As soon as I wrote the headline for this article, I realized – more than usual – that what I’m about to say is just my opinion. And that what I’m suggesting you don’t do can actually work in some circumstances.

But I think there’s a better way and I’ll tell you what it is in just a bit. First, let my tell you what happened.

I received an e-mail from someone trying to drum up business as an Internet researcher. He was soliciting copywriters who might need the services of a researcher as they’re writing copy for a client. Can you see the first mistake he made with me?

Mistake #1 – I haven’t marketed myself as a copywriter for about 5 years. I state on my website that I work with businesses on the layout and design of their marketing material. So when I get an e-mail that is clearly targeted to copywriters, it gives the impression that this guy hasn’t done his homework. Somewhere he had old info, or misinterpreted something, and didn’t bother to check the facts. Not good for a researcher.

Next… The e-mail wasn’t just sent to me. I could see about 15 other names on the To: line. I knew about half of them.

Mistake #2 – C’mon… At least pretend that I’m special and you’re just writing to me. It’s bad form to solicit business with everyone’s name on the To: or even the CC: line. At the very least do a BCC: (Blind Carbon Copy.) Even that’s bad form, but if you’re going to be lazy, use the BCC. Ideally, you’d send an individual note to each person.

This e-mail was a great example of “spray and pray”… spray it out to lots of people and pray you get some response. But in this case, it just shows a bit of laziness. Not exactly the quality I want in a researcher or any other type of freelancer I work with.

Moving right along… The e-mail had different sized fonts throughout the letter… most of it bigger than normal, some smaller.

Mistake #3 – Granted, with so many different e-mail programs, it can be hard to come up with an e-mail that you know will look perfect in every single case. But especially when you’re sending an e-mail to multiple people, you have to keep it simple. It might have been wiser to send a Plain Text e-mail instead of Rich Text. Remember what they say about making a great first impression.

Next up… The e-mail suggested that I recommend him to any clients who needed a researcher. That way, I wouldn’t be paying for his services, my client would.

Mistake #4 – On a certain level, this isn’t a bad idea. But make it worth my effort. When someone refers business to me, I give them a percentage of the sale. And I have partners I work with who do the same for me. So if you’re going to make the first three mistakes, and then suggest that I recommend you to my clients, at least try to grab my attention by making it financially worth my time. Even putting aside the money issue, you better show me some proof that you’re good before I recommend you to my clients.

Which leads us to… No proof.

Mistake #5 – Every significant promotion I’ve worked on as a designer has included proof that the claims being made are true. This is extra important for clients reaching out to brand new customers. The e-mail I received – which is a promotion itself – had no proof that his services were valuable. I know a researcher can be valuable, but I’d want to know why this guy in particular is valuable. Unfortunately, there was no proof in the e-mail. It came across more as, “Here I am! Hire me!” Maybe he has proof. If so, he should have dropped a little nugget in the e-mail to pique my interest.

Finally… The e-mailer’s website and e-mail address were from an Apple-hosted site.

Mistake #6 – OK… this can be a bit nit-picky, but I’ll just lay it out from my experience and many, many chats on the subject with clients and colleagues. Perception counts for a lot. These days, it is incredibly easy to setup a website with a personalized URL and e-mail address. Take the time to look as professional as possible. A personal URL and related e-mail address based on your business name or your job comes across as more professional.

Any of these mistakes on their own might not have been too big a deal. But when combined, it simply doesn’t give the best first impression.

When I get an e-mail from you like the one this gentleman was sending, it should inspire me to respond to you directly, not blog about everything you did wrong for everyone to see.

Earlier I promised a better way. Let me spell it out and you can decide which method (his or mine) might be best. Or maybe you have a better solution.

Judging by the names on the list that I recognized, he was reaching out to some good people. How much better would it have been to contact each person personally? Send a personal e-mail or make a phone call.

If it’s an e-mail, ask to schedule a time to talk on the phone and explain what you’re offering. The best social media tool is the telephone for a one-on-one conversation with someone. That’s the quickest way to get to know someone and begin developing a meaningful relationship.

