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.

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!

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.

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.

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.