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In spring 2019, I created the new corporate design for A CASA , a 4 star group renting out holiday apartments in and around Sölden (Tirol). This re-branding should visually communicate the big shift from the middle class segment to the premium segment. The continuously rising success of A CASA luxury apartments is resulting in more and more holiday destinations for Tirol lovers. Consequently, I was hired to design the logo for a new apartment house half a year after the re-branding (in October 2019). As the A CASA logo system had been set up in a flexible way from the start, designing the logo for the new "Lakeside by A CASA" house was not a big deal. This is the beauty of a flexible logo system > visual harmony, less time effort, less financial effort. In addition to that, the "Restaurant Ischia" opened its doors in one of the A CASA houses, and I was asked to design the logo for this restaurant too. It was important to show that Restaurant Ischia belongs to the A CASA group. Fancy to get your own flexible logo? Click here . #logo #corporatedesign #branding #hotel

In spring 2018, the somewhat abstract "monster" named GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) kept entrepreneurs in the entire European Union busy - in an administrative and costy way. I am definitely FOR data protection, keeping one’s privacy (also when surfing the internet!) and the sensitisation for the topic as such. However, I have to say that I don’t know one entrepreneur who doesn’t roll his/her eyes when mentioning this topic. But it gets even worse: This abstract "monster" named GDPR (please excuse my fond language here) is reaching out its tentacles. WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT? On 1 October 2019, a delicate case of violation of data privacy by the German online gaming platform Planet49 led to a judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union which has a huge impact on websites in the EU. You can read the press release here . Since that judgement, placing cookies on a website visitor’s device is only legal AFTER explicit consent . Meaning: a simple banner informing about the usage of cookies that can be (but doesn’t have to be!) confirmed by clicking an OK button violates data privacy and is, hence, illegal. The CJEU judgement distinguishes between "technically required" and "technically not required" cookies. "Technically required" cookies can be placed also without the website visitor’s explicit consent (without those cookies, the website would not be functional). "Technically required" cookies make sure that a website runs smoothly (i.e. navigation, language selection, automatically displaying a website’s mobile version on a smartphone etc.). "Technically not required" cookies relate to Google Analytics (or other tracking tools), marketing related services (like Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn tokens, data for Google AdWords and Google Retargeting, Youtube, rating services, social media plugins …) etc. Interesting: On October 14, 2020, Google Analytics introduced a cookie-free service with GA4. The pressure on the internet giant was probably too big. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Every website that is made for EU citizens must display a banner to actively ask every website visitor for explicit (thus, manual) consent for technically not required cookies when entering the website. A standard pre-set consent (= all check boxes automatically ticked) to all cookies is illegal since the CJEU judgement. In addition to that, every website visitor must have the possibility to change his/her consent at any time. WHAT IS THE BEST SOLUTION? As you can maybe imagine, this situation causes quite a stir in the entire business as it leads to technical (and thus financial) challenges for every website owner/operator. After consultation with the Austrian trade association, in-depth information from Heinrich Partner lawyers in Germany and talks with other relevant entrepreneurs within the industry, I decided to use a specific cookie consent service. I thoroughly tested this service and ran several technical tests to make sure this is the ideal solution for my clients and me. That cookie consent service acts like this: No cookies, which are technically not required, are placed on my website visitor’s device unless he/she manually ticks the specific check boxes and clicks the OK button (no matter if desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone). I have already implemented this legally compliant cookie consent solution for the majority of my website clients. New website clients are offered this too. DO COOKIE CONSENT SERVICES AFFECT MY WEBSITE IN A NEGATIVE WAY? No matter what cookie consent service you use > If implemented correctly, a website visitor is only tracked in Google Analytics (or another tracking tool) after the website visitor explicitly (!) says "yes" to the statistic cookies in the cookie bar. If a website visitor does not grant consent or simply leaves the cookie consent banner open without saying "yes" or "no", he/she is not tracked in Google Analytics at all. Uff, that’s hard news. Some online marketing agencies even speak of the "death of Google Analytics" or the "death of online marketing". Well, I wouldn’t go that far for now. But time will tell. MY CONCLUSION As so often, the European Union affronts many people and many website owners feel forced to do something and invest money. Even though, there are not so many GDPR dissuasions yet, you should not neglect this topic. A dissuasion can cause severe financial damage to your business. This is why I highly recommend implementing a legally compliant cookie consent banner on your website.

