Yes, it’s true. But the first step to success is admitting the problem, right?
Luckily, I found this snazzy link to some pretty cool business cards to get my creative juices flowing.

It’s THE question bloggers and web site owners must ask themselves on a regular basis: What are you doing today (every day!) to drive traffic to your web site? Performancing.com has a new post on just this goal, with 12 tips to increase inbound links to your site.

To keep the Babes coming to my site, ChronicBabe, I do these things regularly (i.e. at least once every other week, if not more often):

• send out an enewsletter (every other week) with incentive to visit the site
• comment on other people’s blogs
• participate in blog carnivals
• get to know my fellow bloggers and build reciprocal relationships with them
• guest blog at my favorite sites
• hand out my business card or fliers to everyone I meet
• take steps to grow your enewsletter list (this Alexandria Brown article is a great place to start for ideas)
• use my email signature to promote my site
• create tons of good content on my site so other site owners can’t resist linking to me
• update my content almost every day, then use Ping-O-Matic to spread the word
• “speak” at webinars
• promote others’ enewsletters (and they promote mine to their readers)
• hold contests and give-aways
• invite big-name guests to write a post at my site (their followers will come to me for at least that day)
• blab all about town about my project to anyone who will listen

These are just the actions I can think of in five minutes to write this post. If I spent an hour on it, the list would go on forever - but this is a good idea of where to start promoting your site. So…what did I leave off the list? How do you promote your site?

… and so begins a really awesome post on the tinygigantic blog, regarding the expansion of the definition of design and a more inclusive approach to the creative community in general. Here’s an excerpt (but check out the whole article if you have a minute–its worth a read):

Design is not the making of posters and logos and brochures and websites. It’s not title sequences and motion graphics. It’s a way of doing which can be defined as making things that solve problems.
Here’s how it goes:
-You figure out what the problem is
-You figure out other ways to frame the problem
-You come up with a sh*tload of ideas
-You test a few of them out
-You decide what solves the problem and what doesn’t
-You refine it and make something dope

The comments also mentioned an apt quote from Saul Bass regarding his approach to a new design project (from a 1989 Communication Arts interview):

“A client comes to you with a definition of the problem, or ideas about what they want to accomplish. Sometimes they have a sophisticated view of it, sometimes they don’t. I find myself frequently spending time with the client redefining the problem, backing up, going back to the beginning. Not infrequently the “problem” turns out to be the “symptom.” You have to sometimes move back, in order to move forward to really understand what the nature of the solution should be.”

IdeaXchange member Cary Zartman (and biz partner Faron Greenfield, who together make up The Z Factory), are featured today in the Chicago Tribune Q section. If it’s holiday time, it’s Zartini time! Taste the past year’s winners and enter your own concoction in this annual competition.

From the latest issue of Springwise, a trend enewsletter. A company called Mobile Mentor has jumped on one of the fastest growing trends around. Pretty cool! Plenty smart.

If linguistics interests you, join the live webcast produced by the New York Public Library. The following is from the website.

“There You Go Again: Orwell Comes to America invites historians, linguists, cognitive experts, journalists, government officials, and political consultants to assess the current state of public discourse — and journalism’s response to it — one year before a hotly contested presidential election. The panels explore the past, present, and future of deceptive political speech, and assess what can be done to bring more realism and honesty into the conduct of America’s public affairs.”

Based on personal experience (and tips from IdeaXchange members), here are some basic tips for a successful trade show:

1. Portfolio: show samples in plastic sheets in a binder, with several loose samples on the table (if applicable); also useful is a portfolio slide show (put your laptop on a stand to so it’s closer to eye-level)
2. Display a Banner or Sign (on an easel) with your logo and website
3. Promo Postcards: print more than expected — many people take several extras (to give to friends, etc.)
4. Giveaway: people respond well to a handmade and/or personally-designed item they can use (make it useful to everyone not just those seeking your services)
5. Hand your promo materials to people and ask them to sign your mailing list — this will engage them in conversation
6. A tablecloth or other table covering is a must (preferably a dark, neutral color)
7. Give away a Tip Sheet: a great way to show your knowledge of your industry and be top-of-mind to potential clients (make sure to include your contact info on the Tip Sheet)
8. Take detailed notes on all contacts made at the event
9. Send a Thank You note a day or two after the event — if possible, mention something you discussed with the person
10. Don’t forget to follow-up!

I attended a lecture today at Medill at Northwestern University given by Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines, who discussed her new book Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). I have not read the book yet, but took away several tips that could be applied to the freelancer/small business owner:

1. Don’t take things personally: she mentioned not being invited to a meeting, but it could also be applied to: not getting a project, not hearing from a client, etc.
2. Don’t hold a grudge: try not to go over situations in your head repeatedly.
3. Ask for forgiveness when necessary.
4. You can’t have it all, but you can have “your” all: clarifying what is right for you and your career (as opposed to pleasing others)
5. Be open to change: in attitude, managerial style. Can also be applied to the type of work you do.
6. Position yourself in the best possible way: she spoke about being prepared for interviews, but this can apply to client meetings, pitches, etc. One great tip: always have a pen!
7. Evolve your business: she spoke about magazines/newspapers evolving, but all businesses can benefit from adapting their current offerings to a new generation of consumers, the digital age, etc.

She also spoke about a balance between work and personal life. With that in mind, most of these tips can also be applied to our lives outside of work.

Since fees and how to charge are two topics that always pop up in our group, thought I’d share a good, really short article from MarketingProfs newsletter on setting fees. The take on hourly is a good one!

Flipping through industry magazines, contributing to the blogosphere, and participating in trade organizations are a few ways to learn what’s going on in your trade. Litterateur talks about both the emotional enjoyment of experiencing a fellow artist’s work and the analytical process of discovering how it functioned. How do you learn from fellow creatives?