Starting out as a designer, or blogger isn’t always easy. The hardest part is promoting yourself & your blog. Danny Outlaw, from Outlaw Design Blog talks us through how he tackled the problem, and gives us some seriously useful and true tips to help you build your own personal brand. Danny is re-launching his blog soon, and talks us through his strategy of building his brand.
Meet Danny Outlaw
I started out doing graphic design and web design several years ago. While I love doing creative stuff, I find the business side just as exciting. Over the years I have started to do more “creative director” type stuff than actual design work. As a result, I have really started to focus on creating a variety of sites and businesses to try and help the creative community.
While I can’t share too much about the new Outlaw launch, I can tell you that my main focus of the relaunch was to create a site that helped creatives with both the business and creative aspect of the industry.
Websites that I write and contribute for include:
Web Designer Depot
Smashing Magazine
Freelance Folder
Graphic River
PSD Tuts
Tutorial9
Websites that I run include:
WordPress Designers
T-Shirt Mogul
Freelancing Abroad
Linkbait Writing Services
DesignThatInspires.Us
Outlaw Design Blog
There are probably more, but I loose track sometimes!
How did you start out, with Designing & with Blogging
I have been into design and business since I was a kid. Ever since I got on our first family computer with a dot matrix printer, I was hooked. Then in the 5th grade I got a subscription to Entrepreneur Magazine, and I knew I would never work for anyone.
I wanted to start a blog to help position myself as an expert in the industry. I always felt that the fact that I had a really good handle on the business side of freelancing meant that I had a lot to offer to the community. People really seemed to like what I was saying when it came to the business of freelancing and the blog just sort of took off. In the past I didn’t run the blog as best as I could have, but that will change with the relaunch!
Why is this blogging Important to you & What are the Benefits.
Like I said, for me, blogging was about setting myself up as an expert in the industry. While Outlaw Design Blog helped start that personal branding, working with other major sites really helped sky rocket the “Danny Outlaw” name into the design community.
It’s funny, I’ll work with people or chat with them online who don’t realize I’m Danny Outlaw. Then when it comes up that I’m Danny Outlaw, people kind of freak out. I get a lot of..” oh man, I didn’t know YOU were Danny Outlaw! I love your stuff, it really helped me out!”
Are there any down sides to having your time split between so many things & How do you Manage your time & Work?
For starters, I pretty much don’t contribute anywhere that can’t afford to pay me. I do so much in any given day, that I can’t afford to write these intense articles, videos, and round ups if I’m not getting paid for it. I’ve lucked out that I have been doing this long enough and well enough that people don’t mind paying my rates.
As far as managing my time goes… The three things that help me out the most are my iPhone, Basecamp, and working with a close team. I have a very select and small group of designers, writers, and developers that I work with. I couldn’t do what I do without them. Being able to have a small team of people you can count on goes a long way at getting things done. Make note that I’m not talking about out sourcing, but working with a small group of people who’s work I really admire.
What advice would you give to help others get their name out there?
Creating a personal brand is all about finding a hook. Start by trying to figure out your own personal angle and then take it to an extreme. My whole Outlaw brand is a prime example. I created a name, site design, and avatar around the Outlaw brand.
I think avatars are an under utilized aspect of branding as well. Using your own picture works OK, but if you use some sort of unique graphic or image that helps reinforce your brand, it will make your name and avatar more memorable.
Branding aside, its all about creating great work. Every site that I write for has contacted me to write for them because of the work they had seen on my site and the other sites I write for.
How important do you see social media services to the success of a designer & blogger?
I talked about this a little bit in a video I recently did for Graphic River.
“If you don’t mind sharing some of your social networking profiles, then add your profile links and invite your clients to connect with you. If both you and your client are active in these networks it can help keep your name fresh in a would be clients mind. For example, if you are the only designer they are following on Twitter or Facebook and you regularly post about design; a would be client will probably think of you the next time they need design work done.”