November is not really my favourite month of the year. It gets cold, wet, grey and ugly outside. And as the year 2019 hadn’t allowed me to take some holiday time out for myself, I thought I simply needed to recharge my batteries with fresh energy again and get away from that typical Central-European November weather. So I thought: "Off to the land of pharaos, off to Egypt!" Let me invite you to day-dream a little and show you a few shots I took with my Nikon D5100 at TUI Magic Life Club Kalawy in Safaga (a good hour’s car drive southbound from Hurghada). As you see, it’s possible to chill and relax even in an All Inclusive club. Most of all, I enjoyed the delicious food, a splendid lagoon at the Red Sea and the diverse sports program. (Remark: I was not paid for this blog article. I wrote it simply for sharing positive vibes. / Copyright photos: Helene Clara Gamper). #holiday #photography

In this blog article, I’ll show you the A to Z of a graphic designer’s daily routine (or my routine). Enjoy ;-) A …. like Adobe . The US software giant has been setting the benchmark in the graphic design industry for years, with programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and more. B …. like briefing ; probably the most important and most detailed talk between the client and the designer/agency, which serves as the basis for any upcoming design work. C …. like copyright . Copying logos is an absolute no-go and can cost companies a lot of money. Here you find out more about a sincere case. D …. like digital publishing . Nowadays, it might be a really good idea to offer innovative rich media magazines as an app . I work with the Belgian software solution Twixl for this purpose. E …. like editorial design . Designing print products like brochures and magazines is part of my regular business. F …. like flat design , which can be seen everywhere since Windows 8. In this blog article from 2014, that was also featured on marketingfish.de , I talk about the flat design trend (even though it was five years ago, it’s still relevant today) > the article is available in German language only. G …. like gifographic . A gifographic is a gif-animated infographic and can be used in many different ways . H … like hand-lettering , the art of drawing letters by hand. In a typography workshop conducted by Vienna-based Typejockeys , organised by WEI SRAUM Innsbruck , I made my first steps in drafting and drawing letters of my own font. I …. like Indesign ; a software to design great print products (brochures, magazines, flyers, business cards etc.) - of course by Adobe. J …. like jpg ; the probably most common picture format for pixel-based images. If you don’t want to have pixels, please scroll down to the letter V. K …. like kerning ; a term in the world of micro-typography to visually balance out the gaps between letters (example: AV instead of A V). L …. like logo ; a symbol representing an organisation. By the way: Here you see 8 things that make a good logo. M …. like mindmap ; a great tool to sort thoughts and let your ideas flow into different directions. N …. like notepad . Every logo idea and logo draft gets brought down onto paper with a pencil. This allows for a maximum of flexibility and your creativity is really "flowing". O …. like opacity ; a term in the printing industry. A paper’s opacity indicates how much the printed backside of a page is visible through the front of the same page. You don’t see any of the text on the backside of a page shining through, when paper with good opacity is used. Here you can find more information on paper selection for magazines. P … like Pantone . Pantone color fans are crucial for a continuous color system across various communication materials. The Color Bridge fans in particular have really proven to be very handy when working for print and digital purposes (like I do). See more about it here . Q … like questionnaire . In the course of the briefing, a set of specific questions should be asked. To find out what kind of questions I ask my clients in the course of the briefing, head over to point 5 of this interview . R … like RGB . The RGB color mode consists of the colors red, green and blue (RGB). All three colors have a value range from 0 to 255, which means that there are maaaaany different color possibilities. The RGB color mode is used for everything digital, whereas the CMYK color mode (four cartridges) is used for everything printed. S … like start-up . All newly found companies need a corporate design in order to professionally communicate with the outside world. T … like typography , the world of fonts. Watch this video to see how powerful typography really is. U … like UX/UI or "user experience / user interface" design. This is all about a possibly high user friendliness in the digital world (on websites and within apps). V … like vector . A vector file ends with ai, eps or svg and does not have any pixels (unlike jpg files). Vectors are dots that are connected with lines. Thus, a vector file can never pixelate and can always be scaled up endlessly without any quality loss. This is one of the reasons why a logo must never be made in Photoshop . W … like web design . I have been creating websites with WIX for many years. A good decision! X … like Xcode . Xcode is a software to sign apps in order to deliver apps to app stores. When I work on app magazines , Xcode is an essential element in the background. Y … like yellow Cyberduck . The yellow duck is a handy tool to transmit data via FTP servers. Z … like Zoom . Zoom is a video conference software that I sometimes use for meetings with colleagues and business partners (a great alternative to Skype). #adobe #indesign #wix #ux #photoshop #logo #inspiration #infographic

