WEEK 11
Can we talk about how GOOD it feels to get a beautifully designed invitation to a party or celebration?
There’s something so exciting and fun about invitations - they are full of positive energy and give us so much to look forward to.
I think we automatically associate invitations with good things because the people who put the time and effort into great invitations are (most likely) going to put in a ton of time and effort into the event itself.
Everyone likes a celebration - even if it’s not the most epic or the most luxe or the most amazing - people simply love to be a part of something fun with people they enjoy.
I came to this realization about invitations a few years ago and, like a lot of light-bulb moments, it led to an insight about my business: I should be thinking about my contact with others (on behalf of my business) as an invitation.
Shifting your “sales” mindset to an invitation mindset can make a huuuuge difference in the way you sell and promote your business.
After all, we work hard on our products, offerings, and services. They rock, right?!
We should be inviting people to participate in these things with us.
We should be asking them if they want to come celebrate the great stuff we have going on.
We should be treating our work like the excellence it is!
At the heart of this “invitation” mindset is something that took me a looong time to learn: I shouldn’t be trying to convince people that what I have to offer is “enough” for them to pay attention or spend money.
I’ve got to treat what I make and produce as if it is truly excellent (because it is!) and invite people to share or participate with me.
Using the concept of invitations has really helped me to change the way I think about selling and promoting my business, encouraging me to communicate my fun, positive, joyful business to others in an engaging way.
That simple change in approach creates a monumental change in response.
Which leads me to this week’s assignment…
Your assignment: Design an invitation for your business (for a specific type of person, to a specific offering).
Thought starters: Your goal is to be thinking about sales with an “invitation mindset” so you want to get pretty granular and specific about how you want people to respond. Should they be visiting your new website? Buying something from your online shop? Signing up for an online course?
This can go so many ways! The important part of this assignment is using the language and positive associations of invitations to shift your mindset away from the “skeezy sales” trope and to start thinking about your work - and your potential clients or customers - in a positive light.
Start by assuming that people are going to love it. Expect that they will be so excited to receive an invite to something you put work and care and good energy into!
Here are some ideas to get your brain moving:
You Are Cordially Invited to Inquire About My Branding Design Services
Please Join Us in Celebrating the Launch of Our Updated Shop
Save the Date! Get Your Glasses + Pens Ready for a Virtual Sip and Scrawl
Caption ideas: In the caption, talk about your “event” in more detail. Why are you excited about it? What do you have planned for everyone? Will there be food? A special guest? Take the analogy as far as you can.
Avoid reassuring language and stick to excitement. This is the place to really hone in on that mindset shift from “is it enough?!” to “this party’s gonna be fabulous”.
Creative tip: Invitations are a specific design combination of text and visuals. Neither should overpower the other. Try to strike a balance between visuals that successfully communicate the mood of your “event” and text that relays the most important information.
If you find yourself really inspired by a visual concept OR if you have a lot of text, try to go beyond that simple rectangular space. For example, if you have a lot of text try to split it up into different pieces. Consider an invitation “suite” similar to the invite packets that are sometimes sent out for weddings.
Resources: Browse invitation websites for inspiration regarding language. The text on an invitation often communicates as much as the design itself!
Don’t forget to tag me @homsweethom and use the #HOMwork & #HOMwork2021 hashtag when you post on Instagram. I love looking through your excellent creations and sharing a few of my favs every week in my IG Stories before the next assignment is posted.
