Apple’s iPad
Many people may think of me as an “Apple” geek, especially now that I have three active Apple products (Macbook Pro, iPhone and iPad).  I disagree with them, it’s really that for my line of work (graphic design), Apple computer’s are the industry standard and have been for a number of years.  Way before, they started making tablets, phones and music devices.  As a result of this, the natural progression to the smartphone and tablet age for me, has been to stick with the Apple line of products because of how they integrate well with each other.  I could buy an Android phone or tablet, but I would not have the same functionality because it would not integrate well with the products that I already use on my Mac such as my calendar.  To be totally honest, I was hesitant to jump on the tablet bandwagon in general because I felt that I had enough gadgets.

Enter the new iPad.  What initially drew me to the new iPad was the retina display.  I love how crisp and clear the resolution is on my iPhone 4s when showing prospective clients samples of my work on the fly (you never know when an innocent encounter with someone can turn into a chance to pitch yourself).  I could only image how nice it would be to showcase my portfolio on a larger screen with the same type of resolution.  When I did the research, I found that there were indeed portfolio apps that would allow me to do just that specifically.

Once I purchased the iPad, a whole realm of business applications opened up to me.  For one, I no longer need to carry a large laptop to client meetings, which was a big headache.  Sometimes clients want to meet in person to go over comps, edits or just get a progress report on where we are in the design process and this required me to bring my laptop to show them digital copies of the work.  Now, I can just bring my iPad to the meeting, open the files in my Dropbox and showcase the graphics on screen with crisp clarity from the retina display.  If I need to showcase my portfolio, I no longer need to bring my hard copy, I can now showcase a branded portfolio and/or presentation on my iPad with a portfolio app.  I can take notes and sketch out ideas and email them to clients, collaborators or save them into my Dropbox with apps like Evernote and Penultimate.

With the iPad, I have all of the tools I need right at my fingertips to conduct client meetings, draw up and collect signatures for contracts, send estimates/invoices and accept credit card payments.  For me, the iPad is the ultimate mobile business tool.

Freshbooks
For any small business, invoicing clients can be a hassle, but with Freshbooks, invoicing is easy.  You can track inventory for goods sold, or if your business offers a service like mine, you can easily send estimates and then turn them into invoices once the client accepts the terms.  At a glance, I can see what my clients owe me, who’s late and I can even see when they view the invoices that I have sent so there is no, “I didn’t receive the invoice” excuse when I send out payment reminders for past due invoices.n Freshbooks also does simple reports like Profit and Loss and integrates with many popular online applications like Mail Chimp, Kashoo and Shoebox.  You can also add expenses to invoices to clients and if you need to, you can have Freshbooks, mark up the expenses if you mark up services that you subcontract out (ex: printing, web development, etc.).

Another great aspect that I love about Freshbooks, is that it is easy for me to track time and bill for it.  I do a lot of work on an hourly basis and I can accurately track the time that I spend on a client’s project by simply clicking start on a timer and stop when I am done.  I assign the time to a client and project and when I am ready to invoice, all I have to do is tell Freshbooks to add all of the time for a client/project to an invoice.  You can even set up recurring profiles for clients that you work with on a regular basis.  For example, you can set a profile that automatically generates an invoice for all work done for a specific client every week and sends it to them.

Freshbooks also allows you the option to send invoices via email or snail mail.  You can customize your portal with your company’s colors and logo and clients have the option to pay their invoices online through Paypal or Amazon Payments.

Freshbooks has plans that start for as low as $19.99, but you can do a 30 day free trial to take it for a test drive.

 

GoDaddy
Every business should have a web presence and mine is hosted through GoDaddy.  I cannot necessarily say that GoDaddy is the best web hosting company out there, but I can say that their customer service is excellent.  I have been using them for almost ten years and any time I have had a problem or a question, their customer service reps have been courteous and more than helpful.  Their help articles give step by step instructions as reinforcement for the process that the reps have usually already patiently walked me through.  I have even had a rep give me his direct email to contact him for follow up just in case I had any problems over an extended holiday weekend.

