Author Archive
Is “Free” Ever A Good Thing For Creatives? — Pt 1
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A while back, I was involved in an online discussion about whether or not Creatives should give away their services for free in return for exposure. The majority of people in creative industries who piped in were strongly opposed to it. One common reason was that once you’ve done a project that costs the customer zilch, it’s really difficult to convince them next time that your work is actually worth what the market will bear. The crux of the argument is that most customers balk when you raise your prices as it is, and once you’ve started at ground zero — literally — where else can you go but up?
Do bargain prices hurt the creative services industry and drive prices down for everyone?
The same goes for customers you land by undercutting the market severely, in hopes of getting further work once you “prove” yourself. Psychologically, according to Creatives with experience in this area, the fortunate customer who’s received an incredible service and product for very little just can’t get their mind around the fact that your services are worth paying regular prices for next time. At the risk of being crass, you’re the prostitute who expects a wedding ring the second time in the sack.
Speaking of undercutting the market, many of the Creatives expressed disdain for their peers who do so, because overall, that practice lowers the perceived value of the services Creatives in that industry offer. If one web designer charges $1200 for a site that everyone else charges around $5000 for — and lives on Ramen noodles and peanut butter sandwiches to do so — the $5000 designers are forced to lower their prices drastically, live like paupers themselves, or get out of the business.
Makes sense.
For 10 years as New England Multimedia, designing websites, Scott and I have had our fair share of bad experiences with website clients we’d originally landed by undercutting the market, clients who had great business ideas but little money for websites, or clients who’d been hung out to dry by former web designers and wanted our help — for the balance of their website budget. Being the kind of people with big hearts and deep (although not always full) pockets who are eager to help those in need, we’ve taken a few surprising tumbles as we’ve discovered that sometimes the hardest people to please are those with the smallest budgets. (There are wonderful exceptions, of course!)
Our peers in web design have concurred. One has decided that he will only work with educated clients, while another works for a firm that won’t touch a project under $25,000. Still others are leaving the industry completely, leaving the small-time web design jobs to people so desperate for work they’ll practically stand on a corner with a cardboard sign saying, “Will design website for grocery money.”
Are there situations when “Free” or “Bargain Pricing” is good for a Creative? And are there ways to avoid the “Sticker Shock Syndrome” when the customer wants further work? How can Creatives set boundaries with clients up front to avoid problems later?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia, an internet marketing team specializing in web design, True HD Video production and Wordpress blogging/social media consultation. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
Is Your Marketing Message Clear?
Posted by: | CommentsNew England Multimedia has been around for over 10 years now, providing web design for small- and medium-sized businesses, churches, and nonprofits. Over time we began doing a lot more, including on-hold marketing, photography, multimedia projects, audio recording and editing, and anything else that fit under the umbrella term of “multimedia.” It just happened that we became a true “multimedia” company, so we changed our name to fit.
We found a way to clarify our marketing message and make our dreams come true at the same time.
But for a business, the message can get murky when you’re able to do anything and everything. You need to focus your vision, simplify your message, choose a path. That’s been hard for us. People still ask us, “What do you do?” and I have to think for a minute, “What does this person NEED?” before answering.
Back in 2008, Scott began getting requests from several web clients for video production services. Most people I know would’ve just passed that kind of work onto someone else, but not Scott — he saw a new venture, a new challenge, and in true Scott Quillin fashion, he began immersing himself in learning video, and then dreaming of starting New England HD, a full-service video production company doing true HD video. He even snatched up the domain name right away, when the idea was just a seed. (Yes, we own a LOT of domain names — don’t you?)
I’m the one with both feet on the ground, while he’s the dreamer and visionary, so he had a lot of work to do to get me on board with this whole video thing. Why couldn’t we just use the handheld video camera we had? But after explaining all the advantages of the investment he was proposing, and making me a few promises, I agreed — provided we stuck with New England Multimedia and didn’t start a new business right away. I wanted to see results first. We invested into a Sony Ex3 HD Cam and accessories, and New England Multimedia officially became a video production company as well as a web design business.
The message got murkier.
While Scott wasn’t happy about that (he really wanted New England HD), he started doing some corporate video projects right away. The first big project, the one that said to me, “We can do this!” was for the Consumer Electronics Association. (He landed that project while waiting in line for coffee in Wakefield, RI — that’s a story I’ll tell someday!)