Here’s something you might use or adapt: “Hi, my name is _____. I’m an Internet researcher, helping clients and copywriters quickly and efficiently gather the necessary information to create winning promotions. I’m looking to develop partnerships with other copywriters and was hoping to talk to you on the phone… learn what your needs are and show how I might be a valuable member of your team based on work I’ve done for other clients. If we find there’s not a good fit, no problem. I’d still find it valuable to learn more about what you’re doing in case there’s a good fit down the road, or if a client of mine might need your services.”

During that phone call, ask a lot of questions. The answers to those questions will help you determine if there’s a good fit.

If not, I think you will have left a better impression which is important… not a good fit now doesn’t mean there can’t be a good fit in the future.

What else could you do? How about a link to a video introducing yourself? How about a free report on the value of a researcher and why you’re the right one to choose? How about a case study showing what you brought to a project?

Like I said at the top, this guy’s method might work in a few cases. But my belief is that you’ll have even greater success using a more personal approach.

I’m working with a new person at a company I’ve worked with for about a year or two now.

Since I haven’t been working with this person in particular too long, I took a moment to let her know what other layout services I offer.

And that’s the first lesson today… let your clients know what else you do.

I’ve probably told this story before, but I had one client years ago who had hired me to layout the same type of projects he saw me laying out for another client.

One day, he and I were talking on the phone and I mentioned that I was in the middle of a book project. His response? “Oh, I didn’t know you did book layout. We may need you for that.”

I have to admit that I was a bit stunned. I had assumed before he hired me that he had been to my site and saw the other types of projects I could handle.

Nope… he hadn’t.

Lesson learned. I realized that I needed to make sure my clients knew everything I could do for them.

I was applying that lesson this week to this other client I’m working with. After listing what else I do, I also mentioned that I would appreciate her dropping my name to other people she knows who might need those services.

Her response is interesting and one I love to hear:

“And I will certainly pass your name along to anyone who needs design help. You’ve been so easy to work with, I would be happy to recommend you.”

The part I love? “You’ve been so easy to work with…”

Let that sink in.

She didn’t mention anything about the quality of my work, although I’m sure she appreciates it. The fact that the company has been using me for a while would lead you to believe they do like my work.

But the part that seems to stand out most for her is that I’m easy to work with.

You might not believe just how important that is to your success as a freelancer, whether you’re a designer or another type of freelancer.

You’re not the only freelancer out there. And odds are, you’re not the best one in your category either. But being easy to work with can lead to more repeat business and referrals than just about anything else.

Think of your client. He or she is trying to manage all sorts of projects. Some of that stuff has to be put into the hands of off-site people, like freelancers. Right there is an extra layer of stress.

That person has to trust that you’re doing your thing and staying on schedule without the benefit of being able to walk over to your cubicle or office to check in.

When you’re easy to work with, and making all the communication between the two of you as pleasant as possible, it’s noticed. It’s appreciate. And it’s one of the main ingredients in getting called again for future projects as well as getting referrals.

Just finished reading The Wealthy Freelancer by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage, and Ed Gandia.

Before I go any further, I’ll tell you that I was quoted in the book. And in a pleasantly surprising move, they sent me a copy. (Thanks, guys!)

So with that out of the way… Get this book!

I’ve complained before that, as freelance designers, there are not a lot of books for us, especially compared to our colleagues in the copywritng field. There is Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks which is a fantastic boook. But beyond that, it’s a bit thin.

The Wealthy Freelancer, though, is not specific to copywriting even though that’s what you may know the three authors for. Freelancers of any type will get something out of this, including designers. (I can’t recall anything in the book that wouldn’t apply to us.)

I’ve been freelancing for a while and have learned quite a lot in that time. So I’m always thrilled to learn something new, or read about a new spin on things. This book is full of that type of material.

The first thing that grabbed me was in the first chapter. It’s The IDEA Matrix for Mindset Mastery. A lot of beginning freelancers could stop after reading that and feel they got their money’s worth.

Over on page 192, they made a great point about about dealing with client e-mail that every freelancer should consider.  (It’s a change I made after I read it. Wish I had figured that out on my own years ago.)

I don’t do “reviews” and this shouldn’t be considered one. And, frankly, their website will do a far better job of telling you about the book than I can.

But when I run into something really good like this, I want to mention it so you can explore it further and consider it for yourself.