# 1 You have your logo only as jpg or png file ( uff ... ) and have no clue how your website shall look like (see also this video ). # 2 You don’t know your corporate colours. Of course not, you don’t have any. # 3 The colour on your business card is different than the colour on your letterhead. # 4 Your business card looks very different to your employee’s one. # 5 Your website is designed in a blue-grey tone, whereas your business cards are designed in a green-yellow tone. # 6 There is no way for you to find out what font to use on your new flyer. # 7 Your logo shows always the same icon, however different fonts on your business cards, website and flyer. # 8 There is no indication of how your new brochure shall look like. # 9 You don’t know what line spacing to use in Word when you write a letter. # 10 Your business is perceived as "unprofessional" or "not trustworthy". # 11 Your website looks cluttered. # 12 The copy in your brochure is difficult to read. Of course it is due to the lack of a good typography concept. # 13 You hire a designer to create a flyer and cannot answer his/her question "Can you please send me your style guide?". # 14 Different freelance designers work on different projects for you: one designer creates a flyer, whilst another one cares about the website, whilst another one illustrates an infographic. (A corporate design makes sure that everything has the exact same look and feel. Nobody from outside will see that you hired different designers.) # 15 Your business card shows another font than your website than your flyer than your brochure etc. # 16 Various materials are designed at different times: the website and business cards in 2015, a flyer in 2017, the car sticker design in 2018, an infographic in 2020 and an advertisement for a local newspaper in 2022. # 17 You are not successful finding a sponsor or investor. # 18 You don’t want to make yourself dependent on one designer or design agency. (A corporate design incl. style guide makes sure you stay independent so you can work with different designers and agencies. The design concept is documented in the style guide.) Take a look at some inspiring examples of brandings and send me an email . I’m looking forward to discussing your project! #logo #corporatedesign #webdesign #brochure #flyer #infographic

Your business has a logo for sure - a symbol that represents you and your vision and positively communicates with your target audience. You print it on your business cards, use it in your email signature, on your letterhead, on your website and so on. Have you ever asked yourself if your logo needs a refresh? Here you see nine facts that show you need a new logo. 1. TARGET GROUP SHIFT Businesses develop. That’s why your target group can shift. If you want to attract different people than you used to in the past, a logo relaunch is a good idea. Let me give you an example: The 4 star group A CASA rents out luxury holiday apartments in Tyrol. Years ago, they used to rent out to the middle-class. Now, A CASA arrived in the luxury segment and thus wants to attract the relevant audience. 2. COLOUR VS. BLACK-WHITE A logo must not only work in colour, but also in black and/or white. Just think of sponsor walls or other 1-coloured communication materials. Experience shows, there comes a point when you definitely need your logo in 1 colour only. For sure, trust me. If your logo is not clearly recognisable in 1 colour or important design elements are lost, your logo won’t be identified as your logo any more. Then you have a problem. 3. SMALL VS. BIG Your logo must survive also in a small size (in terms of readability too). Think of smartphone screens for example; mobile B2B website visits often exceed 25 %, mobile B2C website visits are even higher. Your logo must work also as a small social media profile picture on a phone display. This means, it must be clear that it’s your logo. 4. SEVERAL OLD LOGOS In my neighbourhood there is a hotel with several annexes. Every one of them shows a completely different logo with the same hotel name. That hotel counts most of its guests from Asia who might not be able to read the hotel name (due to the letters), so they might not understand that this is one and the same hotel. Remember: 1 new logo is better than 3 old logos, especially when they are all still being used in public. 5. TOO LITTLE DIFFERENCE TO YOUR COMPETITOR Does your logo look too much like your competitor’s logo? Then you probably give off the impression of wanting to copy your competitor which doesn’t demonstrate self-esteem at all. Why would your target audience go to you to buy a copy? They probably prefer the original. However, it also works the other way around. In the photo above you see a snapshot from my Colombia holiday back in 2018 (Medellín). The logo of this coffee shop looks very similar to the Starbucks logo. At first glance, clients probably think they are buying coffee at Starbucks’ - this attracts people. In this case, the logo looking like the "big US competitor" is for sure welcome. 6. RETRO IN A NEGATIVE WAY Do you keep hearing "Your logo looks like from the 90s"? Then there’s probably some truth in it. A new logo would be a good idea - unless you prefer to live with a negative retro image. 7. YOUR LOGO CONFUSES PEOPLE Does your logo transport a message that has nothing to do with the reality? In order to eliminate even more misunderstandings and possible profit losses resulting from that, you should hire a designer to create a new logo for you - with a message that you really want to transport. Let me give you an example: The old cubile logo was often mis-interpreted by the target audience. Speaking with the client, it turned out that cubile was understood as a wi-fi solution at first glance (= seeing the logo). However, the product has nothing to do with wi-fi. In order to eliminate any more confusion, a new logo had to be designed. 8. SELF-MADE A self-made logo unfortunately often looks - well - self-made. Don’t forget: You save money now, but you might also save profits in the middle and long run. 9. COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT If you receive a letter from a lawyer with a copyright infringement notice, you should take this serious. Obviously, your logo (or important parts of it) was copied. You can read more about a sad case from real life in my blog . Should one (or even more) of these nine facts be true for you, it’s time for a new logo. Here I show you eight things that make a good logo. I’ll be happy to help you in this matter. Simply drop me a message . I’m looking forward to you! #logo #copyright

