Give your audience some credit, and don’t state the obvious. Say something that matters instead. Words are like real estate. Valuable real estate. Don’t waste them on points that everyone already knows.

If I have to look at one more website’s home page that shouts, “Welcome to my website” or that merely uses the name of the company as the main headline (right next to the logo), I’m going to scream. Or at least start pointing them out for all to see on my Facebook page. A website’s home page should feature text that makes its visitors want to click around and stay for a bit.

It’s kind of like going to a dinner party. Yes, it’s nice when the host opens the door and says, “Welcome to my home.” But you already knew you were in their home, and, seeing as how they were the ones to invite you there, you probably know that you’re welcome.

You know what I like to be greeted with? “What can I get you to drink?” This headline not only makes me feel welcome, but it also focuses on ME and not THEM. “Welcome to my home” is all about their home and how fancy schmancy this dinner party is, bla bla bla. Enough about them! Using “What can I get you to drink?” as the opener is all about meeting my needs as their guest, and that says more about their hospitality than the Captain Obvious words of welcome. (I’ll have a dirty martini, by the way, thanks.)

I once noticed at my physical therapist’s office a three-ring binder on the front desk. It said in big letters on the front: FORMS BINDER. I’m pretty sure the receptionist was aware it was a binder already. How about something a little more helpful, like what kind of forms the binder holds. “Patient Forms,” “Insurance Forms” or even “Useless Forms We Make Patients Fill Out” would all be more useful.

Don’t waste an opportunity to use your website or other marketing communication pieces to convey your bottom-line message. Sure, you can and should use those words to welcome your visitors, but also to let them know you are there to meet their needs as consumers, and to fill their glass as needed.

What’s the most obvious label out there that you’ve seen?

I’m not really suggesting that I’m the end-all be-all in web and graphic design. There are tons of us creatives out there, so of course I won’t always be the best fit. But the next time I’m not, here are five things I wish my non-client would do.

1. Respond to my emails.

I know you didn’t pick me, so it’s probably not on your radar to tell me that small, yet important piece of information. And that’s fine. If I haven’t heard from someone after sending out a proposal, I usually follow up somewhere in the two- to four-week range of hearing crickets in my inbox where there should be little dings. If you already know by that point that I’m not your dream designer, just take three seconds and let me know you’ve gone with someone else. I promise I won’t hunt you down and kill you; I just want to stop wasting my time with follow-ups. If you still haven’t decided, let me know that, too.

2. Tell me why you didn’t pick me.

For real, I can handle it. Are my prices too expensive? Too cheap? Did the other designer offer different services? A background in a specific industry? Am I in the wrong time zone for you and you’re concerned about scheduling phone meetings about the project? Did you find a grad student who offered to do it for free? Does she have a summer beach house that is empty a few weekends each year? Whatever the reason, I really would like to know so that I can improve my chances for next time.

3. Tell me why you’re thinking of not picking me

Even better than telling me why you didn’t pick me after the fact is having a conversation with me where you voice your concerns before you make your decision. Perhaps your perception of the way we’ll be working together is a little off. Maybe you don’t know about my past working in the health arena or financial field. Maybe you’re not comparing apples to apples with proposals. If you let me know your hesitation in choosing me, I can either put your concern to rest, or confirm that it’s a legitimate issue. If I’m not the right fit for the job, I actually don’t want the assignment; you don’t have to worry about me presenting myself in a false light just to win you over.

4. Keep me in mind for other projects.

Maybe you don’t like my web style. But what you might not realize is that I do a mean printed postcard! Just because I wasn’t the right girl for one project, doesn’t mean I’m not The One for another. So don’t delete me from your address book right away.

5. Don’t be a stranger.

Even if we never work together, it never hurts to keep in touch with someone. Sign up for my email newsletter (at the bottom of this website), like my page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn, send me a telegram, or whatever your preferred method of communication is. Maybe you have an in-house designer at your current job, but at your next gig, you’ll be in charge of finding freelancers to outsource to. Maybe your boss didn’t want to hire a one-woman shop for a super huge project, but your sister-in-law would love to work with a small, woman-owned business for developing her own company’s new website. You just never know when you’ll be happy to walk across the bridge we built during our proposal-submission-and-rejection process.