Evernote
Sometimes I have ideas in the middle of the night or I find a web article or a piece of information online that I want to remember or come back to later.  Evernote provides me with a tool and a way to record these ideas, organize them and come back to them later.  With it’s web application, iPhone and iPad apps, I can grab my phone in the middle of the night, jot down a note, and then come back to that note later while in the coffee shop on my iPad.  I can clip articles online or copy web addresses while I am surfing and add it all to my notes in Evernote.  I no longer have to look through pages of notebooks, post-it notes and scraps of paper to find that awesome idea I had yesterday.  I can organize everything that spews from my brain in one place and it’s easy to access and find on the fly.  The best thing about Evernote?  It’s free!

Sprout Social
Are you having problems managing all of your social media accounts?  I was, until I found Sprout Social.  I have a Twitter account, Facebook account and LinkedIn account for my business that I have to manage and all of the same accounts to manage for another blog that I maintain about healthy living and natural hair care.  It was becoming a tedious chore to log in and out for each of the accounts until a friend and social media guru introduced me to Sprout Social.  With Sprout Social, I am able to view all of the accounts that I manage, schedule postings to go out across multiple platforms, review reports, check my influence, search for brand keywords and so much more.  Sprout Social has really helped me to get my social media efforts under control.  Just like another similar web social media dashboard, HootSuite, Sprout Social, also has a smartphone app that makes it easy to keep up with my social media efforts on the go.

At $39.99, it’s one of the higher priced tools that I use for my business, but Sprout Social also offers a 30 day free trial to check it out.

Mail Chimp
There are plenty of email service providers to use for email marketing, but my favorite is Mail Chimp.  I have used one of it’s competitors, Constant Contact, for clients that have accounts with that system, and although I think Constant Contact is a powerful system, I prefer Mail Chimp from a design and usability standpoint.  Mail Chimp is like the “cool kid” on the email marketing school block.  The interface is sleeker and easier to use, and as a designer, I like that I don’t have to use the WYSIWYG format.  It’s also easy to build and reuse custom templates that you create.  Mail Chimp also partners well with other web based applications like Freshbooks (you can import all of your clients), Hootsuite (meld your social media and email marketing efforts together) and others.

The price is right too, it starts at free for under 2,000 subscribers and less than 12,000 emails a month with only a few restrictions (Forever Free Plan).  They also have paid plans that start at just $10 a month.

PayPal
I have clients that like to pay with credit cards and for that I mainly use PayPal.  I have PayPal integrated with my Freshbooks account to make it easy for clients to pay the invoices I send.  The benefit is that I get paid faster than if I had to wait for them to send me a check in the mail.  I can also get payment notifications on my phone when a client pays me using PayPal and it is easy to check my balance on the go.  If you are not using an invoicing system like Freshbooks, you can send invoices to customers through PayPal.  You can even request a debit card that is linked directly to your PayPal account to make purchases using your PayPal balance as opposed to waiting the three days that it takes for money to transfer from your PayPal account to your bank account. PayPal takes a percentage of the money that you are paid (about 3%), but I feel that this is comparable to having a merchant account to process credit card payments through any other financial institution.  Recently, PayPal started beta testing for a device that you can plug into your smartphone to swipe credit cards and accept payments in person.  I currently use Square to do this, but I will probably be switching over to the PayPal device once it arrives in the mail and I test it out.

Square
As I mentioned above, Square allows you to turn your mobile device (smartphone or tablet) into a credit card processing center.  You can even use your device as a mini store with saved goods/services that you can select and tally for customer totals.  Customers sign their name with their finger or a stylus if you have one, and the receipt can be sent to them via email.  Square links directly to your bank account and deposits are normally available within 2-3 business days.  The best part about Square is that the credit card swiping device that you plug into your mobile device is free.  Just like PayPal, Square also takes a percentage of your sale (about 3%), but again, I feel this is comparable to what you would pay if you had a merchant account with a financial institution.