I think connecting with clients and would be clients via social media is something that every creative should do. Combine the above mentioned ideas with a creative brand/name/avatar and you could probably increase your workload 10% or more.
Having worked on so many websites who are the most interesting people you have come across?
As you know, I have been a fan of yours since we first started chatting it up in the early days of Outlaw Design Blog.
Recently I met with David Legget from Tutorial9 and UX Booth. He is a really impressive guy with a great head on his shoulders. Everything he does and the ideas he comes up with are all about the benefit to the end user. I really admire that. I constantly find myself bouncing ideas off him to get get his feedback.
I’m also a really big fan of Rob Palmer of www.branded07.com who did the majority of the illustration work with the new Outlaw Design
What sites would you recommend to people who want to start guest blogging
Its hard to say. The few places I approached in the early days to guest blog on had little to no impact. And all of the ones I write for now contacted me.
One piece of advice I can give is to learn how to write a guest post that is profitable for you and the blog you are writing for.
Find ways to add links back your site in the post without being spamy, use your business as an example in the article, add photos or images you created into the post.
What posts seem to go down the best when you are writing for other blogs
With so many new design blogs popping up, everyone seems to have the “I can do that” mentality. They fail to come up with creative ideas for articles and instead just do something similar to what they saw on SU or Digg.
Coming up with creative and useful ideas for posts is the best thing you can do. Obviously longer posts/list do better, but a mid length post that is original, creative, and helpful can do way better.
What’s the difference between writing for you own blog, or writing on someone else’s?
The only hard part here comes in having to think up all of the content. When you write for 6+ creative websites, it gets a little hard to come up with unique ideas for all of them. Then the problem of “what do I save for myself” also comes into play. Obviously I want to save some of the good linkbait type articles for myself, so finding that balance can be hard.
Name 5 Dream Blogs or Websites you would love to write for
I don’t really have any. I write for them already!
The one I was really excited to start working with was PSDtuts and then Graphic River. I am a huge fan of the Envato Network. I love Collis and Cyan. They are just genuinely nice people and I am super happy to be a part of what they are doing.
Would you say your strategy has worked for you?
I’m pretty happy with how my personal branding strategy has worked at this point. I’d say a better part of the design community knows or has heard of the Danny Outlaw name, and that’s what I’m going for.
If I would have known that Outlaw Design Blog would have done as much as it has for the brand, I would have put a lot more into it a long time ago.
But this new launch includes a lot of the things I would have done in the past had I known.
Anything big we can look forward to soon?
T-Shirt Mogul
The T-Shirt mogul website will be launching shortly after Outlaw Design Blog is up and running. It will be an interactive learning environment on how to start and run a profitable t-shirt business. It will includes things like weekly lessons on helping you setup, market, and brand your t-shirt company. There will be a members only forum, month teleseminars, and a whole lot more. One really cool selling point of that site will be all the resources that come with being a member. For $27 a month, you will not only get business lessons, but every week we will be uploading unique vector graphics, Photoshop brushes, blink t-shirt images, hi res pictures of models in blank shirts and tons more.
These resources alone are well worth the price
Freelancing Abroad
The Freelancing Abroad is another interactive learning site where people can join and learn how to run a profitable freelance business from just about anywhere in the world. The will be 4 – 6 moths worth of lessons and worksheets that teach you everything you need to know about working and living abroad. It will also include a members only forum where you can talk directly to me and I will also do regular telesiminars, videocasts, and much more.
I think the creative community is going to be really interested in this site. So I’m going all out to make sure it will be worth the cost.
Thank You Danny
We’re really excited about the new Outlaw Design Blog, and we will be bringing you an exclusive first look at the new website just before the re-launch. You can subscribe to stay informed. Hopefully you found Danny’s words helpful, it’s always good to get a good honest review of the good and bad, which in turn can give you guys a better idea of what works, and what doesn’t. Please leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.