In response to a growing demand for authentic, handmade websites (the kind you code yourself), I hosted a small meetup in Folkestone in Summer 2024 and promoted it with a landing page built to be as lightweight as possible.

[Visit archived site](https://htmlbythesea.site/)

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FZDCj7MB6f5flvdUwL3oTszg7Q993%2F3Il8Yeq8ttViUA9pIdt2%2Fd2bc40ae-3456-4d66-a348-0d9ceeedab30.png?alt=media&token=58d046f2-f8a1-41bb-ad0e-90c7a6ec05d1","id":"d2bc40ae-3456-4d66-a348-0d9ceeedab30","width":2400,"height":1200,"filename":"HTML by the sea.png","type":"image/png","caption":"The \"HTML by the sea\" landing page","border":false}]}
```

Getting the site out there was a great opportunity to show the power of small-web design while promoting a community initiative *about* small-web design. So I built a touchpoint that informed attendees AND embodied the essence of the event itself.

I opted for a clean and simple design built with pure HTML and CSS. It loads fast and weights 159KB, to be precise. An Eventbrite page is a heavyweight by comparison.

In fact, I was also able to escape the constraints of listing on an event platform. Free myself from their rules and bloat. This site worked for everyone, including on slow connections or on a train, and showed what could be done with languages anyone can learn.

Digital carbon rating: A+

Emissions per page-load: 0.04 grams of carbon dioxide

*Results provided by Ecograder. See the report [here](https://ecograder.com/report/zGWceiejcvZhO7t4P3Hcm7Ss)*

HTML by the sea

I teamed up with the TEDx organizers at the University of Greenwich to put together a digital program for the 2021 talks that would make things easier and more enjoyable for attendees. The catch? I didn’t have much time. So, in under two weeks, I got a landing page live with everything people needed to know about the event. It's fast—faster than most sites. And the layout is simple. Finding info is a breeze.

Looking back, this was a perfect reminder of how sometimes simplicity and a solid execution can make a big difference, no matter how tight the deadline.

[Visit archived site](https://journeys-tedx.glitch.me/)

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FZDCj7MB6f5flvdUwL3oTszg7Q993%2FAHzLPS6nVNFnPLLslJhn%2Fe121fac3-3a6a-4b43-b2bc-c0400fa786df.png?alt=media&token=d7fef6f1-da00-4e02-ab86-cf6a7f5abeb2","id":"e121fac3-3a6a-4b43-b2bc-c0400fa786df","width":2400,"height":1200,"filename":"TEDx 1.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Desktop view","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FZDCj7MB6f5flvdUwL3oTszg7Q993%2FAHzLPS6nVNFnPLLslJhn%2F4f451d5b-27fd-4d6d-82ae-f8664f841136.png?alt=media&token=6cc9f2e2-1c6b-4401-96ee-37488e7b5fe1","id":"4f451d5b-27fd-4d6d-82ae-f8664f841136","width":2400,"height":1200,"filename":"TEDx 3.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Mobile and desktop view, side by side","border":false}]}
```

### How well does the page perform?

100% (A)

Site weight: 142% smaller than the average web page

*Results provided by GTMetrix ([see report](https://journeys-tedx.glitch.me/)) and Ecograder ([see report](https://ecograder.com/report/YJtZqarWLnyUsdiRQgbEFeKO))*

### Extras

Want a peek behind the scenes at TEDx Greenwich? Check out the video below (I'm in it somewhere installing other stuff I designed)!

```cv
youtube
{"url":"https://youtu.be/9ytrWo1f_z8?si=oaJcvxdhXVOaVBjl","width":200,"height":113,"thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9ytrWo1f_z8/hqdefault.jpg"}
```

And if you’re up for watching all the talks we hosted that year, [here’s the full playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdkhPQPrEAbKrQUxlO6dUF4LyNTQB9u5Z&si=zZuqlid4DpLrqing).

A landing page for TEDx Greenwich

I like to sharpen my writing. So I set myself a task. I took a long brochure I found in a theatre and made it short. The [brochure](https://marlowetheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-Marlowe_Season-brochure-Summer-23_Digital.pdf) in question was for The Marlowe Summer 2023 Season. It was 56 pages. I made it one and a half.

