Show 7, focuses on making a living as a freelance graphic designer. I talk about, in a presentation that I gave at a local college, how I use my design skills and knowledge to build products that I can sell and supplement my income. Anyone who creates for a living like a graphic designer, writer, photographer, really anyone can do this can use what they do in their day job to make a parallel line of products. I will be talking more about this in future shows but this is a good place to start.
Notes from the presentation
Using Your Design Skills to Make Money for Yourself
Key Points 1
• The Gate Keepers to Publishing, Video, Marketing and Distribution Have Fallen
• Everyone Gets the Same, Window to the World
• Products Can Be Produced Almost Free with Print-on-Demand
What Kind of Products Can You Make
• Books, Physical & Electronic
• Video, DVDs & Online
• Music
• Consumer Products, Household
• WebTV, Training, Information
• Advertising Revenue
Key Points 2
• Print on Demand / Electronic
• No Inventory Cost, No Shipping Costs
• Little Bits of Money Add Up
• Perfection Freezes Progress
How Do You Create Products
• Any program that can make a pdf file, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop
• Any program or camera that can make a video file: iMovie, Screenflow, Camtasia
• Online templates, CreateSpace, Lulu, CafePress, Zazzle
How Do You Sell Products
• Amazon, #1 Place to Sell
• Books: CreateSpace, Lulu, Blurb, Kindle
• Products: CafePress, Zazzle
• eProducts: eJunkie, Your Site
• YouTube
Where Do You Get Ideas
• Your Own Interests
• Amazon.com / Bestseller Lists
• Listening to Customers
• Magazines, Stores, Etsy, Real Life
• Re-purpose Content
• Look at Your Stats
Key Tips
• Amazon, Bestseller, TOC, Reviews
• Keep it Short
• Electronic Format/Print on Demand
• YouTube and Video
• Free Shipping
• Use the Post Office,Fedx, UPS Packaging
• Pay Attention to Stats
• Perfection Freezes Progress
Key Take Aways
• Begin Small and Keep it Short, but Begin
• Amazon is King, Books are Easy, CreateSpace, Kindle
• Act Local / Think Global
• Print-on-Demand is Very Powerful
• Video and YouTube are the Future
• Perfection Freezes Progress
• Easy to Change