I will say what a said when talking about the “…Starving Graphic Artist…” book: If you’re going to buy The Wealthy Freelancer, commit to taking action on what you read. Simply reading the book isn’t enough.

I’ve run into too many people who read books like this for the momentary high or boost of enthusiasm they get. But a week after reading the book, they haven’t done anything with the information.

If you don’t consider yourself a “wealthy freelancer” right now, and read this book but take no action on it, you have to question whether you really want to be one.

You can’t walk away from this book with finding a least a couple of things you can start doing immediately. If you can’t find something, it’s not the book… it’s you.

So if you’ve been struggling a bit and feel this book is for you, make a commitment to take action on what you read. If you do, I think you’ll find yourself making far more progress than you have to this point.

I got slightly involved in a conversation about whether designers should give their source files to clients.

I say slightly because I gave my answer, but never went back to see what other responses there were to the person’s question.

The reason I didn’t go back was two-fold. First, my position (give clients your source files for free) rubs a lot of designers the wrong way. Second, I’ve seen all the reasons designers give for not giving up source files (or for charging extra for them), so I’m not likely to read something I haven’t seen before.

I’ve thought a lot about my position and asked people I respect about their positions. And I suspect people with a differing view have thought a lot about their stance. No point in arguing about it then.

But there is an angle that comes up that I want to toss out for your consideration.

Whenever you take a position in the design world that runs counter to popular opinion, inevitably someone will say, “Doing things that way hurts the design community.”

I see this a lot when people start slamming sites that offer cut-rate logos or even sites like eLance where the bidding process brings down the price of a project to almost free. You also see this with people who oppose spec work.

They feel it’s a threat to their livelihood. Fair enough… just don’t ask me to buy into that.

As I examined my thoughts on this a bit deeper, I realized something: I don’t really see myself as only a designer which is one reason I don’t get hung up on a lot of these “designer” issues or what might be happening in the “design community.”

Yes, I design. In fact, it’s mainly what I do. But I also write copy, write articles, provide general marketing advice for clients and prospects, teach… and there’s probably more that I’m forgetting.

I guess if I only saw myself as a designer then, yeah, perhaps I’d be scared by anything that I felt threatened my livelihood. But I’d be more concerned that I let myself get into that situation. It’s not much better than being an employee at a company doing a single task and hoping I don’t get laid off.

As a freelancer, you’re free to develop your business into something that is more than just the main task that you started out with. That makes you far more valuable.

I say this so that as you’re building your design business, you don’t stop with being a designer only. Expose yourself to related fields, like copy and marketing, so that you have more to offer your clients.

When you do that, you’re less stressed about what others in your industry are doing or what they’re worried about. And believe me… they generally don’t care about you unless you’re doing something they don’t like. That’s when you hear from them.

There are a lot of people who can design like I can. But, it’s all those extra things that keep clients coming back year after year. If I were only a designer, I could be replaced by someone cheaper… who would also eventually be replaced by someone cheaper.

Plenty of business only want “cheap.” That’s fine… don’t worry about them. Experience has shown me there are plenty of clients who value, and will pay a fair price, to designers who not only design well, but offer extra value.

Oh… back to source files for a moment. Be sure and e-mail me if you ever run across a business that fired a freelancer because the freelancer handed over the source files without making a stink about it. (Whether free or for an agreed-upon fee.) My guess is I’ll never hear of that happening.

But I can tell you with certainty that freelancers have been scratched off the call-back list because they did raise a stink about handing over source files.

In a way, it’s kind of funny. Freelancers in general can fall into this trap of “You’re hurting the community!” thinking. It doesn’t happen anywhere near as much in the corporate world where you do what’s best for you and your clients, not what others in your industry or niche think you should do.

If you do it their way and it doesn’t work, are they going to be there to bail you out? Probably not, and that tells you all you need to know.

I don’t want this to come across like I’m giving the middle finger to other designers. But the fact is other designers aren’t the ones having to pay your bills. They may think that their opinion is best for the design community, but that’s very, very questionable. And it sure doesn’t mean it’s best for you.

For me, I always keep in mind that I work for clients, not other designers. I do what’s best for me and my clients. If that bothers some other designers, sorry.

Just something to think about.

My bank is in a small town as is more-often-than-not pretty quiet and empty when I go in. Today was a such a day.

