I studied what was supposed to be graphic design in community college. It was a lame course with an unqualified teacher, which is partly why I didn’t become a graphic designer. Most of what I know now is self-taught. I wish I’d met today’s guest post author, Pamela Wilson, a lot sooner. Pamela is one of those people who has a knack for explaining complicated concepts in plain English. She makes graphic design principles seem downright sensible. So if you don’t yet have the cash to hire a designer for your marketing materials and need to do it yourself, listen up. Pamela has some good advice for you.
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You may not know it now, but by the end of this post I aim to convince you that you already have the tools you need to create marketing materials that present your work in its best light.
The Studio Source is devoted to helping you implement marketing efforts that will make your business stand out from the rest. If you absorb what Stacey shares here, you’ll know how to position your business to be memorable for the long term.
My blog, the Big Brand System, is devoted to sharing information that helps small businesses make the marketing materials they’ll use to promote themselves. I’m a graphic designer, and some people have said that the Big Brand System is going to put my design studio out of business.
That’s ridiculous, and here’s why:
A craftsperson once told me a story about a couple who remarked how much fun her work must be. She replied, “Well it would be if someone actually bought something!”
The craftsperson was having a bad day.
The nice people went away.
There’s a school of thought that seems to suggest if you do something you’re passionate about, it must be all kinds of fun, all the time.
You know better.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, I had a job interview. It was a technical writing gig. I can’t recall the name of the company.
My throat tightened the minute I saw the sea of cubicles. I got downright jumpy when I met with the interviewers. There were two of them and me, in a small room. I suspected they were recent university graduates, and it quickly became clear they were both big fans of pre-programmed conversations.
They asked a few perfunctory questions, then started on the hypothetical quiz section. How did I feel about office politics? Could I give examples? How did I feel about the situation I encountered?
Sometime during the Pleistocene era, when the dinosaurs were Claymation (think about it),*Â I learned the difference between sales and marketing.
The only thing that mattered at the time was knowing marketing takes longer.
If you want to get technical, sales is part of the marketing process—the good part, where nice people decide to give you money. Marketing is about creating something and telling people about it, then selling it and actually getting it into their hands.
(If you’re really smart, you will make the telling into a two-way street, and listen to your audience. Paying attention to people is a good way to learn how they think.)
But let’s get right back to the “marketing takes longer” thing, because that’s what really frustrates people. Since it’s a considerable investment of time and effort, it’s critical to pay attention to your marketing, and it’s why the following four concepts belong in your marketing and in your head. I named them the Four Ps to make them easier to remember.
Three people I know have said nearly the same thing over the past few days—Why can’t I get this right?
One person was frustrated at not being able to master a new skill quickly. One was trying to wrestle designs into lower price points. One was overthinking her marketing message.
Their intentions were honourable, but they weren’t getting the results they wanted, and for good reason. Trying too hard interrupts your flow. It hangs up your thinking and twists you into a ball of anxiety.
