Many of you may not yet know Gino Orlandi, but if you are interested in graphic design there is a good chance you know his site youthedesigner.com.  Gino is a self proclaimed “internet entrepreneur” with the soul of a graphic designer and an entreprenuerial spirit.  Gino, has recently been willing to take some time out of his busy day as a student, designer, and web entrepreneur to sit down with me and answer some of those burning questions about what has made him and his sites so successful. But before we get into it lets take a look at what he has done.

Gino currently runs 3 websites 2 of which are growing quickly and producing high quality content with a strong fan base the third being an extremely professional portfolio site.  The first I already mentioned www.youthedesigner.com  a weblog dedicated to bringing you quality content about graphic design tools, tips, and whats new in the niche.  You The Designer is unique and informative in many ways which is why he currently has over 1,800 people that subscribe to his blog on a daily basis.  One of my favorite parts is how he has monetized his site.  Using a creative 16 x 16 px advertisment system that he created himself.

The second site is www.yourdesignforums.com a graphic design community where you can come and give and get help with your projects as well as learn about monetization, optimization, and all other web and graphic design related topics.  With over 400 members and 179 active members the forums are growing and producing quality content quickly so I recommend checking them out.  Oh and don’t forget to mention that Creadiv sent you.  I would like to see a few referrals in my profile.

The third is www.ginoorlandi.com which is his professional portfolio.  A sleek and to the point portrayal of his quality web design, identity creation, and graphic design work.

Now that you now a little background information what do you say we get to meet the man that is creating these useful and popular websites.

Mr. Orlandi From my perspective I have found that you wear many hats, a bit of a jack of all trades.  You have a journalistic nature with your blog, you are a student of design, and an entrepreneur in your business.  If you had to give your profession a title, what would you say it was?

I guess I would call myself an Internet entrepreneur although I started off and mainly am a graphic designer. I have really started moving into other areas such as blogging, and starting other online businesses. The Internet is the key to the world for me. It has opened up so many opportunities, all from the comfort of my home.

Right now in your career/profession what are you finding to be the most important influence and how is it affecting the facets of your life? Such as school, the blog and the forums.

I would have to say my family and friends are a big influence in terms of giving me the drive to keep working as hard as I do. My family and friends have always been very supportive and I hope in the near future I can return the favor and be successful enough to help them out as much as possible. If you don’t have a very strong drive you will never accomplish your goals in life.

What advice do you have for someone whom is starting school, a blog, or an internet business?

First of all you need motivation and you need to be able to keep that motivation. You will have to put in a lot of long hours so make sure you know what you want in life. I would also recommend that you explore as much as possible. It took me a while to figure out what I was interested in. Once you know what you are interested in, start your research and never stop learning. Read as many articles and books as you can. I usually keep a steady pile of articles next to my desk that I print out from websites and blogs. Lastly I would recommend networking. Meet as many people as possible in your area of interest. I have met many amazing people online who have helped me out a lot.

Writing can be a difficult hobby/profession; you need inspiration and dedication especially when you don’t have a large audience. You mentioned your friends and family, but is there anything specific that you do to stay motivated?

I think I just have a strong entrepreneurial spirit. I get a rush from seeing a website or business grow and all I want to do is keep improving my websites so I can achieve my goals.

Other than motivation writers often need some tricks and tips to get articles done.  Did you have a schedule for writing or can you recommend any practices that might benefit a new blogger?

I keep a large list of bookmarks of sites related to graphic design including a section of bookmarks for post ideas. I keep a written schedule of future posts so I know what I’m going to do each week. It often changes, so keeping a written list really helps.

You mentioned that you have met a lot of people and read a lot of great articles.  Do you have a recommendation of a person to watch for or a great article to read?

It’s hard to pinpoint any one person or article, but if you are interested in blogging I would check out problogger.com and also freelanceswitch.com is great for general freelancing and business advice.

Your blog is definitely thriving, when you started it what was your primary focus?  Did you build tutorials, conduct interviews, or simply discuss your opinions?

My primary focus when I started was posting about design resources such as websites and books which I still do, but I have expanded and now post about a wide variety of topics to keep things fresh.

It would be naïve to believe as a blogger that you will just sky rocket to success, what do you feel has been your best tool in marketing the blog?

I would have to say providing quality content in general or networking with people in my niche.

What about the small stuff?  I know that a lot of time marketing a blog is spent commenting on other’s blogs and helping people in forums, but are there any small things that can really help generate some good traffic?

Yeah, I would research your niche as much as possible. There are always news sites and social media sites you can use to your advantage. Also offering free stuff and hosting contests can help.

You are currently promoting a pretty great competition on your site, could you tell me a little about it?

Sure, it’s a vector poster design competition hosted on my blog and sponsored by UPrinting.com and iStockphoto.com. To read more about it and to enter simply go to: http://www.youthedesigner.com/contest/

Competitions seem to be very popular in driving traffic on the blogosphere, could you give some advice on how to get a good sponsor?

It’s mostly about the traffic your website or blog gets, but most sponsors won’t just come to you. You need to at least make it clear on your site that you offer ad spots or seek out sponsors yourself. Don’t be afraid to email people!

Mr. Orlandi, is there anything else you might like to stress to the readers about your site or anything you might like to make sure they know about?

Yeah thank you, I’d like to mention the graphic design content I’m currently hosting again:
http://www.youthedesigner.com/contest/

Also be on the look out for my new t-shirt blog and clothing line, which I will announce on my graphic design blog in the near future!

Thank you very much for your time, I appreciate your advice and honesty.

You are welcome, and many thanks to you as well!

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Tags: , Blogging, Interview