Ifyouwanttodesignlogosforaliving,youneedtobecomeknownasthego-topersonforlogodesignservices.Thatrequiresyoutobuildareputation.
Wonderwhatittakestomakealivingdesigninglogos
LogoLoungememberandourfriendIanPagetoftheLogoGeekPodcasthasspentthelast10yearsgainingexperiencetogettoapointwherehecandesignlogosdaytoday.Andnowhe’sdecidedtosharesomeadviceonhowyoucandothesame!
BuildingareputationasalogodesignerissomethingI’veworkedhardon,sointhissection,IwillsharethemethodsI’veusedsofartopositionmyselfasanexpertonlogodesign.
Thishasincludedsocialposting,writing,podcasting,videocontent,awardsandjuries,andsocialproof.Let’sdiscusseachofthese.
Postingonsocialmediaisoneformofmarketing,butitwillalsohelptopositionyouasanexpert.
There’salonglistofsocialplatforms,eachgovernedbyitsownsetofrules,butthekeytosuccesswithanyplatformisconsistency.Thereareonlysomanyhoursintheday,soshowinguponeveryplatformfrequentlyisn’tfeasibleformost.
Myapproachhasbeentopickoneandtodoitwell.Thatway,I’vebeenabletodedicatemytimetolearningeverythingthereistoknowaboutthatoneplatform.Plus,Ihavethetimeandenergytopostgoodcontentandshowupconsistently.
Thinkofasocialplatformasafire.You’llfailifyoutrytolighttenfiresatonce.Butifyoudedicateallyourtimeandenergytoone,you’llhaveathrivingfireburning.Withthisapproach,onceyoudohaveafireburning,allyouneedtodotokeepitlitisthrowfuelonitnowandagain,andthat’sthesameforsocialmedia.
Onceyouhavebuiltathrivingcommunityofdedicatedfollowersononeplatform,youcanstepawaytocreatesuccessonasecondplatform.You’llonlyneedtocheckbackonthepreviousonetokeepthemomentumgoing.
Earlyinmyjourney,IputconsiderableenergyintobuildingafollowingonTwitter,whichatthetimewasoneofthemostpopularsocialplatforms.
Asit’samicro-bloggingplatform,allowingonlyalimitednumberofcharacters,itwasaconvenientplatformtofitaroundadayjob.Icouldpostwhenitwasconvenientforme,beitwheneatingbreakfast,whenwaitingforatrain,or…andbeingentirelyhonest…whensittingonthetoilet…
Butwhatdoyoupost
Youcancontinuallycreateyourowncontent,butyoudon’tneedto.
I’vekeptalistofgoodblogsandresourcesaroundlogodesign,andwhenitcomestoposting,Iwillsharethatcontentwithmyown.Althoughit’snotmycontent,I’llbecomeknownforcontinuallysharinginterestingandvaluableinformationandnewsaboutmyareaofexpertise,evenifIdidn’tcreatethatcontent.
Plentyofusefultoolshelpyouscheduleyourpostingactivity,whichI’lllistatthebackofthisbook.
Youwill,however,needmorethanjustpostingtogrowaqualityaudience.It’svitalthatyouengagewithotherstoo.
Ifsomeonemessagesyou,makesuretoreply.Startdiscussionsandgetinvolvedinthosestartedbyothers.Themorepeopleyouinteractwith,themoreengagedyournetworkwillbecome.Youwillslowlyestablishareputationforprovidingvalue.
Whateveryourchosenplatform,besuretostudyandunderstandtheinsandoutsoftheplatformtomakethemostofit.
Writingisoneofthebestwaystoshareyourknowledgeanddemonstratethatyouknowwhatyou’retalkingabout.
Ifwritingisn’tyourstrength,youmightfeelyou’renotuptothetask.That’showIfeltwhenIstarted,soIwanttoencourageyoutotry.Istruggledwithmywritinginschoolandcollege,soIneededextrasupport,andonceIfinishedschool,Ididverylittlereadingorwritingasitwasn’tsomethingIenjoyed.
