That’s not to say that hiring (or being) a freelancer is a bad idea. The pearls are there, and they are worth the swim if you’ve got the legs for it. The problem – or at least one of them – centers around an over saturated and under regulated marketplace. At the risk of using one too many metaphors, freelancing today is a pistol away from the Wild Wild West. Depending on the gun laws in your municipality.

The Business Owner Perspective

In our early days, we hired too many people who only felt the need to earn their way inside the door… then promptly slumped to a drooling, whiny, expensive heap on the other side. They didn’t last long. Now, we test run our designers through freelance assignments before offering anything close to a permanent position – and our criteria for freelancers in the first place border on the punitive.

Other business owners only have temporary or occasional need for designers, which makes the long and expensive process of retaining a permanent employee more than a bit undesirable. Unless you’re the Federal government and enjoy wasting time and money. But that’s another story.

It’s obvious enough to say that when a business owner (or manager) needs a designer, they want someone who will do the job, do it efficiently, and do it spectacularly well. But the process of finding such a rare beast is a daunting one.

Searching for Freelance Designers

Google, for all its virtues, has failed us here. Searches around the topic of freelancers yield an overwhelming number of contest, bidding, and crowd-sourcing sites… which the majority of experienced designers avoid like the plague. If you want something unrealistically cheap and enjoy such pastimes as Russian Roulette, then you have found your holy grail in these sites. Good luck to you.

What’s wrong with contest/crowd-sourcing sites? Think about it. Assume you are a lawyer with all of the appropriate education and experience. A firm approaches you and says: “We are asking 1000 people at random to work for us for a month, we’re not going to provide the resources needed to do the job properly, pay is below minimum wage, and we are only going to pay one of you.” Would you bite? No. No professional would. The only people working in those situations are the desperate and the unqualified.

For the rest of us, it seems the trick is to omit the word ‘freelance’ or any variation of it from your search. Instead, look for phrases like “graphic design portfolio” or “graphic design company”. You’ll still get a lot of garbage, but at least you’ll have a chance at catching a glimpse of where the pearls have been hiding.

Big and Small are Not Mutually Exclusive

Think your startup is too small for a good design company to bother with? Wrong. Many established design companies love startups – you are a clean slate and usually fun to work with. Be honest and fair about your budget, and if it’s realistic they will find a way to help. Even if they’re enormous, they will usually have interns or students (properly supervised) chomping at the bit to work on your project.

Think an small team or individual freelancer won’t serve your multinational corporation well? Wrong again. These key players can have the advantage on the big design houses precisely because of their size. They are agile enough to respond to your emails the same day, and push that big project through within the month. All without the red tape and endless circular meetings chewing away at your budget.

Alright, So Where Do I LOOK?

Well you’re here aren’t you?
Am I really that cheeky? I suppose yes, at times.

If we’re not your style, here are a few places I have come to rely on when searching for individual (quality) freelancers:

• • Behance
• • Creattica
• • Krop
• • Portfolio Base
• • Stationery Style
• • Pattern Tap

Caveat Emptor

Regardless of the circumstances, there are always sharks hunting nearby. There are people passing off templates and stock materials as their own designs. There are kids just looking to make a bit of spending money, without having the skills or experience to produce something your business can or should rely on. There are offshore outsourcing companies who hire thousands of employees with “no experience or education required”.

So do your homework. Scour portfolios. Read customer reviews. Send an email and see how long it takes them to get back to you. Make sure they know what they’re doing – because if they don’t, you’re the one who pays.

What these clients don’t realize is that web design projects can range from the very basic (say, PSD deliverables for under a grand) to the mind-twistingly complex (some site budgets reach into the millions). If you don’t provide a clear picture of what you need, there’s no way we can quote on it.

Perhaps just as frustrating are the manuscript-sized RFPs that land in our inbox, obviously the product of committee-think run amok. If your designer needs a lawyer to decipher your RFP, and twenty working hours to compile a response to your specs, you’re doing it wrong. In general, we don’t even respond to these. Not because we’re afraid of work, but rather because the RFP sets the tone for the entire project – if you can’t be concise and respectful of our time now, it’s not likely going to happen in the thick of the project either.

