Red Lemon Club Readers’ Self Promotion Question and Answer Session

March 4th, 2010 | Alex Mathers

A few weeks ago I asked subscribers to my mailing list the following question:

What is the #1 area you need help with, in terms of promoting your work online?

Many of you responded with some great questions. This post will take a selection of them, and I will do my best to answer them. If you have anything to add, don’t hesitate to contribute within the comments section of this post.

If you are interested in my recently completed guide on effective online self promotion, go here.

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Here we go…

Reader Question:

‘How much time should I be putting in each day/week/month into promoting myself?’

RLC Answer:

‘That’s a good question, and not an easy one to answer. I think we can safely say that for most creative professionals, the ratio of self promotion to working is very small, so must of us should think about upping the amount of weekly promotion we put in compared to the amount of creative work we do.

Levels of marketing vary according to the method used. For social networking promotion, I recommend spending a few minutes a day engaging with people, and for sending out newsletters to subscribers, once every two or three weeks.

Generally you will need to tailor your self promotion time to yourself but aim to spend a proportion of what you do, unless you have help or representation, on some self promotional activities every week. You will find out what suits you through taking action and getting feedback from what you do.’

Reader Question:

‘I guess for me, my troubled area is how to engage prospects, readers (etc) to take action, to send me an email to buy ads on my blog, or to give me a call to book my services.. Even to subscribe to my newsletter, or to respond to my tweets.

So is it a matter of words? Content? Price?’

What compels someone to take action?‘

RLC Answer:

‘My best piece of advice here is in making sure you place a ‘call to action’ at any opportunity you have that is appropriate. A call to action is something that leads your site visitors etc to taking action, such as you saying that you are available for hire, and then adding a link to your contact address.

You’ll be surprised how often people are swayed into taking action, when they are reminded and shown how to do so, and how many people forget to use one.’

Reader Question:

‘I’d like to find out more about adding subscribers to my currently tiny mailing list. How do I attract more new clients to my list?’

RLC Answer:

‘If you have a blog, nothing beats good, regular content that demonstrates your expertise and credibility on some topic, and having a mailing list that is tied to this great content, such as by having a newsletter that gives away exclusive information that relates to the content you provide on your blog or site.

Make sure your opt-in page or form is clearly linked to, or clearly shown on your various sites, including your blog. This means placing it ‘above the fold’ (within view when the web page is fully scrolled up) and perhaps giving something away for free to people who sign up as an incentive.

Take advantage of the various other channels on the net to promote your list, including leaving the link in forum signature boxes, social media, blog comments, leaving a link on articles and guest posts on other blogs you write, and so on.’

Reader Question:

‘I have noticed the highly increasing popularity of Tumblr and I was wondering if I should recreate my blog in blogger to a Tumblr one if that might increase followers and visits to my work?’

RLC Answer:

‘Tumblr’s system is very straight forward and a well designed one. If you don’t plan on being too in control of your blog’s design, it could be an option, but generally your blog popularity will come down to the quality of the content on your blog, you having a well-defined blog niche, and the extent of your efforts to bring targeted traffic to it.’

Reader Question:

‘What is the best method of putting together a portfolio these days, Html, WordPress, Flash, CSS3?’

RLC Answer:

‘There are so many ways, and by all means use any of these, although lay off the flash unless really necessary!

I personally recommend WordPress.org for your blog, but it can also be used as a portfolio site as it is quite straightforward and very efficient once set up, and the design is very customizable. I would emphasize simplicity in any portfolio site you set up.

My new ebook lists all kinds of ways and options you can choose from in creating a site that works for you.’

Reader Question:

‘Even though I’m very new to the industry, are there promotional tactics that can help me and my work to appear more professional? (A “fake it till you make it” sort of tactic)?’

RLC Answer:

‘If you stick to the very basics of professionalism in all that you do as a creative, you’re sure to impress and basically look good to potential clients.

This includes communicating positively and eloquently with readers and prospects, but also in concentrating on little details that make a big difference, such as spelling mistakes, and fuzzy, unprofessional design on your sites. Make sure you always focus on consistency as you transmit the brand you are representing.’

Reader Question:

‘I know that writing articles and social networking are good ways of bringing traffic to my sites. Do you have any other ideas?‘

RLC Answer:

‘There are several ways that creatives can use the web to bring targeted traffic to their work and their blogs if they have one. Article writing on topics that relate to your own work or blog is one good way. Social networking is a great way of bringing in traffic, if used effectively and you have substantially sized networks on them.