Dropbox
Last on my list, but probably the most used tool I have is Dropbox.  Dropbox is cloud storage that syncs across all computers and mobile devices that it is installed on.  If you have an office that is outside of the home and need to work after hours at home, you no longer need to email the files to yourself or transfer them onto a flash drive.  With Dropbox, you can start a file at the office, view it on your smartphone during a coffee run and pick back up where you left off at home.  Furthermore, you can share your files and folders with others and any changes that someone else makes will sync with the file so that you know that you are always viewing the most recent version of the file.  As a graphic designer, I constantly have the need to send large files or clients need to send me large bundles of files.  Instead of having them send me 10 emails with 3 files each, I can create a folder and share it with my client.  They in turn, can move the files directly into the folder and I can easily access the files from my computer or mobile device.  I can also send a link to a file in my Dropbox for a vendor or client to download a file that is too large for me to email.

For free, you can get 2 GB of storage and you can get up to 100 GB for $100 a year.

I have other business tools that I use, but these are some of my favorites and the ones that I feel have greatly helped me to increase my productivity and streamline my workflow.

What are some of your favorite business tools?

Project Spotlight:  Oakwood University Pre-College Summer STEM Program

Client: Oakwood University | www.oakwood.edu

Project: Logo Design, T-Shirt Design, Registration Forms and Flyer Design

The client, Oakwood University, was in the planning stages of a summer youth program sponsored by the school, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU).  The university needed graphics to support their marketing efforts for the program.  A logo, t-shirt, registration forms and a flyer were designed specifically for this program, while keeping in line with the university’s existing color scheme.  By keeping the same color scheme as the university, the program was branded as something affiliated and familiar to the school.  The registration forms were also made into pdf’s that could be filled out using a computer with Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat, which allowed them to be emailed to the program administrator.

Client: Sinclair, Townes & Company | www.sinclairtownes.com

Project:  Brochure Design

The client, Sinclair, Townes & Company, needed a new brochure to illustrate their upcoming workshops for 2012.  The client wanted a bright, clean design that would showcase information about the workshops and contain a registration form for both Atlanta and other areas.  The results were this two sided, self mailer, gate fold brochure.

In this age of digital technology and with many businesses choosing to go the emarketing route, postcards are still seen as a proven effective and relevant marketing tool.  If done right, they can help increase a business’ visibility, revenue and reach.  They are not only successful in reaching those that shy away from computers and social networks, but those that engage in those activities as well.  Part of the key to this success is the quality of the postcard, repetition and whether or not the postcard is kept or tossed away.

Quality – You get what you pay for.  If you go with the cheapest source for your postcard printing, you could end up with a product that is flimsy or has a poor print quality.  That is not really the best first and possibly last impression you want to make on potential customers.  Before deciding on a vendor, ask them to send you print samples.  Many printing outlets will send paper and/or print samples to you for free upon request.  Make sure that what you are paying for is really what you want customers to see.

Repetition – You have to do more than one mailing to really see and determine results.  One mailing would be the equivalent of what is called “shotgun marketing.”  You shoot a shotgun in the air and let the pellets fall where ever they land.  You really can not measure the effectiveness of one mailing, but you can measure the effectiveness of a campaign – several mailings with a specified intent.  Companies like eTouch Marketing provide a series of cards that you can send to a client.  One series, “The Best of Atlanta” (BOA) series, targets the Atlanta area by providing relevant information to the recipients.  In January a client can send out a “Best Cheap Dates” BOA card and send out a “Best Romantic Dining” BOA card in February.  The client is successful in getting their message, logo, information, etc in front of consumers repeatedly, but in a way that is useful and not obnoxious.

Toss or Keep? – Most consumers will see postcards as junk mail and junk mail typically gets tossed, but what if it’s useful?  If the card provides information that is eye-catching and relevant, the consumer is more likely to hold on to it.  eTouch Marketing has a sports series of cards that provide sports schedules for area teams right on the front.  A card like this might not just be kept, but may end up on the refrigerator as well.

If your business is not already employing the use of direct mail pieces in the form of postcards, you could be missing out on potential clients and business revenue.

I think to answer this question, we need to refine it a little more.  In this age of technology, the scope of marketing is ever changing.  With the evolution of the internet, new forms of marketing have emerged under the umbrella of emarketing.  We can now utilize email, social media, websites and mobile media in our marketing toolboxes.  So, I think the question should be changed to: “What characteristics make a great modernmarketer?”

I have come up with five characteristics that I believe make for a great modern marketer for not just today’s world, but tomorrow’s and the day after and…well, you get the picture.