Have you ever heard of BNI? BNI stands for "Business Network International" and is the world’s biggest network for entrepreneurs. Once a week, the same group of entrepreneurs meets up for a breakfast at 7 am (networking starts at 6:30 am). Yes, in the morning! Every group - so-called "chapter" - meets up on the same weekday which generates continuity. Always followed by a pre-defined agenda, the event is over at 8:30 am. And yes, besides networking, people are having a delicious breakfast. ;-) This might sound a bit odd at first glance as networking events usually take place in the evening, without a strict agenda. But BNI is different. I was member of a BNI chapter for almost two years in which I also built up a group with my colleagues. In this blog article, I want to share my experiences and talk about the pros and cons of BNI as they are usually questions coming up when people are invited to a BNI breakfast. WHAT MAKES BNI SPECIAL 1. REGULARITY The weekly breakfast’s regularity generates trust among each other and allows for really getting to know each other well in the group, so that members can be recommended more easily. This is what BNI is all about - generating business recommendations. Every BNI member knows other people in private and business life who need something. May it be a new bath in the parents’ home, an independent insurance check for the husband/wife, a printing company offering special papers for me as a graphic designer or an experienced divorce lawyer in case my best friend wants to get rid of her husband. 2. CONCRETE BUSINESS RECOMMENDATIONS INSTEAD OF "BLA BLA" Recommendations are mostly generated when there is a concrete request from somebody. My best friend wants to file for divorce - I know a lawyer who is specialised on divorces and I'm certain he knows his business well as I meet up with him every week for a business breakfast. 3. 100 % FREE OF COMMISSION It’s important to mention that all business recommendations are 100 % free of commission. (In case you might ask yourself now how the hell BNI finance themselves, you will find the answer further down in this article.) All profits generated by members are documented in writing (of course without looking into the members’ bookkeeping). Recommendations and 1-2-1 meetings are documented in writing too. (1-2-1 meetings are meetings of two BNI members to better get to know each others' businesses.) 4. STRUCTURE Everything within BNI is very structured and a lot gets documented as this is the best way to make successes visible. "My" chapter reached nearly 1 million Euros of commission-free turnover for the members within the first year. A great success! However, it has to be noted that there are entrepreneurs who had been working together before BNI. These turnovers would have also been generated without BNI, but they are still included in the BNI statistics. This is why BNI turnover statistics, that are forwarded to the press of course, have to be taken with a pinch of salt. 5. EXCLUSIVITY Another major aspect of BNI’s philosophy is that only one (!) member per industry is allowed. Hence: there is only 1 lawyer, 1 roofer, 1 physiotherapist, 1 graphic designer etc. This eliminates competition - in theory. The practice can look a bit different depending on the members. Read more about it further down in this article. MY BIGGEST BENEFIT FROM BNI My biggest benefit from BNI was the fact that I really learned how to present myself in front of others - face to face and short and snappy within 60 seconds (keyword "elevator pitch"). I had dealt with the elevator pitch before BNI, however, the weekly BNI breakfast forced me to present myself again and again. This "positive pressure" was really helpful. As an entrepreneur it’s really important to present yourself properly, BNI gives you the perfect training here. Another fantastic aspect of BNI is getting to know so many different entrepreneurs with so many different business backgrounds. Still now, I’m in contact with some BNI members - in private and business life. This is really nice. LET’S TALK ABOUT BUSINESS LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS How much did I benefit from the business network BNI in an economic way? When I calculate my hours spent for breakfasts, 1-2-1 meetings and booked jobs (recommendations to me that were converted into actual jobs) against the money earned, and then deduct my member fee (nearly 1,000 Euros per year) as well as the breakfast money (breakfast has to be paid separately every week), I have a positive balance bottom line. However, the hourly rate is only 23 Euro net. My regular hourly rate is 90 Euro net. You can certainly not compare this 1 to 1, but it’s still the most significant key figure and the comparison is fair after nearly two years of BNI membership. So from an economic/financial point of view, BNI was only little profitable for me. Speaking with other BNI members, I know that BNI is profitable for some and for some not. Precise questions like "what’s your financial benefit from BNI" were often followed by pondering silence and an answer like "well, you shouldn’t only see the money side of it, it’s also about the community". POWER TEAMS A BNI power team consists of BNI members within the same chapter that work in similar industries or have the same clients. A plumber, electrician and constructor would be a power team for instance. Or a graphic designer, online marketer, copywriter and PR consultant would be another great power team. Positive syngeries and a good collaboration is an ideal win-win situation for all. This is the theory. The practice unfortunately looks a little different sometimes. Like in every relationship, a win-win situation can only happen when everybody involved wants it. As soon as envy, jealousy or other negativities of the human character come into play, a power team is nipped in the bud. This then leads to valuable BNI members leaving the chapter, according to experienced BNI members. Understandable. For me, this was the