In order for a designer and client to determine whether and how they’re going to be able to work together, a clear definition of the project requirements and expectations is needed.

A good web design RFP neatly and clearly lays out what you are looking to accomplish with your site, and helps to align your designer with your goals and objectives. Writing an RFP may seem a bit daunting at first, but it doesn’t have to be – taking a moment now will save countless hours down the road, and will ensure that your designer can develop an accurate proposal for your project.

So, before you even get to the point of contacting a designer, you’ll want to take a moment to write up a proper Request for Proposal. To help you in this task, we’ve put together a simple guide to walk you through the process.

The 10 Essential Components in a Web Design RFP

1. Company Overview
This section introduces us to your company. As such, the content should be fitting for an introduction (not a thesis). Briefly tell us who you are, what you do, size of company, current url, and what your overarching corporate vision or mission statement is.

2. Project Overview
Describe in plain English your current web site situation, and give us an overview of what the project is going to entail. Don’t try to be too formal or politically correct here… oftentimes corporate semantics can muddle the message. Write in precisely the manner you’d describe the project to a friend.

3. Project Goals and Objectives
This section is the spot to list your short term and long term objectives for the project, as well as your motivation for investing in your web site. It aims to answer the question, “why are you here?” Is your website outdated? Have you expanded your services/product line? Are you marketing to a different target audience? Are you trying to attract job candidates? Or are you finding your existing site isn’t converting to enough sales? Tell us what you want to achieve.

4. Technical Parameters
Here’s where the client’s eyes begin to glaze over. If you know what the technical requirements for the project entail, this is where you tell us. These parameters range from the basics (how many pages and unique layouts do you need; do you need hosting; do you need a domain name) to more advanced questions (do you require programming in one specific language over another; is your current site in php, .net, asp, cold fusion etc; do you need databases; do you have license or preference for a given e-commerce platform). If it doesn’t matter, tell us that too – giving your designer the option to work in their preferred language will save you money and time.

5. Usability Requirements
Usability testing is a frequently overlooked step in web site design and development. Just as companies will put new products through focus groups as part of the R&D process, a web site should be put through at least a basic round of usability testing to determine how well the design and build works in practice. If you’re interested in developing a persona or having us perform user research as part of the development process, tell us here. If not, you will still need to tell us about your audience. If you have relevant statistics about the demographics of your current web site visitors, refer to them here. If you have a specific flow you would like your visitors to follow, run through it with us.

6. Functional Parameters
In layman’s terms, this section asks the question, “What do you want your website to DO?” We need you outline the features and functionality you’ll be wanting to see on your site (this could be things like a secure members area, contact forms, file upload functions, database development to store lead info, content management system to edit your own content, custom admin area, newsletter opt-in form, blogs, news sections, discussion forums, faq or knowledgebase, or e-commerce to sell products).

7. Proposal Directions
This is where you ask questions of us, and tell us how you want your proposal laid out. For example, many RFPs will ask designers to describe their experience, show sample work, outline a process plan for the project, provide bios of key personnel, or provide a list of references. A lot of this is basic stuff that should be available on your designer’s website to begin with, and similarly is probably already a part of their proposal boilerplate. But if you have special questions for us, throw these in here too. We recently responded to an RFP asking us to list our top ten favourite music artists – the project was run of the mill, but the question was so entertaining we just had to respond.

8. Contact Information
Here you should include the name, email, billing address and phone number of the project leader. Indicate how you’d like the proposal submitted (email, fax, post, courier) and give a timeline.

9. Budget
This is another item that a lot of clients skip over. We understand that you want to get as much as you can for as little as possible (it’s human nature), and we also understand that a small proportion of unscrupulous designers will pad their quotes to max out your budget. We’re not in that group, and we don’t play that game. Be honest about what you can afford, and we’ll be honest and respectful about what we can give you within those parameters. Even if your budget is a little lacking, there are usually compromises that can be made here and there to accommodate you. If you don’t have a budget set at all, then you’re not ready to be undergoing this step – your business plan should already include budgets for marketing and corporate identity development.

