8 tips and tricks for professional andeffective 'Self-Promotion the Social Way'

As previously mentioned in this blog, author Jeff Fisher wrote an article for HOW Magazine about the use of social networking as a marketing tool for creative professionals. Much of the marketing and promotion of his book Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands was done by way of social networking methods. The sidebar of the article follows:

My article about social networking as a business marketing tool, "Self-Promotion the Social Way, was just published in the October 2009 issue of How Magazine. The piece has also been posted on the HOW website.

In addition to the posted content, suggestions from myself and contributors Justin Ahrens of the Geneva, IL firm Rule29, Nashville, TN children's illustrator Holli Conger and photographer Paul Kline from Washington, DC were used to create a list of eight "tips and tricks" for a sidebar to the print version of the article.

Here are some recommendations from the featured creative professionals currently using social networking as a self-promotion vehicle:

1. Create a well-defined basic social networking profile and maintain that profile consistency throughout all social networking sites. Include keywords in your profile (like "designer" or "writer") that your network is likely to search, so that new contacts can easily find you.

2. Maintain similar consistency in the photo or graphic image you choose for your avatar (the small photo or graphic associated wiht your profile that represents you online) - in effect, branding your social networking presence.

3. Be generous in social networking site posts and updates, promoting and supporting the work of others - rather than exclusively marketing your own efforts.

4. Ask your clients what networks they participate in, and join those. Cross-reference your client and promotion lists on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to maximize your targeted promotional efforts. Invite people on your list to join you on FaceBook, to become a fan of your business and follow you on Twitter - and do the same in return.

5. Don't over commit. Social networking can be time-consuming. Set aside a window of time at the beginning and end of your day for social media, so you're not sucked into Twitter every time someone in your network tweets.

6. Keep things professional. Make sure you don't communicate anything you wouldn't want your clients, prospects or potential employers to read.

7. Provide easy-to-find links to your website and blog in your social media profile, so friends and followers may research and contact you with little effort.

8. Look for a network the fits your personality and industry, with a good mix of customers, vendors and competitors. Once you identify the network you want to create, start making contacts.

You may want to check out the social networking resources of those associated with the HOW Magazine article. The links are as follows:

HOW Magazine: Twitter - @HOWbrand; Facebook - HOW Magazine

Justin Ahrens/Rule 29: Twitter - @rule29; Facebook - Rule29

Holli Conger: Twitter - @HOLLiCONGER; Facebook - Holli Conger and HOLLi CONGER Studios

Paul Kline: Twitter - @Ad_Photographer

Jeff Fisher: Twitter - @LogoMotives; Facebook - Jeff Fisher and Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

© 2010 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

New Freelance Show site initiates Interview Series with 'Identity Crisis!' author Jeff Fisher

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, shares knowledge and experiences from his independent design career in an interview on the new Freelance Show blog. Fisher discusses the design career differences between now and three decades ago, the challenges of starting an independent design business, social networking as a marketing tool, and more.

The Freelance Show is a blog and podcast for graphic designers and web designers who want to start and grow a freelance business. From how to land your first client to how to determine pricing and collect payments, The Freelance Show will bring practical, real-world advice from 12-year veteran Creative Director and graphic design instructor, Neil Brown.

Fisher, a professional designer for over 30 years, is the author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands and The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success: Ideas and tactics for a killer career. He is currently writing the book LogoType, about typography in identity design, with a scheduled release of late 2010.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

'Identity Crisis!' author Jeff Fisher pens social networking article for October HOW Magazine

The article "Self-Promotion the Social Way," by designer and author Jeff Fisher, has been published in the October issue of the design industry publication HOW magazine. Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, shares his experiences in using social networking and social media tools to market his graphic design, writing and speaking efforts. He, and several contributors, also offer advice to others in making use of social networking sites in creative promotion.