WhenIstartedworkingatawebdesignagency,asitwasasmallcompany,wewereencouragedtowriteblogposts.SinceIwrotealittledaily,mywritingskillsgraduallyimproved.
WhenIstartedmylogodesignbusiness,Icontinuedthattrendofactivelywriting.AsIwaswritingaboutatopicthatinterestedme,Ienjoyedit!Overthepasttenyears,mywritingabilitieshaveimprovedsomuchthatI’vebeenabletowritethisverybook.
IusedmybloginitiallyasawaytodocumentandsharethelessonsIwaslearning.OvertimeIalsousedittoanswerquestions,gobehindthescenesofmydesignprocessandsharemyjourneyasadesigner.
Contributingguestpoststootherpopulardesignorbusinesswebsiteswillalsocontributetoreputationgrowth.
Asyouactivelywriteandshareyourknowledge,you’llbecomeknownforyourwritingandwillbuildareputationintheprocess.
Podcastingisanotherformofcontentcreation,butratherthantypewhatyouknow,yousaywhatyouknow.
Unlikeblogging,whereit’seasytohidebehindthewritingofothers,withpodcasting,peoplehearyou,sotheygettoknow,likeandtrustyouintheprocess.
Thiscouldbeasoloshow,oryoucouldco-hostitwithothers.Youcouldalsoinvitegueststogivemoredepthandperspectivetoyourshow.
Istartedapodcastin2017calledtheLogoGeekPodcast,althoughIdidn’tintentionallydothistobuildareputation.Theprimaryreasonforstartingthiswastohelpbuildmyconfidence,butgrowingmyreputationwasanincrediblebyproductofthoseefforts.
I’vehadproblemswithanxietysinceIwasyoung,andhavealwaysstruggledwithpublicspeaking,eveninsmallgroups.
Inschool,IdidwhatIcouldtoavoidthesesituations,butasIgotolder,itbecameasevereproblemthatheldmebackprofessionally.
IsoughthelpandwasofferedaformoftalkingtherapycalledCognitiveBehaviouralTherapy,whichcanhelpyoumanageproblemsbychanginghowyouthinkandbehave.Inshort,itrequiresyoutofaceyourfears.
Podcastingwasmyentrypoint.WhenIpressedthatrecordbutton,itbroughtupallthefearsandanxietiesIfacedinanypublicsituation.ButIcouldfacetheminasafeenvironmentandcontrolhowfarItookit.
Atfirst,Ididafewsoloepisodes,whicharesadlynolongeravailable.Afewyearslater,Iwasaco-hostonafriend’sshow,SideGig.ThenIdecidedtothrowmyselfinatthedeependandstartashowofmyown.AndsotheLogoGeekPodcastwasborn.
WhileImademanymistakesandfumbledovermywords,thebeautyofaudioisthatyoucancutoutwhatyoudon’tlikeandre-recordyourselfasmanytimesasneeded.
Aslongasthefinalthingsoundsgood,that’sallthatmatters,andasyoudomore,yougetbetter.Ittookafewyears,butInowfeelconfidentasapodcasthostandenjoyit.
Whilemyshowhasbeensuccessfulandhasboughtmemanypersonalbenefits,includinghelpingtobuildareputation,Idofeelthattogetthemostoutofashowandtodifferentiateitfromtheseaofdesignpodcasts,Iwouldrecommendcreatingcontentthat’stargetedatyourchosenaudience.
Forexample,ifyouwanttotargetpeopleinthehospitalityindustry,youcouldcreateaseriesofepisodescalled‘HotelBrandingTips’,whereyoudiscusswaysthatdesignandbrandingcanbeusedtoimprovetheoverallexperiencewithinahoteltoattractmorecustomersandincreaseprofits.
Podcastingisafantasticnetworkingtool,soyoucouldinterviewsuccessfulhotelownerstogobehindthescenesoftheirstory,and,asyouhavethechancetospeaktothemdirectly,theycouldeventuallybecomeaclient.