We headed up to New Hampshire so Scott could practice, shoot some video to feature his music, and introduce ourselves to local businesses. But while we were there we caught a greater vision: doing corporate video all across America so we can travel the country in an RV. Because of that single trip to New Hampshire, Scott and I began to formulate a plan that will ultimately lead to my greatest dream coming true — seeing America in an RV! So over the last year and half, while we’ve been making a living doing web design, Scott’s been sharpening his skills shooting corporate, live event, and artistic video, studying lighting and videography, and brainstorming with me behind the scenes about our Dream Project — the final details to be revealed when the time is right.
Today, on our 19th wedding anniversary, the cornerstone is laid. New England HD has been born, and Scott’s two-year dream of starting a full service HD video production company has come to fruition. The marketing message there is clear as day: “True HD video for web video, corporate events, seminars, sales and marketing, promotions. We’re creative, fun and affordable unless you sleep in your car.”
Hey — we know “affordable” is subjective.
Scott’s going to be doing all the social media for New England HD, and you’re going to love him. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and get to know the adventurous, exciting guy I’ve been in love with for 23 years. I promise you’ll learn a lot from him about video and a whole lot more, and he’ll make it fun at the same time.
Happy Anniversary, Scott! Here’s to another 19 years!
Dealing With Negative Comments and Publicity Online
Posted by: | Comments[Note: This post is recycled and updated from Michelle's early days of blogging for New England Multimedia at Q Web Consulting.]
Greenpeace vs. Nestle: A Social Media War
What will you do if someone launches a social media grenade at your brand?
Social Media is a relatively new platform for marketers, and the rules of engagement are being set in stone even as you read this post. Many of us are learning as we go, tweaking and experimenting to see what works best for building relationships that convert to whatever our goals are. We’re finding that those with excellent offline relationship and communications skills have a marked advantage. Likewise, those who have problems dealing with conflict and negativity offline, who take criticism personally and respond in anger and frustration when challenged, will find that in the world of social media, bridges are burned publicly and a negative attitude about a brand can spread like a virus.
Witness the public spectacle that developed as Greenpeace supporters became Facebook fans of Nestle in order to flood Nestle’s wall with hateful comments. Nestle’s Community Manager’s attitude toward the first wave of attackers inflamed a whole army of haters who descended on Nestle’s Facebook Page like a swarm of killer bees while the rest of us watched to see how Nestle would respond.
If you’re new to the Nestle-Greenpeace brouhaha, read this blog post detailing the timeline of events, which started March 16, 2010.
There are companies who become fearful of taking their business online through social media after seeing PR nightmares like the recent one Nestle suffered. But since the marketplace, your competitors, and your market have moved online, to refuse to tap into the marketing potential of social media is akin to being afraid to drive a car because you might get into an accident. Yes, there are risks, but if you’re alert and aware of the potential dangers, you can greatly reduce those risks and enjoy considerable rewards. Having a game plan in place for difficult social media situations is like having an up-to-date AAA membership, a good spare tire and a fully-charged cell phone.
We started a discussion about Social Media Wars on New England Multimedia’s Facebook Page and got great feedback from a member of Greenpeace who supported the attack, but didn’t take part. We also heard from the Community Manager for the Rhode Island Blood Center, as well as a social media marketer for a brand whose Facebook Page fans number in the tens of thousands, a blogger, and a consumer.
Some questions we’ve asked, and want to hear your thoughts on:
1) What would you recommend Nestle have done in response?
2) What steps do you think should be taken before this happens to a brand?
3) Do you think it’s better to ignore negative comments or go on the offensive?
If you’re on Facebook, feel free to cross-post your comments between the Social Media Wars Discussion there and the comment section here.
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia, an internet marketing team specializing in web design, True HD Video production and Wordpress blogging/social media consultation. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
What Happened To Your Dreams?
Posted by: | Comments“Leaders must ask themselves whether they want survival, success, or significance. The best leaders desire significance….If you had anything you wanted — unlimited time, unlimited money, unlimited information, unlimited staff…, what would you do? Your answer to that question is your dream. Acting on your dream adds significance to your life.” John C. Maxwell, “Developing the Leaders Around You”
Saturday night, Scott and I went to Luke’s Inn in Warren, RI for a 20-year reunion of the band Enforcer, a metal band Scott was in when we were young, and life was stretched out before us in an endless path of dreams to pursue. Enforcer had big dreams, enough great songs for an album, and the connections to open up for some major acts back in the late 80’s, including Fate’s Warning and Vicious Rumors.
Dave Pimentel, Enforcer’s drummer, was a machinist by day back in 1990. He ended up moving to LA, where he started Spaun Drum Company. Ten years ago Dave married Lizann Warner, a singer who Saturday night told me a fascinating story – a story about how a change in perspective changed her life.
Do you need to look at your dream life differently?