As I was filling out my deposit slip, is was impossible not to overhear the bank manager at her desk talking to one of her workers. I got the sense it was an employee review. (And if so, it really should have been done out of earshot of customers and the other workers. But then I wouldn’t have this story to tell you.)

The manager was telling the worker that managers want employees that are proactive, not reactive. Managers don’t want to have to micro-manage their staff. And if this worker wanted to get anywhere in her career, she was going to have to be more proactive.

I really wish I could have sat in on that whole conversation because I’m fascinated by the process people use to try to motivate others if they’re under-performing.

So, what does this have to do with you as a designer? Plenty.

One of the reasons clients keep giving me projects is because I’m more than a designer. You can find designers anywhere online these days… and you can pay them next to nothing if you’re willing to look around and take some risks.

But when you’re able to go beyond design… that’s when you find yourself with a full schedule.

A client gave me a testimonial this week and part of it read:

I appreciate your attention to detail, friendly exchange, and willingness to work with creative solutions to the little hiccups that come now and then.

It’s that last part I want you to focus on. When “hiccups” occurred during this project, I didn’t simply throw it back to the client and say, “Well… what do you want to do here?”

Instead, I either put a potential solution in the layout for the client to see, or outlined possible solutions in an e-mail if that was more appropriate.

That’s a part of being proactive… seeing a problem and coming up with a solution.

Reactive designers may not even be aware there is a problem until it’s pointed out by the client. Or, they know there’s a problem but dump it in the client’s lap without any solutions.

That type of designer isn’t as highly valued as the proactive one.

Part of your job as a designer is to solve problems and make your client’s life easier. Dumping problems back in their lap without possible solutions does not make their life easier.

Maybe you could compare that to an auto-mechanic who says, “Yeah… there is definitely a problem with your brakes. Any idea how I should fix it?” Uh… no… that’s why I hired you. You’re the expert!

Another area where you can be proactive is in recommending other marketing vehicles to clients.

For example, a client hires to design a postcard that ask prospect to visit a website for more information. Does the client have a free bonus for those folks that might encourage a better response? Have they created a special landing page for that postcard promotion so they can easily track results?

These questions don’t even necessarily require more design work… it’s simply you helping the client to think things through or consider ideas they might not have come up with on their own.

Proactive leads to a busier schedule. Reactive leads to more free time than you probably want to have in your freelance career.

http://blog.therisetothetop.com/2010/02/seth-godin-what-it-takes-to-be-an-entrepreneur-way-beyond-2010/

I could comment on this video interview, but it would be a waste of your time and I don’t want to influence your interpretation of what he’s saying.

Just watch the interview and take from it what you can.

I was reading an article – 5 Ways Graphic Designers Can Win Over Price Objections – at Michael Huggins’ site, For Graphic Designers Only. (His site is worth bookmarking, by the way.)

He addresses how you might respond when someone says, “I’m sorry, I like your proposal, but your price is too high.”

For the record, I think they’re great suggestions. But I’d like to add two more.

1. Walk away without any negotiation.

OK, it takes guts to walk away if you don’t already have a full calendar. I’m not even saying this is a great suggestion. Just pointing out that it is an option you might choose from time to time.

I’ve taken this step myself more than once. When it comes to certain projects that I have a lot of experience with, I know what it’s worth to me. And there are times, albeit rare, that some of Huggins’ excellent suggestions don’t work with the prospect.

In other words, you don’t want to give and they don’t either. Not exactly the Win-Win we read about in the negotiation books, but it can happen for legitimate reasons.

You’re not going to be the best fit for every project that comes your way. And you need to respect that just because you think a project is worth X amount of dollars to you, it may not be worth that much to the prospect. That’s OK.

Don’t always look at it as the prospect being cheap. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. Sometimes, the fit just isn’t there.

When it happens to me, I wish the prospect well, thank them for contacting me, and leave it open that a future project might be something to discuss. Let me quickly point out, though, that when you’re seen as someone who won’t budge, you may be immediately scratched off the “call-back” list. That’s a risk you’d need to be willing to take.

So let’s be clear again… this isn’t the best option. Try to avoid walking away. Instead, try to make it work. But realize that sometimes it just won’t.

