Based on some of the things I’ve got planned for the near future, I’ve decided to change up the look of Ignite Living a bit. The new design is more of a spit polish than an entire overhaul, ‘cause who’s got time for redesigning their own site, right?

It might interest you to know the conversation I had with myself and what inspired the new design, so here goes:

One upon a time I woke up and was surfing around the site. As I’m looking around it dawned on me that IgniteLiving is a bit…pale. There’s not much of an “ignite” feel going on here, is there? No…this is about as ignited as a pad of college-rule paper in the backpack of some kid who just got a swirly. (That’s the old Bully-Puts-Your-Head-in-the-Toilet gag, for you non-Americans.)

And what’s with that logo? Was that stolen from a cabbage farmer in the early 1800’s? We definitely need to give that a more Web 2.0 feel, maybe add some shine and dimension.

Wait…ahem…isn’t Web 2.0 over? (Quick search of Google.)

Yes, it appears Web 2.0 is over. Okay. So I guess we do the new logo with Web 3.0 style! Yay! (Crowd goes wild!)

Wait…what’s Web 3.0? (Quick search of Google.)

Shit…I don’t know what Web 3.0 is. Hey, here’s an idea! Let’s do Web 2.0 instead! (Crowd silently munches its popcorn.)

Now that I’m done lying, let me explain…

While the majority of my bread and butter comes from my web design biz, more and more is coming from this site and/or services related to it. I think I may be the only blog owner on the planet who can never write anything ever and still have people coming around all the time. (I love you guys.)

There’s a small but insanely devoted bunch of folks who follow this site and send me emails like, “Dude…you need to write more,” and “Dude…seriously, you need to write more,” and “Dude…are you writing yet?”

There are also less annoying followers who say things like, “I need help with something,” and “My business ain’t so hot. What do I do about that? Figure it out and I’ll give you lots of monies.” And I help them. They like it and I like it and that works out the way it should.

However, I find that often I am answering the same old questions. That’s all fine, as I’m very well aware that they are NEW questions to those asking and that’s the important part of the equation. Nonetheless, as a time- and sanity-saving measure, I’m going to be rolling out some books, mini-courses about various business aspects, a newsletter…the works.

Do we really need another newsletter?

No, you don’t really need another one, but you’ll actually want mine. I know that everyone’s got a newsletter nowadays. And I know that most people who sign up for newsletters really only want the bonus you get for signing up. To battle that, I will be publishing a newsletter that is fast, intelligent, concise and funny as shit. You will like it. And you will get discounts on all the things I produce in the future: books, mini-courses…all that other stuff I mentioned.

And yes, of course. You will also get the obligatory bonus for signing up. Can you guess what it is?

A large pile of money, maybe? No, that’s a terrible guess.

Remember the Human’s Guide to Freelance Living book that I published about 1,000 years ago? The one that was downloaded approximately 30 berzillion times?

Well, the new version is nearly finished. Not only is it just as good as it was, it’s better, bigger, longer and has a higher A-ha Moment to Page Count ratio than any other book in my house. AND it’s illustrated. By me.

In summary

So, that’s about it for now. Keep track of me by Subscribing and you won’t miss what’s coming up.

Oh…and this coming Wednesday is a post you’re not gonna want to miss: Do you have “Look Over There!” Syndrome? Sounds silly, but it’s not, as it’s THE answer to why people don’t accomplish what they set out to. For all the screwing around I do here, this one is deadly serious. Don’t miss it!

Cheers, gang!

Yeah, I know. I disappeared. Again. I tend to do that from time to time, as Ye Olde Readers surely know by now.

Where have I been this time? Traveling the world? Slaying dragons in the Far East? Racing fast cars in Europe? Nope, mostly I’ve been here in Seattle, working hard at my web design business. That’s not an excuse, I know. There are a lot of people who have jobs AND keep up a blog. I clearly am not one of them. At least not since last August. Here’s why:

Short version: I wanted to make six-figures.

Longer version (get comfy):

My last post was August 5th. That date is my mother’s birthday, and in the midst of our celebrations, she said, “Hey…didn’t you start your business a year ago?”

Mom was right. She shares a birthday with Charfish, my design biz.

And I went, “Huh. Yeah. I’ve been fully self-employed for a year. I didn’t even starve to death.”

And that was that. I didn’t give it another thought for a couple days ’til I was on my way back home from the parents’ place.

The drive back from Mom and Dad’s is five hours, and I love it. I do all my best thinking in the car with the stereo cranked up somewhere between 11 and infinity.

On this particular drive, I started thinking about my job as a self-employed designer. And as I drove I became more and more surprised.

When I’d dropped out of corporate America a year earlier, these were stone-cold certainties to me:

• I’m dead.
• I’ll starve.
• This is stupid.
• Artists don’t make money.
• I’m dead.

Yet, here I was alive and well.

As I drove and looked back over the year I saw things had been quite good. I wasn’t stressed out, I’d given money to charity, traveled a bit, wasted ungodly amounts of time when a new Xbox game hooked me like a crack addict, played too much guitar, spent far too much time in the gym, left every single workday for three hours to donate my time to causes I care about, went shooting with my dad, watched boats go by, climbed rocks…the list goes on.

I never thought I’d have clients, much less 70+ over the course of the year. I never thought I’d really help anyone out, but I’ve got a folder of happy emails from clients. I never thought it would happen for me.

Actually, that’s a lie. I’m very stubborn and I knew everything would be fine. But you still worry, right?

Anyway, I’d set out on this business adventure thinking I’d be pinching every last penny, and didn’t realize for a whole twelve months that everything was damn peachy.

I discovered Chris Guillebeau somewhat late in this process, but he’s right: Artists can do it.

