Graphic Designer, Author, Business Consultant and Coach Karrie Ross Gives Away Insane Down to Earth Advice and Tips for Self Publishing, Book Design, Branding and Promotional that is Worth Stealing! You will also find some Life Coaching and Parenting Tips.
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Lately been pondering the “everyone” that is often mentioned. The all inclusive ‘us and we’.
From a professional designer and fine artist point of view I need to keep this “everyone” in mind when I create art. One of the first questions I ask my design clients is, “Who is your audience? (the everyone for them). Then based on that description I make choices for the work I’m doing.
For my fine art, since I paint for the gift and decorative well as the fine art gallery industries there is a different way to approach them. The gift and decorative is more generic based on color blocks and abstract shapes that a person uses to “decorate” a space such as department store displays and hotel rooms and also inexpensive wall art for mid-income homes.
For the fine art galleries…. the paintings can be as specific as I’d like. I can paint nudes, faces, places, emotional bursts, and make political statements based on how I’m feeling at the time.
Neither approach is for “everyone” yet it is for the “everyone” that the specific category includes.
So why don’t we just say that…?
Karrie Ross, California Artist
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I was just sitting here thinking about my day and what was involved with it. I’ve just finished adding a few things to my book design website, one of them being, I started offering marketing and branding design and consulting services and showing examples. I realized this is a big part of what I do AND what my clients need…that I’m not just a book designer but a brand creator as well.
My clients range from fantasy authors, sales people to life coaches; bio-chemists , info-marketers to computer consultants, and retail product manufacturers. And all of you need branding. A consistant look and feel to all that you offer. That’s what I do.
I hadn’t planned to shamelessly promote my services here, I usually share bits of advice that help you get your book to a place where it can be designed and sold… but I’ve been noticing that a lot of the branding that is out there is missing the mark. The look isn’t strong and consistent. So… I thought I’d give you a few tips about how to make your branding become a mover.
1. consistency: be sure your “look” is the same over all venues. Same color. Same font. Same configuration. Same symbol. If you don’t keep it the same… no one else will!
2. simple, strong: K.I.S. … so true, don’t clutter things up, people are over-stimulated enough as it is. News, billboards, radio, tv, social media…and the list can go on.
3. targeted copy: know your audience, what they want, where they are getting it now, how you can get into their eye-sight
4. niched: sure well all know everyone needs what we have… but the reality is, there is a niched group that WILL buy it if given the right selling points… so specialize.
Remember do something every day to promote your business or service.
Karrie Ross
Book Cover Designer, Branding and Marketing
How to create a Web Presence
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I just started a membership site. It took me awhile to “get” it straight in my mind… then I’d change. What was up? I loved the subject, I had lots of content, I knew it was valuable… so why all the “not getting it” going on? Yes, then I went into overload and started watching, listening and reading all I found on the subject…AGAIN! Oye….
What I did was to just say, “Ok, I’ll choose one subject, not all the levels, JUST ONE and begin there. Simple. One price. One focus. One site. And began the process. Learning new things hits both ends of our emotions. New business concept, new program, new application. All this we need to get our head around to be successful with it… even if you hire someone to do the set up… you still need to be responsible for the upkeep concept and all.
I chose to use separately hosted WordPress and it’s plugins and Wishlist Member* for my site software. I looked around for a theme that was the magazine look everyone is hot about lately…WP-Clear, it’s effective and works. It was again another software as it actually has theme settings included YEA! Which makes it easier to customize…and this theme had good support.
Anyways, just wanted to mention that my site is set to launch soon… I’ll be doing some shouting when the time comes. Until then…
Remember to do something everyday toward the writing and promotion of your book, product or service.
Karrie Ross
Book Cover Designer, Branding, Web-Presence
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There are lots of photo sites out there… both royalty free and pay for use. When taking on your own graphic design project, whether it be a self publishing book, brochure, or website, unless we take the photots ourselves, we need images to give our project that extra push.
How to use a photo site for best benefit.