decisive motivation to leave BNI. Several industries similar to my business and - thus - great for a power team were blocked by 1 person, false statements - disprovable with facts - being made by that 1 person, targeted manipulation of specific people by that 1 person, and several BNI members complaining about that 1 person had a negative influence on my positive attitude towards BNI. Investing energy and time in a dead end does neither reflect my entrepreneurial thinking nor my style. Enough is enough. WHO BNI IS BEST SUITED FOR BUSINESSES WITH A STRONG REGIONAL FOCUS It’s obvious that BNI members profit a lot from regionality. If you can offer your products or services mainly in your region only, BNI is perfect for you. To give you an example: A massage parlour based in Dublin targets people living in Dublin. A BNI chapter in Dublin is ideal here. A producer for digital fair stand solutions, whose clients are spread across the globe, might find hardly any new clients via his/her BNI chapter. Not only BNI members themselves are prospective clients, but also their contacts and their network. The possibility that a Dublin based massage parlour boss knows the marketing manager of a New York based real estate agency planning for a huge appearance on an international fair, is very limited (to stay with the example mentioned above). I’m not only talking about my own experiences here. I invited entrepreneurs who I’m friends with or who I’m well connected with, to BNI breakfasts and received feedbacks that were very similar. "Too little fish", "too much international focus", "too much time investment for too little business opportunities" were the responses I often got from entrepreneurs acting less regionally (CEO of a Europe-wide charter airline, international marketing agency with domestic offices and abroad etc.). START-UPS For start-ups, BNI might be the best place beneath the sun in order to build up a wide network of contacts > nothing superficial, but with substance due to the timely constant of a weekly breakfast. GROWTH VS. QUALITY Naturally, a BNI chapter aims to grow and acquire new members in order to fulfill industry gaps within the chapter. Every member pays an annual member fee, this is how BNI is financed. However, chapter growth also massively contributes to the chapter’s success. The more members, the more turnover. On the other hand, there is the quality of the chapter. Is it primarily about the amount of members? Or is it primarily about the quality of members, how much they contribute to the group and how professionally they work in their industry? This is for sure a balance act that is solved well in most cases, in my opinion. Every now and then I (and other members) recommended bad quality without knowing. This falls back on the person who recommended, of course. But in general, chapter growth vs. chapter quality works quite well, I think. CONCLUSION BNI is intense. I’m not talking about the money you have to invest, I’m talking about the time you have to invest. For the breakfast, networking before and afterwards and other meetings you have to calculate at least four hours per week (forget 1.5 to 2 hours per week, it will definitely be more, trust me). Every week. You have to think thoroughly about that. From an economic point of view, it’s worth a try - mostly for local/regional businesses and start-ups I would say. From a personal point of view, you’ll really learn how to present yourself much better than ever before. #bni #entrepreneurship #business #networking

… exhausting, time-consuming and costy. Let’s face it. All your social media profiles, your own blog, your website, your podcast or wherever you may surf on the world wide web: marketing gurus keep telling us to regularly generate and spread high-quality content. "High-quality" means content that can’t be found anywhere else and providing additional value for the content’s consumers - either as text, picture, audio or video. I regularly produce new content providing additional value, which cannot (or can hardly) be found anywhere else. I’ve been doing that for seven years. And yes: it is exhausting, time-consuming and costy. Every time I read "content generation" in my calender, I’m swearing. Honestly. But after all these years I can say: it is paying off in the long run. You "only" have to have stamina and creativity! OUTSOURCING OR DOING IT YOURSELF? Here and there, ghostwriters send me a request to write for me. Of course, you can outsource content generation. However, I personally don’t like that idea, to be very honest. My business is called HCG corporate designs, whereas HCG are my initials (Helene Clara Gamper). I believe, people visiting my website want to read content created by me in person. Also, my content is very specific and requires specific knowledge. Me explaining my skills to a ghostwriter would probably be as time-consuming as generating the content myself. Also, I would feel like a scammer pretending an article is from me, but it’s not. Authenticity is important. HOW TO PUT THIS PLAN INTO ACTION Every year, I produce approx. five new topics: as text for my website (hello to Google crawling!), as text in a PDF download on my website (handy for people who prefer to consume my content offline), as video (for Youtube and embedded in my website; handy for people who prefer to watch a video rather than reading a text), some topics as podcast (for podcast subscribers and embedded on my website; handy for people who let’s say sit in the car a lot listening to podcasts or audio books); every topic twice: in German and English language. If you know my tip section , you can maybe imagine how much work sticks behind all that. Again: I produce all of this content myself. As a single entrepreneur with mostly a full schedule, it’s not so easy to regularly create new, unique content. I’m sure you would like to know how I do this - without stressing out ;-) MY STRATEGY Here we go: Every time a good content topic idea comes to my mind, I write it down. Every year (yes, really every year!) I block two full weeks for content generation (7 days per week x approx. 