Image by mickey van der stap via Flickr
With so much sensationalism and tragedy, it can be easy to tire of reading the news. But the news can be an excellent resource for graphic designers and marketers. Here are five reasons why you should be reading the news.
1. Capitalize on stories
When a major story breaks, you can profit by designing related materials or marketing your company along a parallel story line.
2. Generate new ideas
Simply browsing headlines can be enough to inspire you to conceive a new design style or marketing strategy.
3. Identify opportunities
Watch the business and classifieds sections for companies that need graphic design services. Find undiscovered target customer bases in the lifestyle and features for your products and services. Advertise and sell.
4. Study the competition
Scour the news and photos for mentions of your main competitors to find out what they’re doing. Then use the information to your advantage.
5. Discover new tools
Read industry-related publications to learn about new tools that can increase your efficiency, return on investment, and your bottom line.
Try reading new publications from similar industries to find overlapping opportunities. You should also skim news you’re normally not interested in; you’ll be surprised at how many opportunities you discover. And if you’re used to reading your news digitally, try picking up a few newspapers and magazines. The various interests represented in such publications can expose you to new ideas that might not cross your mind if you only read the same material.
Start thinking of reading the news as an investment in your own profits, and it can quickly become a go-to source for inspiration.
Guest Author Brian Morris writes for the PsPrint Design & Printing Blog. PsPrint is an online commercial printing company. Follow PsPrint on Twitter @PsPrint and Facebook.
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