The Marlowe is arts venue and charity in Canterbury. It's been there 96 years. They host eclectic theatre, art, and culture. It’s an all-around iconic hub for inspiring artistry.

The brochure was bursting at the seams. Drama. Opera. Community stuff. It was all brilliant, but I had to choose. I cut through the noise and sought to capture the soul of the programme. Hours of text became clear as I distilled the best bits into a more digestible narrative. Who can say? It might just make you want to rush down to the Marlowe before it sells out.

[Read the press release](https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSoh4V8WXcTRHDpEmg6znua54WRioUQthZ5STWSkyjPklS3FiNLwD8U7wTQ3NQZ_nqR0AKNTraZJ8rc/pub)

The Marlowe: A Copywriting Challenge

*This story was originally published on [Not Bad](https://open.substack.com/pub/notbadnotbad/p/i-fell-into-a-sustainable-design?r=123caf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web)*

—

I grew up when the internet was just gaining popularity. I remember asking dad if I could use the dial-up connection for a bit—to get on to Wikipedia for a school assignment, play Habbo Hotel, or chat with friends on MSN Messenger.

This was back in the days when that meant you couldn't use your landline while browsing. Back when webpages would look something like this:

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FZDCj7MB6f5flvdUwL3oTszg7Q993%2FXb3sCMy9OyCjhjZiqjGe%2Fe2e543d7-d2f1-4f5d-837d-293fb94c017d.png?alt=media&token=0fd34c0a-4e89-411a-8185-9b0a6c7d6f1b","id":"e2e543d7-d2f1-4f5d-837d-293fb94c017d","width":1196,"height":937,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-11-03 at 12-37-31 BBC NEWS Magazine Most popular stories of 2007.png","type":"image/png","caption":"BBC News in 2007","border":false}]}
```

Or this(!!!!)

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FZDCj7MB6f5flvdUwL3oTszg7Q993%2FXb3sCMy9OyCjhjZiqjGe%2F9118c28f-bba3-404b-b236-c0c14be25688.gif?alt=media&token=08b9c902-0dd8-4fa2-a4ae-b1d932b2d62b","id":"9118c28f-bba3-404b-b236-c0c14be25688","width":560,"height":503,"filename":"white_house_home.gif","type":"image/gif","caption":"thewhitehouse.gov in 1996 (this site’s literally as old as me!) ","border":false}]}
```

Websites back then were 300 kilobytes or less per page on average, compared to 2,200 KB per page for popular modern sites.

But hey, I'm not here to get all misty-eyed about *the good ol' days* or call for a return to Web 1.0, am I? Times have changed. What hasn't changed is how, in this unimaginably gigantic archive of modern life we call the web—with its billions of indexed pages, files, and cat videos—somewhere in it… there's us, leaving our mark.

Our presence online isn't just virtual. It's casting a very real, very physical shadow on our planet. A digital carbon footprint that silently grows heavier with every pointless email, every autoplay video, every LinkedIn growth hack. It's like that friend who keeps ordering shots at 2 AM—it just gets worse and worse. And honey, it's time we cut it off and sober up.

### Doing what you can to build a better web

By default, we naturally associate doing business digitally (or online), let's say sending people digital receipts instead of printing physical ones, with keeping things "green". But here's the reality: the [internet is responsible for about 3.7% of global emissions](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think). Right up there with the aviation industry.

Every photo we post or video we stream. It all adds to the collective digital footprint we're leaving behind. Just think about how, globally, the average web page (including this post) generates approximately 0.8 grams of CO2 equivalent per pageview. So a site with 10,000 monthly views would produce roughly 100 kg of CO2e each year. That's like boiling a kettle a thousand times!

> When we think of the destructive causes that contribute to climate change, sitting behind a desk sending emails all day probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind. But with the colossal number of data centres and the ever-increasing number of internet-connected devices, the digital world is now beginning to be harmful to the planet.
>
> – [Wholegrain](https://www.wholegraindigital.com/digitaldeclutter/)

The silver lining is that technological growth also drives innovation, and there's a lot of potential for good change. The tech and ICT sectors are making strides, and we *should* all play a part in this transformation by taking matter (aka our internet footprint) into our own hands.

