Inkd is one such service provider, aimed at print designers. Like Threadless and Cafepress before it, it offers users the chance to use their own original designs to earn revenue. Indk’s model is slightly different, but will be familiar to people who’ve used either of those older services. People who contribute to stock image libraries like iStockPhoto will also recognize how this system works.

Basically, you sign up, choose a specific product to design (for example, letterhead), download one of Inkd’s pre-made templates, upload your own design once you’re ready, and, pending a quality control review by Inkd staff, you’ll start earning sales-based commission for your creation.

Obviously, the model isn’t perfect, and depending on your stance on spec work, you may strongly disagree with what Inkd is offering. But for people just getting started, who have no connections and no idea how to break into the print design industry, it might be the right solution for getting started.

Inkd also offers a lot of free resources that could be useful for novice and experienced designers alike, even if you aren’t looking to actually sell your material through them. For instance, you can download free starter kits — basically Adobe Illustrator files with pre-set layouts that you can play with, adjusting fonts, colours, images, etc. These could be useful in jump-starting your own creative process if you’re feeling stuck or you’ve never designed the type of product in question before.

The pay structure is decent, if not ideal. You take home 20 percent commission on any sale, and if a customer wants to enlist your help directly to polish or customize a design, you get all of the revenue, with Inkd making no claim on any of that business. I think this is better than the competition-based system Threadless is running.

On the other side, if you’re looking for some original design work for your business or company, you can request a design from Inkd. Of course, your results may be hit or miss, but you have the advantage of being able to look without commitment, and of ultimately buying only what you like or need. This opens the can of worms that is the spec work debate, but if you’re a real estate professional working on your own, for example, you might not have the budget to hire a design firm, or even know where to start looking for one.

Personally, I think Inkd is a nice resource for the beginner, but I do worry about yet another site that could encourage spec work, speaking as a freelance professional. There will also be concerns over Inkd’s marketplace devaluing print design as there have been over stock photography sites, like iStockPhoto, devaluing professional photography. As with most online marketplaces like this, I’d say “use, but don’t abuse,” is the best rule of thumb when it comes to Inkd. Basically, that means that if you can actually afford to hire a professional directly, you should do so, as you’ll likely get a better result and it will be better for the industry as a whole.

Will you consider selling print design work through Inkd?

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“Are you going to buy this or what?”

Was he being rude or was it a sales tactic? I don’t know, but it worked. This got me thinking about my own approach to selling my freelance services. Could I get away with saying something similar to a potential client? I can imagine some of them getting turned off, while I can picture others saying “yes.” I wouldn’t dare try it, of course. The sales process is my least favorite part of online freelancing.

Still, whether we’re providing products or services, we can’t escape being a sales person from time to time. This is why we need to be aware of the different approaches we could use when making a sale.

Hard Selling

Hard sell strategies are aggressive and usually put a high amount of pressure on the client. The clerk who sold me the shovel is a simple example. Other tactics include cold calls, forceful sales letters, and unsolicited pitches. You’re there to sell, they know it, and you know it — there’s no gray area.

The main advantage of hard selling is that it gets straight to the point. This is especially important for clients who are ready to buy and aren’t looking around to do a few more meetings. The decision should be made now, and you want to step up and offer yourself as a part of their team.

The problem with the hard sell is that when it’s done too aggressively, your attempt to help will be seen as an annoyance. This plays a big role, especially if you’re working with small businesses that are savvy to such sales techniques. No matter how genuine your offer is, it might come off sounding like a scam.

Soft Selling

Soft selling focuses on the relationship-building aspect of sales. You don’t put psychological pressure on potential buyers. Instead, you find passive ways to show them that you have the solutions they need.

In online freelancing, this could be done through your blog, by providing a free ebook or white paper, or even by participating in online discussions. With all the available online tools for these, it’s no wonder that this tends to be the approach chosen by more tech-savvy freelancers.

A study released by New Century Media in October 2007 showed user buying behavior after being exposed to informational and educational resources that were actually soft selling efforts from businesses. According to the study, consumers were 30 percent more willing to buy a product through non-direct advertising rather than media advertising. Not only that, consumers exposed to this method of advertising were 97 percent more likely to tell their friends about it, and 95 percent more likely to repeat their experience with the business.

There is, however, such a thing as taking an approach that’s “too soft.” You might spend so much energy on updating your personal blog that you forget to use it as a platform for selling your services. Or you could be spending so much time Tweeting with your potential clients that you don’t make firm, actionable proposals that will bring you recurring revenue in exchange for your efforts. Being too gentle with your sales approach might also give clients the impression that you’re not too confident about your services, or that you’re just not interested in working with them.

Soft selling may work in some cases, but it doesn’t make sense to apply those tactics to all of your clients, regardless of where they are in their buying cycle and what services you’re trying to sell. Find out the conditions that make soft selling work and apply it there, but don’t waste your time and effort using these techniques exclusively.

Call To Action

Whatever approach you use, there’s one thing you should always do at the end: ask for the order. From a simple “Will we be working together on this project?” to the more overt “Buy Now!”, there should always be a call to action at the end to indicate the start of a working relationship. Without it, your approach won’t even count as “selling.”

What experiences did you have with hard selling or soft selling? Which approach works better for you?

Image by Steve Woods from sxc.hu

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As web workers, we’re no strangers to social networks. In fact, they’re probably part and parcel of what you consider your active working time every day. But how do you use them? Take Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki), for instance. He’s fairly direct when it comes to marketing via those channels. In fact, he’s often accused of spamming because of his approach.

The indirect approach, which one might attribute to someone like John Hodgman (@hodgman), basically involves being so interesting, funny, useful, or bizarre that people can’t help but try to find out more about you, and, as a result, the products or services you offer. Key success factors for indirect marketing include not looking like you’re trying to actually sell anything, the art of which is described well in this article at Babeloon.com.

I use indirect marketing as much as the next online worker, but recently I’m more skeptical as to how well that method is actually working. I notice spikes when I post new information, but generally speaking, my social network audience appears to be jaded enough to pass up any links they may come across without direct guidance.

I’ve come up with three theories why my indirect approach might not be that effective. First, it could be that in general, indirect marketing requires a certain degree of authority beforehand to be really effective, which would explain why it works for people like Guy Kawasaki and John Hodgman.

Second, it may be that I’ve split my focus too much, providing so many links on my various social network profiles that people are overwhelmed, can’t detect a sense of priority or importance, and don’t bother to visit any at all. Indirect marketing, though a soft sell, seems to work best when focused and kept simple.

The third, and most cynical theory, is that as internet users become more savvy, they also become more impervious to even indirect approaches, and simply know a soft sell when they see one. If this were true, the logical next step would be to ask “What’s next?” for internet marketing.

What do you think? Is indirect marketing an effective method of promotion for web work? How do you measure the effectiveness of your indirect marketing? What alternatives can you suggest?

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