2. Maybe your prices really are way off base.

This is actually what prompted me to write this article. Sometimes your quote is way outside what might be considered normal and the prospect is right: Your price is too high.

It’s important you consider this scenario, especially if you’re new to freelancing or bidding on new types of projects. Ideally, you’ve done some research to find out the average prices of  projects you want to work on. But beginners stumble over this issue time and time again. Unfortunately, they lose out on a number of projects before they somehow learn how to price projects better.

There are resources to help you price projects, but the one I’m most familiar with is written by Lori Haller: The Ultimate Guide to Building a Highly Profitable Graphic Design Business

Lori is pro through and through, so just learning from her experiences in this book is a great thing. But there’s also a price-range list for common direct market design projects. If you have nothing else, this is a good place to start researching to build your own price list.

So, yes… try to go with Huggins’ advice. But keep my two points tucked away in the back of your mind just in case.

You may not know Dr. Ivan Misner by name, although you’re probably aware of his creation: Business Network International, also known as BNI.

I’m kind of tying this article in with my last article on Chambers networking events. At that end of that article, I linked to an article I wrote long ago on how to approach networking events.

If there’s anyone who knows how to master networking, it’s Dr. Misner. I was reminded of this as I read an article of his in the November/December 2009 issue of Networking Times magazine.

Networking Times is primarily focused on network marketers. However, I’ve found that most of the articles in each issue are easily applied to any business. In that issue, Dr. Misner talks about a couple of things I talked about in my article on how to make the most of networking events. For example, he mentions getting a professionally-made name badge and acting like a host at networking events, not a guest.

Obviously, Dr. Misner didn’t get those ideas from my article. In fact, as a former member of BNI, I probably got those ideas from him or the BNI organization in general.

But as I was thinking about all this, I remembered a conference call I was on where Dr. Misner was a guest. With a relatively small number of people taking part in the call, we each had a chance to ask Dr. Misner a question. While I can’t recall what I asked, I do remember a brilliant piece of advice he gave.

I figured I couldn’t explain it any better than he could, so I scoured the Internet and found where he described the same idea he told us on the call. Sure enough, I found this article – Shape up Your Business With Networking Aerobics – where Dr. Misner explains “open or closed two and threes.” It’s point #4 in the article.

It’s brilliant stuff. It’s even more brilliant if you consider yourself the shy type and not sure how to approach a room full of people you don’t know.

By the way, I’ve said this before (and it’s a bit harsh) but I’ll say it again since it applies: At a networking event, nobody cares that you’re shy. Either get over it on your own, or join a group like Toastmasters to help you speak with confidence.

I’ve run into more than a few people at networking events and seminars who are really shy. In fact, it’s the only thing they’re not shy about: Telling other people how shy they are. I’m obviously not a psychologist, but these folks seem to take more-than-healthy bit of comfort in being shy and letting other people know about it. However, as a freelancer, it really doesn’t serve you well.

I don’t consider myself either shy or out-going. But I understood early on that if I was going to make any progress in networking and as a freelancer, I was going to have to get over any issues I might have facing groups of people I didn’t know. In some cases, I’ve faked it… I pretended to be more out-going than I really was. Nobody knew, nobody cared.

I’ve also mentioned that as a Chamber Ambassador, part of the job was to be a host at Chamber networking events. That was actually a big help to me… I had to be out-going since it was part of the job as an Ambassador. It’s almost like an actor who has to take on a new personality as part of a role.

I’m not saying you should be a fake, insincere person. I’m saying you sometimes have to step a bit outside of yourself to achieve your goals. That might include playing some mental games with yourself so you’re not focused on whatever fear you might have in new situations.

Hopefully, over time, those temporary qualities you adopt for these situations will become a real part of your everyday personality that benefits your business and the people you associate with.

Some time back, I wrote this article called, Chamber of Commerce Networking Events Are A Waste Of Your Time.

I knew that would bug some people. The headline of the article itself was intended to grab attention. (I do have a copywriting background, after all.)

But I didn’t write the article to annoy people. I wrote it because I believe it and I want to give you something to think about. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether you agree with me or not. In fact, if all I’ve done is cause you to re-commit to an opinion that’s totally opposite of mine, that’s a good thing.