10. Timeframe
This is an easy one – if you have a rough date by which you’d like the project done, let us know here. Similarly, if you have specific deadlines, we’ll need to know those as well. Remember, most designers will charge a premium for rush jobs – you’re bumping other paying clients out of queue when you request priority status.

At the end of the day, every RFP is going to be different. This list is simply meant to be a guideline to help you get the most accurate, thorough and honest project estimate from your designer. You may want to adjust your RFP to suit the scope of your website, but you shouldn’t need much more than what’s outlined here.

Whether or not you ultimately choose to go with us, we’re always happy to help should you need help assembling your RFP.

Already have an RFP? Send it our way.

Providing exceptional design is not the full picture of what our company does. For a professional firm, quality of design should be a given. What keeps people coming back is the combination of high quality work product, and excellent customer service. And the same is true with any business.

I am a relentless workaholic. Last week, my husband took it upon himself to schedule an appointment for me at my favourite spa. I’d been working such long hours that I hadn’t had time for a haircut since last Canada Day. It was getting long. Really long. I’d also forgotten how unbelievably nice it was to walk into a quiet, warm, lovely smelling room, have the receptionist stand up, take my coat, welcome me by name (AND pronounce it correctly) and get me a nice hot tea. And my hairdresser is not only genuinely friendly but also exceptionally talented, so it provides the full experience for me: quality plus service. As a result, I didn’t mind too much when they last raised their prices.

So what does this have to do with your business?

Simple. All other things being equal, great service standards give you a key point of differentiation from your competitors. You just need to commit to it, and make it an integral part of your organizational SOP.

A Few Things You Can Do…

Share the Love
A great service experience starts with consistent affirmation that your client made the right choice. It does little good to make a big fuss over prospects, only to forget about them once they become customers.

Create a Comfort Zone
People are resistant to change, and working with a new company makes people nervous. You can get rid of any ambiguity or uncertainty by explaining what your clients should expect. This simple act of letting your clients know how things work is called “Future Pacing”. Through knowing what to expect in working with you, your clients will have a higher level of comfort and security in their decision.

Be Predictable
This follows from future pacing. If you know what you’re doing (and you should if you want to stay in business) you’ll have a set of proven processes in place, to ensure consistent and predictable results for your clients every time. Your processes reflect your professionalism. Promoting your processes fosters trust in your abilities, and respect for what you do.

Take Nothing for Granted
I wrote another article about this not too long ago. The little things all add up, so don’t neglect them. The more consideration you give the small details in your service experience, the more valuable you will be to your clients.

Up Sell
Clients come to you because they have a specific need. As they work with you, they’ll likely realize that they have other, related needs you could also fulfill. You need to make it easy for your client to purchase other services from you. You don’t need to give them the hard-sell… doing your job well and providing excellent service does that for you. It can be as simple as a sell-sheet that lists all of the services you provide. Something for them to keep in mind, just in case.

Better to have it and not need it…
than need it and not have it. My mother’s favourite saying when we argued about bringing umbrellas to school on a sunny day. The reality is, problems happen. A smart business person will anticipate them, and have a plan in place should things go wrong. Let your clients know what to do when they have issues or concerns.

Be There
Service providers are busy, even when they’re not. In the minds of clients, this could be construed as being flaky, inaccessible, or apathetic. Make sure your schedule allows for peak service periods, and that you are both accessible and engaged when your client needs you. Be organized, and come to meetings fully prepared. Connecting with your clients means just that.

Embrace Client Reviews
Don’t fear the social media machine. Feedback, reviews and testimonials hold far more weight than any advertising campaign. Ask for feedback after each project, both positive and negative. The positive will help you establish credibility, and the negative will help you improve.