In September 2024, a UK survey revealed that [61% of businesses have taken action to reduce their carbon emissions](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/3october2024). That’s good progress! Because yes, many are just doing their best to keep the lights on and pay the bills. I'm not here to shame them.

But—at the cost of sounding like a Tesco stan—I do believe that *every little helps*. And most of us can start with our websites.

Whether you built it yourself, rely on external people to maintain it for you, or once hired someone to set it up, there are ways to make websites more sustainable and lean. Some are surprisingly simple to implement! No, I'm not talking about throwing money at carbon offsets. They're plasters on a bullet wound.\* We need surgery, and it starts with actually caring about the purpose behind our sites, how they're hosted, and how our customers use them. Just like you'd care, let's say, if you owned a small-town deli, about where your products came from.

## How the Internet creates CO2

1. It relies on physical servers in [data centres](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a0eef0b4544b41b055733e7d0826315830269b70/0_219_6561_3937/master/6561.jpg?width=1900&dpr=2&s=none&crop=none) around the world.

2. These data centres are connected with undersea cables, switches, and routers that need energy (and, increasingly, [water](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiehailstone/2024/09/13/what-can-be-done-about-power-hungry-and-thirsty-data-centers/)) to run.

3. While more and more data centres are adopting renewable energy sources—IBM, for instance, reports that [74% of their data centres are powered by renewables](https://www.ibm.com/about/environment/energy-climate)—many still rely on local electricity grids powered by fossil fuels.

4. Then there's the issue of how many of the centres house (cloud) storage that's up and running, using energy to store stuff people literally *never* access. [A recent report from Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/blog/search-traffic-study/) shows that 96.55% of all webpages in their database get zero traffic from Google, and 1.94% get between one and ten monthly visits.

> Digital is like sugar: it's so sweet and irresistible, so easy to create, so easy to store, so easy to ignore. So cheap. So everywhere. Digital is the ultimate 'just do it' mantra. Think of all that useless content that organisations create. Why? Because that's what management wants. The senior marketing manager wants the bling stock images because they look cool. Marketers find these sugar-coated smiley faces irresistible. And stock images are so cheap now. Why not pump them everywhere? Who cares if they slow down the site and waste energy? Who cares if it takes longer to scroll and find things?
>
> – [Gerry McGovern](https://gerrymcgovern.com/digital-is-garbage/)

## Okay, but why should I care?

* **Cost efficiency:** Implementing sustainable web practices goes hand in hand with achieving a faster, lighter website. Thus reducing hosting costs and improving user experience.

* **SEO SEO SEO (damned SEO!):** Unless you're a market leader in everything or a household name like Amazon—whose site we all know is *just a tad* bloated—Google considers your page speed a [ranking factor](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ranking-factors/page-speed/). So it will favour faster, more efficient websites.

* **Brand image:** More and more consumers are choosing to spend their hard-earned cash with a business that cares about its environmental impact. Recent analysis shows that [84% of customers feel alienated](https://theroundup.org/environmentally-conscious-consumer-statistics/) by brands with poor eco-friendly practices, while [17% of European grocery shoppers](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/Talk-is-cheap-How-much-will-consumers-really-pay-for-green-products#/) plan to increase their purchases of environmentally friendly products.

* **Simpler design tools:** New, easi(er)-to-use design and carbon analysis tools are popping up like mushrooms after rain, making it easier for small businesses to build their sites with carbon consumption in mind. Even in the no- and low-code space (how I bring sites to life at [Never Not Ready](https://www.nevernotready.club/)), we're getting close. And with the right strategy, no-code developers can too build sites that are mean AND lean.

## Four steps to a greener website

1. **Consider page budgets:** A page weight budget is like a meal plan for your website, but instead of calories, you're counting megabytes: the amount of data (fonts, media elements, and code) transferred when someone visits your page. Set a limit and stick to it—or have whoever is building your site agree to it. [Wholegrain Digital](https://www.wholegraindigital.com/blog/how-to-page-weight-budget/) actually has a solid guide on this.