Today, I found this article taking me to task for my article. Looks like it was written a year ago, but some things that are brought up are worth commenting on.

Frank Kenny writes:

I wish he would have allowed comments.

I don’t allow comments on either of my blogs because I don’t have the time to address people who comment on a regular basis. If you take the time I post a comment, I feel I owe you the respect of a response. But I just can’t these days… business is good, free time is short. That’s why my own participation in other blogs is way down.

And, sad to say, there seems to be a lot of people who make it their mission to be disruptive on blogs whether it’s with rude, disrespectful comments, or spam. Again, I just don’t have the time to deal with it.

Having said that, I’m never opposed to including a well thought-out rebuttal in a future article if you want to contact me directly. Or posting an article that links to your own blog where you have a different point of view. In fact, that’s what I’m doing with Mr. Kenny’s article. I wish I had known about it long before now.

He fails to mention being of service. He is all about “what’s in it for me”. People like this are horrible networkers because all they want to do is take.

Actually, I failed to mention lots of things. It was already a long article. I could have written pages and pages more.

But for the record, I’m not all about “what’s in it for me.” I was a Chamber Ambassador, on the board of the Chamber Ambassadors (even nominated for Ambassador of the Year), on numerous committees, etc. My trouble ended up being that I was giving too much at the expense of my freelance business. (Same thing with being in Rotary.)

Going beyond that, the seminars/classes I’ve taught, these blog articles to share my experiences with other freelancers… that doesn’t come from someone who is selfish. I’m not sure how Mr. Kenny could read the original article and come to that conclusion, unless he thought I was lying when I wrote:

Years later, when I became a freelance writer, I had the some of the best times of my professional life volunteering as a chamber Ambassador and getting involved in the community in ways I had never done before. Some of the people that I worked with on various committees remain good friends even though I’m no longer a member of any chamber.

So, again, I have nothing against chambers in general.

But his point about people who are just in it for themselves being horrible networkers is spot-on. In fact, that’s one of the main reasons why Chamber networking events can be such a waste of your time… the people who are just in it for themselves.

To a certain degree, you have to have a bit of “what’s in it for me” in you. You’re not running a charity… you’re running a freelancer copywriting or design business. You have bills to pay. There does come a point where you have to be on the receiving end of things.

You can only control your own actions and attitudes, though. It’s a nice idea that you can change people and their attitude about networking. And given enough time and effort, you could probably make good progress in changing other people. But we always have to come back to the reality that, as a freelancer, you have limited time and probably limited financial resources. If you’re not focused on the right things, you’ll soon be out of business. (And then the Chamber loses, too, because you’ll have to stop being a paying member.)

Glad he is not a member of my chamber.

I interpret that comment as one coming for a person who is personally hurt that I strongly said something he didn’t agree with. Otherwise, I’m not sure why you’d say something like that without really knowing me or developing a deeper understanding of why I believe what I believe if it’s not making any sense to you. It would be unfair to expect anyone to read every blog post I’ve written here or elsewhere, but I think it would create a very clear picture of my attitude toward giving. It’s a shame to apparently be judged like that off of one blog article that holds an opposing view.

It’s not bragging for me to say I was a valued member of my Chamber because of all the volunteer time I put in to help make my Chamber as good as it could be. They were sad when I moved away because it’s hard to find people who are willing to put in so much extra volunteer time. (And can do so during “business” hours because of my flexible freelance hours.) Chambers would be much stronger if more people would find ways to pitch in.

I would have been a valued member of Mr. Kenny’s Chamber, too. But because I criticized one aspect of Chamber membership, I guess I’m marked as selfish, despite my comments in the original article and my service to my own Chamber at the time.

Addressing some of the other comments made by others in Mr. Kenny’s post, I would agree that Chambers need to do a better job of helping people understand what might be realistic in their networking environment. I don’t think my Chamber did a really good job at that time. And part of that blame falls on me as someone who was on the Ambassador Board. The beauty of 20-20 hindsight, eh?

And I would also agree that Chambers do far more to help businesses than just hold monthly networking events. But that still doesn’t mean Chamber membership is the best thing for you, much less their networking events.