My 10 Steps book lists over twenty other ways of driving traffic, including writing for ezines, posting classifieds, podcasting and writing free press releases. Collaboration with others is an often overlooked way of getting traffic to each of your sites as well.’

Reader Question:

‘The number one area I could use help with is interconnecting my various accounts so that one post is distributed on multiple sites. What are the best ways to do this?’

RLC Answer:

‘This is a great way of saving time and multi-tasking, so that promotion doesn’t take up any more time than it needs to.

Ping.fm and Tweetdeck are two examples of platforms that allow you post to multiple online destinations, so that you spread the word of new posts etc quickly and efficiently. What ways work best for you will take a little experimentation, but the tools to do so are available.’

Reader Question:

‘I’m quite self-promotionally active online, but I need some suggestions on how to cut down on my time spent on the internet. What do you think I can do to cut down?’

RLC Answer:

‘Tackling time wasting is something I’m keen to address in all the self promotional methods I share and I think it is important to cut down as much time as possible spent on the computer as we go about promoting ourselves. This is why having at least a vague internet use schedule is important, as well as doing any work that doesn’t require a computer away from the computer!

I have written a post that discusses some ideas on saving time as we go about our daily business on the net.’

Reader Question:

‘The #1 question I have about promoting myself online, is what is the appropriate way to send your site to a targeted person, like a creative director at a company you are particularly interested in working at.

Is putting together a self-promotional mailer something that has gone by the wayside due to digital advancements or is it still considered a good idea?’

RLC Answer:

‘Marketing to specific people is something that is addressed in my various posts and in greater detail in my book. The key thing is to always build a relationship with someone before blatantly marketing to them.

This can happen in various ways, including in building rapport with them via email and engaging with people on social networks like Twitter. Once you have build rapport in this way, you can go ahead and share a little more about what you do.’

Reader Question:

‘I’m worried that my social media accounts on for example Facebook and LinkedIn aren’t properly optimized for promoting myself as best as they can so I was wondering where I can find out more about this?’

RLC Answer:

‘One of the things you need to be careful about is in the way you mix business with pleasure on any social media accounts you have. Make sure that any contacts you have on these platforms who are potential clients, for example, sees the professional brand side of you, as opposed to the party-animal side of you.

There are ways of making sites like Facebook an excellent self promotional platform, with security measures you can take to keep certain information from certain people, so that you maintain a professional image. I run through creating ideal social media accounts for self promotional purposes in the ebook.’

Reader Question:

‘The #1 area I need help with is finding the ‘best’ and most appropriate places online to promote my art/illustrations and my online store, in order to generate sales. And how can I avoid getting lost among the thousands of other new creatives trying to do the same thing?’

RLC Answer:

‘This will inevitably require a bit of research on your side, and it is best to always have your target market in mind when going out and promoting your sites/work on other sites. Always think about who exactly you want seeing your work, find them, and reveal your work to them (using non aggressive, relationship-building, marketing methods).

You can perhaps use online forums to not only market your work but in finding suggestions from others on which sites to use for promotion.’

Reader Question:

‘Should I work on getting my own website together before diving into promotion?’

RLC Answer:

‘I think it is crucial to have some sort of what I call a ‘base’ in place before promoting. A base is your personal site that showcases your work, that you will bring targeted people to. This does not need to be a complex site filled with loads of information, at least initially.

Stick to something professional-looking and contains at least a simple display of your work and your contact details before promoting it. Then you can add to it later. Ideally, your own site should have an element of uniqueness, including having its own domain name and of a style that reflects your brand in general, although this is not necessary to get started. As I said, something simple and professional is key before going out and marketing.’

Reader Question:

‘The area I need help with most with regards to online promotion would be my forthcoming book. My project is not entirely finished yet, but would need help in promoting it to as many people as possible. What’s the best way to promote a book?‘

RLC Answer:

‘The sales cycle that I address in the book applies to both marketing your services, but also in promoting your own products. Book promotion is something I am going through at this moment, and I can say that the internet has proven to be an extremely valuable tool in doing so.

The key thing is spend time adding contacts to your own network who are likely to buy the book or at least spread the word about it for you. You need to build relationships with these people and keep them interested. Once rapport and a solid relationship has been established with your target market you can start revealing the book to them.

This is where mailing lists and social networks can help, but there are also many other ways of building buzz. The other important aspect about promoting something like a book, especially if it requires your own expertise on something is in building your own credibility and respect amongst others before selling it. You can work on this through a blog and in sharing content and engaging through social media, forums, article writing, video-casting, and more.’

Thanks for the questions everyone!

Closer detail on all these issues are addressed in greater detail and clarity in my new ebook:

’10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for Creatives’.

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