WRITER, BLOGGER & NE'ER-DO-WELL

At my last job with a large corporation, people started to get laid off. Many fellow creatives came to me, as they had no idea what they would do if they were let go. I had come to that small city from New York and my experience was varied and impressive to those who started their careers with this company and like their parents before them, and their hopes for their own children working there, wanted to retire from the same homey place. They were anchored in this town that held no other industries. Like layoffs in a town that has a steel mill, there weren’t many options to those looking for work.

Take The Initiative and Create Your Own Projects

There’s an anonymous saying, used on past ads for the School of Visual Arts in New York City, “Being good is not enough when you dream of being great.”

We all have our dream of great clients that every creative wants to add to his/her client list but either don’t know how to reach them or have no idea how to even start. Promotion is not a big subject in art school and I know way too many creatives who stare at the phone and wonder why it’s not ringing.

There are many ways to promote yourself and as with any product, you need to target your audience, efficiently and as cost-effect as possible. Let’s go over some problems and solutions.

Breaking Down Doors: Promoting Yourself To Dream Clients

A friend of mine started an organization named “Creative Connect,” a twice a month get-together for anyone in the creative field. He said it was to, “get people away from their computers and to get them talking at least twice a month.” Mostly designers, programmers, illustrators and photographers with a spattering of marketing and management types show up and it’s something I look forward to attending in the light of day. Twice a month I gnaw through my own leg to escape the shackles of my computer and speak with real people…live…in person. It’s important to deal with the real world from time to time.

Promoting Yourself To…GASP!…Live People!

No matter where you go in the known universe, there is design-by-committee. It has become a pecking order of disaster for the society that used to pride itself on being a mover and shaker and that allowed its mavericks and dreamers to innovate their way to success. In a business climate fueled by fear and the “Peter Principle,” as it is today, a decision not made is a tragedy averted. So, decision by committee provides a safe and often anonymous process for finger-pointing down the line… inevitably leading to the creative, of course.

Why Design-By-Committee Should Die!