Julia Reich

This is Part 2 in a series of posts that Julia Reich will share with us about how to hire a graphic designer or design firm.  ~Kivi

Guest Post by Julia Reich, Julia Reich Design

In my last post, “How to Hire a Graphic Designer or Design Firm, Part 1: Where to Look” I offered suggestions on where to turn to find designers to work with.

Assuming you’ve found some likely candidates, how do you narrow down your choices? I’ll cover what to look for in an independent designer or design firm so you can pick one with a sensibility and methodology (and pricing) that’s a good match for you and your organization.

Look & Feel

Aesthetics are surely subjective, but there are some standards that apply across the design discipline. In reviewing creative portfolios (which should be easy to find on any firm’s website), look for work that is accessible, straightforward, impactful, and memorable. Avoid trendiness. It should look in line with the current times, but also project into the future 5 or 10 years – do you think the work will be visually relevant then, too?

Media, Industries, and Sectors

When “shopping” for a designer, it’s typical to want to find someone that’s done the exact same thing you need. However, a proficient designer/design firm should be able to work on a broad range of projects. For example, if you need to have a website re-designed, but a colleague at another agency recommends their logo designer, ask the designer if they also do what you need, and look at samples of their work.

A good designer can be just as creative working with an organization in, say, the health care sector as they can in the performing arts for example. As long as they are curious and exhaustive in really getting to know you – by asking questions, talking to stakeholders, and researching your organization – don’t discount them right off the bat if you don’t see exactly the same kind of piece you’re looking for, or past clients that are similar to you, in their portfolio. In fact, sometimes it’s better to find someone that does not work within your field, so your designer comes at your project with a fresh, open approach.

I DO highly recommend finding a designer that works primarily within the nonprofit world. Not only are nonprofit needs unique from your corporate counterparts, but the culture and personality at nonprofits is different. Your designer should have the kind of expertise in creating materials that typify the nonprofit sector, whether that’s communicating diverse messages or designing campaigns that increase donations and awareness.

Finally, if you are looking for a logo design, there are a lot of designers who are highly talented doing this kind of creative work. But if you are looking to undertake a full-scale strategic branding project, take note of designers and firms which clearly state that they offer this service, and have the case studies and testimonials to back it up.

A Quick Note About Designers vs. Developers

When it comes to website projects, designers are not the same as developers. Designers, who are typically responsible for the aesthetics of a site and maintaining your brand online, do not always make great developers, and developers, who are typically responsible for the site’s functionality, can be terrible designers (of course, this is a generalization, and you could very well find talented individuals whose left and right brains are equally robust).

If you hire a solo designer, be aware that they may be partnering with another individual to do the development. This is a good thing, since each person on the creative team is doing what they do best. Ensure your designer is the main point person. If s/he is able to manage workflow and facilitate communication between yourself and the developer for the duration of the project, you should be in good hands.

Many firms are full-service operations, and can create your entire website from concept through completion. See if they have both designers and developers on staff. In either case, check out designers/design firms online portfolios – do you like their designs? Do the sites they create offer the kind of features and functionality you’d like for your site? Are you able to move around their clients’ sites easily, and is the experience enjoyable?

Read more here about designers vs. developers, and why knowing the difference can ensure a successful site.

The Interview

Arrange for three to five designers to visit for an in-person meeting to discuss their work and your project. Whether the designer chooses to display their work in an old-fashioned portfolio with hard copies, online, or using a PowerPoint presentation, here’s some tips on what to ask and look for:

• Is the work consistently strong, and in a style that resonates with you and the personality of your organization? (strong = accessible, straightforward, impactful, and memorable)
• Ask about the challenges inherent in each project, and how the client articulated what they needed. How successful was the solution the designer came up with? Are there quantifiable results, or client testimonials? Listen carefully for articulate and informed answers. Be aware of work that is pretty to look at, but does not solve the client’s unique problems.
• Find out if the work you are viewing was actually approved and produced/printed (good!), or if it is student/personal work (red flag alert!).
• Ask what the designer’s role was in each project. Look for someone who can manage an entire project from concept through completion, and work with a printer or developer to ensure quality control for the duration.
• Ask the designer to explain their process. You should come away from the meeting with a clear understanding of each phase, what the deliverables are and how they will be presented, how many rounds of revisions you’ll get, and what they expect you to provide/do.
• Be prepared to explain the full scope of work so the designer will be able to get back to you with a price estimate and/or proposal.

