Custom RSS Feed Buttons

I was browsing the Internet yesterday and found a site (SmashUpGraphics.com)that allows you to create your own RSS buttons. You can change your colors AND choose between the standard square shape or the new and trendy circle.

To build your own square button, click here: http://www.smashupgraphics.com/smashups/rss-feed-button

For the circular one, here: http://www.smashupgraphics.com/smashups/round-rss-feed-button

Building an Online Presence

I'm asked often about how I find clients. I find that if the mindset changes from "me finding the clients" to "the clients easily finding me", it's more simple to think about where I should and shouldn't post my information on the net. Truthfully, I rarely spend money on newspaper advertising, magazine ads and direct mailings. I find that using the Internet is a very easy (and eco-friendly!) way to promote oneself. I thought I would run through quick list of the different things I've done while setting up my business to help people find me. Let me know if you have any questions!

Merchant Circle.com: This is an online community of businesses. Somewhat like LinkedIn, users can create profiles and communicate with other members and prospective clients. Another plus is that you get to create a little webpage. While it's nothing fancy, it's just one more Internet page that offers your information.

LinkedIn: I would highly suggest creating a profile on LinkedIn. I can't say that I've gained any clients from it directly, but it's basically an online resume. People can review your services, make recommendations and you can post discussion questions and answers. All of these things help you to gain credibility, while increasing your online exposure.

BizNik: This is another online community that works well, if you have the time to put into it. You can publish articles or small news bits about your business or service area, or ask general questions. Another nice feature is that members host actual meet-ups in certain areas of the country. You can even host one yourself! A great networking opportunity.

Posting in Forums: Posting is a great way to share your expertise. A while back, I would post on the discussion boards of HOW Magazine's Forums. I made sure to include my name, business name, web address and blog address in my posting signature. Even if people did/didn't agree with what I had to say, they're still likely to check out my site and my blog. This is actually how a writer from WorkHomeYou magazine found me for an interview along with a writer for FreelanceSwitch.com. While these aren't client inquiries, they increase my visibility to prospective customers.


Join a Directory: This is very iffy, so be sure to choose wisely. When I first created my business I signed up for a free directory listing on an online freelance graphic design website. To this day, it still hasn't sent any work my way. However, it's yet another link with my contact information on it.


Write Press Releases. Seems like it has nothing to do with the Internet, but it does! Many newspapers publish their articles online nowadays. That means, if your link or website is mentioned in the written piece, surely you'll receive a link online. That's a lot of readers that now have access to your site. Furthermore, take those same press releases that you submitted initially and publish them online at free sites. One I use is Free Press Release. This doesn't bring in clients directly, but it will give those that read about you online a sense of comfort. Press releases offer credibility.

Scribd.com: Take your press releases, and even blog posts, and save them in a pdf format. Then, upload them to your new profile on Scribd.com. Scribd is a site containing thousands of articles on any subject. From how-to manuals to instructions to articles, your information and expertise can now be easily accessed. Be sure to include working links in your pdf that directs the reader to your site. You'll be building your web traffic and gaining trust at the same time!

Join Networking Groups, Such As The Chamber of Commerce: There are lots of face-to-face networking groups to join. The way that this helps your online presence is that these groups often have directories online that list their members. Your contact information can be readily available to anyone surfing the net, not to mention, you'll be very conveniently placed in the forefront of other members' minds.

Make a Free Business Listing On Google: I wouldn't recommend this option unless you have a mailing address and phone number that you're okay with people using. This works in such a way so that when people type in (for example) "hudson, wi + graphic design" my listing comes up. I have a link at the top of the page, my location displayed on a map and a link to my website. I can also include any other information I choose.


I hope you find some of these ideas helpful. Of course I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, but we'll save that for another post. :)

Hudson Star Observer Press Coverage

Since I'm a member of the Hudson Chamber of Commerce, I've scheduled an office ribbon-cutting set for later in the month. As such, they're kind enough to notify the press. Long story short, the Hudson Star Observer decided to run a story about 13thirtyone Design shortly before the event.

The story was written by Margaret Ontl and was a featured segment in the business section of yesterday's paper. To see the article, click the screen-shot below.

Office Finished... Well, Almost

I finally got around to taking a few photos of the office. Sorry, by the way, that my posts seem to be few and far between lately. It's been a little hectic around here, but I should be back on track soon.

Here's a photo of the finished office. The one directly below is my conference room. Note the lack of artwork on the walls... to be addressed shortly.



Conference Room




My personal office



The waiting room (I recently put up the black and white canvas artwork from Pottery Barn. See previous post)

The Importance of Manners in Business

Every now and again, I am reminded of how important manners are in business. I've written about this when it comes to emailing in particular before, but I think manners in general are often side-stepped in a corporate setting (at least in my experience). Sure we work with people day in and day out, and we basically live with our co-workers and/or clients 5 days a week. We're all human and we can all get agitated by someone's habits every now and then. But what happened to common courtesies?

In the article "Good Manners Are Good For Business" by The Business Journal's author Eileen Brill Wagner, she states that "...in a study conducted by etiquette consultants Eticon Inc., 80 percent of the respondents reported an increase of rudeness in business. When they encounter rudeness, 58 percent of the people surveyed said they will take their business elsewhere." That's a lot of people that are taking notice of manners in the workplace.

In the very informative and (wonderfully designed) e-book Manners Matter by Joel D. Canfield, Joel states "If the only time your best manners surface is when you’re taking a customer’s cash, it’s fairly obvious where your real interests lie." I thought this statement was so powerful and so true. To check out his e-book, click here.

Sorry if this post is coming off as preachy; that's the last thing I want to communicate. I do think that we could all be reminded from time to time, though, that the way we conduct ourselves ultimately affects our bottom lines, thus the success of our businesses.

Creating A Marketing Web

I've been working with a friend lately on developing her website and other marketing materials. In discussing her blog, e-mail newsletters and ways to gain more traffic, we started chatting about the power that all three systems have when combined. Sure a blog can be very powerful on its own, but when used in conjunction properly with other online methods of marketing, great increases in search engine rankings and more exposure in the public eye can happen.

For example, writing e-newsletters or e-zines is a great way to stay in touch with your client base and to keep people informed. It helps people to remember that you're there and to also share expertise, thus positioning you as an expert. However, one of the best ways to get people to sign up for them is by placing a sign-up box or link on both your blog and on your website. Don't forget to also include a "forward to a friend" with a "sign-up now" link within your newsletter. Now the three pieces of online marketing are working together to increase the size of your mailing list.

Another idea... Perhaps you sell products online. What if you had a few of your products appear on the side-bar panel of your blog? Additionally, how about featuring one product as a portion of your e-newsletter? When the user clicks on the link from your e-mail or blog, it can direct them to your products page or to the shopping cart directly.

A final suggestion on promoting your blog... Not only should your blog be linked in your e-newsletters, but there should definitely be a link coming from your website as well. Some sites are even embedding their blogs within their websites or creating blogs that are actually websites themselves. Don't be afraid to use the two to reference one another regularly and to send a user from one place to the other so long as your provide a ready-made link and pop up the link in a new window. Make it as convenient for your user as possible.

If all three pieces (or more if you have other digital marketing efforts) are acting together, they create a web, or a net of sorts. This net refers visitors from one piece of marketing to another, thus, increasing the length of time that individual is interacting with your business. This allows for a more informed customer, a longer lasting impression and credible positioning for your company.