2. **Check if your third parties run on renewable energy:** This is probably the simplest step to take. Use the handy [Are my third parties green?](https://aremythirdpartiesgreen.com/) tool; it's a great starting point. If your site is not running on renewable energy, switching to a greener option is [now easier than ever.](https://www.bitcatcha.com/web-hosting/green/)

3. **Say goodbye to autoplay:** Let people choose when to click the play button on your videos. And if you're certain you can't do without autoplay, think again. When visitors come to your site, they may not appreciate being greeted by video or audio content that starts playing without their permission. Plus, as Sepas Seraj of Pixeled Eggs [reminds us](https://www.pixeledeggs.com/sustainable-websites-tip-4-get-rid-of-autoplaying-videos/), you're forcing people to download data (videos require significantly more data than photos), which they may not want to do. You’re assuming everyone has unlimited data plans and a fast connection!

4. **Optimise images for SEO:** Doing so forces you, by design, to also optimise for performance, page weight (and accessibility, to some extent). Since I love a good nested list—and I'm a bit of an image optimisation nerd—here are 3 easy tips to make your images more SEO and performance-friendly.

   1. **Reduce size:** Way too many websites use pictures that are too big for how they're shown on the page. This slows down performance. To fix this, reduce the image size (by resolution and weight). I use Photoshop to do so, but you can also use a free, beginner-friendly tool like [Squoosh](https://squoosh.app/).

   2. **Consider dithering:** It's a technique that reduces colours in an image by adding noise to simulate missing shades. Play around with [Dither Me This](https://doodad.dev/dither-me-this) to see it in action. Keep in mind that not all images should be dithered. As Nathaniel, who built the tool above, [points out](https://endtimes.dev/why-you-should-dither-images/), e-commerce and photography sites, for example, need full colour. But for text-focused content like magazines? Dithered images could be perfect.

   3. **Use the right image formats:** [Use WebP over PNGs and JPEGs](https://web.dev/articles/choose-the-right-image-format#features_of_different_raster_image_formats). Unless the image is mostly composed of geometric shapes, in which case vector images (SVG) rule.

## The bottom line?

Assess your website.

Optimise it.

Make it work harder for you, not your server.

Web sustainability isn't as much about being "eco-friendly" as it is about doing what you can—within the constraints of your budget and skills—to maintain a more efficient, cost-effective, and future-proof presence on the internet. For small businesses, it's also an opportunity to save money and, fortunately, it matches with SEO best practices.

I want to be honest with you. I said it could be surprisingly easy to reduce your internet carbon footprint. And yes, the tips I wrote about here will help. But there's so much more you can do if you dig deeper. There's a lot of value, if you ask me, in learning about the tools that power your business and, through that, playing your part in building a better internet.

I'm talking about looking into things like your code, website builder and loading of resources. It's a lot, I know. But it matters. The good news is, there are tons of resources about web sustainability to help you navigate this journey. If you genuinely want to learn more about how to make your site more sustainable, I'd be happy to point you towards some fab resources or share my experience. [Feel free to reach out](https://www.nevernotready.club/) or simply leave a comment to this on [its original Substack post](https://open.substack.com/pub/notbadnotbad/p/i-fell-into-a-sustainable-design?r=123caf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web).

---

***Footnote***

\* Why not choose carbon offsetting? It's not a conversation I'm honestly prepared to get deep into here but, in short, carbon offsetting is a nice idea—in theory. In practice, [it's like trying to unburn toast](https://open.substack.com/pub/carboncurve/p/offsets?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web). We can't undo the damage, so we should concentrate on not burning the toast in the first place.

I fell into a sustainable design rabbit hole (and now my website loads faster)

This is a press release I wrote for *Feed Your Demons and Meet the Ally*, a zip-compressed exhibition exploring fears, desires, and obstacles artists face in times of crisis and isolation.

Curated by [Magda Żołędź](https://magdalenazoledz.com/) and I, the exhibition opened in Summer 2020 with an online event featuring artwork walk-throughs, studio visits, and Q&As. 