That Certain… Je Ne Sais Quois

Other than creativity and expertise, your designer of choice should be intelligent, inspired, and responsive to your needs. You should feel comfortable – not intimidated or awkward- communicating with them. Ultimately, a successful project – whether it’s a logo, brochure, or website – will be the result of a designer/client relationship with mutual rapport and respect.

Julia is Principal of Julia Reich Design, which helps nonprofit organizations bring their mission to life with award-winning brand strategy, graphic design, and web design services. Clients love her team’s top-notch creative work combined with an affordable, personalized approach.

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I’ve run into more than the usual number of nonprofits who have crappy websites built by consultants lately. I’m not talking subjective design preferences here, but flat-out terrible decisionmaking and implementation. When I’ve questioned the nonprofit communications staff about these websites, the answer is always “The website consultant did it that way.”

Enough is enough.

If your web development/design consultant is doing any of these things, they are hurting your organization’s ability to communicate effectively, which is the whole point of having a website. If you are a web developer who does these things, please stop working for nonprofit clients. They can’t afford the pain you are inflicting.

1. Not using a standard content management system.

It is not acceptable to provide your nonprofit clients with a bunch of flat HMTL files and scripts. Nonprofit staff should be able to login to a content management system (CMS) to make simple changes to the text and graphics on their own sites. They should not have to pay you or another consultant to fix a typo, to update their event calendar, or to put their latest news on their home page.

Nor should they have to learn how to code, or to invest in expensive software, in order to make basic changes. They shouldn’t even have to learn how to FTP! Adding a new page of content, or editing an existing one, should be as simple as writing an email — which demands that consultants use content management systems.

Idealware recently reviewed the major open-source (free) content management systems. WordPress is what I use most often and is a great choice for most small nonprofits.

2. Not explaining how to use the content management system.

I don’t think web consultants are obligated to turn their clients into CMS experts. I do, however, believe that web consultants are obligated to build some basic training into their contracts (like an hour or two).

At least two people at the nonprofit should be trained by the consultant on how to make basic edits to existing pages, to add new pages of content (including how to upload photos), how to embed code from sites like YouTube, and how to delete pages. Ideally consultants will also teach them how to change the navigation too (e.g. adding and renaming menu items). Even the least tech-savvy staff can handle these kinds of changes.

Granted, some nonprofits will want to outsource even the most basic updates to consultants. But they shouldn’t have to, and I think good consultants should use these requests as training opportunities, helping the nonprofit learn the difference between what they should and can do themselves and what should be outsourced.

3. Not creating adequate space in the design for timely updates.

I’ve seen many nonprofit website home pages that look perfectly lovely, and yet are communications disasters. Why? Because there is very little space in which the nonprofit can make timely changes. Five lines of text that staff can edit in the corner of the home page doesn’t cut it. Photos that can’t be easily changed because they are part of CSS backgrounds (even though they look like current content) don’t cut it.

I know that nonprofit staff are often afraid of “breaking” their websites, and so consultants often lock down as much as possible in the design to prevent the nonprofit client from messing up the design. But I’ve seen several websites that cross the line. Give your nonprofit clients at least several paragraphs worth of text they can update, especially in the key locations on the home page. Give them space where they can upload photos or embed videos — and where those can be changed easily over time without having to rely on you or another consultant.

Rant over.

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This blog is all about helping small nonprofits and one-person marketing departments communicate as effectively as possible with their supporters. Sometimes the best way to do that is to outsource your content creation to a professional freelance writer.