Liz told me that like most struggling musicians with a dream, she had spent years working “day jobs” to pay the bills while pursuing a music career at night. But a day came when she realized that by seeing her “day job” as so important, she was treating her singing as if it were a hobby rather than a career. Her dreams were getting buried by the expectations of others (e.g., “until you ‘make it,’ you need a day job”). Liz decided to change her perspective and begin putting all her time into pursuing paying gigs. Restaurants, nursing homes, bands – whatever work she could get singing, she’d take it!
Her focus became making a living singing, and if a big break came, great – but if not, she was still going to be a professional singer.
Her change of focus: She wasn’t going to be a cashier hoping to become a professional singer.
Since she changed the way she saw herself, Liz has gone on to enjoy moderate success, singing tracks for video games (including on Guitar Hero 3), karaoke demos, and commercials, as well as gigging with bands (including a Heart tribute band called Dog ‘n’ Butterfly), singing at nursing homes, and entertaining at restaurants. She’s not financially wealthy, but she makes enough to pay the bills and have money left over. She’s better off now than she was working what she calls her “dead end day jobs,” and she’s getting a lot of exposure.
Lizann Warner as Barbra Streisand, singing “People Who Need People.”
Liz’s wealth lies in doing what she knows she was born to do, and she’s not allowing others’ expectations to discourage her or distract her. She keeps her eyes and ears open for new opportunities, and seizes them as they come. She had no qualms about asking us to check out her videos on our Smart phones right there at the restaurant. She graciously took requests for vocal impersonations (you should hear her sing Alanis Morrisette and Cyndi Lauper!), singing out loud, even though she was hoarse. While she’s busy working (and working at keeping her calendar booked), Liz is creating a Las Vegas show with a partner, to pitch to investors. And now, because he heard Lizann’s astounding gift for imitating vocalists, Scott has asked her to work with him on some songs he wants to pitch to a well-known artist.
Liz is my new hero. She’s added significance to her life. She’s doing what she loves rather than slaving away at a job that has nothing to do with her gifts, and is pursuing bigger dreams all the time.
So — What dreams are you setting aside and treating as hobbies while you work your “day job”? Are you limiting your opportunities by refusing to take jobs you consider “beneath you” financially or professionally because they’re not exactly what you want? Or do you have a “success story” like Lizann’s?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia, an internet marketing team specializing in web design, True HD Video production and Wordpress blogging/social media consultation. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
Perfectionism: A Blessing and a Curse
Posted by: | CommentsSince last summer, after shooting video of the Blue Angels at the RI National Guard Air Show, Scott and I had been looking forward to this year’s Air Show at Quonset Point in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
The Blue Angels, from the Rhode Island National Guard Air Show 2009
If you can’t see the video, click: The Blue Angels.
This year, though, the cloud cover was heavy, it was humid out, and the performances we wanted to catch were taking place when the sun was high in the sky. Eh. Not the best conditions for shooting video that we’d already told people we’d be posting on our website. I’d even passed out business cards!
Rhode Island Quonset Air Show 2010: F-18 Hornet, Sean Tucker, and Thunderbirds
If you can’t see the video, click: Rhode Island Quonset Air Show 2010.
Being perfectionist about our work can be a blessing because we take pride in what we do, we give it our all, and our clients get the benefit of that. But it’s also what’s kept us, in the past, from doing the things we love — for me, writing professionally, and for Scott, publishing his music. Nothing is ever good enough, ready enough, right enough for us. Well, I don’t want to live like that anymore, and neither does Scott. We’ve decided to jump off the cliff together every now and then and say, “The hell with it. Let’s just go for it!”
What's Keeping You From Pursuing Your Dreams?
To fight his own perfectionism, Scott has been writing/recording and uploading a new song every night since January 1st, 2010, almost every one an improv with no overdubs or rewrites. That takes courage, but he decided “The hell with it” and started putting himself out there, naked, every night for critique. He figures it’ll prove that he’s prolific and can handle custom music projects needing fast turnaround, like films, videos, and video games.
I’m learning to let go of my own mile-high standards and trust that everything will work out if I just get started and then keep moving. I finally started the not-anonymous blog Love Covers All after a year of mulling it over, even though I still cringe every time I hit “publish” (and I’m cringing even telling you about it). Because I have a terrible tendency to procrastinate like crazy on projects that require attention to detail — I want everything to be perfect — I have a list a mile long of all the things I “need” to do to this website, and another list of ways to optimize our internet marketing.
Rather than be paralyzed, though, every day I take a step forward. I have a Dream to catch, and New England Multimedia is paying for my ticket.