—

Type “struggling with my inner demons” in Google, and you’ll be presented with a plethora of online programs on how to feed your demons and books on reaching your enlightened self by facing your inner beast. Today more than ever, living in isolation and apart from our loved ones due to restrictions imposed by COVID-19, we have been forced to become friends with things we’d rather avoid. Technology, flatmates, solitude, supermarket cues, video chats, I-ate-too-much feelings, and boredom are all very natural reactions to living through a crisis. Something fascinating has recently been happening in a lot of media coverage. News outlets are referring to these, let’s call them unruly thoughts, as inner demons. Some state these demons “will always be bigger and scarier than the external reality” (11); others, like writer and historian Yuval Noah Harari, say they are “more afraid of the inner demons of humanity, hatred and greed and ignorance” (7) than else.

As Jone Hopper describes it (2), isolation can be “a moment of pause that invites us to finally focus on ourselves”. We have more time than we ever needed to look for answers where none seem to exist. Like a beach ball that we’ve been pushing underwater for too long, our inner self has come flying up out of the water and hit us square in the face. So do we push it down again and hope for the best, or do we analyse it?

Reflection and introspection are crucial to the art-making process (4). Isolation has presented a rich subject for artists throughout history (14). Making art can be thought of as the capacity to express the daimonic, which often presents itself in times of emergency in a constructive rather than destructive (5). Nowadays, creatives are the ones expected, more than anyone else, to be able to quickly adapt their ways of working to continue making art. But is it even possible to be creative during such a time?

Serving our demons rather than resisting them contradicts the traditional approach of fighting against whatever attacks us (1). However, it turns out to be an effective way to awaken your inner demons and transfer their energy toward you. Still and all, why do we allude to satanic forces covertly teasing us from inside to explain unruly thoughts and behaviours that, as Leon Seltzer describes, “all of us are prone to” (12)? Today, an inner demon is a figurative term for a belief, a set of ideas about life based on criticism, self-doubt, and negative thinking patterns. Struggling with inner demons is to be at war with your mind.

Deep down, if we were to attempt to decipher the mysteries surrounding inner demons, looking at religion, spirituality, occultism, and belief in the supernatural would play a vital role in helping us understand. Many of the followers of self-identified prophet Aleister Crowley believe there are “ways of seeing that can be attained by meditation and ritual” (8). Considering inner demons makes an attractive explanation for many present-day issues and positions them as “part of an epic, indeed cosmic, struggle going back to the beginning of time” (8).

Cross-referencing mythology, pop culture, the supernatural, digital self-hood, and neo-medievalism, the works presented in this ZIP exhibition explore fears, desires, and obstacles artists face within themselves in times of crisis and isolation. Just like social isolation has cramped many of us inside the private spaces of our homes, the download of the exhibition file allows the user’s encounter with the works to play out within the intimate stage of the desktop. As usual for all ONE Project exhibitions, the focus is on one “object” of art. In this case, this is the ZIP file containing contributions that range from video art, animation, audiovisual art, painting, and texts. Particular focus is on works that are rooted in the personal-political. Situating these works in the incongruous context of an archive file demonstrates a strange disconnect as the artists' responses to lusts—inner demons, as it were—are first shrunk and then expanded to reveal themselves in the hands of the user.

—

**Bibliography**

 1. Allione, Lama Tsultrim. 2020. “How To Feed Your Demons”. Lion’s Roar. \[https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-feeding-your-demons/\](https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-feeding-your-demons/).

 2. Artsper Magazine. 2020. “Three Artist’s Visualizations Of Lockdown”. Artsper Magazine. \[https://blog.artsper.com/en/lifestyle/artists-visualisations-of-lockdown/\](https://blog.artsper.com/en/lifestyle/artists-visualisations-of-lockdown/).

 3. Davies, Lucy. 2020. “Artist Tips For Beginners: Learn To Make Art In Lockdown”. The Telegraph. \[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/artists/learn-make-art-self-isolation-lockdown-tips-artists-beginners/\](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/artists/learn-make-art-self-isolation-lockdown-tips-artists-beginners/).

 4. Dessent, Blaire. 2015. “Martin Lord’s Intricate Drawings Picture Inner Demons And Introspective Thoughts”. Artsy \[https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-martin-lord-s-intricate-drawings-picture-inner-demons-and-introspective-thoughts\](https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-martin-lord-s-intricate-drawings-picture-inner-demons-and-introspective-thoughts).