Eliminate Surprises
You need to be fully transparent in your work. This includes billing (which is very important for clients). Your invoices should be timely, itemized, and free from hidden or unexpected upcharges. There’s nothing that irks me more than having a waitress ask if I want a particular side dish with my dinner, then being billed extra for it at the end. It’s not the extra dollar or so that bothers me, it’s the sneaky factor. And the result is the dissolution of trust. If something is not included, tell your clients beforehand.

Mind Your Manners
The phrase “thank you” is simple, it’s free, and it has the potential to have a profound effect on your business. Be genuine, and thank your clients often. You are fortunate that they are choosing to work with you. You are not simply entitled to anyone’s patronage. Voice your appreciation whenever you can.

Creating an exceptional service experience makes your business more profitable, and infinitely more referable. There is no advertising quite so effective as a base of loyal, satisfied customers.

Thanks to Michael Huggins for the blog-fodder.

One of the most influential brands to come out of the decade has got to be Braun. Not to be confused with the Braun we know today – after being acquired by P&G they became bland, dull and ultimately meaningless. No, the Braun of the seventies was a design powerhouse, producing some of the most iconic everyday pieces of consumer electronics ever designed.

Led by Dieter Rams, the Braun of the seventies embraced a design sensibility that was both minimalist and modernist-inspired, leaving us with a collection of timeless pieces that are fast disappearing into the homes of collectors worldwide.

Though product design is slightly removed from what we do at Sage, their approach to what Rams called ‘Good Design’ translates quite well.

Ten Principles of Good Design

1. Good Design is innovative
2. Good Design makes a product useful
3. Good Design is aesthetic
4. Good Design helps us to understand a product
5. Good Design is unobtrusive
6. Good Design is honest
7. Good Design is durable
8. Good Design is consequent to the last detail
9. Good Design is concerned with the environment
10. Good Design is pure and simple

For nearly 30 years, Dieter Rams served as head of design at Braun until his retirement in 1998. Many of his designs have found permanent homes in museums and galleries around the world, including MoMA in New York. And much like his designs themselves, the principles he helped to define for the industry have a lasting, timeless quality.

Famous for defining ‘good design’ as ‘as little design as possible’, Rams had a full appreciation for the importance of clarity over cacophony – and that’s a tenet that travels incredibly well. I have a feeling the man’s influence will endure for years to come.

Of course, none of OUR clients are like this…

A little video produced by Scofield Editorial gives some context to these tendencies, in a way that’s sure to make fellow creatives laugh. Then maybe cry a little.

Solid yet fragile, simple yet versatile, and clean yet primitively natural – the feel of glass gives an instant impression of quality.

We designed the labels for the line of spices in the photo above. There were some limitations placed on us, but in the end the design turned out quite nice, and as you can see, the concept favored a lovely clear glass bottle. Regrettably, these glass bottles were never to be. Instead, the client’s print house produced an oversized, soft plastic bottle that sucked in on itself under the pressure of the seal, and whose material caused the spices to adhere thickly to the inside, making the bottles look permanently dirty.

When the final samples arrived, I was more than a little disappointed – not with the spices (which were actually great) but with the poor quality of the package production. I wanted to strangle whomever was in charge at their production house overseas. I’ll be honest, if I saw those misshapen, dirty looking plastic bottles in a store, I would pass them by without a second thought. Good design is only the beginning… production has to finish the job.

Which brings me back to glass. This article was inspired by some research findings published by the University of Oklahoma, which essentially confirmed that people in my demographic prefer to buy products packaged in glass. The survey was conducted in conjunction with Newton Marketing Research on April 14, 2009 (with a Margin of error of +/- 3.7%).

It was a brief survey, but it’s a brief topic. They simply asked respondents which material they preferred (glass, paper, plastic, or metal) based on six criteria: maintaining quality, environmental friendliness, purity, healthiness, preserving shelf life, and maintaining a food’s true flavour.

Here are the numbers:

While this is simply a consumer opinions survey (so the numbers represent a sampling of the population’s impressions on each topic and not any actual performance related data), it is still worthy of our attention. The people surveyed in this study are among the most influential buyers in one of the fastest growing markets in North America today. And what they think determines whether they pick up your product, or that of your competitor.