How about you? Has perfectionism been a blessing or a curse for you?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
Businesses That Might Not Belong In Social Media Channels (Humor)
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Does Grandma Have a Twitter Profile Yet?
One of my favorite marketing bloggers, Mark Schaefer, wrote an excellent post called Three New Social Media Myths That MUST STOP NOW.
One of the myths he exposed (and one of my big pet peeves) is that all businesses need to get their butts in gear and start marketing using social media and blogging.
Mark writes:
Here is the most pompous tweet I’ve seen in a while: “If you don’t use the social web for your business, it’s not that you don’t understand the social web. You don’t understand your business.”
Then he went on to list a few businesses that would be better off spending their marketing budgets anywhere but through social media channels. These two made me laugh, while being spot-on!!:
1) If you’re selling Depends adult diapers, you should probably spend most of your marketing dollars elsewhere.
2) If you’re in a down and dirty business like buying and re-selling scrap metal, neither suppliers nor customers typically even have computers.
I’m sure you have some ideas for businesses who’d be better off focusing their marketing efforts anywhere but through social media channels! Let’s hear ‘em!
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
My Dream Life Is Starting This Month!
Posted by: | CommentsScott and I work hard — really hard. We’ve invested long days, weeks and months of nose-to-the-grindstone work because we have bigger dreams than just working to pay the bills. Our dream is to travel all over this beautiful country, filming the places we’ve longed to see “in real life.” The stunning HD videos we’ll be creating will be accompanied by Scott’s music, setting the mood for virtual trips for those who may never get to see those places, like my 97-year-old friend Rose.
What are you dreaming of?
This summer, we’re starting locally in our beautiful “Jewel by the Sea” Rhode Island, then heading out to the rest of New England from there, with plans for a foliage shoot in New Hampshire in the fall. I can’t wait to climb Mt. Washington! Should we take the train up or drive?
I’ll be blogging as we travel (wait’ll you see the blog we have planned!), talking about the people we meet, the little corners we find, and the joys of traveling together as a couple who’ve been together for over 20 years and are still crazy about each other.
Travel, video, music, and writing.
That’s our dream life.
What’s yours?
At New England Multimedia, we’re big on helping people find their gifts and make a living, or at least a nice side-income, doing what they love. If you have a hobby or passion that others would be interested in, you can read and write well, and you have an internet connection, blogging and social media can provide the vehicle to the creative life you’ve longed for.
We want to make that happen for you.
This month, Scott and I are offering an incredible deal for 10 people who want to try their hand at blogging and social media.
Are you ready?
How the Big Blue Bug Kept Me Clicking
Posted by: | Comments[Note: This post is recycled and updated from Michelle's early days of blogging for New England Multimedia at Q Web Consulting.]
I was deliberately plodding through a stack of business cards, checking out websites and social media profiles, when I happened upon a website that grabbed my attention. It at once amused me, interested me, and got me to stay onsite for much longer than I had the time to, even though I had absolutely no interest in their services. And now that company’s name and brand is in my head, in my memory, waiting for a future moment when I will need their services (and hopefully I won’t).
What was it that kept me on New England Pest Control’s website for a good ten minutes? (WARNING: Turn down your volume before you click!)
They made me laugh! Their web designer built a unique and fun landing page, and incorporated fun, quirky audio sound effects into their menu.
The sound I heard when the Big Blue Bug dropped into the page made me smile. Then I started looking around the page for social media icons like Twitter and Facebook.
I laughed at New England Pest Control's Website!
Nothing there.
But the menu items were quirky, with a retro style, and the next thing I knew, my mouse headed for one of them. As my cursor approached the cartoon image of a woman standing on a chair screaming, she — well, she screamed!
I started hovering over each link to see what audio effects they had associated with them, and then I started playing games with myself, hovering over the links in different succession. Maybe I’m easily amused. But what I did next is what they hoped for:
I clicked a link.
In this case, I clicked “About Us.” Then they had me, and the wooing began. New England Pest Control’s “About Us” content was interesting, and kept me on their website site even longer, poking around until I realized I had spent too much time already and went back to work. But I can guarantee you, New England Pest Control will pop into my head next time I need to get rid of some pesky vermin!
Using audio on your website can be a powerful tool for increasing conversions (website visitors who become customers). There are several ways New England Multimedia can implement audio on your website, including audio effects, music playing when your visitors arrive on your website, podcasts, a welcome audio message from you, a call to action, and much more.
1) What creative ways of using audio have you seen on websites?