• Able to Understand the Cause and Effect of Marketing – To be a great marketer, you need to be able to understand the cause and effect of your marketing strategies and campaigns.  Understanding that every strategy will impact the business in some way will help a marketer determine whether that strategy is the best solution for that particular business.  For instance, many small businesses have found themselves in hot water utilizing deal sites like Groupon^® and Living Social^®.  Although it is a great way to get exposure and bring in new customers, a business must keep in mind that if the deal becomes popular, they may not have enough inventory or time to actually fulfill the pre-purchased deals.  A photographer that does not place a quantity limit on the amount of total deals offered, could end up with not enough time to schedule shoots, do post editing, print and deliver orders.  Angry customers that take to online rating sites like Kudzu^® could negatively effect future business.
• Tech Savvy – Since we are talking about a modern marketer for today, it is imperative that they be tech savvy.  They need to not only be able to operate their own computer, but they should also have some basic knowledge on internet based activities like email and social media.
• A Thirst for Knowledge – Marketing is constantly evolving as technology evolves and in order to keep up and stay up to date on the latest marketing trends and strategies, a marketer must have a thirst for knowledge.  The saying “knowledge is power” is true.  What you do not know can literally kill your career.  Participating in seminars, workshops and online continuing education are all ways to keep up to date.
• Analytical – Having an analytical mind is a great asset to any marketer.  A lot of marketing deals with measures of quantitative data.  A great marketer will be able to analyze data to determine whether a particular marketing strategy is effective.  This saves businesses from wasting money by continuing to use strategies that are ineffective.  Being able to analyze data and what other competitors may be doing that prove to be effective will also help the marketer tailor a new strategy that can prove to be effective for the client.
• Creative – In the past, creative was not a word that was synonymous with marketing.  In some advertising agencies “creative’s” and “suits” (marketers) would be at war with each other.  The part of the brain that makes great marketers great is the left side and the part that makes many designers great is the right side.  Usually the non-dominant side of the brain is a little lacking.  I believe that it is possible to tap into the non-dominant side and utilize what you can.  For instance, me being a designer, I can honestly say that I am very right brain dominant in almost every way, but I am also very analytical.  This helps me design not just from a creative standpoint, but a marketing one as well.  A marketer that can tap into their creative side, will be able to craft campaigns that are fresh and out of the box.  Creative strategic marketing will make a marketer a force to be reckoned with.

These five characteristics are by no means the only characteristics that a marketer needs to have, but I feel that they are definitely five of the most important ones.

Client:  Mobile Massage Works

Project:  Logo Design

The client needed a logo to represent a new business venture that was a mobile extension of her existing business.  To keep some consistency across her brand, she wanted to stay within the same color scheme of her current logo.  The client also liked the idea of using the first letter of each word as a design element.  Colleen Eakins Design was able to take her ideas and bring them to fruition with a clean design that conveyed the business and stayed consistent with her existing branding.

Client:  Painting By Milan | www.paintingbymilan.com

Project:  Website Redesign

The client, Milan Milinkovic, wanted a redesign of his current website and he wanted it to mimic the feel of his new business cards.  Milan’s business, Painting By Milan, specializes in interior and exterior painting of commercial and residential properties.  He had also started working with an email marketing company and wanted to build his email database by incorporating a sign up form on his website.  The client also needed to be able to update the website himself, and needed a solution that would allow him to add photos of newly completed projects and helpful tips and information in the form of blog posts.  To accommodate the client’s CMS needs, Colleen Eakins Design built the new website utilizing the WordPress platform with a theme customization.

Client:  Penz by Design | www.penzbydesign.com

Project:  Brochure

The client wanted a brochure to showcase a few new pen designs and their most popular pens.  The brochure needed to be informative and encourage people to visit the website www.penzbydesign.com.  I suggested laying the inside of the brochure in a way that was more free form instead of segmenting everything on each panel of the tri-fold.  This way, when the reader opened out the brochure, it was more like a mini poster displaying the craftsmenship of the pens.  The colors and the feel were pulled in from the website to keep the branding consistent.

“Jack of all trades, master of none.”