Confession: While I definitely have been super busy with work-related tasks, I maybe also have been spending my could-be-should-be-blogging time on some other tasks as well. Namely playing with my kids, running in the beautiful spring weather, doing yoga, reading books on my iPad (please watch the trailer here), having dinner with friends, and watching TV shows that my husband thinks are trashy and should have been cancelled years ago (I don’t care what he says; Desperate Housewives is still an entertaining 42 minutes of DVR).

And I don’t apologize for doing any of those things, because, while I do love keeping up with this blog, I also love taking some time to smell the roses (or trip over them while I’m running, as is the more likely case for me, the runner with an unstable ankle). That being said, I am going to try to practice what I preach and be a better blogger from now on.

I’m also going to try to play with my kids while my phone is in another room so they have my full attention, run a little slower so I stop messing up my ankle, practice more yoga to make my body stronger and my mind calmer, read more powerful and inspiring books on my iPad, listen more intently while sharing a meal with friends, and watch bad dramatic TV series only while my husband is in another room.

So what are you waiting for? You may think you don’t have anything new to say, or any new information worth sharing with the world. Well, I think you’re wrong.

Here are 20 ideas to get you started.

Not all suggestions will apply to you, depending on the type of business or organization you have. But it should get your wheels spinning at least. Good luck!

1. Blog entries (that was an easy one!)
2. Company announcements
3. New hires
4. Upcoming events or invitations
5. Enticing info about an event (i.e. items that will be at an auction, famous people who will make an appearance…)
6. Fundraising initiatives for non-profits
7. Feel-good stories for non-profits (i.e. the things donors like to read right before they give you their money)
8. New programs you are running
9. New products you are selling
10. New services you are offering
11. Limited-time discounts or promotions
12. New case studies or success stories
13. Customer reviews of your products/services
14. Client testimonials
15. Portfolio pieces
16. Updated photos throughout the site
17. Associate bios (are they up-to-date? are any missing?)
18. A poll for your website visitors, and then the results of that poll
19. List of helpful resources or FAQs related to your products or other interests of your visitors
20. Feeds from your social media efforts (Facebook, Twitter, etc.; and the bonus is that they will update automatically, so no extra work for you!)

What other types of information could you use to freshen up the content on your website? Please share in the comments.

In any event, if you respect your freelance designer, don’t be one of these guys.

1) The one who makes me work for free.

As a rule, I require a 50% deposit up front before I will begin a project. Occasionally, I will break my own rule and waive this upfront fee (and bill in full at the completion of the project) if the circumstances call for it. Like if it’s a longstanding client. Or if the project is really small. Or if I know where you live so I’m not that worried that you’ll pay me eventually. But every so often, I’ll have a client who takes advantage of my kindness, and then cancels the project for whatever reason. This is, in fact, the reason that freelancers require deposits to begin with: to protect themselves from doing a bunch of work and not getting paid for it.

2) The one who ignores my emails.

Let’s think about this one rationally for a moment. I’m working on a project for YOU. You are paying me good money (unless you are committing faux pas #1 as well) to design a postcard or build a website. So why would you let my emails go unanswered? I know, I know, you’re busy, you’re business is booming, bla bla bla. That is wonderful! Mine would be too — if I hadn’t just turned down a job because I thought we were in the middle of an important deadline before you went MIA.

3) The one who scans handwritten notes and makes me type them.

Seriously, I’m not a typist; I’m a designer. And if you have a scanner, I’m betting you also have a keyboard. It’s not my job to make sense of your legal notepad scribble.

There! Now you have no excuse not to be an awesome client (like all of mine).

In 2009, I said I’d experience natural childbirth (read: no epidural or pain medication). On April 29 that year, I did.

In 2010, I said I’d make my side freelance business my full-time endeavor. On January 1 that year, I did (okay, I guess that means I must have said so in late 2009, but I’m not splitting hairs here). (More on those first three goals here.)

In 2011, I said I’d do that whole natural childbirth thing all over again, though this time I would insist the baby not be premature. On April 28 that year, barely past the 37-week/full-term mark, I did.

The common theme in all the goals I have set and met in recent years both personally and professionally is that I’ve shared my plan with others. I find that it’s much harder to not go through with something once I’ve broadcasted it to friends, family and colleagues.

Sooooo, in 2012, I am saying I will write a book. There, now that I’ve said it and shared it with my blog readers (and Facebook fans), it will surely happen. I’m not promising it will be published or that it will be a best seller — my marathon time wasn’t much to be proud of — but a finisher medal is all I’m going for to start. Wish me luck.

What are your goals this year?