For today’s design blog interview I had the privilege of speaking with Steven Snell. You can find his articles on most high profile design blogs but mainly he is the man behind 2 extremely popular design related blogs – Vandelay Design and Designm.ag. I hope you’ll enjoy todays interview with Steven in which we discuss blogging, design and what the future holds for him.
Can you begin by explaining a little about your background? Where are you from? How did you get your start as a designer and blogger?
I live in New Jersey (US) just outside of Philadelphia. I got started designing websites about 7 years ago when I took a basic course on web design my senior year of college. We learned HTML and table-based design and by the end of the semester I was able to design a very basic site. We didn’t learn any CSS, so after that I started learning at my own pace with the help of some books and a lot of online tutorials.
Design Interview - Steven Snell
You have quite a variety of successful blogs but why do you think that your 2 main blogs (vandelay and designm.ag) have become so popular? At what point did you realize that blogging had really started to pay off for you and your business? What do you do on a regular basis to increase your popularity?
I started to realize the potential of blogging when I had a few posts at Vandelay Design that made the front page of Delicious. Those posts received a good bit of traffic for a site that had never had more than a handful of visitors in a day. I started to use the blog as a way to get people to the site in hopes of getting more inquiries for design work, which I did. After a while I decided that I liked blogging as much or more than designing sites for clients, so I started using ads to monetize the site so I wouldn’t have to rely on design services exclusively as a way to make money from the site (at that time I had a full time job and designing/blogging was part-time).
I’d say whatever success I have had with my blogs is primarily the result of consistent effort. Ever since I got the first rush of traffic I have always put in a consistent effort to continually improve the blog(s). It’s been a learning experience, I didn’t know anything about blogging when I started, so I’ve had plenty of terrible posts and mistakes along the way, but I’ve just stayed focused on improving.
The only thing I really do on a regular basis to increase the popularity of my blogs at this point is content development. I also do a good bit of networking with other designers and bloggers, but that is something that takes place naturally, not something I set out to do each day.
Design Interview - Steven Snell
Your eye for design and attention to detail is clear when we look at your lists of top sites in each category as well as your posts on web resources, how do you keep tabs on everything that you find and how do you find your favorite sites?
Well I started five gallery sites over the summer and they help me to keep tabs on some of the stuff that I find. For example, if I’m trying to remember what portfolio sites really impressed me, I can simply go to Folio Focus (http://foliofocus.com) and they are all right there for me. Although gallery sites do take some work to maintain, they are helpful for organizing sources of inspiration. Other that that, I use Delicious to keep tabs on things and I also have a running list of sites that I come across. I have a bunch of categories and when I find something special I just paste the URL in the list.
As far as finding the sites, I get a ton of submissions to my gallery sites, plus I also subscribe to about 10 galleries aside from my own.
Design Interview - Steven Snell
How has blogging affected your design business ? Has blogging opened up possibilities that you might not have had otherwise or are the two kept separate? If you had to choose one, which would it be?
Blogging has definitely opened up a lot of opportunities for me. In most months I make more money from advertisements on blogs than I do from design services, plus I have done a lot of freelance blogging in the past for sites like Smashing Magazine, PSDTUTS, Webdesigner Depot and several others. If I had to choose between designing and blogging I would probably choose designing if I could work on some of my own sites/projects. I don’t have any desire to spend all of my time designing for clients and I also don’t have any desire to spend all of my time writing blog posts.
Design Interview - Steven Snell
Of all your projects, which do you spend most of your time with, what parts are most time consuming and what do you wish you had more time for?
For the last few months DesignM.ag takes up more of my time than any other projects. I publish more frequently there, plus I moderate the community news and the job board. I wish I had more time for everything! I have a number of things that I’d like to do with both of my blogs, plus I’d like to spend more time on the galleries, and I have a few other projects that I want to start but don’t have the time (one has been on hold for over a year).
Design Interview - Steven Snell
What tools are essential and a must have for you on a regular basis. Online and offline
Some of the sites/tools/apps that I use everyday: WordPress, Photoshop, Delicious, TweetDeck, Fanurio (time tracking and invoicing), BuySellAds, and probably some other stuff that I’m forgetting.
Design Interview - Steven Snell
What does a typical day consist of for you?
Each day is a little bit different. A fairly typical day includes getting started by checking/responding to email, moderating comments, and updating gallery sites. Then most of the day working on new blog posts (I try to get posts done early in the week and client work later in the week, if it’s not urgent). When I have personal projects that require extra attention, like a site re-design, I’ll try to block off days with no other work.
Design Interview - Steven Snell
What big things can we expect from you going into 2010?
I have a new gallery site for icons that I’ll be launching before 2010, probably in the next week. I have two projects that I’ll be working on early in 2010. One is a revamp of the DesignM.ag job board, there are a few improvements that I’d like to make. Also, I plan to launch a new site that will be a part of the network of gallery sites. It won’t be a gallery site itself, but it will be related. That is a few months away.
Design Interview - Steven Snell
The cliched but very important final question – What advice would you give to any aspiring blogger looking to make it in the industry?
My best advice is to put in a consistent effort and give it time. I’ve seen so many talented people want to make an income as a blogger, but they don’t have the patience or the willingness to put in the work at the front end. Building a successful blog from scratch requires a lot of effort before you will get much out of it. If you go in with a long-term focus and a plan to dedicate time each day or each week, you will be able to reach your goals.
Design Interview - Steven Snell