- Unknown

I have often been skeptical of people and businesses that claim to be able to do a lot of things that do not seem to really be related.  It’s not that I don’t think that they can do these things, but I doubt that they can do all of those things well.  This same line of thinking, also applies to businesses on an internal level.  Often times, employees are tasked with duties that may be beyond the scope of their expertise in an effort to save money.  Small businesses and entrepreneurs fall into this trap as well, when they try to tackle everything related to running their business themselves.  One person can end up handling the accounting, marketing and making the products or providing the business’ intended services.  All of this is done in the name of savings, but is there really any?

In the case of email marketing, we have to look at what criteria make for an effective campaign.

• · Time – The person handling the email marketing needs to have the time to dedicate to the campaign.  They will need to monitor open rates, unsubscribes, subscriber lists, click-throughs, etc and generate and analyze reports to make sure that the campaign is bringing in the desired results.  They will also need to invest time in coming up with new strategies, should the current one not bring in the desired results.
• · Copywriting Skills – A knack for writing is not enough when it comes to email marketing.  The content is not the only copy that needs to be well written.  The subject line is also very important.  If you cannot convince people to open your email based on the subject line, then you are doomed to end up in the trash without a second thought.
• · Marketing Researcher – A good email marketer will also take into account your target demographic when constructing and sending email communications.  What are their habits?  When do they normally check their emails?  What color schemes provide the right emotional response?
• · Graphic Design – Sure, you can choose from the templates in your current email marketing providers library and you can plug in your existing logo, but is it the right size?  Does it need to have a transparent background?  Does the tag line need to be removed because it looks too small?  Most professional email marketing firms have graphic designers on staff that can remedy those situations and design custom templates for their clients.  No more concerns about your competition, which uses the same provider, picking the same template you chose.
• · Experience – An experienced email marketer is up to date on the latest trends and the do’s and don’ts of email marketing, spam and what consumers want or don’t want arriving in their email box.  Just because a new subscriber signed up for your emails, does not mean that they will stay subscribed after receiving the first one.  If you are not crafting emails that meet the expectations of your subscriber’s, you could find your list dwindling.

If you are missing any of the criteria from the above list, I would suggest that you hire an email marketing professional.  You will find that it will probably actually save you more money than your current method.  The time being put into an ineffective email campaign that is not being properly managed, could be put into a task that helps to generate revenue for the business.  By hiring an email marketer to do a successful campaign, you can extend your reach, increase revenue, cement your brand identity, and get your employee back!

We plan everything in life, or at least we should.  We plan the details of trips, we plan events, we plan our daily schedules; and in business, we plan budgets, avenues for growth and our marketing strategies.  Laying out plans is like making a roadmap for where we are going and what we will do.  It allows us to see the big picture at a glance.  If you have included email marketing as a part of your overall marketing strategy for the year, then you also need to lay out a plan for this avenue as well.

When laying out a plan for your email marketing, you first want to ask yourself a few basic questions:  How often will communications be sent out?  What will be the content of these emails?  Will they be in the form of newsletters, updates and specials or ecards?  Once you have answered these questions, you will be better equipped to make your plan.

I would suggest planning for either six months or a full year.  With a six-month plan, you can re-evaluate your current strategy, make changes to it and see if you get better results in the following six months.  You can evaluate based on whether or not you hit your goals for that six-month period.  These goals can range from reaching a desired number of opens, keeping your unsubscribe rate to a minimum or revenue that was generated from emails.

Companies like eTouch Marketing, create email marketing plans for their clients that range from ecards to enewsletters.  The plans that they create, include details as to what will be in each email that is sent out each month (ex. Valentine’s Promo in February).  If you have decided that you want to send out two email communications monthly (ex. an enewsletter & a monthly promotion), eTouch Marketing can provide you with a roadmap that shows you exactly what you will be sending out and when you will be sending that email out.  They also provide peace of mind in the form of automation.

What is automation, you may ask?  It is the ability to have your emails sent when they are planned to go out without you having to lift a finger.  Because you have a plan in place, you can trust a company like eTouch Marketing to send out your communications when they need to go out for you.  They will also monitor your click-throughs, open rates, and unsubscribe rates.  I call that peace of mind.  It is one less thing to have to add to the busy to-do list of running a business.