 5. Diamond, Stephen A. 2020. The Psychology of Creativity: Redeeming Our Inner Demons Douglas E Interview.

 6. Greiner, Becky. 2020. “Mindfulness Techniques For Managing Coronavirus Anxiety At Home And Work”. Optum - Live And Work Well. \[https://www.liveandworkwell.com/content/dam/laww/documents/spotlights/Coronavirus\\\_Anxiety.PDF\](https://www.liveandworkwell.com/content/dam/laww/documents/spotlights/Coronavirus\_Anxiety.PDF).

 7. Harari, Yuval Noah. 2020. Every crisis is also an opportunity. The UNESCO Courier Interview.

 8. Kaveney, Roz. 2010. “What Are Demons, Really? - Roz Kaveney”. The Guardian. \[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/jun/29/religion-exorcism-christianity-occultism\](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/jun/29/religion-exorcism-christianity-occultism).

 9. Laing, Olivia. 2020. “Feeling Overwhelmed? How Art Can Help In An Emergency By Olivia Laing”. The Guardian. \[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/21/feeling-overwhelmed-how-art-can-help-in-an-emergency-by-olivia-laing\](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/21/feeling-overwhelmed-how-art-can-help-in-an-emergency-by-olivia-laing).

10. Roth, Merav. 2020. “Psychoanalysing The Coronavirus: This Is What Happens To Our Mind Under A Mortal Threat - Opinion”. Haaretz.Com. \[https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-this-is-what-happens-to-your-mind-during-the-coronavirus-crisis-1.8699813\](https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-this-is-what-happens-to-your-mind-during-the-coronavirus-crisis-1.8699813).

11. Seltzer, Leon F. 2015. “Enough About “Inner Demons” Already!”. Psychology Today. \[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/201506/enough-about-inner-demons-already\](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/201506/enough-about-inner-demons-already).

12. Tara Mandala. 2020. "Feeding Your Demons Online Program". Tara Mandala. \[https://www.taramandala.org/programs/feeding-your-demons/training-tracks-and-paths-for-certification/feeding-your-demons-online-program/#what\](https://www.taramandala.org/programs/feeding-your-demons/training-tracks-and-paths-for-certification/feeding-your-demons-online-program/#what).

13. “The Artworks That Perfectly Capture Isolation”. 2020. ELEPHANT. \[https://elephant.art/artworks-perfectly-capture-isolation-23032020/\](https://elephant.art/artworks-perfectly-capture-isolation-23032020/).

14. Tyson, Keith. 2020. Artist tips for beginners: Learn to make art in lockdown Lucy Davies Interview

On inner desires and art-making in times of confinement

For two years, I co-led communications and brand marketing at [Blueberry Creatives](https://blueberrycreatives.co.uk/). I raised their profile and made their message strong. Clients heard it. Talent too.