1. What is the project, does it need a hi-res image?
2. Will that image be used across all your projects?
3. Be sure to read the licensing agreement you might want to get the extended license.
Once you’ve determined the use go to the site of your choice, and start searching by keywords and phrases. Open a lightbox, this is a place where you can store the images you like but aren’t totally positive you’ll be using. This allows you to gather lots and in one place that you can return to and weed our the ones that no longer match your criteria.
You’ll be gathering images based on keyword, look, feel, colors, vertical or horizontal, if they’ll be used with other images as a collage, what is the energy they project, composition, expression, structure. One keyword and supply of images may open the way to another search using a different word.
Remember, the lightbox is a tool for organizing and it allows you to see all the images together in one place before you purchase. As you find the images you like, then you begin purchasing based on what your use will be. Depending on the price of the images, you might want to purchase project specific, but if the images are only $15 or each, I suggest you purchase the large or xlarge and adjust its size as appropriate for your project. That way you won’t need to keep buying the image again at smaller sizes.
Contact me to discuss your projects.
Karrie Ross
Design – Branding – Websites
Question:
What has your experience been with lightboxes…do you use them?
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For me, Seth Godin’s Blog writings, the updates I get every day or so, are nudges filled with nuggets!
Each one gives me something to think about in a new, unrelated relevant perspective. He speaks of friends, yet, asks us to consider what is the new definition of friends. He speaks of camps vs. conferences… which made me think of how I find, give, participate in teaching, learning, training, or researching. He brings us into a relatedness with Singer and how we see the roll of companies in our economy.
I’ve been following him for a while now and from the very beginning, his posts took my hand and gently massaged my brain to expand.
What can we learn from this perceived ‘ease’ with which he nudges us with new nuggets for seeing, thinking, doing…? How can it fit in how you see your business, service or company moving forward in this ever changing economy, and socializing world?
I encourage you to ask your questions and wet your eyes, cleaning out the cobwebs that have gathered there…with drops of new wisdoms.
Karrie Ross
Your Branding EnergyOS Coach
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Sometimes we just need to slow down and consider our clients and their motivators.
Twitter didn’t do that in my opinion… and had to reassess their action and did a quick back-step. I was wondering just how many of their employees actually are using twitter and did they even poll them to see how they liked the function of ‘replies’. And now, we users are primed for future changes, but not in the way I think twitter intended! Improvements in their eyes but in ours, their clients, a problem, a restriction.
I like twitter. (follow me here KarrieRoss on twitter) I’ve made some really interesting connections with people I wouldn’t have normally met. It could be because of location, industry, interests… but, twitter brings us all together in a sharing capacity and, for me, that is what the replies action is all about. Being able to carry on a conversation and share it with others and at the same time spreading who I am to people who might not know me, but the person I’m conversing with…NETWORKING
Now, lets take this lesson and apply it to your book, product or business.
When positioning your business and motivating your customers always remember to see your actions from your clients perspective and ask the question “Will this add to their benefit or not?”
Remember, do something everyday toward your book design, product or small business promotion and branding.
Karrie Ross
Book Design Branding
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SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
They have a variety of programs accross the country that you might find valuable to your business. They are partnering with big business in helping set up disaster and recesion relief information programs as well. http://www.score.org/newsroom_media_releases.html
I happened on this while helping a client who was looking for an outline for how to make a business plan. I hope this research helps you if it does, please let us know by making a comment to this post.
Download Business templates and get SCORE advice. To download, click on the link and choose “Save this file to disk”. Save the templates to a desired folder on your hard drive.
You can open the file from the Web by double-clicking the file names. You can save these templates as Word documents (.doc), Excel spreadsheets (.xls) or PDFs (.pdf).
http://www.score.org/template_gallery.ht
Remember, keep doing something everyday to the promotion of you and your business.
Karrie Ross
Be It Now! Branding and Consulting
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Ashton Kutcher put on quite a show with reaching 1 million in support fighting of malaria
https://give.malarianomore.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=356&srcid=246
here is the screenshot of the event first the “0″ (zero) reset then the
final shot
here is the “0″ reset then the next one is the 1,000,031
and here is the winning 1,000,031
and here is CNN giving the news!
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