The problem is that there really aren’t all that many writers who specialize in producing the kind of content that nonprofits need. At the same time, there are lots of freelance writers who would love to do more work for nonprofits, if they only knew how.

To help solve both problems, I’m launching a new “Writing for Nonprofits” Coaching Program. The four-week program will begin March 1, 2010 and will be limited to just 10 participants.  It will include a live training or coaching event once a week and lots of tips and resources online, along with weekly challenges. It won’t just be me sharing advice; I’ve asked five other successful freelancers to serve as guest experts too.

Working directly with nonprofits is still my number one priority, which is why I’m keeping this new coaching program small, and I’m not sure when I’ll offer it again. If you are a freelance writer, take a look at the program. If you know a freelance writer who you wish knew how to produce the materials you need, pass it on to them.

P.S. I’m offering an early-bird special . . . register before February 1 and use the coupon code JAN100 to save $100.

Love the daily blogging? Great! If not so much, switch to Kivi’s weekly email newsletter with blog highlights and then unsubscribe from the blog’s emails.

My favorite session at last week’s Nonprofit Technology Conference was “This is Iron Chef . . .  Battle Nonprofit.”

Three teams made up of consultants from four different agencies (Beaconfire Consulting, Forum One Communications, Free Range Studios, and Firefly Partners) got together on a Sunday for a strategy and design competition. Their challenge was to remake the online presence of Youth Speaks, a nonprofit presenter of Spoken Word performance, education, and youth development programs. They were all given the same information and amount of time to develop their programs.

Each team, comprised of 3-4 of the consulting firm frienemies, then presented their online strategy and home page redesigns for the first time at the conference. Take a few minutes to check out the slides to see what they came up with. You’ll see how some very creative firms go about a project like this, how they define online goals, set priorities and timelines, and use a blend of tactics.

I was tweeting during the session and these were my impressions as I listened:

• team 1 seemed a little too kitchen sink for me
• loving team 2′s real focus, storytelling, bringing in rural areas, building fan base for artists
• loving team 2′s thanks for attending email the day after event to get people to go online to share their impressions.
• team 3′s emphasis on artist’s own pages that they can really customize is nice touch.
• think I like team 3′s home page the best, but team 2′s strategy the best.

What made this session so good?

The Open Sharing. How often do we get to see four leading firms talk openly about how they would approach a real project, in quite a bit of detail? Uh, never. This one session saved Youth Speaks thousands and thousands of dollars, but it also let all of us learn about ways to approach these kinds of projects too. I admit that I feared that the firms wouldn’t want to give too much away and the proposals would be lightweight, but instead they were really packed with substance. Kudos to the four firms for really sharing their best ideas!

The Collaborative Spirit. This could have easily been set up as a firm-against-firm competition. But by blending the teams, it removed the real-world winners and losers element, and made it much more fun and less pressure-filled (at least it felt that way as someone in the audience – not sure how it felt to be on a team!)

No Right Answer. While there was certainly overlap between the three approaches, this session proves that there is no one right way to do online marketing – so don’t believe anyone who tries to convince you otherwise. Yes, when in doubt, follow the conventional wisdom or best practices, but don’t be afraid to try something new or to put your own twist on it. Although the intention was for the audience to vote on the winner, people were apparently having trouble getting a signal in the Hilton basement, so they did a “Make Noise” vote instead and called it a tie. More proof that there is no “right way.”

I would love to see more collaborative makeovers like this in the nonprofit marketing world. It doesn’t have to take on the whole Iron Chef theme. You may recall that Britt Bravo asked Nancy Schwartz, Katya Andresen, Nedra Weinreich, and me to review the Social Actions home page back in October. Here’s what we all said.

That wasn’t structured as a competition, but the outcome was similar – lots of concrete ideas that a real nonprofit can sort through and use, while also letting others learn from the analysis and strategies as well.

By the way, it was fabulous hanging out with Nancy, Katya, and Britt at the conference. (Photo of Britt and me by Nancy Schwartz. Photo of Nancy, Katya, and me by Nice Waiter at Foreign Cinema).

