One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make when building an online presence is trying to do it all themselves, says Jeff Fisher, a graphic designer with 30 years of experience and the author of two books on graphic design. Fisher is also a member of the advisory boards of How Magazine, UCDA Designer Magazine, and the How Design Conference.
“I always tell business owners not to try this at home,” he says. “Hiring a professional who knows what he’s doing. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but bringing in someone who really understands how to create what a business needs to start off on the right foot will be a tremendous benefit.”
His suggestions for finding a professional include:
- Take a look at designer portfolios online.
- Contact local design schools, universities, or community colleges for recommendations of outstanding students who can help earn monetary compensation and possible school credit.
- Some college business programs have outreach programs to help small businesses with marketing and promotional efforts.
- Research the resources available through the Small Business Administration. If your business has a service or product of value to a design professional, consider bartering or a partial exchange of equal value.
Remember that the initial impression you make with a potential customer online can make all the difference; the cost of an online presence is an investment in the future of your business, says Fisher.
The graphic designer, writer, and speaker from Portland, Oregon, comes from a family with deep roots in public relations and marketing; his father, mother and sister have all had careers in some aspect of the business. In fact, it was his sister, who owns an advertising agency, who helped Fisher identify the aspect of graphic design that he most enjoyed at a time when he was burned out.
“For the first 17 years of my career, I took on any and all design projects that came my way,” he explains. “I thought that was what graphic designers were expected to do. In a conversation with my sister, I mentioned that my work was starting to burn me out. Her comment was: Why don’t you focus on what you enjoy the most?” a blank look and she said: Logo Designs”.
It was then that he adopted the business name Jeff Fisher LogoMotives and began promoting himself primarily as a designer of corporate identities.
Although his clients generally find him these days, Fisher has plenty of ideas about what works and what doesn’t with small business marketing. For example, he eschews traditional paid print advertising and advertising in the Yellow Pages.
“I learned that print advertising was simply not effective at marketing my services,” says Fisher. While advertising on the Yellow Page, “tends to bring designers too many tire kickers looking for services based on price alone.”
Strategies that have worked for Fisher include:
- Press releases, distributed online and through traditional postal mail. The relationships developed with publishers and writers over the years are incredibly valuable to a business.
- Writing It has also become an important marketing element for my business, admits Fisher, mentioning that he has been asked to write numerous articles for design and business publications and websites.
- Two booksThe Smart Designer’s Guide to Success: Ideas and Tactics for a Spectacular Career published in 2004, and Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Outdated Identities into Successful Brands, in 2007 earned him the status of an industry expert.
- business blogblog-oMotives, started in 2005.
- speaking engagements – Fisher speaks to high school groups, design schools, colleges and universities, design organizations, and at conferences such as the industry HOW design conference.
- pro bono work – While such efforts may now be considered marketing by many, my name is being made public in the business community, putting me in touch with many local promoters and providing an opportunity to promote the bottom line.
- One direct mail-piece spawned a self-created and directed 500-person list long ago, so powerful that Fisher hasn’t needed to send a post since.
Like many small business owners, Fisher prefers low-cost or no-cost marketing tools. He has even managed to turn some of them, such as writing articles and books and speaking, into income-generating activities.
“With my writing and speaking commitments, my business is also evolving to become a professional industry expert while taking on limited design projects,” said Fisher. “At a design conference a few years ago, I explained to an audience that I wanted to work less and get paid more.”