A Year in Review…Designer Style

First, HAPPY NEW YEAR! While typically my first blog post of the year is a list of business resolutions and goals, this year we wanted to do something different. Before we started to focus on 2013, we wanted to recap 2012 and note some of our bigger accomplishments, changes and outcomes. While we are eagerly looking forward to facing whatever comes with this new year, we're also proud of this past year and wanted to reflect just for a moment. How does a designer look back on an entire year, you ask? …with an infographic, of course!

Here's our quick Kalico Year In Review, designer-style:

In It to Win It!

Hooray! We were just awarded three American Graphic Design Awards from Graphic Design USA magazine.

For almost 50 years, GD:USA  has sponsored national design competitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. The American Graphic Design Awards is their largest competition open to advertising agencies, graphic design firms, corporations, institutions, publishers and more. It honors outstanding work across all kinds of media: print and collateral, advertising and sales promotion, corporate identity and logos, internet and interactive design, motion graphics and more. With over 8,000 entries, only a selective 15% are recognized with an award—boy are we honored (and super excited, we might add!)

Our winning work included:

1. Kalico Design Earth Day Spring Promotion
(Category: Self Promotion)

2. Equinox Dance Company 10-Year Anniversary Performance Campaign
(Category: Public Service & Pro Bono)

3. A Tasty Nosh Website Design
(Category: Internet Design)

WooHoo! We're very excited and honored to be awarded, yet were even more excited to have such wonderful clients as well as such creative and fulfilling projects to work on!

Marketing to the Universe and Beyond…

In my last post, I mentioned the recent AAF Greater Frederick roundtable session on Guerrilla Marketing that I attended. (which was awesome, thanks to presenter, Whitney Hahn of Digital Bard!). Not only did I learn 7 Great Guerrilla Marketing Tactics, but I also learned a different way to think about who I market to.

Most likely you've already determined who your target market is. And your self promotions are probably created with this target in mind. That's great. BUT, the Guerrilla Marketing approach makes you think differently about where to direct the bulk of your marketing efforts. Here's the breakdown in a nutshell:

 

1. 10% of your marketing should go out to the universe. This includes your website, twitter accounts, facebook, etc. It's your marketing that everyone can see.

2. 30% of your marketing should go to your target audience. This can include self promotional mailers, advertisements in a certain publications, etc. This is the marketing that is directed with a specific target in mind.

3. And, 60% of your marketing should go to your existing clients! After all, if you've done your job right, delivered your product or service, and met or exceeded their expectations, they'll be your best bet for repeated business and/or referrals. Don't forget about them! This can include eNewsletters, referral rewards programs, thank you notes, self promotional gifts, or even a simple phone call.

So, what can you do right now to start marketing to your existing clients? We'd love to hear your ideas, input or suggestions that have worked for you!

Keys to Effective Self Promotions

As mentioned in a previous post, a few weeks ago I participated in International Freelancers Day, an online conference exclusively for solo professionals. Here is another recap of some of the insightful information I gained during the webinars.

Next up, is a recap of James Clear's session "The 10 Keys to Effective (and Ethical) Self-Promotion for Freelancers" (but, I'm just going to highlight a few of the primary concepts). James focused on some of the fundamentals for self promotion—not the tactics, but more about the strategies. Here's a list of some important things to consider when considering your next self promotion campaign:

1. Value First. This is a very key point to make. Be sure you provide value to your target audience before you promote your work to them…otherwise, it's kind of pointless, huh? Don't wait until money exchanges hands before giving something of value. This way you'll create fans and then you'll have a much easier time selling your services. Examples are: samples of product, blog posts or white papers of information, coupons, etc.—be sure it is something relative to your field that is  thoughtful and/or useful.  "Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process".

2. Build Relationships. Effective self promotion never starts with the pitch, it starts with the relationship. Build relationships with the right people that can help accelerate your growth. Everyone is valuable, but try to find relevant people to you and your business. So, get out there and network! But, remember, it is about making relationships, not just making the sale. Be sure to be genuine and just get to know someone, don't bombard them with sales tactics…nobody likes a pushy salesman (or woman)!

3. Research. A more, specific, targeted audience is usually more effective than a blanket pitch the everyone. Research your target markets, and cater or tweak your promotions to them. Research gives you the content to make connections, and also will allow your promotions to create a maximum effect in a minimal amount of time.

After you've worked on the above three tasks, be sure to make your self promotions simple, yet powerful—and, focus on being consistent! And remember, this is a cyclical process that you will have to do over and over again throughout the course of your business, it's not a one time thing and you're done. In order to grow your business, you need to grow with your business!

Do you have any advice on good self promotion? I'd love to hear it!

Kudos & Snapshots

We are thrilled to have been awarded two American Graphic Design Awards from GDUSA. The American Graphic Design Awards is a national competition open to everyone in the graphic arts community – graphic design firms, advertising agencies, in-house corporate and institutional designers, publishers and other media.  It honors outstanding new work of all kinds including print, packaging, point-of-purchase, internet, interactive and motion graphics.

Kalico's winning work includes business card designs for A Tasty Nosh, a start-up boxed lunch delivery and catering service in Frederick, MD. Additionally, our own self-promotional design for the 2010 Kalico Holiday cards were awarded as well. It is always an honor to have our work recognized!