The identity designer uses Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and a variety of other online resources to give his home-based studio, published books and public appearnces a worldwide presence. Adding their thoughts to the social networking piece were Justin Ahrens of the Geneva, IL firm Rule29, Nashville, TN children's illustrator Holli Conger and photographer Paul Kline from Washington, DC.

"Self-Promotion the Social Way" has been posted on the HOW Magazine website. HOW strives to serve the business, technological and creative needs of graphic-design professionals. The magazine provides a practical mix of essential business information, up-to-date technological tips, the creative whys and hows behind noteworthy projects, and profiles of professionals who are influencing design. Founded in 1985, the HOW brand now extends beyond the print magazine to annual events for design professionals, yearly design competitions, digital products and books. The magazine is published in Cincinnati by F&W Media.

Fisher, a 30+ year design industry veteran, is the author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands and The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success: Ideas and tactics for a killer career. He is currently writing the book LogoType, about typography in identity design, with a scheduled release of late 2010.

The designer has received over 600 design awards and his work has been published in more than 100 books on identity design, self-promotion and the marketing of small businesses. In January, Fisher was named one of design industry publication Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch in 2009.” In 2008, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives was recognized as one of the top 100 U.S. home-based businesses by the web presence StartupNation.

More information about Jeff Fisher, and his design and writing efforts, may be found on the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives blogfolio.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Author Jeff Fisher to present HOW webinar on planning, packaging and promoting yourself

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, will present the webinar "Planning, Packaging and Promoting Yourself" on August 13, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT. The one-hour session is sponsored by HOW Magazine and the fee is $69. Those interested in participating may register on the HOW website.

Designers are always creating complete brand identities to help clients sell their products and services. But how well are these creatives selling themselves? According to author and designer Jeff Fisher, the key to attracting new clients and more work is planning, packaging and promoting oneself as a product.

Fisher will help participants determine what “product” should be in their package, then offer tips and advice for creating the appearance of the product, getting it on the right shelf in the market, explaining the product to potential customers, and getting those customers to buy that product again and again.

Jeff Fisher, author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands (HOW Books, 2007), is a 30-year design veteran. He has been honored with over 600 regional, national and international design awards and is featured in over 100 books about logos, the design business, and small business marketing. The industry publication Graphic Design USA named Fisher one of its "People to Watch in 2009." His first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success was released in 2004 and has been reissued as a PDF on CD from HOWBookstore.com. Fisher is currently writing a new volume, with the working title of Logo•Type, on the topic of typography in identity design.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

'Identity Crisis!' author to present logo design workshop at School of Visual Concepts

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, will present a day-long workshop on identity design Monday, February 23, 2009, at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle, WA. The workshop, to be held from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM, will cover a variety of identity design topics including creating new identities, redesigning an existing logo, identity design in an digital world, where many logos go off track, and more.

Tuition for the professional development seminar is $265. Registration is limited and attendees must be an advanced design student or working design professional. Participants are encouraged to bring doodling materials to the presentation. Additional class and enrollment information is available on the SVC website.

Fisher, author of Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands (HOW Books, 2007), will sign copies for individuals bringing the book to the workshop.

The School of Visual Concepts, located directly east of the Seattle Center at 500 Aurora Avenue North, offers day and evening portfolio courses and professional development workshops in graphic design, computer graphics, advertising, letterpress printing, and business practices for freelancers and creative organizations. Founded in 1971, SVC adheres to a policy of having classes and workshops taught by top working professionals, rather than by full-time academic faculty members. For more information about SVC, call 206.623.1560 or visit the School of Visual Concepts website.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

'Identity Crisis!' author cited as "marketing makeover" expert in Entrepreneur Magazine

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is featured as an expert on design and branding in the February 2009 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. Fisher, author of the book Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands, was asked by writer Gwen Moran to critiqued several marketing element redesigns for the article Five Great - and necessary - Marketing Makeovers.

Joining the internationally recognized identity designer in commenting on the highlighted redesign projects are branding consultant and author Karen Post, the Branding Diva from Tampa, FL; and Lynette Xanders, the founder of Portland branding and research firm Wild Alchemy.

