endeavors do you find yourself engaging in outside of work?

With over 15 years of design experience and leadership under his belt, Irwin found it a no-brainer to put all of his energy into the independent film world and specialize in what he did best. “I just knew,” he said, “this was my path, and I was ready to take the leap.” Variant was born.

Once you’ve made the decision to specialize, set up camp and get to work, but proceed knowing there will be hurdles to jump from the start. The unique challenge of choosing to narrow your focus is building a solid client base from a smaller playing field and selecting projects from a tiny portion of your portfolio.

As Irwin notes of his decision to specialize, “Knowing you want to do it and actually doing it are two different things. I think one of the most intimidating aspects of specializing in a particular offering is getting started. But while it’s challenging to get into the rotation and get your name out there (I went through a lot of stress early on, I still do), the rewards of becoming a go-to creative in a particular vertical market are ten-fold.”

Create your mission statement and follow through

Once you’ve established your focus, it’s always a good idea to take the time to sit down and ask yourself some foundational questions to plot out what’s to be a successful journey. For example, why did you get into design and why are you in this business? Who are your favorite clients and why do you love working for them? What is your mission? Your vision? Your purpose?

Irwin carved out a mission statement to keep himself on track. “What I didn’t want to do was constantly hustle without moving towards something, so I spent a lot of time early on crafting my philosophy and launched Variant with a very specific mission statement.” In this statement, Irwin addressed his passion to work on key art for independent film, his drive to constantly improve his craft and his desire to narrow in on his vertical market.

Create great work and the clients will come

Though your initial road to landing clients once you’ve narrowed your focus may be bumpy, hard work, hustle and great work are always best. Have patience while you build your portfolio with examples of the work you want to do. Concentrate on making sure it’s the best it can be.

“Creating compelling work is my mantra. The work helps get the bigger fish to come. It will start to snowball into the attention you’re looking for. Use all of your typical marketing methods, of course. Blast as many people as possible. But the constant is making sure your work is solid,” Irwin suggests.

Constantly hone your craft

As you work on narrowing your focus, the clients will come and in turn, you’ll find an easier time identifying them. With more work will come more opportunity to become better at what you love to do.

“Because of a narrow focus, I know the market. I know who my customers are and I know how to find them, Irwin reports. “This has helped me tremendously in getting my name out there.”

“On a personal side, this is what I enjoy doing the most. I get to become an expert at what I love to do and it helps me stay sharp. Everything comes back to Variant moving forward in becoming the best at what we do.”

Thanks to Gary of Variant Creative for all of the great information he provided us in this post! Learn more about the work he does by visiting his official site, or get social with him over at Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter.

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How to Build a Brand

What is your brand? Who is your brand? And why should we care? Developing a brand is more than just your logo. A brand represents everything you are as a company. Everything that you say and do shows your prospective customer who you are. It’s your “dress,” the way you talk, your slogan, your signage, your messaging, how clean your offices are, company uniforms, your collateral materials and so much more.

To build a strong brand presence, it’s important that you ask yourself three very important questions –

What is my positioning statement? (Where is my space in all of this clutter? What does my company offer that no one else does? Why are we special?)

What is my messaging platform? (Why should anyone care? What’s in it for my customers?)

What’s my brand persona? (Who is my target customer? Who is my company?)

Close your eyes for a minute. If you had to talk about your company as a real person. Who would you see? Try to imagine your company as a movie star. Is your company Brad Pitt or Morgan Freeman? Someone young and hip? Old and stodgy? Middle aged and reliable? What about your customer? How do they communicate? How does your target customer like his coffee? You should live and breathe your brand persona so much that that answers to questions about your brand should roll off of your tongue. “Duh!” You should be telling me, “We’re an almond latte kind of company!” Or maybe you’re a tea company, or a pop company. We can’t answer that for you–only you can. This is the first question of many you should ask yourself about your brand persona.

Once you figured out your brand personality, it’s time to start working on the visual components of your brand. When creating your brand, it’s important to take its various components into consideration: logotype (the word), mark (commonly referred to as a ‘logo’,) and color scheme.

• The logotype is a distinct font that represents your company. It should be meaningful to your brand. Bold, curious, flirty, simple–fonts speak visually to your prospective consumer and should be an extension of your brand persona.
• The mark, or the symbol, supplements the logotype. If your brand is edgy, be edgy! If your brand is laced up, be more formal. However, always remember that your mark should (not too be too cheesey) help you make your mark on all things visual. It should work well in black and white, not just in color. Additionally, you should be able to use this mark on any design work–print or online. Think about how it will be displayed on social media, on eblasts, on brochures, on t-shirts, or on uniforms… just to name a few visual outlets.
• The color scheme. It should use one or two primary colors, one accent color, or colors of differing value. Creating a strong brand color scheme will facilitate your brand’s flexibility across print and online, and it will also help make your brand visually appealing.

Once you figured out your brand personality, it’s time to start working on the visual components of your brand. This begins with your logo. 

Putting in the resources to craft up a quality logo cannot be underrated. Also, we’re going to get on our soapbox right now and tell you that for the love of all that is good in this world, please don’t think that once you have created a logo, you are done. So many brands focus on just this one part of their visual identity. While the logo is vital to a brand’s identity, it isn’t the only visual piece of the puzzle that helps set you apart from your competitors. Your logo, my friend, is just the beginning of your visual brand identity.

Let’s say, for example, you want to create a brochure so that you can tell the world how amazing your company is. Where should your logo appear on the brochure? What kind of header will you use? What kind of typeface will follow? What size font do you plan to use? What kind of photography or imagery will be included? What’s your white space/copy ratio? What kind of voice are you using in the copy? Does the piece feel simple or intricate, casual or fussy? You see, it’s not as easy as you might think to release a brochure. Just like your logo, this brochure should exemplify who you are as a brand–it’s an extension of who you are. Your customers should immediately see and feel the synergy between your logo, your chosen imagery, your words, and YOU. This thought process holds true for every single piece of collateral that you release…no matter how big or how small.

It seems daunting to live up to your brand persona in each and every piece you release. That’s probably why, time and time again, we see a brand that looks and feels different on various pieces of collateral. Maybe you’re using different designers or firms or heck!, maybe an in-house designer is adding his or her flair to your logo, or whatever piece you’re currently creating. Creating a Brand Standards Guide can help keep things consistent. On the Brand Standards Guide, include an example of the mark and logotype. Include fonts. Include colors in RGB, CMYK and Pantone. Include best practices such as uses and spacing. And finally, include example designs. Sometimes, we even see sample copy on a Brand Standards Guide. A solid Brand Standards Guide helps ensure that no matter who is helping push your brand, you’re all pushing the same brand–not spin offs of one another

In no way are we saying that each piece has to look identical. We’re a creative firm–we’d never tell you to go for visual boredom, or ask you to turn into a boring machine spitting out identical pieces, one after the other. Instead, we’re saying that visual consistency is vital to your brand. By following these tips, your customers will create a stronger connection with your brand that they can trust. Trust = repeat business, which, at the end of the day, is what we all want.

Questions? Get in touch! We’d love to help you no matter what stage of the brand process you are in. We can’t get enough!