The old worries have been replaced by a new stone-cold certainty:

Holy shit I’m an artist and somehow I’d survived a whole year despite that fact.

How fascinating. What’s the point?

I was explaining why I disappeared. Well, honestly, I wanted to make six-figures. For no other reason than in terms of money six is better than five and it sounds kind of cool. And I’d never done it before. So I disappeared to do that.

Well, I did it. Big deal, right?

So now what?

Well, this is where it gets good. (Took me long enough, eh?)

The past year is an impossibility. There’s no way it could have happened. A person like me, an artist, can’t make money. Especially when these facts are true:

• I have one advertisement out that costs me $100 a month
• I don’t regularly post on any of my sites
• My posts don’t get put on Digg or any other social media site
• My blogs don’t get a lot of comments
• I’m not on the Top 1,000 of any list anywhere
• I comment on other people’s blogs maybe 5-10 times a year

But yet the year just passed belies all that. And somehow, by a lot of industry and perhaps a little magic, things turned out alright.

There is a lot more that goes into it of course, and that brings us to the point.

Wait…you still haven’t gotten to the point yet?

The point is I want your help.

I don’t know everything there is to know about business, art, or having an art business. But nor was last year anything to complain about either. So…that said, I’m creating a course for artists. Or more accurately, people with an art.

And I want to know what you need help with.

The course will be roughly 50% stuff I’ve learned through the school of hard-knocks and think you need to know, and the other 50% will be stuff you feel you need help with.

That last 50% is where you come in.

I want to know if you really care.

If you were to meet an artist in a coffee shop and ask him/her ________, how would you fill in that blank?

What do you want to know? What are your business questions? What is the thought that haunts you when you lay down for the night? What are the ideas you have about your art or industry? Can’t be done? No money in it? The Oompa-Loompas have that market cornered?

Ask me.

If I don’t know I’ll tell you so.

But if I do know, hell, you’re going to be immortalized in a chapter or two.

I’ve posted this question elsewhere and I’ve had plenty of answers, so it’s likely you’re not alone with your questions.

Don’t be shy. If it’s a question you have, it’s a question a lot of people have, maybe even me.

Seriously, this is your cue. Are you curious about SEO keywords? Whether or not web design matters?

Are you curious if anyone cares about your product or craft? Wondering if RSS numbers matter? Curious about whether or not you really need to be a punk rocker to make dough?

Just curious as to how I did it? Want to hear what it was like?

Let me know. You can ask me anything. Don’t be shy.

Please comment below and let me know what you think. Or send me an email if there’s something you want to say under the radar.

Sounds like you have a bee in your bonnet. What’s the problem?

I do have a bit of a bee in my bonnet, and I’ll tell you more about it next week (Subscribe) but for now, let’s just say this:

I don’t like misinformation. I see a lot of stuff floating around on Twitter, and other places, that is 180 degrees backwards. And when these things come from the mouth of an authority, you can be certain a lot of people are struggling to make sense of it.

A now a note from the heart

I’ve missed you guys. A lot.

While I make most of my money as a designer, I actually consider myself a writer first and foremost.

Thanks for your patience in my absence everyone. And thanks for the emails. I’m glad you missed me. And I’m sorry you had to.

Microsoft proves why traditional marketing still doesn’t work

I can picture it now. It’s early morning and the marketing reps of Microsoft are gathered in a room to discuss the new tagline that will grace their commercials and billboards over the coming months.

The lights in the room are dimmed and there’s a PowerPoint slideshow glowing on the front wall.

The room goes dark as each new slide fades in.

“Great computers. Great possibilities,” reads the first slide. This gets some nods.

“Even lettuce likes Microsoft,” reads the next. “Interesting,” says one of the marketing guys, “but too…mmmm…organic. Next.”

“Where would you be without Microsoft? Eff’ed, that’s where!” reads the next slide. “Aggressive, bold…I like it,” says one exec.

“Life without walls” reads the next slide. “Wait!” says the lead marketer dude. “This one’s got real promise!”

And thus a new tagline is born.

What is a tagline and what does it do?

A tagline is a pithy, concise and descriptive explanation of you and your brand. It can be on a website, billboard, in a commercial, etc. The point is, it explains your whole raison d’etre in a line or two.

Here are some examples I’m making up off the top of my genius marketing head:

“We do web design” is a good tagline. It lacks punch and memorability, but at least it says what they do. When in doubt about using something cute or straightforward like this one, go for straightforward. Always.

“Saving you money. Every day.” Good tagline. These guys can save me money. When? Every day. I like it, and I’m interested.

“Stuck with a lousy husband? Don’t worry. We specialize in assassination.” Perfect tagline. Memorable. Funny. Descriptive and you know exactly what they can do for you.

“Tips for simple, productive and happy living.” My own tagline for IgniteLiving. Sort of blandish maybe, but you know you’re not on a site about gardening or funeral services.

And then there’s Microsoft and their new tagline.

Mikrozoft is teh epic marketing fail

Life without walls.

What does that even mean?

If I were to guess, I’d say life without walls means you’re homeless.

Or maybe it means you’re stranded in the desert. Or possibly you fell off a boat and are now surrounded by circling sharks who seem to have taken a liking to your cologne.

Ironically, it also means you can’t actually use Microsoft products, because without walls there are no electrical outlets and you can’t plug the fuckers in.

Life without walls is stupid. Really stupid. It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t promise anything. It’s not memorable, other than the fact that I keep seeing it everywhere and thinking, “I can’t believe someone actually got paid to think of that.”

But of course, it’s not all bad. The silver lining to this brief tale is that I have a brilliant idea for a new Microsoft slogan:

“Microsoft…because sometimes you just get sick of stuff being awesome.”