Podcastscanbereleasedinseasons,madeupofasmanyepisodesasyouwish,oryoucouldreleaseanepisodeonaconsistentdate,suchasweeklyormonthly.Mypodcaststartedasseasonsmadeupoftenepisodes,andovertimeithasbecomeaweeklyshowthankstothesupportofsponsors,whohelptofundtheproductionoftheshow,enablingmetodedicatetimetocreatingvaluablecontent.
Therearethousandsofpodcastsouttherecoveringjustabouteveryinterestyoucanthinkof.Manyalsofeatureguestsandareactivelylookingforinterestingpeopletobeontheirshow.
I’vemadeitapersonalmissiontogetonasmanyshowsaspossible,nomatterthetopic.Themainreasonforthishasbeentosupportthegoalofbuildingupmyconfidence,butithasalsoallowedmetospeakdirectlytonewaudienceswhocouldpotentiallybecomefollowersorevenclients.
Asidefromtheobviousnetworkingbenefits,thiscanalsocontributetoyourSEOefforts.Mostpodcasthostswillcreateshownotesforeachepisode,andonthispage,they’llalsoincludelinkstoyourwebsiteandsocialmediachannels,soevenifnobodylistens,youatleastgetabacklink,whichwillhelpcontributetoyourongoingmarketingefforts.
If,likeme,you’renotaconfidentspeaker,beingaguestonotherpodcastscanbeawaytograduallybuilduptheconfidencetostartashowofyourown.Iftheopportunitycomesup,goforit.
Videois,handsdown,theeasiestwaytoconsumecontent.
Writtencontentneedstobereadcarefullyfortheinformationtobeabsorbed.Audiocontentrequiresyoutofocustoo,butidealforsituationswhereyou’reonthemoveandcan’tdomuchelse,suchasdrivingorwalking.
Withvideo,youcanjustsitback,watchandenjoy.Sinceyoucanmakeitsocaptivating,showingimageryandaudio,peoplearemuchmorelikelytofocusentirelyonthecontent.
Therearecountlesswaystoshareandwatchvideocontent.Almosteverysocialchannelallowsyoutosharevideosinsomeform,sothereareampleopportunitiestoshowyourfaceandprovidevalue.
VideoplatformslikeYouTubearealsosearchengines,soifyoucreatehelpfulcontent,peoplewillsearch,find,andconsumeit.
Ifyoudaretogetoncamera,it’sanopportunityforpeopletogettoknowyou,likeyouandtrustyou.Theperfectwaytobuildareputation.But…ifyou’reanintrovertlikeme,videoisscary.Atthetimeofwritingthisbook,gettingoncamerastillslightlyterrifiesme.Idon’tfeelcomfortableoncamera,soIhaven’tyetleverageditsfullpotential.
That’snottosayIdon’ttry.
I’vepushedmyselftodotheoccasionalInstagramlive.I’vealsobeenaguestonafewvideopodcasts.Ingeneral,ifI’minvitedtocontributetosomethingthatrequiresmetobeoncamera,I’llstilldoit.
Iseetheimmensevalueinvideocontent,soIwillcontinuetothrowmyselfintosituationsoutsidemycomfortzone.Iencourageyoutodothesame.
Youcanforevercallyourselfanaward-winningdesignerifyouwinjustoneaward.Thisnotonlymakesyoufeelgood,butitsoundsimpressivetoclientstoo.
Thereareseveralcredibleindustryawards,whichIhavelistedatthebackofthisbook,shouldyouwishtoenterthem.
I’vebeenfortunateenoughtohavewonagoldintheInternationalVisualIdentityAwardsandhadmyworkfeaturedintheLogoLoungebooksseveraltimes.NotalotcomparedtosomedesignersIknow,butit’sneverreallybeenmypriority.
Youneedtobeawarethatmostawardsarebusinessesthatprofitoffthebackofdesigners’needforgratification,andtherebecomesapointwhereit’smoreaboutvanity.AlthoughI’msuresomemoresignificantawardswillattractattention.
Mostofusworkinisolation,so,understandably,wewanttohearthatourdesignsarethebestofthebest,butmostofthetime,it’smoneyinsomeoneelse’spocket.ThisiswhyIaimtobeonthejuryinstead.Thislooksjustasimpressiveaswinningbutalsopositionsyouasanindustryleader.It’ssomethingIdofreelyandthoroughlyenjoy.Insomecases,Ihavebeeninvitedtodothis,andinothers,I’vevolunteered.