The expert panel reviewed the retail store makeover of Philadelphia shoe seller Ubiq; the collateral redesign for Patriot Consulting, Inc. of Iselin, NJ; and the new identity for Portland's Jive Software. The website makeover for CoffeeCakes.com, of Castle Rock, CO, and the new packaging for the Phoenix-based Fairytale Brownies were also critiqued.

Jeff Fisher has received over 600 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts and his work is featured in more than over 100 books on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing. His first HOW Books offering, The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success, appeared on bookstore shelves in late 2004, and was recently re-released in PDF format on CD. Fisher is currently writing a book about typography in identity design. In 2008, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives was recognized as one of the top 100 U.S. home-based businesses by the web presence StartupNation

More information about Jeff Fisher, and his design and writing efforts, may be found on the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives blogfolio.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Writer’s Handbook Blog notes marketing efforts

The Writer's Handbook Blog offers authors book marketing advice in the entry Online Marketing Tips (Use These Today!). In part, the suggested book promotion tactics highlighted are my own - with a link to my list of social networking/media sites I have used to market my own book, Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands.

The Writer's Handbook Blog offers practical writing tips and career advice for writers, by Philip Martin, series editor of The New Writer’s Handbook: A Practical Anthology of Best Advice for Your Craft and Career.

Logoblink posts 'Identity Crisis!' fragment...

The identity design resource site Logoblink has posted what they are referring to as a "fragment" from my book Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands.

'Identity Crisis!' on Goodreads networking site

Goodreads is a great social networking site for readers and authors, offering so much more than just the opportunity to connect with others around the world.

As explained on the Goodreads site:

Goodreads is a free website for book lovers. Imagine it as a large library that you can wander through and see everyone's bookshelves, their reviews, and their ratings. You can also post your own reviews and catalog of what you have read, are currently reading, and plan to read in the future. Don’t stop there – join a discussion group, start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing.

As the author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands, Goodreads provides yet another marketing tool for my book with my own author's page. Authors can post a detailed biography, make note of upcoming book-related events, share writings or book excerpts, participate in discussion groups, and promote their own books.

Anyone with a passion for books - and an interest in finding out what others are reading (and writing) - should give Goodreads a look.

(Note: I have added Goodreads to my previous list of social networking/media sites I use for marketing and promotion purposes.)

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

The Sentinel ad: Jeff Fisher wrote thebook on identity design...literally!

Seldom during my 30-year career have I promoted my design or writing efforts with print ads. However, I recently redesigned the identity for my local neighborhood newspaper, The Sentinel, and as part of the compensation package publisher Cornelius Swart offered me a series of ads in the publication. The latest edition hit the streets this week with the ad marketing my local North Portland logo design efforts and my book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands.

Marketing the "Identity Crisis!' book through social networks and social media

A couple weeks ago I was a member of a panel discussing "Harnessing the Power of Online Social Networks," hosted by Self-Employed Creative Professionals (SECP) in Portland. Others on the panel discussing the business advantages of social networking included writer Susan Rich of RichWriting Creative Services, Working Artists LLC founderAdrienne Fritze, and eMarketing Strategist Elgé Premeau. Christian Messer, of Whiplash Design, was the moderator for the evening.

I was asked to approach the subject of using online social sites from my perspective as the author of Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands. Panel members wanted me to showcase how I had used social networking and related media to market and promote my book. In doing so, I prepared a handout for attendees with the following examples:

MySpace - MySpace drives more traffic to my web presence and blogs than any other social networking site I've used. It allows a detailed profile, image storage, blogs - which I use to post my blog headlines with links back to my own blog sites - forums and actual social networking. MySpace is much more than simply social networking for teenagers. I have eliminated most interaction not directly related to my book and my work with the posted statement: The primary purpose of this MySpace page is to discuss and promote various aspects of graphic design.