Plus, check out some of the newest photos of Kalico work samples and headshots! A huge thank you goes out to my ol' college friend, Aaron Haslinger of Aaron Haslinger Photography, for taking some great shots!

And the Award Goes to…

This past weekend was a big time for awards. Never mind the Oscars (although I was happy with Natalie Portman's Best Actress award!), but I'm talking about the ADDYs! The ADDYs is an annual awards competition honoring exemplary advertising and design work. This past Saturday, the AAF-GF (the local chapter of the national American Advertising Federation) celebrated local talent with their ADDY Awards Gala—"Through the Looking Glass". AND…yours truly was awarded with three silver ADDYs—YES!!

Winning awards for our work with the Downtown Frederick Partnership and Find It Frederick magazine, plus for our own self promotion was, well, awesome! (click on the links to view the work) But, what really struck me as special about the evening was the camaraderie and support among the companies in attendance. Sure, we all wanted to win awards, but we were still cheering, hootin' and hollerin', when our colleagues were awarded for their work as well. I was very appreciative of the mutual respect and feel honored to be part of an organization full of so many creative folks!

The AAF-GF member roster consists of many small businesses, including a lot of single business owners like myself. Rather than being tight-throat and competitive, most members of the organization lean on each other for support, guidance and collaborative efforts—it truly is an amazing network of people! So, while I definitely thank my clients for allowing me to work on such fantastic, award-winning projects, I also want to thank all the AAF-GF members who have played a part in helping me get Kalico Design to where it is today. So, THANKS!!

[PS-I would be remiss to forget one other thank you. Apparently I forgot to thank my husband who helped me assemble the Kalico holiday cards as well as encouraged me to enter the Find It Frederick magazine covers, two of my three ADDY award winners. So, Jimmy, THANK YOU, now the whole world knows (or at least the three people reading this blog)]

And to conclude, I leave you with my cheese ball photo, taken right after accepting my first award. I like to title this one "Ode to Dork-ness".

I'll Admit It. I'm Stuck!

That's right, I'll be the first to admit it… I am totally stuck! I work with clients all day to design their informational and promotional pieces, but when it comes to creating my own, it's like my brain just quits!

I've been brainstorming a good self promotional idea for Kalico for several months now, and still haven't come up with that "just right" idea. I think my problem is that I am putting too much pressure on this one, single self promotional piece. So much, that the creativity and ideas just shrivel up. Why is it so hard to design for yourself!?

Here's my criteria so far:
1. Has to be fun yet functional. (I don't want to send out something just for the hell of it, I want there to be a meaning and a message behind it!)
2. Has to jive well with my existing brand (duh)
3. Would prefer it to be printed or produced with/by eco-conscious materials and vendors
4. I want that "Wow" factor (it needs to be something that you didn't expect and would want to keep)


Well, at least that's a start, I guess. How to you brainstorm for your own self promotional ideas? Any and all suggestions are appreciated! I'll keep banging my head against a wall and hope that an idea will come soon! And when (or if!) that "just right" idea comes, I'll be sure to post the results!

New Years Resolutions!

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you had a great holiday season! I am very grateful to have been able to take off last week for a little rest, relaxation and refreshing! But, my time off wasn't all tv watching and lounging—I did manage to revamp and update the Kalico website. It now features new works and a more user-friendly portfolio section, as well as highlights some of my social media efforts (such as this blog!) Be sure to check it out!

During my time off, I also created a set of 2010 business and professional resolutions for Kalico Design. I am curious if anyone else did the same—I'd love to hear some of them!

My goals are listed below. I am hoping that over the course of the year, I can use this blog (and your support!) to help me update the status of some of these resolutions, as well as catalog any successes and/or obstacles I may approach along the way.

Kalico Resolutions:

1. Purchase new computer system (Check! My new IMAC just arrived today!)
2. Update Software System (Adobe CS4 & Microsoft Office already ordered!)
3. Research, Explore and Create Twitter account (any advice on this is greatly appreciated)
4. Create Self Promotion campaign (mail 4x throughout year)
5. Send out quarterly newsletter and stay on schedule
6. Participate as exhibitor in 1 tradeshow
7. Hire summer intern (yikes!)
8. Increase Blog traffic by 20% (help me, help me, help me!)
9. Create monthly marketing calendar and stick to it (this is the hardest part!)
10. Set aside at least 2-3 hours per week to focus on Kalico business needs, organization and growth
11. Join another networking group, while continuing existing networking efforts
12. Acquire at least 3-4 new clients in the health/wellness, organic or women-oriented industries

Sheesh! When they're listed like that, it seems like a lot! But, I am committed to putting forth my best efforts to complete these goals, which will improve my business, and, ultimately, improve business for my clients! I am excited for the new year! What are some of your business/professional goals for 2010?

Valentine's Day Promo

Happy Valentine's Day! I apologize for the delay in posting, it's been a busy two weeks on the Kalico home front. I managed to send out my first client gift and promo last week—a Valentine's Day promo thanking all my clients. While it was just a simple treat, a tin of M&M's, labeled with my name and a V-Day greeting, as well as a few extra chocolates, it seemed to be a big hit with all my clients! I don't think they were expecting it! I had originally intended to send out a Christmas gift, but then I figured, why not send it out at a different time? Stand out amongst the slew of Christmas/New Year's holiday promos, and I think it did the trick! Plus, I get to eat all the left over candies!