HOW September/October 2010 Digital Download

HOW's 2010 Self-Promotion Issue packs all the information and inspiration you need to create eye-catching promotional materials for your design business … materials that will win you new business from the clients you're targeting.

COMPETITION

View the 107 winners in this year's Promotion Design Awards, including a job-seeking designer's resume, which really rises to the top.

BEST OF SHOW: The Perfect Blend

These days, it takes a brilliant promo to stand out amid the pile of résumés from all the other job-seekers. The top Promotion Design Award winner is exactly that, with a great mix of personality and information.

See the award-winning work in these categories:

Client Promotions
Designer Promotions
Illustrator/Photographer Promotions
Miscellaneous Promotions
Personal Promotions
Pro-Bono Promotions
Student Promotions

FEATURES

What is Your Self-Promo Style? Are you a shout-it-from-the-rooftops self-promoter who welcomes the chance to strut your stuff? Or are you quiet and self-conscious about making a big splash? Take our quiz to determine your tendencies, and then learn to tailor your promo efforts to fit your style and maximize success.

The Marketing-Smart Website Is your design firm's website hooking your ideal clients, or sending them away? Our marketing expert shares easy and proven strategies for making your site more attractive to your prospective customers and more effective at getting them to contact you. Find out exactly what clients want to see on your site, and discover the best ways to showcase your work, your client list and your personality. PLUS: Want to learn more about creating a successful web presence for your design business? Catch Ilise Benun's on-demand DesignCast, "Marketing-Smart Websites."

COLUMNS

BUSINESS: Something to Talk About A recommendation from a satisfied client is the cheapest and most effective way to market your design business. Here are 4 steps to generating new work through referrals.

WORKSPACE: Art Works Dayton, OH, firm Real Art Design Group spread its wings recently, moving into a rehabbed historic building with 20,000 square feet of space that lets the staff's art shine.

CREATIVITY: Promos Gone Viral You've seen the iPhone app "Younicorn"—where you can doctor photos of you and your friends with magical horns. Meet the agency behind that project and see how self-promo efforts like Younicorn have created viral exposure and landed new business. ONLINE EXTRA: Catch a Q&A with the founders of mono, the firm behind Younicorn. CLICK HERE

SIDELINES: 2010love ONLINE EXTRA: See a Q&A with 2010love founders Tiffany Handshoe Bachman and Leslie Handshoe Suter. CLICK HERE

DESIGNING CHANGE: The Battle for Whiteclay

MY BEST WORK: Laurie DeMartino