by admin on August 22, 2008
Finding low cost graphics for blogs an websites can be easy if you have the right resources.
If you are doing things yourself:
My main source for royalty free graphics is Istockphoto. Depending on the size of the image you are charged a certain number of credits to purchase an image. Most small images for the web are just a dollar or two - and a large file for printing may cost you 10 to 15. All in all - great value when you need to create a impact in your marketing material.
Another source is 123rf.com
123RF has a very large selection of free images they offer which are offered on a time-limited basis - definitely worth taking a look as the “just right” image may be right there waiting for you.
If you are looking to have someone help you with your graphic marketing materials there are a number of sources for which you can find economical help depending on what your needs are:
Try these folks:
99Designs.com
99designs connects clients needing design work such as logo designs, business cards or web sites to a thriving community of over 17,000 designers.
Elance.com
Elance is not just for graphic design - but also great to find writers here.
Guru.com - also has a very large freelancer data base
Outsourcing your design work can save you a lot of time and frustration if you are not an expert with graphic programs and up with best practices - and at the same time - it can also cost you some time and energy when working with outside suppliers.
A couple of quick tips:
Don’t just accept the 1st offer you get in response to your request - as some of the folks on these data bases - respond to everything - and sometime they don’t read what they are responding to. I often put a codeword in the post - and ask any reply to include the code word in the response - that way I know I am not getting just an auto-response.
So some smart best practices are often a great idea.
Things like:
- not paying full balance until the work is completed to your satisfaction - Keep the funds in escrow ready for the work to be completed
- not writing a positive recommendation until the work has been completed
- find someone who you like and who is efficient - and then use them
- be very specific about B timescales, quality required, layout etc - and renegotiate after anything changes
by admin on November 18, 2007
The Marketer: Mind Technologies
The Marketing Blurb: Visualize Your Thinking and Organize Your Work
The Product Link: Visual Mind
What It Does:
Stand alone software, 30day free trail available
What it does: Does the mind mapping thing -You will want to have a look at Visual Mind’s product comparison chart before you purchase - to make sure you all the tools you need - pay particular attention to the export functions. To have the most flexibility - choose the business version.
What they do have that is a nice add-on is a program called the realizer - it helps you do “chunk” sideways brainstorming, and you can get this kind of tool elsewhere for no cost - so this may not be a big priority.
by admin on November 18, 2007
The Marketer: Gael Ltd, Scotland
The Blurb: Bring Clarity and Purpose to Individual and Group thinking and greatly enhance productivity
The Product Link :Mind Genius
Stand Alone Software, free evaluation trail available
What it does: With very similar functions to MindManager by Mind Jet - Mind Genious too exports to Outlook, Excel, Powerpoint, MS Project, PDF, HTML files. Different views are available - including a nifty - map explorer view - which for anyone who is used to used to exploring and working with windows explorer - will find it an efficient way to organize thoughts.
by admin on November 17, 2007
The Marketer: Mind Jet USA
The Blurb: Work Smarter, Think Creatively, Save Time - Everyday
The Product Link :Mind Manager
Stand Alone Software, low cost trial available - integrates with outlook, excel, Gyronix and more
What it does: This is one of the best known and coach friendly mind mapping software programs available.
I have been a daily user of Mindmanager since 2001, and have purchased every upgrade since then. This is one of those indespensable tools that helps me organize my day, track committments, projects, sessions, meetings and brainstorms. Creating images, pdf, and word documents are a snap with this program.
The program itself is a bit pricy for some - but this is one of those life- tools that I could not do without. I use Mindmanager with Gryonix to help me tame my inbox. What used to take me hours to do - now takes me minutes.
by Admin on April 27, 2006
The Marketers: Open Source
The Blurb: Open Source for Clip Art. 7000 images as a resource.
The Product Link:www.openclipart.org
Open source, Download, No Cost
What it does: Gives you zip file with 7000 clip art images.