FaceBook: Facebook is probably my favorite social networking site. For me it's actually fun, in addition to providing a great opportunity for posting a detailed profile - with links back to whatever sites you wish to post, networking, image galleries, article posting capabilities, blog auto-feeds, and much more. Again, it's very effective in driving web traffic my way. A design industry editor once asked, "Isn't Facebook just for college kids?. My response was: "Have you visited Facebook lately?" It's amazing who in the design industry is making use of the resource as a marketing and promotion tool.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn comes across as primarily a technical information resource for job seekers and those seeking specialized employees. The specialized questions and answers, along with the recent addition of "groups." does make it a bit more interactive. I wish the navigation wasn't so "clunky." Still, making use of the detailed profile has been a great self-promotion tool. The more information provided the more successful LinkedIn will be for the user.

biznik: biznik - Business networking that doesn't suck - is one of the most user-friendly social networking/media sites. It's easy to connect with other members and to create an actual dialog with them. The detailed profile, ability to post articles and other aspects make it a value resource for the independent business person. Local "real world" networking events are an added benefit. As in many of the examples, there are additional benefits with paid memberships.

naymz: I'm relatively new to this site. Months ago I was invited by someone I know and I did little to complete the profile until a discussion with my fellow panel members. Less than one hour of work and a great deal of traffic was coming my way - primarily due to the blogs feeds to my personal profile.

Flickr: Referring to this resource as social networking may not be the first thing that comes to a individual's mind when visiting the site. The storage and sharing of images is it's main attribute. However, the creation of personal communities, groups and the image feeds to other social sites all become part of the online networking experience.

JumpUp: This site, from the Intuit folks, is an example of another aspect of social networking - the corporate-sponsored networking resource. JumpUp creates an avenue for a detailed business profile, interacting with other business professionals, creating a blog and more. My participation online also resulted in my work and book being featured in a traveling exhibit for the company. An online radio program is in the works.

StartupNation: I've been a participant on this site for some time. My primary reason for joining was that a designer shouldn't be networking only with other designers - one needs to be interacting with business people who may become potential clients. StartupNation provides an opportunity to mingle with business people through forum participation, forum postings, a detailed profile, blogs, articles and podcasts.

Adholes: This online networking resource is primarily for the advertising professional. It's a great vehicle for networking through forum participation, posting blogs and articles, and scheduling local meetups through groups. Besides, I like the name of the group, and their tagline: "Ad industry schmoozing without the expensive restaurant tabs."

Fast Pitch: I initially made use of this site for the press release distribution capabilities. Fast Pitch now includes greater networking opportunities, blog feeds and more.

Fast Company: This is the social networking and social media presence of my favorite business magazine, Fast Company. You can network, join groups, post articles and more.

GOOD Magazine: I'm fairly new to GOOD. It's another publication that allows its readers and members to socially interact. My profile, with pertinent information posted, has drawn traffic to mt site and blogs.

Zoodango: This site recently went through a major update. I haven't yet checked out all of the features.

Ziki: The site allows you to network with others, post links, and revieve auto-feeds from blogs and Flickr. The blog feeds are especially effective in bring me a great deal of traffic.

Small Business Online Community: This offering, from Bank of America, is somewhat new and evolving. A forum allows for customer interaction, articles are posted by experts and more is offered on a regular basis.

This is far from a complete list of the sources available for social networking and social media. As mentioned earlier, these are just the resources I put into play in marketing and promoting my book, Identity Crisis!. As you can see, from each page example, I have taken the opportunity to establish a somewhat consistent look in the content and imagery used in each profile. The photo of me is the same in many, my logo is an identifying mark for most, the same book cover image is featured, mentions of the book are always included, and website, or blog, addresses are used with consistency.

Still, it the examples presented should give many people ideas of where they might look for added marketing opportunities.

For a look at portfolio sites check out my earlier piece Marketing logo design efforts with online resources.

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives