The biggest part of my recent work has been redesigning my website, which had to be reworked for potential customers rather than potential employers. It’s clean and simple, and I think it will do the job. Also, on the “about” page, there is a link to my portfolio website (which has not been rebranded … yet).
Yes, as part of starting up the studio, I have been immersing myself in all kinds of marketing information, both traditional and e-marketing. Beyond reworking my website, I have also built a business Facebook page for the studio, and have even joined twitter (a social networking site that has always eluded me). Both are now linked to every page of the website because you have “to be where your customers are,” according to the latest viral marketing information. I did stop short of putting them on my business card and brochure, since the cybersavvy customer will check out the website first, anyway.
So I’m spewing my logo around cyberspace, as soon I will be spewing it around town via a mailing and handouts of my brochure. Each brochure will have a business card inside, stuck with removable glue, and each mailer will have a 4”x6” promotional sticky pad (the biggest sticky I could find).The brochures and cards should be ready at the printers tomorrow, and the return address labels (also branded!) will be coming from a production house (because I could get them half-price online). I already have the sticky pads and specially sized envelopes to house all the pieces. When everything comes together, there will be a flurry of unfolding, gluing, refolding, envelope stuffing and label sticking around here.
Once the mailing is out, I plan to walk each area of town and hand out brochures in person, meet the small business owners in the area and get their business cards to add to my database. (I started building it about two weeks ago and now have over 800 entries with business names, contact names, e-mail and mailing addresses, and phone and fax numbers. I probably have another 200 or so to add before I start my canvassing).
So, I’m seeing nothing but purple squares, and tints and tones thereof. I’ve been working with these images for so long, that I’m starting to get visually numb to them. I’m hoping they will make a good first impression on those who haven’t seen them yet. And, hopefully, they’ll join me on Facebook and follow me on twitter and fall in love with the idea of having a personal designer who’ll work one-on-one with them to achieve their graphic communications goals, whatever they might be.
I don’t have this blog directly linked to my website at present (like I do on the portfolio site), but I think that might be coming sometime very soon. So this space still will be about what’s happening in Mark McDougal land, but I probably will be adding more graphic design-related entries as well, so I’ll have something of interest to post about on Facebook and twitter … because that’s where my customers are … supposedly.
But I still believe in the old-fashioned notions of face-to-face meet-and-greets, of something special showing up in the mails, of a follow-up call and a dedication to serving as a part of your community and not necessarily marketing to the entire globe.
Stay tuned for more purple squares.
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