However, before bidding a polite but firm “goodbye and good luck”, I do try to impart a little knowledge and foresight. Because in the end, these people actually end up paying more for a vastly inferior product – and that’s not good for anyone.

A True Story

I’m not going to bore you with the vague old “you get what you pay for” adage (oh wait, I just did). Rather, I am going to ask you to read through a short, true story. Trust me, you don’t want to learn this lesson the hard way.

Jon* is a 15 year old high school student, hoping to build his portfolio so he can get into a design program. He lives with his parents, has no staff or overhead, and is teaching himself how to use a copy of Adobe Creative Suite that he ‘found’ online. He’s had no actual clients, and his only business experience was a summer job at the snack bar at the local ball diamond. He built a small website for his freelancing business using a free (but very nice) WordPress template. His portfolio has three very nice but unverifiable sample pieces featured.

Jan* is a 30 year old university graduate, with specializations in consumer psychology, research and graphic design. She has over ten years experience creating a myriad of different design solutions for businesses around the world, an expansive portfolio of work, and dozens of testimonials from satisfied clients. She runs a full time design business, supporting a small team of painstakingly selected, experienced designers.

Obviously, the names have been changed… but it should be pretty easy to guess who Jan really is. As for Jon, he had submitted the winning bid for a project we competed for early last year (and I always check out who beat me when the opportunity presents itself). After I contacted him to ask about his background, he sent me his resume and the information above.

An excerpt from the client’s email to me last year:

Fourteen months later, the same client approached me out of the blue, asking if the previous quote was still valid.

It turns out they had spent nearly double the quoted amount with Jon (bringing them well above my quote), who not only turned in more than thirty “terrible” logo concepts, but who was impossible to get hold of between school and his social calendar. They never even got to the brochure, corporate collateral and website that were part of the original RFP.

But that’s not the worst of it.

When the client finally got fed up and decided to “settle” on one of his logo concepts, the graphic used turned out to be a copyrighted trademark belonging to an established multinational company. They are incredibly lucky their secretary stumbled onto the plagiarism before the copyright owners did.

I have to admit a small sense of satisfaction in hearing their story. Not because I revel in the misfortune of others (quite the opposite), but because I was vindicated. On the flip side, I hear too many stories like this one. These experiences sour people on the whole profession.

Yes, our hourly rates are quite a bit higher than Jon’s. But what you should be thinking about is what you actually get within that hour.

It’s also important to note that I only know about Jon’s status as a student with no actual clients or experience, because I bothered to ask him. These are not things that people advertise on their sales collateral. So do your homework when choosing a designer. And always, always read their terms of service in full. If they don’t have any, then my advice would be to run as quickly as possible in the opposite direction.

As for the prodigal client, I agreed to take on the project at last year’s price. They’re now very happy, and a little wiser for the experience.

Effective strategic design is somewhat like a composition written for a symphony orchestra, in that it requires several instruments working symbiotically in order to achieve the desired result.

What is User Experience? Dozens of definitions and formulas have been put forward over the years, but what they all have in common are the premises that (a) the customer experience is the ultimate loyalty/sales motivator – for better or for worse, and (b) that a positive user experience depends on the correct ratio of a number of different elements. It is only the labels given those elements that differ between theories.

For example, Robert Rubinoff’s definition contends that the user experience is made up of four factors:
* Branding
* Usability
* Functionality
* Content

Rubinoff argues that none of these factors in absence of the others can make for a positive user experience. While originally intended for the context of web design/development, this formula can also be extended to products and services.

Branding is at the forefront of what we do at Sage Media. Your brand is your identity – not only the aesthetic or visual elements of your business materials, but also the messages your company projects. It is your ethos. It is you.

Good branding provides customers with an engaging and memorable (positive) experience. Visually, it has a strong and instant impact that is consistent with your company’s brand identity. All of the graphics, collateral materials and multimedia used in your materials are carefully considered and tailored to your specific audience, adding relevant value to the experience.