IhavebeenselectedforjuriesbecauseIhavebuiltalargesocialmediafollowing.Partoftheagreementoftenrequiresmetowriteorpostabouttheawards,soit’sfreepublicityforthem.Igetvaluefromit,too,soit’samutuallybeneficialarrangement.
Ifyouhaveadegreeorcertification,mentionitthroughoutyourwebsite.Thiswillhelpdemonstrateyourknowledgeandprovideanadditionallayeroftrust.
Idon’tpersonallyhaveaformaldesigneducation,however,Ihaveplentyofexperienceworkingwithindesignteams,whichcanprovidejustasmuchtrust.Soinmycontent,I’llmentionmypriorexperienceandname-dropthewell-knowncompaniesI’vedesignedforwhileinthesepositions.
Despitenothavingadegree,Iactivelyworktoearncertificationsinareasrelevanttologodesignandbranding,whichI’llmentiononmywebsiteandinsalesproposals.
Ifyou’rebuyinganewcomputer,howdoyoudecidewhichisthebestMostofuswillreadthereviews,oryoumayaskafriend.Ultimately,theactionsandattitudesofthepeoplearoundyouwillinfluenceyourdecision.Thisisknownassocialproof,andwecanleveragethisasdesigners.
Imagineifaclientwaschoosingbetweentwodesignerswithequallystrongportfolios.Oneonlydisplaysaportfolio.Theotheralsomentionsthatthey’vewonawards,beenfeaturedinreputablepublications,andhavehundredsofreviewsandsocialfollowers.WhichwouldyouchooseWhichwouldyoutrustWhichwillprovidemorevalue
Theremaybenodifferencebetweenthequalityofserviceandtheknowledgeofthetwodesigners,butthere’simmediatelyperceivedtrustgainedfromsocialproof.That’swhyI’vemadeitanintentionalpartofmystrategy.
We’vealreadydiscussedmanythingsthatwillimpactsocialproof,forexample,growingalargesocialfollowing,winningawards,beingonjuries,beingapodcastguestandgainingcertifications.
Butthere’smore.
Youcouldgetmentionedorfeaturedinbooksandmagazinesorinarticlesonhigh-profilewebsitessuchasForbesandEntrepreneur.
AneasywaytogetfeaturedinalogobookistojoinLogoLounge.Everyyeartheyselectthebestfromthedesignsuploadedandincludetheminabook.I’vebeenfortunatethatmyworkhasbeenfeaturedinafew,andI’vebeenonthejurytoo.
I’vealsobeenluckyenoughtobefeaturedinafewmagazines,whichhascomefromactivelypostingonTwitter.Bypostingandengagingonsocialmedia,yourfollowingwillgrow,andpeopleinyourindustrywillbedrawntowardsyou.Sowhenwritersneedanexperttocontributetoafeature,they’llprobablyreachouttoyoubecauseyou’reeasytofind.ThisishowIgotfeaturedinDotNet,PhotoshopCreativeand99UandcontributedarticlestoCreativeBloq.
I’vealsobeenluckyenoughtohavebeenmentionedinForbes,EntrepreneurandAdWeek.
TheAdWeekmentionwasthankstoaguestIinterviewedonmypodcast.Theyneededopinionsonseverallogos,andasIwasoneofthepeopleinhisnetworkwithknowledgeoflogodesign,Iwasinvitedtocontribute.
TheForbesandEntrepreneurfeatureswerethankstoafellowfreelancewriterthatcontributestoalotofprominentwebsites.Asheoftenneedstipsandopinionsforhisarticles,I’vebecomepartofhistrustednetworkofexperts.
Thisiswhynetworkingissopowerful!
Ultimately,yourreputationwillprovidetrust,whichwilldeterminethequalityoftheleadsyouattract,thevolumeofleadsyouconvert,andthepriceyoucancharge.ThisiswhyIcontinuetoworkonbuildingmyreputationasadesigner–andwhyyoushouldtoo.