8 hours per day). In my case, this is 25 December to 6 January. Around this time, people are in Christmas mode, I don’t get calls and emails, nobody disturbs me and I can fully concentrate on two weeks of non-stop working. Yes, I skip my Christmas holidays, but I have to be willing to bite this bullet. No pain, no gain! These two weeks of the year are solely reserved for my own content generation for the upcoming twelve months. Just the video productions I have to coordinate with the filming company. We normally shoot these approx. ten videos (5 topics x 2 languages each) within one day in January, which costs me a four-figure amount of money. The new content I then put on my website and I upload the videos on Youtube, so that I can then spread it on social media throughout the year. You see, Christmas - NYE - Twelfth Day holiday, this is my "hot phase" for content. ;-) This is the only way it works for me as I don’t have time for it during the year. Many businesses don’t have the resources for content creation because they are busy with their normal, "paid" work. This is normal. But: When you block content generation once or twice a year, you can do it! This is the key to sustainable and successful content generation, in my opinion. WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THIS CONTENT? The content is created - yipiiee! The biggest chunk of work is done. But one thing is still missing: You need some sort of editorial plan or concept to plan what to do with all this content. I always print a day calender for the upcoming twelve months (3 months on 1 sheet) and write down, which piece of content I post on which day. Also the topics should go well together. Let me give you an example: I post 3 x a week - on Twitter, LinkedIn, Xing and Facebook (I uploaded all of my new videos to Youtube already in January). Analysis tools help me to find out which days and times work best for my postings (most interactions, most of my followers online). I note down the best three times (i.e. Twitter: Mondays at 15:00, Wednesdays at 16:50, Thursdays at 17:00; Facebook: Thursdays at 16:15, Fridays at 18:00, Sundays at 21:00; etc.). I save these times as a reminder in my calendar. In addition to that, I pre-create postings on Facebook and schedule them to be automatically posted at certain times. This gives me some freedom and let’s me enjoy a weekend off. There are also automation tools in which you inject your postings upfront and those tools automatically do the social media postings for you. This is handy. I currently prefer to post manually, though, in most cases to force myself to check my social media profiles regularly and answer to comments for example. Otherwise, I would probably skip social media altogether and wouldn't bother any more. So I need to trick out myself here and there a little bit. Besides that, I block topics. This means, I post like this: infographic video 1, infographic client project A, infographic video 2, infographic client project B, link to my "infographic light" shop on my website etc. . A logical order of postings is important. WHAT CAN BE USED AS CONTENT? Besides regular, new articles and videos, I also work with a blog and post once a month (like this blog article that you are reading right now). Also here, I often pre-write articles three to four months in advance, if possible. That takes out the stress and allows me to post a blog article also when I would not have time for creating content. I admit, I have one big advantage: In my business, there are not many daily news. And if there is something that is time-sensitive, I can share it on my blog or write a short post on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. Seven years of content creation means I have a lot of material I can still use today. Here and there, I update a blog article. Alongside with new client projects presented in my portfolio , this makes a fantastic content marketing mix: articles from my blog archive, new blog articles, client projects from my portfolio (old and new ones), quotes (as plain picture postings), videos, whitepapers, shop links, press articles and very important: great content from other people and entrepreneurs that I love sharing! MY - SO FAR - MOST SUCCESSFUL CONTENT About five years ago, I produced a video entitled "How I create an infographic" . Until now, it has reached about 43,000 views. Important to mention here: These are 100 % organic clicks! This video never ran through a paid marketing campaign. The video was shared and embedded on other websites, what I didn’t realise in the beginning. The only thing I remember recognising is the number of views going up rapidly. Much later I found out how many times the video had been shared. Then I received a few emails from design students from all over the world (mainly from India), sending me their infographic drafts and asking me for my opinion. One day, I even received an email from an Indian professor teaching design at a university who thanked me for the video and told me that my video was being used in his class to educate his students. I also got some job applications from designers who wanted to work for me. This still puts a smile on my face today. AND NOW IT’S YOUR TURN I hope, I could show you a method to regularly and sustainably generate content without stress and you can incorporate this in your business routine. I wish you a lot of success with it! If you need design help with it, please don’t hesitate to get in touch . I’ll be happy to help you. #marketing #timemanagement #content #onlinemarketing #online