There are very few, if any, Chambers that have unlimited resources. So they have to make tough decisions on what they can offer, now more than ever. That means they can’t be all things to all people. So it’s not being selfish for you to examine whether you’re getting good value from your Chamber or any of their events. While it might not be fair, for beginning or struggling freelancers, “good value” can sometimes be nothing less than “paid projects.”

I stand by everything I said in the original article including how Chambers have a tendency to create an atmosphere of “attend our event to make sales.” Unfortunately, it’s natural for smaller businesses that are struggling to go into those events with that mindset.

If you get a roomful of people like that, it’s not so much a matter of them all being selfish, although I’m sure some are. Instead, I think it’s more about not being educated by their Chamber or still being totally unrealistic if their Chamber does have an educational program in place. (And as someone said, that might be as simple as Chamber Ambassador becoming something of a “big brother, big sister” to the new member.)

I also need to point out that my article was in a narrow focus of freelance copywriters and designers and using your networking time most efficiently. We are sometimes seen as a luxury. At best, people know the value of what we do and would love to hire us, but simply can’t afford us. Again, that’s something even more prevalent in this economic environment than it was when I wrote the original article. At some point, you have to move on to better opportunities. (And I gave ideas for that in my original article.)

I didn’t say you shouldn’t join a Chamber. I didn’t say you shouldn’t attend Chamber networking events.  I didn’t say there’s no value at all in talking to the non-bigwigs of a company. I certainly didn’t say you should go in with a “what’s in it for me” attitude.

What I did say was that these events may not be the most efficient use of your time. I did say that, given limited time, there might be better opportunities for you, the copywriter or designer.

And here’s what I did say from my original article (with copywriters and designers in mind):

To network efficiently and to land projects that will help you reach your financial goals, you need to be where your best clients are. My guess is they’re not sitting next to you at a chamber breakfast once a month.

That’s just my opinion based on my experience and the experience of writer/designer colleagues across the U.S. If your Chamber is different, I am truly happy for you. In fact, I’d like to hear about it and post it here. If you’re a freelance copywriter or designer, send me your positive Chamber networking event story and a link to your site so I can consider it for inclusion on this blog.

I want to end with a link to a PDF. It’s an article I wrote several years ago called, 12 Steps to Make Networking Events Successful. That was based on lots of Chamber events I attended, first as a total newcomer (and pretty-much a know-nothing networker), then as an Ambassador with a lot more experience under my belt.

It was pointed out to me that someone has been copying some of my marketing message on my websites and Twitter. In fact, some of it was word-for-word, just changing my business name for his.

What’s kind of funny (or sad, I suppose) about the situation is that the person has no clue whether my message is worth copying because he has no idea what the results have been with that message. I consider myself a successful direct market designer, but that certainly doesn’t mean everything I try in the marketing realm works successfully.

It’s natural when you’re starting out to pull whatever lessons you can from those who have gone before you. That’s the whole purpose of this blog: To share what I’ve learned the way other people shared with me when I was starting. But there’s a difference between letting something be an inspiration to you as you develop your own style and message, and simply copying it.

As quickly as possible, you really should come up with your own message based on your goals, your experience, your personality, etc. And don’t be silly enough to think that what you see in someone else’s marketing is actually working effectively. One thing worse than copying someone is copying their bad ideas.

I could sit down with you and go over everything I’ve done to make my business successful. But if you tried to apply those things exactly to your business, it’s likely you wouldn’t have the exact same results. There are just too many variables and intangible things that can’t be passed along in a conversation or copied from someone else’s marketing.

You’re going to have a much higher rate of success when you’re coming up with your own marketing ideas that mesh with your goals, experience and personality. If you’re not experienced with marketing, buy a book on the topic and see what makes sense to you based on thorough discussions of why certain ideas work or don’t work. Or consult with a marketing expert.

To close… a couple of FYI items for you:

1. The direct marketing world, in particular, is a small universe. Seems like everyone knows everyone else. Good stories or bad, word about you will spread… fast. (Even faster in these days of Twitter and Facebook.) Just something to be aware of.

2. There are no secrets on the Internet. And there are tools that can find if material has been copied from another site. Don’t think that because you’re not a big name, people won’t discover if you’ve, to put it politely, taken some shortcuts.

Be confident about what you offer and what makes you unique, and then chart your own path… don’t be riding on the coat-tails of someone else as they travel their own path.