wewalin3

what type of promotion best gives results?

Gino

You could post in classifieds, on forums like this one, send out direct emails.

There are also a lot of sites like http://faveup.com/ that you can submit your work to and people will vote on it and possibly come to your website.

Also networking has always been the best way for me. I meet lots of people and you never know who may need design work done! I can't tell you how much work I've gotten from talking to random people i meet in forums and such.

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wewalin3

nice! Thanks Gino. I'm going to do that, i'm checking the site you posted looks like just what i needed. anybody else got any other suggestions?

Elite By Design

Sure, a little off of what Gino said, networking is key. If you don't consider it advertising, you can check out some posts on my blogs that may help you out:

http://elitebydesign.com/5-tips-on-h...online-part-1/
http://elitebydesign.com/5-tips-on-h...online-part-2/
http://elitebydesign.com/5-tips-on-h...online-part-3/
http://elitebydesign.com/why-network...gging-success/
http://elitebydesign.com/getting-cli...o-come-to-you/
http://elitebydesign.com/reaching-ou...o-come-to-you/


I think that if you read those you'll get some more ideas of promotion and getting quality traffic.

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infektsu

A great way for promoting yourself is...

Do a little free work (sucks but people will spread the word fast if you do something for free). Unless you're a well established designer it's always something to think about...

Also another great way is to create some tutorials or resource packages (vector sets...etc) for people to download. That always brings attention to yourself and or your website.

Whelanz

While these are all good ideas the key is to do many of them.

Networking: Look for a local BNI chapter. You'll learn good networking skills and meet a lot of different people. The great part is that each chapter allows only one person from a profession: 1 designer, 1 lawyer, 1 architect, etc.

Pro Bono: Donate top notch design work for non-profit organizations and get a credit line. Members of the board of directors are usually well-connected and possible clients.

Chamber of Commerce: Join your local chamber. Another networking opportunity: Attend meetings, go to events. You'll get access to membership lists. Many chambers have websites with directories where you will be listed.

Mailings: Yes, snail mail is still works. Build your own list by collecting info from local publications, directory listings (see above). Do targeted mailings and follow up.

Business Cards: Sounds simple, but make sure your card clearly explains what you do. When someone asks for your card give them 3 or 4 cards and encourage them to pass along to friends.

Gino

Great ideas Whelanz those ones are commonly overlooked. since the internet is so popular for promotion nowadays we often forget to look right around where we live!

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J Fisher LogoMotives

Some of my tips for marketing and promoting yourself are posted in this bLog-oMotives entry.

- J.

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Jeff Fisher | Engineer of Creative Identity | Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

alyCe

This is something you should be careful about though. It can be a gateway into a better resumé and portfolio, but the chances are your networking will be the one who 'did it for free'. If someone tells their friends about you, his/her friends will want it for the same or less

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glunge

J Fisher LogoMotives

I disagree. Over the years I've done a great deal of pro bono work - for causes in which I have strong personal interests/beliefs. The networking with the committee members for nonprofit events (usually well-connected community individuals), and the board of directors of the nonprofit organizations (often the "movers and shakers" of the business community), has been incredibly effective.

A designer should never do "free" work for any for-profit venture - it can backfire on a designer very easily.

- J.

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Jeff Fisher | Engineer of Creative Identity | Jeff Fisher LogoMotives