Do you lack time? Do you want to be informed about latest news that you are really interested in? In real time? Then I can recommend Feedly . With Feedly, you are the editor-in-chief and can manually pick topics that you really want to read - all in one place. You basically subscribe to your desired topics and media/publishers and get the latest articles delivered right into your feed in real time. You can determine the look of your feed yourself (more or less compact, text-only mode, magazine style or card design). Interesting: You see when articles were published - i.e. 1 day ago (1d), 4 hours ago (4h) or 2 hours ago (2h). You can read the article/s you want to read - some articles are shorter, some longer. By tapping the check mark you can mark articles in your feed as read which removes them from your feed. The screen gets fed with new material. What I also like a lot is a message like "that’s it for today", as soon as you’ve marked all latest articles in your feed as read. This gives me a good feeling - what a lovely user experience! I’m happy with the free version as it has a lot to offer already. Wherever I am, on the crosstrainer in the gym, waiting in an airport hall, my iPad with Feedly is my loyal companion. "Feedly, I love you!" PS: Thanks to Oliver Feldkircher from digiPULS who introduced me to Feedly! PPS: This is no paid advertisement. I don’t get paid for this blog article. I purely wrote this article because I find Feedly simply fantastic. 0% advertisement, but 100% enthusiasm. #timemanagement

Have you seen that dark yellow status bar in your Google+ profile? Saying that your Google+ page and other Google+ pages managed by you will be deleted on 2 April 2019? Do you even have a Google+ profile? No? I admit, you have not really missed something. However, if you do have a Google+ profile, then, well … you will for sure not miss it. Your life and online reputation (for some people the same, unfortunately) will not be dismantled - your Google ranking won’t be neither. The official statement reads like this . Google+ will be discontinued from 2 April 2019. My first reaction was: Yessss, one platform less I have to care about. And how do you feel about this information? Experience has shown that a social media tiredness is spreading. I’m not talking about myself alone, but in general. When I talk about social networks with other agencies, entrepreneurs or other people from my private background, I have been hearing more or less the same thing: "It’s okay, but it takes a lot of time which I prefer to invest in other, more useful things." Even young people ("twens") prefer to be on platforms like Snapchat or Instagram, where everything is more fast-paced, picture-heavy and less "rigid" compared to let’s say Facebook for instance. I always found Google+ a bit complicated, thinking about the different circles and groups. I decided to ignore that quite quickly - for time reasons (I’m honest here). The +1’s were nice, but nothing different than a "Like" on Facebook. THE GOOGLE+ PERFORMANCE COMPARED TO FACEBOOK & CO. The thing with social networks is this: It only works well if "everybody" is engaging with it regularly. And if "everybody" is engaging in "every" social platform, you might end up in some kind of social media burnout. "Social media detoxing" is becoming a trend (yes, it is - google it! ). All the likes, shares and so on are becoming more and more inflationary and thus lose value. One question comes up considering the amount of social media platforms: Where do I focus on as a user? On something that offers me additional value. For most businesses it is a big time killer that can indeed pay off in the B2C sector; but in the B2B sector, the extra income does not pay for the extra resources needed. Reason being: a Like or +1 (or however you want to call it) is nice, but does not directly bring you profit. If (!) done well, it can for sure contribute to increase revenue in the middle and long run as the brand and the image are supported. But Google+ hardly played a role in this respect. Every beginning is difficult, sure. But - after several years - not being in the digital homo sapiens’ subjective awareness like where Facebook is (or used to be), might be hard to take for the internet giant Google. WAS GOOGLE+ OF ADVANTAGE TO ME? I’m quite active on social networks - mostly to spread my content , keep my followers and network posted about latest projects and news and to share interesting articles from other people and companies. This works quite well - for my image, my reach and thus for my own brand reputation in the middle and long run. However, after several years of experience, I can say: Google+ has only contributed to a tiny fraction of all of my interactions on my social profiles; with the same amount of effort and postings. Google+ was stagnating from the start and never experienced a positive trend upwards in all those years. Was Google+ of advantage to me? Not really. So I won’t miss Google+ at all. WHICH SOCIAL PLATFORM WORKS BEST FOR ME What works best for me, is Youtube . Every year, it costs me a four-figure amount of money for professional video productions, a lot of time and energy. But it massively contributes to transforming leads into fans. Can Youtube be considered a social network? Rather yes than no, as you can comment, subscribe to channels, click on "thumb up" or "thumb down". The additional value is clear: streaming video material independently from place and time. And you must not forget about another - very important - fact: Youtube belongs to Google and is the second largest search engine on the internet, right after Google. #google #socialmedia

Multi-issue apps contain several catalogues or magazine issues within one app. In such apps, it’s possible to feature an issue by displaying it in a larger size at the top of the app. For two of my clients, it looks like this: The last example shows a login bar at the top of the screen. For this client, I included a login function for existing subscribers of the print magazine. When purchasing a print subscription, the reader is allocated a user name and password which he can use to log in the app to get access to the app magazines - without paying extra for them. Besides that, it’s also possible to buy separate magazine issues from within the app without having to purchase a subscription. As the app developer, I send push notifications (like a whatsapp or SMS) to all mobile devices in the name of my client (the publisher in most cases). This way, I can additionally promote every issue. This works of course for Android, iOS, tablets and phones. The reader swipes once and opens up the equivalent magazine issue. You can find more information on my app magazine service by clicking here . #app #magazine