If your branding is strong, it makes clear promises that your company consistently delivers on, and your materials all leverage the capabilities of their respective media to enhance or extend your company’s brand.

Usability has become a buzzword in the world of web design and development, yet I’ve found its execution to be somewhat less than elegant in most cases. There are thousands of web sites, newsletters, brochures and other business materials that are just as easy to use as they are useless, because the “designers” responsible simply stopped at usability, without consideration for appeal, aesthetics, connection, content, message, functionality or relevance.

Materials must be accessible to be effective. However, I see too many companies hiring separate ‘usability experts’ (because their designers don’t understand usability), and sorely unqualified designers (because they’re cheaper). What this causes is a perpetual war between someone who doesn’t understand design, and someone who doesn’t understand usability, which inevitably costs the company untold amounts of money and wasted time, and results in (at best) a product representative of a begrudging compromise.

Functionality should be a rather obvious requirement for any product, service or marketing piece. If it doesn’t work, doesn’t do what your customers need it to do, or expect it to do… it is bound to fail. This is kindergarten level stuff.

It can even be an issue as basic as cross-browser/platform compatibility for your website. Your visitors do not all use the same browser you do. They do not all use the same screen resolution that you do. Nor do they all use the same operating system or type of computer. Crafting code that ensures your website works and provides a consistent experience to the widest possible range of visitors requires a lot of extra work, but it is a requirement. If your developer tries to convince you that a given feature you want on your website requires you to block visitors not using, say, Internet Explorer… start looking for a new developer. Seriously.

Content, finally, is often said to hold a regal position when it comes to creating brand materials. While I might not necessarily go so far as to crown it as King, stellar content is indeed a crucial element in strategic design. Overlook it, and your brand becomes that initially gorgeous creature who makes you want to turn and run the second they open their mouth.

By the same token, content alone won’t get you far. The same words coming from a clean, impeccably dressed, attractive person behind a podium will have far greater weight, impact and credibility than they would coming from an unkempt, unpleasant looking person on a street corner.

Think of your content as the closer. If you’ve branded your company right, you’ll have their attention. Now you need to choose your words very carefully. Your credibility and your bottom line depend on it.

All said, this is just one of many formulas floating around in the ether. I like it because it’s clean, and easy to explain to my clients (most of whom are neither experts in design, marketing or psychology, though all very nice people).

The amount of psychology that goes into the design of everyday things would amaze most people. What I find amazing is the fact that so many people think they can create effective, influential design without understanding what motivates the people they’re trying to influence.

Unfortunately, the design field is filled with people who don’t know what design for business really is – and they’re selling this lack of context to business owners taken in by a flashy (but ultimately meaningless) portfolio.

Graphic Design, or Corporate Design?

When people ask me what I do for a living, beyond my position in owning the company, invariably I describe my line of work as ‘corporate design’.

The term ‘graphic design’ has devolved into something that no longer represents our work. It’s been adopted by hobbyists and graphic artists and students and just about everyone with a pirated copy of Photoshop. Although Corporate Design requires a solid foundation in graphic design, it goes quite a bit further.

Design is communication. Corporate Design represents a strategic solution to business communication problems. This requires a working understanding of organizational and consumer psychology, branding, copywriting, positioning, marketing AND graphic design.

The Nike swoosh without all of the supporting branding efforts would be meaningless. Nike has done an excellent job over the course of its lifespan in creating a super-brand, instantly recognizable across the globe. Visual materials are incredibly important, but they are still just one ingredient in the cupcake. A logo, no matter how brilliant, cannot sustain a brand without the support of consistent and relevant content.

With that in mind, business owners need to invest equally in the content being conveyed alongside their visuals.

Define Your Message in Your Audience’s Language

Strong brands succeed because they successfully convey why company or product X is a prospects’ only solution. Failing that, a good brand needs to communicate how you are at least the best solution.

Strategic, purposefully written copy tells your prospects why they should buy from you – in a way that is personal, relevant, convincing and enticing. The words you choose need to convey real value.