Every day was new. I worked with senior colleagues to push the brand and improve workflows. I did strategy, social media, email campaigns, website maintenance, team training, the list goes on.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FZDCj7MB6f5flvdUwL3oTszg7Q993%2Fblueberry-marketing%2F54006444-0f8b-4ed7-9013-9e5122d0ba70.png?alt=media&token=694d222a-5a37-4d1e-96e2-ab5a0f555a39","id":"54006444-0f8b-4ed7-9013-9e5122d0ba70","width":2000,"height":1500,"filename":"Blueberry 1.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Blueberry's new website","border":false}]}
```

### Performance and strategy

We built a new website. I project managed it, coordinating between external designers and our managing director. It was the kind of work you learn a lot from. I also optimized internal processes, streamlining collaboration and consolidating our tech stack. Yearly costs fell by a third while quality and efficiency stayed the same, if not better.

### **Content creation**

I rebuilt [two newsletters](https://read.cv/francescoimola/blueberry-roundups) from the ground up. Open rates quadrupled in just four months and click-through rates more than doubled within a year from launch. Besides emails, social media was my duty too. I created four hundred pieces across four platforms. I made them count. Short, sharp, to the point. Each post a punch. Our social engagement rate went up by 500% in 18 months.

### Design

Core part of my work was making things look good. Trade mags features, emails, event graphics and more. I aimed for lean, typography-driven designs. I also wrote branding guidelines to make future content look consistent.

Within a year of my arrival, 99% of the Blueberry brand adopted a new design language developed for us by an external studio. I facilitated this transition. The templates I built made new stuff easier to read and pictures stood out. But you could still play around with layouts and copy. It’s work I’m very prod of. You can see more of my designs for Blueberry [here](https://read.cv/francescoimola/communication-design-blueberry).

Blueberry's marketing powerhouse

*This story was originally published on [Not Bad](https://notbadnotbad.substack.com/p/50-ways-to-market-your-work-outside)*

—

It's been almost 3 years since Lush dropped not a *bath* bomb, but a *truth* bomb, leaving major social media platforms to fight for change. Guess what? They're doing just fine!

Despite industry scepticism, Lush stood strong, focusing on engaging their audience through in-person events and maintaining their presence on Pinterest. They chose integrity over convenience, and so far it seems to be paying off.

Why should you care?

Because it shows how cutting back on the mainstream content marketing circus can lead to long-term gains and deeper connections with the people who actually buy from your brand. In short, you don't need to make socials your focus to grow a business with integrity (and [I’m not the first](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jodiecook/2022/12/13/21-ways-to-grow-your-business-without-social-media/) to say that out loud).

That’s why, inspired by [this post by Amelia Hruby](https://www.ameliahruby.com/blog/100-ways-to-share), I've compiled my own list of 50 ways to market your work that'll make your customers actually remember your name and not just your perfectly curated Instagram aesthetic.

The goal here isn’t to get you off social media. Most won't. I won't (for now). But precisely for that reason, shouldn’t we break loose from its grip? Trial alternatives? Explore ways that better serve us and our customers?

```cv
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```

## **Just gimme the list**

 1. Invite someone you admire for a coffee

 2. Host a workshop at your favourite local spot

 3. Put together a showreel of your best work or customer testimonials

 4. Give your clients something back if they introduce you to a new business

 5. Create or update your website

 6. Rent a page on your website to other small businesses

 7. Make a PDF portfolio. Include a maximum of 5 projects, keep it short and sweet

 8. Launch a course on a platform like Kajabi or Thinkfic

 9. Ask a friend to share your work with their peers

10. Leave reviews for businesses and freelancers you love

11. Ask a shop if you can leave business cards by their till or put a flyer in their window

12. Ask clients and past colleagues to leave you testimonials

13. Join a coworking space

14. Hang out at a local café/coffee shop and make friends with the folks who work there

15. Host a coworking or body-doubling meetup

16. Set up a booking link with a service like Cal.com, so people can easily schedule time to chat when your calendar is free

17. Invest in a session with a business coach you respect

18. Write an article that links to your business and pitch it to a trade magazine editor

19. Record a podcast series

20. Improve your site’s accessibility to boost SEO and allow everyone (including people with disabilities) to consider your services

21. Keep an eye on news, work opportunities, and events from your University’s alumni department

22. Livestream your work process on Twitch or YouTube (okay, this might require a level of social media use)

23. Reach out to people who do very similar work to you and see if you can collaborate on something

24. Make a playlist

25. Launch a Telegram Broadcast and share resources, memes, or words of motivation with your audience

26. Print branded stickers and stick them all over town

27. Ask a retail media agency to put your ad in shopping trolleys across selected stores.

28. Open a Discord and invite your community to join you there

29. Write an article about your work and pitch it to a local publication

30. Place an ad inside a taxi

31. Place an ad on a bus stop

32. Offer your services or product to someone you admire in exchange for something they can do for you (other than money)

33. Practice telling people who you are and what you do

34. Put all your info and links in your email signature

35. Reflect on what made you start your business in the first place

36. Show up for a community gathering at your local bookshop, library, or literally anywhere else in your town

37. Send postcards to people that want to follow your travels (if you travel a lot)

38. Share some of your photos, sounds, or words with a royalty free license so others can reuse them.

39. Practice writing to your ideal client. Talk to them as if they were in front of you and as if they were one of your friends (some call this exercise building a brand voice)

40. Sponsor a pub quiz and offer a branded prize

41. Start an email newsletter

42. Write a nurturing campaign to welcome new signups to your email list

43. Ask a photographer you love to take new headshots or promo photos for you

44. Write and print a zine about a topic related to your work

45. Go into an independent store and ask the owner if they would consider selling your work/product

46. Create a free resource and sponsor a podcast to share it for you (helps you reach new folks)

47. Repurpose behind the scenes material into resources you can offer to patrons in exchange for a monthly fee (e.g. on Patreon)

48. Rent a booth at a local trade show or craft fair

49. Join a business directory

50. Take a walk and look around

51. Actually listen to people engaging with your stuff!

And that's all. You just got 51 entries for the price of 50!

