Marketing Specialist & Creative Go-To Guy For Hire

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. I find many of my clients today moving away from traditional advertising - such as print and broadcast, and looking more and more into Web-based marketing. The Internet provides even small businesses the opportunity to go head-to-head with their biggest competitors. For this reason, many of my new clients coming to me for website design, social marketing campaigns, e-mail newsletters, Search Engine Optimization and other Web-based marketing solutions. And former clients are coming to me to find out out to create cohesiveness between their traditional media on their online presence.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. There are a lot of very talented people in Portland. But before hiring anyone, I'd ask to see some samples of their past work. And just as important, ask them to provide case studies of some of their past projects. If a creative professional can't demonstrate how they have helped improve a client's bottom line or produced results from their work, perhaps they're not someone you want to work with. I provide case studies of many of my past projects right on my website. From those case studies, prospective clients can gain a clearer understanding of the strategic approach I bring to my work.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Clients should understand that developing an effective marketing or an advertising campaign is a process. If you don't have a clear goal objective in mind before you start out, you will never know if your campaign was successful. So before you work with anyone, ask yourself, "What do I want to accomplish?" That way, you will be able to measure the results of your campaign. And make sure you have metrics in place to measure those results. Otherwise - in my opinion, you are just wasting your money.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I bring a strategic approach to my work that most creative people lack. Rather than creating ads for the sake of being creative, I develop ads with the goal of producing measurable results. Plus, because of my broad background, I can usually hit the ground running on most any project.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I am what you might call a "life long learner." I enjoy learning about new things and working with new and different clients. As a freelance marketing specialist, I have the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects for a diverse range of clients. For me, it is never the same day twice: one day I may engrossed in a new website and working on a new social marketing campaign the next. The creative variety in my work is what I value most about my profession.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. How much does an ad/commercial/website cost?
This is almost like asking, "How long is a rope?" Every project is different, and the time and money it takes to create one project will vary according to the scope of the project, the time frame in which it needs to be produced, and the number of revisions. I always provide my clients with an estimate and a project proposal prior to starting a project. That way, everyone is in agreement as to time, budget and the deliverables.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. I have had the privilege of working with a lot of great people over the years. One of my favorite stories is the time that I got to work with comedienne Phyllis Diller on a radio campaign. Ms. Diller was very professional and a hoot to work with. Not only did we enjoy quite a few laughs together, she even gave me an autographed copy of her book.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. A very good friend of mine teaches salsa dancing to young children. She charges very little for her time, and her teaching has become almost a labor of love for her. She believes strongly that dancing helps build self-esteem and teaches children how to learn and work together as a team. I applaud what she is doing for the children in her community and recently designed her a website free of charge. It was my small way of helping her give back to her community. You can view the website at salsaforall dot com.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. I think it is very important for anyone who fancies him or herself a marketing specialist to be up-to-date on what is happening in the digital realm. As little as five and ten years ago, there was no Twitter or YouTube, and Facebook was still a germ of an idea. Now, Web-based tools such as these form the foundation for many a social marketing campaign. If a business isn't aware of how these things work or the advantages to be gained from them, they are really behind the proverbial 8-Ball. I strive to stay up to speed on these things by reading all I can about them on numerous marketing blogs and websites.