Business

Business / 18 Jun 2018

5 Tips to Use Instagram Creatively for Your Brand

It seems like every brand is on Instagram these days. So how do you create posts that generate engagement and help your images, video, and stories stand out from the pack?

The answer is to use your keen design eye. The same skills that you use as a designer—color balance, contrast, shape, and composition—can help you create Instagram posts that stand out. (It is a visual medium after all!)

Combine those skills with a little social media strategy and you’ll start building a loyal follower base in no time. Here are some tips to get you on the path to Instagram success.

Business / 14 May 2018

5 Signs You Need to Fire Your Client (And How to Do It)

Nothing can make your life miserable like a bad client. From scope-creep to those that never pay on time, sometimes you just have to let a client go. It’s a tough decision and you don’t want to burn any bridges, but often it’s best to dissolve the relationship and move on.

When do you know it is time? Today, we’ll look at five situations when it’s time to fire a client with some ideas on how to do it tactfully.

Business / 18 Apr 2018

10 Tips for a Perfect Facebook Cover Image

Almost every business and individual – from personal pages to freelance business pages – uses Facebook. It’s likely an integral part of your marketing strategy. It might even be your main professional website.

So it is important that you make the most of this platform to ensure that your social media profile is polished and professional. A sloppy image, bad crop, or text that scales improperly can give the wrong first impression. Here are 10 tips for creating a perfect Facebook cover image that people will want to click.

Business / 11 Apr 2018

7 Tips for Finding the Perfect PowerPoint Presentation Template

A great PowerPoint presentation template can wow audiences, and help you to build a slideshow quickly and easily. While you can create your own custom template, there’s a whole market of affordable PowerPoint templates that you can customize. But what should you be considering when deciding which one to choose?

PowerPoint templates are a great option for designers – or practically anyone – who wants to create a polished, professional-looking presentation that doesn’t take a lot of time to put together. Here’s what to look for to ensure that you are getting the perfect PowerPoint template for each specific presentation.

Business / 7 Mar 2018

8 Ideas for Creating Evergreen Website Content

Developing evergreen content for your website is an important element in your overall strategy. Evergreen content is information – pages or blog content – that remain relevant and don’t get old. It’s a practical approach to making your investment in content pay off long-term.

The best evergreen content is directly related to the core information on your website. It complements more timely news and information and can help boost search rankings over time as well. But you can’t just post and forget about it; even evergreen content will need the occasional update to ensure that it remains relevant over time.

Here are eight ways to create evergreen website content (with examples of websites that are doing it well).

Business / 6 Mar 2018

15+ Quick Tips to Improve Your Design Portfolio

If you’re like many designers, you’ve had every intention of updating your design portfolio — for the last two years at least. But procrastinating on your portfolio is a mistake. You never know what opportunities you could be missing out on because someone landed on your tired, old portfolio.

As the co-founder of Semplice, a portfolio system for designers, I’ve learned how crucial a portfolio is to getting new work. And the only thing worse than not having a design portfolio is having one that’s poorly made or out of date. Here are some quick tips to refresh your portfolio and start getting more of the work you want to do.

Business / 28 Feb 2018

6 Finance Apps for Your Freelance Business

A great set of financial apps and tools can make it easier to manage your freelance business. From tracking receipts and invoices for clients, to making sure you’re ready for tax season and have all your expenses accounted for. There are plenty of great apps to help you manage your freelance business.

Characteristics of great finance apps are that they are secure, cloud-based, include automation tools to help you work more efficiently, are affordable, come with financial accounting and reporting that you can understand and customer support when you need it. All of the apps on this list fit the bill.

Business / 19 Feb 2018

30 Tips to Learn Web Design in 30 Days

Is learning the basics of web design still on your “someday” list? Why haven’t you got started yet? We’ve put together 30 tips and resources to help you start learning web design this month (and maybe even find yourself a new career path!)

Graphic designers, print designers, and creatives looking to learn something new or break into website need to quit procrastinating. Every day that you don’t take that first step leaves you one day further behind everyone else!

Follow these steps to begin learning how to create your first website, industry best practices, and much more—all in 30 days!

Business / 12 Feb 2018

20 DIY Projects to Improve Your Freelance Office

A creative workspace is good for your creativity. That’s why companies such as Apple and Google have open and innovative workspaces. While you probably don’t have that kind of budget, there are some great DIY projects you can take on to improve your freelance or home office!

So grab your hammer, paint and creative thinking to make your workspace somewhere you’ll want to spend most of the day. Some of these projects take a few minutes, some a few hours, or some a few weeks or months. But it’s a great starting point for some creative thinking!

Business / 5 Feb 2018

5 Ways to Network as a Remote Freelancer

One of the toughest areas of working as a freelancer is that there’s a sense of professional loneliness. Most of your work days are spent alone in a home office. While local networking opportunities exist, they may not be geared toward the creative industry. You need to get out!

You need to meet more creative workers. You need to develop a method to network as a remote freelancer, to create relationships that will help you grow in your career—and keep from feeling like you work on an island!

Business / 29 Jan 2018

30 Tips to Be More Productive in 30 Days

Whether you work alone or as part of a large team, everyone is looking for ways to increase productivity. You’ll feel less stressed and get more done each day. Let’s see just how much you can change in 30 days—you’ll be amazed.

So how do you do it? First, changing any habit takes practice. Doing something one time doesn’t make it part of a new routine. You have to do it repeatedly; make it part of who you are. Here, we’ve got 30 tips to help you be more productive 30 days from now.

You aren’t going to do all of these things at once. Start with one or two, once they are part of your embedded routine, add another change and slowly build until you are feeling like your most productive self. Good luck!

Business / 10 Jan 2018

6 SEO Habits That Will Increase Website Traffic

Everyone wants more website traffic, right? But are you doing all the little things that help boost search engine ranking with every new image upload or content update?

Creating the right habits from the start will keep your website in tip-top shape and hopefully result in bonus points from the Google algorithm.

The good news is that this list is packed with actionable, everyday tips. Start with a solid website framework and then employ these techniques with every update to get on the path to creating great SEO habits that won’t be tough to maintain.