---

## Yes, but which of these will actually work?

It depends—and I know that's probably not the answer you wanted. There’s no one size fits all. Your business location, experience, industry, and niche are ultimately the factors that'll determine which non-social media marketing alternative(s) will work best for you.

My unsolicited advice?

1. Measure your current results so you know where your sales are coming from and where you should be spending your time.

2. Run small-scale experiments for any new marketing approach you feel confident in. Analyse the return on investment and you customers’ feedback. Use this valuable data to craft a solid plan.

3. Stop trying to cram all your eggs into one basket. Spread those babies around and watch them hatch (hopefully) into something beautiful.

4. We've been sleeping on the old-school marketing playbook. [Outdoor adverts](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/great-comeback-uk-ooh-market-soars-tank-top-media-y0ife/), non-spammy emails, sponsored events, physical mailers, and good press - they're all [making a comeback](https://hbr.org/2022/04/why-marketers-are-returning-to-traditional-advertising). While potentially pricier than some social campaigns, these aren't just accessories. They're potential heavy hitters, especially for repeated exposure (hello, [rule of 7](https://www.umaryland.edu/cpa/rule-of-seven/)).

5. It’s about time we ditch that perfect-on-the-first-try expectation. We can't predict every twist and turn our audience might take, no matter how hard we squint at our crystal balls. So embrace the beautiful chaos. Trial and error and trial and error. Because [you're not going to get it right on your first try](https://www.misamessaging.com/blog/learning-to-love-trial-and-error-in-marketing)... and trust me, that is FINE.

## PS

* A big shout out to Amelia and her [Off The Grid podcast](https://episodes.fm/1610399726). She's been doing the heavy lifting for years, spreading the word about growing businesses off the clutches of social media. Businesses you can actually dare call 'authentic'!

* Feel free to raid my list for inspiration. That’s what it’s there for! [Let me know](mailto:francesco@nevernotready.club) if you gave any of the ideas a go and if it went well.

Breaking free from the algorithm. Okay, but what are the alternatives?

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FZDCj7MB6f5flvdUwL3oTszg7Q993%2Fuog-galleries-creative-melting-pot%2F3570e487-33ae-4965-a52a-36ac1ddd0945.png?alt=media&token=c99ad7b0-5dce-4197-9ee7-0a226e577882","id":"3570e487-33ae-4965-a52a-36ac1ddd0945","width":1200,"height":666,"filename":"dithered-image (1).png","type":"image/png","caption":"The Stephen Lawrence Gallery exhibition space, University of Greenwich, Circa 2016","border":false}]}
```

Early in my career I had the privilege of working at the University of Greenwich Galleries. Over two years, I helped deliver more than 50 exhibitions, events and charity initiatives focusing on internal communications and local marketing. Working across departments, I produced content that helped to attract students, academics, local residents and tourists to our spaces and events.

I curated one exhibition, [New Alunmi '19](http://www.greenwichunigalleries.co.uk/new-alumni-2019/), and helped many other curators make their shows happen. Hundreds of artist biographies and dozens of press releases passed by my screen before finding their way into exhibition listings or brochures, for example. I also produced all sorts of designs. Signage. Posters. Newsletter graphics. It was a training ground for my skills in marketing design.

The university was a melting pot of art, design, architecture and everything in between. Which is also the reason I found myself working in support of hundreds of curators, exhibitors, academics and technicians. This work ultimately shaped me. As a designer. A marketer. A person. Its lessons stick and guide me till today when I tackle clients' briefs.

[University of Greenwich Galleries website](http://www.greenwichunigalleries.co.uk/)

[@uoggalleries](https://www.instagram.com/uoggalleries/) on Instagram