2) If you could have access to a recording studio and technology like we have, how would you use it to market your company?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
When Pursuing Dreams Means Sacrifice — For A Season
Posted by: | Comments“Hard work is the key to success, so work diligently on any project you undertake. If you truly want to be successful, be prepared to give up your leisure time and work past 5 PM and on weekends. Also, have faith in yourself. If you come up with a new idea that you believe in, don’t allow other people to discourage you from pursuing it.” ~Charles Lazarus
I posted this quote on Scott Quillin’s Facebook Page (for his music), and two of our friends took issue with it, believing that family life would suffer if they gave up their leisure time. They’re right, of course — but there’s a reason I posted the quote.
What's Keeping You From Pursuing Your Dreams?
What Mr. Lazarus is talking about is the work ethic required to pursue your dreams, your calling, your passions. Many Americans have become so disposed to working 9-5, 40 hours a week, enslaved to someone else’s dream (their boss’s), their own dreams fall by the wayside. Some of us are content with that life, but others dream of something more.
America is still the one place where a man with a dream and little more can make his dreams come true — but pursuing dreams will always come at a sacrifice, at least for a season.
I believe with all my heart that every one of us is born with gifts, talents, and passions that must be developed and nurtured, and then pursued, if we are to become all that God has for us in this lifetime. There are seasons in our lives when doors open, when we have time and opportunity to pursue our dreams, if we would be willing to make sacrifices for a season.
Sadly, many of us spend our lives working for someone else’s dream, while bemoaning our inability to do anything to make our own dreams come true — which is why the lottery is where so many of us put our misplaced hope.
If your goal is to get out of the career rut you’re in, and you have to go back to school, you’re not going to have much “leisure time,” if any. If you want to start your own business, you’re going to work 15-16 hour days until the business is off the ground, and that can take a few years. Missionaries and their families don’t work 9-5 with weekends off — I’m thinking of the Carews at the Providence Rescue Mission. Pastors don’t work 9-5 with weekends off, either. The needs of the ministry are great. Our military families are separated from their loved ones for long seasons, so they can protect our families. The kids on American Idol were talking last night about not having time for family or friends right now because of the demands of being a contestant on American Idol.
Scott has always made time for his immediate family — Christa & I — while working from early morning until late at night. That’s how he’s managed to accomplish so much and change so many lives while running his own business, New England Multimedia — because his day has never been over at 5 pm, and it’s never begun at 9 am. Scott’s work ethic is what gives him the freedom to drop everything to rush to someone’s side, to sleep late because he was up in the middle of the night with someone who’s hurting or needs to talk, to change his schedule to accommodate a need someone has.
This summer he and I will be traveling all over New England shooting HD video for a project we’re working on that will feature his music. If Scott didn’t have the work ethic he does, none of those things would be possible, because he’d be a slave to someone else’s dream, schedule, and goals.
A couple of other real life examples that inspire me:
Scott’s sister was stuck in a career that was going nowhere — she’d hit the ceiling. While working full-time during the day, she went to school full-time at night for 18 months. She actually had to pencil in when she would go do laundry, she was so busy! You couldn’t get her off that schedule, because she only had so much time during the week for errands. Family life? That suffered, but she knew it was for a season.
My father was a young military officer commanding an army troop. He wanted to get his Master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, so while working much more than 40 hours a week, he also commuted from Ft Benning, GA to Auburn University for classes and worked into the wee hours while working toward his Master’s, which he secured. Family life? That suffered, but again for a season. We supported my father in the pursuit of his goal, and he planted in us the seeds of hard work and sacrifice.
A restaurant I used to work in years ago started out as a tiny little bare-bones pizza shop in Wakefield. The two guys who owned it were brothers with families, and they had bigger dreams. To get through a difficult time financially at the beginning of their endeavor, they served breakfast, which required them getting to the restaurant before dawn and staying until well after midnight. During the first years, their families visited them at the restaurant and helped. Today, they’re Bob & Timmy’s Wood-Grilled Pizza, with two restaurants.
Another restaurant I worked at was in Wickford: The Seaport Tavern. The two guys who owned it were friends who’d met in their positions as chef and head waiter at the Biltmore in Providence. They had a dream of something more. Efendi, the waiter, was an immigrant from Turkey, newly married, with a young baby girl, and he wanted better for her. He and the chef got to the restaurant in the wee hours, and stayed until well after midnight. Efendi’s wife worked as a travel agent during those difficult first few years, and when she wasn’t at work, she’d bring the baby to the restaurant to visit and to help. Today, Efendi Atma owns Efendi’s Mediterranean Grill in Cranston, a successful restaurant.
I’d love to hear stories like this that inspire you. Even better, perhaps your story will be one that inspires others! What are you doing to make your dreams come true? What sacrifices are you having to make for a season?
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, through LinkedIn, or on our Twitter profile.