Austrians have a big problem: they too often lack self-confidence. THE DILEMMA In the German-speaking area, innovation is sometimes not appreciated unless success is following a long time after the innovation happened. Looking back then, the "typical" Austrian is proud of successful people taking risks. Woe, the innovation does not lead to success (which is the risk you take of course) - then Austrians quickly say "we knew it, what a lot of shit." Too often, Austrians don’t appreciate an Austrian export until it’s appreciated abroad. EXAMPLES FROM REAL LIFE Do you remember Conchita Wurst ? No matter how much you like (or don’t like) the artist Conchita. It is a fact that most Austrians sneered at her before winning the Eurovision Song Contest . Austrians needed the title "ESC winner" to realise that Conchita is a great export made in Austria. Many Austrians completely changed their opinion about Conchita from the moment of winning the ESC. Another example is a colleague and friend who works as a coach and speaker. She told me that she would be hired more in Germany than in her home country Austria. "A prophet has no honor in his own country, it’s really funny." (O-tone over a lunch in spring 2017). DOUBLE STANDARD IN THE MEDIA The Tyrolean business magazine "econova" published an issue titled "Progress needs innovation - pleading for more courage" in November 2017. Such a cover is good for the image and gets more readers. However, practice looks a bit different. A completely new and innovative product (Tirol Box), that was praised by local businesses, national and international clients , Austria Marketing and politicians , got quite an odd quarter page in an "econova" in 2016 with a slightly negative comment at the end á la "Let’s see, if that even works." True to the motto "progress needs innovation - but we still don’t really like that". Part of "econova"’s editorial team is friends with people close to Tirol Werbung, an advertising company which is often faced with negative criticism among Tyrolean businesses for good reason. In Novmeber 2016, Tirol Werbung almost copied a press release by Tirol Box published a month before. Another evidence for the double standard of local media when speaking about innovation. It’s sad to see how people and media claim themselves to be innovative and future-orientated whilst lacking the courage and strength to act this way themselves. HOW SELF-CONFIDENCE MAKES PEOPLE SUCCESSFUL Another example from my business shows how important it is to set the course for one’s future early enough: Many years ago, I started to thoroughly deal with the topics "app magazines" and "infographics". Back then, I was one of the very few graphic designers in the German-speaking area even caring about that. There was no real education for these topics then. So I had to invest many weeks to teach myself a lot, asked many detailed questions and investigated in many areas, until my perfectionism told me "yep, now it’s time to go into live mode with app magazines and infographics." Initially, people around me used to say "why are you investing time here, don’t do that". But I staid confident that all the effort will pay off one day. I didn’t allow others to destroy my vision. Now, many years later, I know how important it was to invest so much time and effort and that it was the right decision. Nowadays, app magazines and infographics make up for about 30 % of my annual income. Another example is my former side-job/hobby that I did for about 7 years: until approx. 2010/2011 I used to DJ because I simply loved being creative with music. Back then, a female DJ was an exception and a bit "strange". In my first years as a DJ, I was touring in Austria, in the last years of my DJ career I toured internationally (Brazil, India, Vietnam, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Italy etc.). Ever since I got appreciated on a more global scale, people in Austria took me more serious and changed their opinion about me as a female DJ from "what does she want here" to "wow, her music is really great, respect". The music genre didn’t change, my style didn’t change, only the audience changed from local to global - and all of a sudden I was "hip" in Austria too. WHY IS THAT? It seems that Austrians need mental confirmation from outside (also by Germans by the way) for us to follow and be brave enough to like something that actually comes from our own country. Maybe this lack of self-confidence has something to do with envy too, as we live in quite an envious society in Germany and Austria. Could it even be that envy is based on a lack of self-confidence? CONCLUSION After many trips abroad (for business and private reasons) and getting to know many people from different countries, I have to say that us Austrians really have a big problem with ourselves. Where is the self-confidence? I don’t miss the self-confidence among innovators, they are confident enough to try something new in an environment with many negative people that often diss you when you don’t follow set paths. I miss the self-confidence among the mainstream. The mainstream of people that should value and praise good business people trying out new things. Without courage and innovation we would still live in caves. In this scenario us Austrians would moan and say "Damn, it’s so f*cking uncomfortable in this cave! It’s time for somebody to invent something more cosy." This blog article does not only portray my own opinion and experiences, by the way. When I speak with people - may it be in a business or private aspect - I often hear the same things and I realise that many Austrians are annoyed by the lacking self-confidence among us. In addition to that, our tax and social insurance politics are sometimes too short-sighted, which makes some good people want to move abroad. Understandably. This is a shame. For the self-confidence of our nation. And it is sad. For the economic output resulting from that. We need a new entrepreneurial culture. Absolutely. #entrepreneurship