I’m already mulling over ways to pull them into some kind of Iron Chef / Extreme Makeover Something or Another for next year’s conference (Mark your calendars for NTC 2010 in Atlanta, April 8-10). Your ideas for a session? Or something we could do sooner online? Leave a comment.

P.S. Webinar Reminders: Successful Nonprofit Websites: Making Your Site Work for You this Wednesday, May 6 and Getting Your Nonprofit Started with Social Media on Tuesday, May 12.

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By Guest Blogger Claire Voyant

If you’re a later baby boomer, maybe you remember “The Archies” singing their animated hearts out during the Saturday morning cartoons.

“Sugar, Sugar . . . ah, honey, honey. You are my candy girl . . . ”

Now that you’re a grown-up, working in the wonderful world of nonprofits, you may be singing that song quite a bit. Only it’s this version:

“Sugar, Sugar . . . ah, MONEY MONEY.”

That’s ironic, isn’t it? The very term, “non-profit” conjures up an image of NO MONEY, little money, or at least, not thinking about turning a profit. What’s that old saying, “Money is the root of all evil?”

But the joke is, “The LACK of money is the root of all evil” – and we know, the lack of money is no laughing matter when you’re trying to run a nonprofit. Money really matters. Every penny, every nickel, every thin dime must be spent wisely.

In Kivi’s survey of upcoming webinars (do it now if you haven’t already), one topic focuses on getting the most out of your communications consultant. When I saw this, I wanted to grab my tambourine and sing, “ . . . you are my candy girl!”

Spread the word, Kivi, and help save those dimes. I know that one message will be, “quantity does not equal quality” and another will be “learn how to identify billable busywork.”

Spreading your message is extremely important, and it doesn’t have to break the bank if you know what you need – and what you don’t. You may only need a sprinkle of sugar and a dab of honey to sweeten your communications. The more you know about the sugar and the honey – the more you’ll get out off your candy girl (or guy.)

Love the daily blogging? Great! If not so much, switch to Kivi’s weekly email newsletter with blog highlights and then unsubscribe from the blog’s emails.

Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog is looking for posts on what’s good or bad about fundraising for next week’s Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants. Here’s what’s bad about fundraising from my perspective as a nonprofit marketing and communications consultant.

These are the three reasons that I nearly always turn down requests to write grant applications and direct appeal letters (although I gladly do supporting materials like case statements and donor newsletters).

1) Nonprofits blame you, the grant writer, if they don’t get the funding, even if their project is really weak or they are applying to the wrong funding source. Even a beautifully written grant application can’t turn a lousy project into a winner, nor can it convince a project officer to fund you if the project is outside her area of interest.

2) It’s boring. I find writing grant applications, especially those for government agency grants, really boring. You usually have to follow a specific format and play to certain buzzwords and criteria, which can force you to talk about the project in unnatural ways, while also draining the really interesting points and creative storytelling out of the package.

3) I don’t want to keep up with the latest and greatest in direct mail marketing. With all the various metrics out there for direct mail these days, and the mix of art and science that direct mail marketing has become, it’s now a really specialized segment of the field, and it’s not one I’m interested in keeping up with. Maybe this is just a perception perpetuated by fundraising consultants who don’t want to share clients with those of us who focus more on general communications and marketing, but it’s working on me.

I’m sure there are people who love, love, love writing direct appeal copy and grant applications, but I’m not one of them. If you are, tell me what I’m missing by leaving a comment.

Love the daily blogging? Great! If not so much, switch to Kivi’s weekly email newsletter with blog highlights and then unsubscribe from the blog’s emails.

If you are interested in hiring a consultant to help with your communications or marketing and want to compare a few firms or freelancers, you should put your needs in writing in an RFP (request for proposals).

Nancy Schwartz at Getting Attention has drafted some great guidelines for marketing RFPs.

Here are a few more tips I’d emphasize, in addition to Nancy’s.

