A New Day A New Project!

Assignment: Website and marketing collateral for a not-for-profit dance foundation.

I had mentioned in my last post that work on a website for a non profit dance academy was due to start, and yes it is on! This assignment would allow me to work towards drafting the entire content for the website as well as working on their marketing material too. The dance academy wishes to go the non profit way and wishes to collect money from shows and use the same money towards sponsoring children to enroll themselves in dance schools. An absolutely noble thought!

What is particularly great about this project is that the client has given me a free hand to even structure the skeleton of the website! This made me suggest tabs we could use, the content which should be put and structuring the same. Since the website is for a non profit use therefore it will not be investing all that much on the designing part. The ‘attraction grabber’ therefore has to be the content.

Structure:
To work on the structure of the website I browsed the internet for other websites on similar lines. Taking an idea from them on as to what are the important elements which it should have and how to structure the same. Once done I set down and made a structure which suited the clients need. I decided to keep it simple and yet effective. I liked the concept of having a main tab with sub tabs attached to it. By doing this not only will the content have flow and at the same time I will be able to add all the content that should come without creating mess in one single tab.

Client’s brief: The content has to be based on the fact that we are promoting and creating awareness towards Indian dance forms in the US. The content should be to the point and try and include bullet points wherever possible.

As mentioned, the project was bifurcated in two parts; the website as well as the marketing collateral. The marketing stuff is taken care off as the client has provided with a sample of what he actually wants and will be working on the same line. It would be including an introductory letter, a couple of application; the sponsorship levels available as well as info on the upcoming shows. Here too marketing collateral= Punch lines!! Something which my assignment with www.savingsmela.com has taught me good enough! Since I could manage that I expect this to be a breezer.

Once done with the marketing requirement I will start structuring the content for the approved website skeleton. I have made some rough notes on what I would be putting there. Need to talk to the client on these and see if it works for him too. The website has yet to be registered and will surely upload here the final product.

A new theme, some new energy.. I love my work!!

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The World Of Presentations!

I mentioned in my last post that I was working on making a presentation for www.savingsmela.com and boy what a process did it turn out to be! I was used to making presentations for my personal use but never for a company. And believe me there was a huge difference in it! Now once I am done with it I can look back and visualize myself as to how I managed to nail it and mind you with good and encouraging feedback! :)

The first draft that I sent was good but yes for a in house presentation. This I can say now after I compare it with the final product that I delivered. Even though I did try to make it creative but the punch was missing. Same was the feedback. I was back on a clean board! Went through a couple of sample presentations and saw where I was lacking. I discovered that it was the beginning. I had to make that IMPACTFUL. Something out of the ordinary. For the same I created an idea board wherein i jotted down words which came in my mind when I thought of the brand. Using them I made 3-4 small yet catchy slides as an introduction. And believe me it worked! Things simply fell into place! All I did was to combine these slides with the ones that I had sent previously and voila I had my presentation ready!

And the result was something that made me excited too!! It is all about words. And in presentations the lesser the better. Create impact. Use words as a double edge sword. Something that will make your reader to hook on and go to the next stage. Believe me it is possible! Keep this as your motto when you have to make a presentation. Highlighting key points on the slides too adds to its visual appeal. It is also a great idea to incorporate box diagrams instead of filling all your slides with plain text.

Also, it is very important to keep in mind the fact that the ending of the presentation too is as important as the beginning. You have to make your readers leave excited and with a thought in their mind. It is a good idea to end your presentation with a thought provoking slide or may be with a summary of your presentation in a fun filled way. Anything will work as long as your audience is hooked!

I so wish that I could share the final presentation with you guys here but we have the issue of copyrighting!

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Work Has Been Good...

I know it has been time since I blogged about my work and projects. Things have been pretty hectic here. With my regular work I have been tied up with new assignments and projects. The most significant being getting into a contract with www.savingsmela.com. A deals directory I have been roped in to take care of their marketing needs and delivering content on the same. Am on a contract with these guys for an year now.

By saying a deal's directory what is inferred is that it is a one stop platform to showcase all the store as well as well online deals available. Kinda cool concept for sure!

Am done with a couple of business letters for them and am on working on their marketing presentations right now.This assignment has bought with it a couple of firsts for me. Business writing was not something which I had tried before. I am more of a copy writing guy. So drafting business letters and business proposals liberally doused in marketing punches took me to a new area. I did manage to sail through good with the letters but the business proposal came back wonderfully rejected! :) will have to work hard on it now. Works well for me... I get to explore new facets of writing.

Client's brief: Marketing punch, Creativity. Marketing punch, Creativity! That sums it up!!

Being a start up the first impression surely has to be impactful. Have started work on the presentation and have sent the first few slides for feedback. I have always felt that the difference between a normal presentation and a powerful presentation are the simple one liner messages which can make the readers to think. I like creating impact with words. That is my style. I like to inject a couple of these one liner slides in between the regular content. By this way I am able to control the attention of the reader.

Will await feedback and then proceed forward. Since the content here is copyrighted I will not be able to post it but yes will surely update you on the journey.

Meanwhile there is a website for a non profit dance academy in the US for which i will start working from next week probably. So it is hands full right now!

Cheers!!

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How To Price Your Work

The most common issue with most freelancers is the process of deciding the price for a project. All of us wish to get compensated adequately for our efforts towards a project. The right strategy forward should be an ideal combination of adequate compensation to the freelancer as well a happy client.

My way forward is simple. I base my projected calculations for all projects keeping in mind the amount of work desired by me and the time it would take for me to complete the same. If the project includes comprehensive research then that too is taken into account. I consider it to be a good trick to divide the entire project into smaller projects. Once done with that you can move on and see the time that you would take to complete all of these smaller projects.

Combine the hours of all the small projects together and multiply it with your hourly price rate and voila you have a price ready to be quoted to the client! :) If you foresee that you would be needing to stay in regular touch with the client on the telephone during the due course of the project then you could include the expected charges for the same in the total estimated cost for the project.

It is also a great idea to regard the future prospects that you could be involved in with the client. If you foresee good and regular work from the client you can always go ahead and reduce the price you would have otherwise quoted.

What I have mentioned here is my way of arriving at a solution. All of us have our own ways, what is important is that we, the freelancers, are paid for our hard work at the end of the day.

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