144 – Industry: Phyllis Harbinger Talks About PR and Marketing

Phyllis Harbinger Talks about PR and Marketing On this episode of The Lounge, Nick talks to Phyllis about PR and whether or not you should 'pay to play.' Later, he chats with Alyssa Rosenheck and Nicole Davis who will both be at Las Vegas Market on the Best of the West panel on Monday, July 31st from 1:30-3:00 pm. Learn more here. Pay to Play? Here's What Phyllis Thinks Some magazines offer deals where you can pay to get into them, is this something designers should do? Phyllis believes that press and exposure are always at the forefront of a designer's mind. Also, it is important to have a mix of different kinds of marketing and advertising strategies, some that you pay for! As long as you budget, there is NOTHING wrong with paying for an advertorial. They work regionally, don't look salesy, AND give a lot of information about you and your company. Sometimes paying for exposure and publicity can make people uneasy, but Phyllis thinks it's terrific. It improves your visibility and helps you get noticed. Phyllis has even done it herself for an ASID campaign, where she and six others received a half of a page to themselves. Afterward, she received three phone calls from being in the magazine- a lot of value that otherwise wouldn't have come to her. The exposure brought her to the top of people's minds. The more you do in different channels to reach multiple audiences of potential clients, the better you are advertising. Phyllis stresses to make sure you have a strategic plan though- she plans her budget for each target strategy at the beginning of the year and does her best to stick to it. True or False? The only way to get published in today's market is to be an advertiser in a magazine. Phyllis says that this is not completely true... there are some publications that rely completely on advertising and designers taking ads. When you do submit a project to a magazine you've advertised in, they will know your name already so you have a better chance of getting looked at. Though, from talking to sales people Phyllis has learned that a lot of editors try really hard not to be judgemental about whether or not someone has submitted advertising money to them and in addition, to the scope of work that they have. She doesn't think it's untrue that designers are looking for advertising because they are. If you're more well known, you might get asked to advertise but feel less pressure to do so, compared to someone brand new who is wanting to expose their work to the public. How do you determine the amount to budget for marketing each year? For Phyllis, budgeting depends on her needs and what she wants to accomplish. If her goals differ from a previous year than she'll move money from one bucket to another. Strategizing is not something she can do on her own. She'll ask her team about their thoughts on Facebook ads and analytics in order to make better decisions. She has a social media person, a social media strategist who does consulting and PR, and an SEO person. It's all about checks and balances, not a one stop shop.  Marketing isn't free - it takes time and money. Phyllis advises thinking about what your unique brilliance is and to ask yourself if you are the best person to a job? Then ask, is there someone else out who will do it better, smarter, and quicker than you? In truth, it's worth paying for someone who can. Allowing this person to fulfill their unique value proposition leaves you time to do what YOU need to do and likely do best. Today we have access to global freelancers and virtual assistants... so it's easier to hire people across the world for less. If you want to sign up for Phyllis' monthly new letter that gives business advice or if you have a question for her, email [email protected]. You can also follow her on Twitter or Facebook.