Include the dollar range. As Nancy points out, nonprofits can rarely pay for all that they really want, so don’t worry too much about consultants jacking up the price to match your budget. By including a range or a maximum, you let experienced consultants like Nancy and me tell you what we can give you for that money. You can then compare how much you are getting for your dollar when you look at all the responses to your RFP.

It also demonstrates that you respect the consultants’ time. A proposal for a $5,000 or $10,000 budget will be vastly different from one for a $50,000 or $100,000 project. It takes hours to put even a basic proposal together, so make it worth the time by helping us focus on what you really need and are capable of paying for.

Know what’s important to you and don’t ask for more. If you know how you’ll evaluate the proposals, you can ask for information that addresses those criteria. Don’t ask for a bunch of information that you won’t really use in your decision. For example, is my complete work history since high school really relevant? It’s doubtful that you need to know where I waitressed in college. When I see RFPs that request irrelevant details like that, I ignore them. You might even provide an outline that you want the consultants to follow in their proposals. Putting this outline together will help you decide what you really need and what you don’t.

Consider asking for a pre-proposal. If you are still in the fishing stage (you know you need help, but you aren’t really sure exactly who could help or how), ask for a two-page pre-proposal that outlines a general approach to your project, or some options, along with some basic information on qualifications. Most consultants can quickly whip up two pages and it will give you enough information to narrow down the candidates to a few from which you can request full proposals.

Tell consultants what additional contact they can expect. Will you let us know that you received our proposals? Will you let us know when you’ve made a decision, even if we are not selected? Common courtesies like these go a long way in helping consultants determine whether they want to work with you or not.

If you are looking for a freelance writer or editor to help with your nonprofit communications and marketing work, I will post your listing on my other blog, Writing for Nonprofits, which is read by freelancers interested in working with nonprofit clients. I want to post only links and very short descriptions, so you’ll need to have the project description and your contact information online somewhere else, like your website, blog, or other listing service (e.g. Craig’s List).
Send your link to me at kivi AT writingfornonprofits.com and I will post it within a day or two.

Here are some tips on what to include in an ad for a freelancer writer/editor:

• Describe the project in as much detail as possible. What kind of publication is it? Print or online? Newsletter, brochure, press kit, fundraising direct appeal letter, etc.?
• Do you need original writing, editing of something a staff member has written, or both?
• How long is the project — word count or number of pages?
• What is your timeline? When does the project need to start and when must it be completed?
• Does the freelancer need any special skills or knowledge of your subject area to do this job well?
• How much will you pay? (I will only list jobs the pay something – no requests for volunteers, please). If you don’t want to list a pay rate or range, specify whether you’d prefer to pay a set project fee, by the word, or an hourly rate.
• Where can the freelancer learn more about your organization (e.g. your website)?
• How do you want to be contacted?

Good consultants work hard to please their clients. Good clients work hard to keep their good consultants. In other words, your relationships with your consultants should be partnerships that both parties value.

In the last two weeks, I received these three notes from three separate clients after submitting work to them:

From a new nonprofit client: “So nice to read something I don’t have to work on further . . . and so well captures the content and spirit of what we want to say. Well done.”

From a long-time nonprofit client: “You are the best! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!”

From a small business client: “This is great. I don’t know what we’d do without you!”

I share these notes not to brag about how much my clients like my work, but to demonstrate that it takes VERY LITTLE to keep your consultants happy. A few sweet little lines and I’m ready to work nights and weekends for these people and I probably won’t raise my rates on them for who knows how long!

Communicate with me so I can do the best job possible for you, pay me on time, and send me a little love note every now and then. That’s all it takes to keep me motivated to do my best for you.

Which of the consultants working for you has done a great job and made your life easier? When was the last time you let them know how much you appreciate them? Send a quick note of thanks right now and you might be surprised at the return on the investment.

I’m interested in hiring a handful of freelance writers/editors who are familiar with InDesign, Dreamweaver, WordPress and/or Joomla to help me get a number of exciting projects off the back burner. You’ll find the details here. Help me find some good help and I’ll be able to double the amount of resources I can get out to nonprofit communicators.