Finding ways to turn clients into evangelists: interview with colorful Hugh Briss
Who does not like pretty colors, who does not like pretty designs? Who does not want a prettier twitter background? If that is you (why wouldn’t it be?), then read on for our interview with the colorful, yet a straightforward man behind TwitterImage.com.
Huge Briss, the designer/founder behind profitable twitterimage.com answered my interview Qs with his swift style, everything is to the point. New entrepreneurs will for sure learn from this concise yet insightful interview. As he puts it in a business manner: “Finding ways to turn clients into evangelists”
What is Twitter Image? How did you come up with the idea?
I created TwitterImage.com to specifically market custom Twitter background designs although we also design backgrounds for YouTube channels and MySpace.It wasn’t really an idea that needed coming up with, it’s was more of a no-brainer. Twitter allows members to upload custom background images and for anyone that uses their account to market anything it provides a perfect opportunity to make a statement about themselves or their company and further their brand.
How long did it take you to bring the idea to launch? Are you are a startup with funding or bootstrapping?
I registered the domain name in the morning and had the first rough site up by the end of the day. The business is simply one of several design related services my company provides so it doesn’t really require any additional funding.I see many top/celebrity use Twitter Image, how did you convince them to use? What is your marketing strategy?
I haven’t had to convince anyone, I simply asked several of the high profile Twitter users if they’d like a custom background if they didn’t have to pay for it. No one turned that offer down. If helps that I knew many of them already too, I guess.Doing that allowed me to add several backgrounds to my new portfolio and gained me quite a bit of early exposure. Since then I’ve stopped offering free custom backgrounds and the business has continued to grow primarily by word of mouth, although I do pay to advertise on some websites. For the most part, every new background we produce becomes more advertising for us. I’ve always been a big believer in finding ways to turn clients into evangelists.
What is your business model? Are you profitable?
My last answer pretty much laid out my business model and yes, we’re profitable.If there is one thing what is it that you think critical to Twitter Image’s success so far?
I guess I’d have to say my passion for the medium. I’m a huge proponent of social networking and Twitter in particular. Using social networking to promote my own business gives me insights other designers won’t have.What is the future growth plan for the venture?
That will depend entirely on Twitter’s growth. Twitter is a phenomenon and is changing the way most of us use the Internet. Real-time search is a perfect example of just one of those things. Twitter will continue to grow and evolve and as long as they continue to encourage members to customize their backgrounds Twitter Image will be here to provide them.Any tips, things that you can share with brands, businesses using twitter?
The biggest mistake I see most companies making is using their Twitter account as nothing more than an RSS feed. No one wants to follow a company that simply uses their profile to hawk their wares or post mundane tweets, they want to know that a real person and not a bot is talking to them.
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