Bad Copy: “Only the best.”
Sure, it could be true. But it could also be true for your competition. It’s generic, presumptuous, and unconvincing. It’s no hook.

Good Copy: “Savor the world, one cup at a time.”
A bit more enticing, no? This simple, eight-word phrase promises an exotic new adventure with every visit. Not only does it invite you to try the coffee in the first place, but it inspires you to sample all the flavours.

If your writing can in any way differentiate you from your competition (offer something that none of your competitors can claim to offer), it can even disqualify them outright.

Communication Defines You

Through branding, we form a personality, set a tone and create expectations… for better or worse.

When speaking in person, our words are given context through our body language, facial gestures, personal grooming, wardrobe and physical appearance. Consistency between the two is key. The same words coming from a well-groomed CEO behind a podium will hold more weight than they would coming from the mouth of a vagabond on a street corner.

Between the lines, the words you choose should project a clear verbal identity, reflecting who you are and who you strive to be. The sum of what you wear and what you say represents what you stand for, and what you promise to deliver.

When a potential client visits your website, for example, you have less than one second to make a first impression. If the design is effective, they’ll want to hear more about what you have to say. When you do open your mouth, make sure the words that come out are both compelling and consistent with what they expect to hear from you.

In branding, copy is the conversation, and design is the context. If one neglects the other, both become irrelevant.

A few days ago, my incoming Twitter feed took on a fiery tone. Anger spewed forth with abandon from one of my fellow business owner contacts. He was incensed, having discovered that a particular spammer had gone the extra mile to target his company’s clients as a group.

Over the span of a few hours, this business owner kept himself incredibly busy in the singular task of transforming the man at the other end of the spam campaign into a trembling, whimpering mess. Names were named. I have no doubt that calls were made to lawyers and muscle-for-hire. There was mention of a bulk manure delivery service.

Though one could (at a distant stretch) consider the spammer’s crackerjack box web design company a competitor for my own, by the end of the day I actually began to feel a bit sorry for the man. But only a bit.

Marketing by email is not like marketing by phone or mail. It’s a different game, with different rules. Lawsuits were threatened in the case above, and it wasn’t just hyperbole. The spammer in this case had enough experience to know precisely what he was doing… or at least he should have.

If you want to communicate with prospects by email (and this includes e-newsletters), there are a few mandatory steps you need to take to ensure you’re not breaking any laws.

Specifically, CAN-SPAM compliance requires the following:

• Subject Line must not be misleading.
• Advertisements must be clearly labeled as such.
• Email headers, sending email address and other identifiers in the headers must not have been tampered with in order to conceal your identity.
• The body of the email must contain a valid physical address for the sender.
• The email must contains a functioning opt-out mechanism.
• Opt out requests must be honored within 10 business days.

These are the absolute minimal requirements for email marketing.

Technique, tact, consideration, design and content are an entirely different issue… but even if you take none of them into account – perhaps, especially if you take none of them into account – ignoring the simple rules above will place you squarely in the cross-hairs for litigation and impossibly heavy penalties.

Each individual violation of CAN-SPAM regulations is subject to fines of $16,000. That’s per message. And that’s just for starters. Criminal charges are also probable for spammers engaged in the truly slimy stuff like email harvesting, using malware, or hijacking other people’s computers to send spam without their permission.

Now, the odds are that most ethical businesses who market or send out newsletters by email are already following these regulations, in addition to making sure the people they contact actually want to hear from them. They’re really rather common-sense things to do, and if you’re not already doing them, it doesn’t take much to become complaint.

Regardless of the context, ethics counts for a lot – it always has, and it always will.

The state of social media means that bad news travels fast and far. Public name & shame seems to be the new alternative to the BBB dinosaur – and it’s certainly more effective. The poor decisions made by the spammer above have undoubtedly hurt their business, which, if I’m honest, doesn’t bother me much. Their failure means one less unscrupulous dullard marring the design industry.

Dirty business always ends up in the mud, eventually.