Expert Web design on the cheap

MycroBurst offers readers special discount to try out service

Target audience: Nonprofits, social enterprises, foundations, NGOs, cause organizations, startups.

When I was at BlogWorld Expo in New York earlier this month, I spent quite a bit of time walking around the exhibit hall.

One of the companies I came across was MycroBurst, a marketplace that helps you crowdsource any kind of design – website, logo, stationery, T-shirt, you name it, there’s a community of designers signed up there to vie for the honor of creating your project. Similar crowdsourcing communities include crowdSPRING and 99designs (website and logo designs), uTest(software testing) and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (data entry and verification).

Special offer for Socialbrite readers

The MycroBurst team gave me a discount code to give out as a special offer, which waives the standard $19 set-up fee for anyone who uses it. So, in essence, you can post a free project (you’ll still have to decide on the amount of your prize money, etc.) and probably get some great designs to help you along. If you’d like to take advantage this special offer, just plunk in the code B222 when you post your project.

if you have any trouble, please let me know. The code is valid through July 17, which gives you a few weeks to get a new project going.

How MycroBurst works

First, you select what kind of project you want crowdsourced and post the details along with how much of a “prize” you’re offering. MycroBurst suggests $149 as a good starting point, but if you offer a higher prize, you’re likely to get more entries. Once you’ve posted your project, a contest starts among the designers on the site to present their best idea (see examples in the main image above).

Throughout the project, you can review the entries, give feedback and then at the end of the contest select your favorite as the winner. Give the designer his or her prize money, and you’re done – probably for far less than you’d pay otherwise.

There is typically a $19 set-up fee for MycroBurst to run your contest, along with a 7.5% credit card processing fee and various options for you to select from in terms of promoting it. You can head over to the MycroBurst site to learn more about the details. I’ve seen other crowdsourcing design sites, and I really like the way this one works. No doubt the fact that Joe Witte, one of the people behind MycroBurst, took some time to talk to me and give me a demo made a difference.

Here is some other information about the site that may be helpful:

• There are currently an average of 104 concepts per project posted. A project typically lasts 7 days, unless for some reason you need to extend it.
• MycroBurst is so confident in its model that they offer money back guarantees if a logo project doesn’t get at least 30 concepts. Think about that – 30 concepts in one week – that’s  a pretty promising outcome.
• 80% of MycroBurst clients gave them a “9” or a “10” when asked if they would refer the firm to a friend or colleague (metric based on the “Ultimate Question” book by Fred Reichheld, and his “Net Promoter” question).

How to make your MycroBurst project successful

• Give good feedback to the community during the project, and give star ratings.
• Invite designers (not just the top designers, they get tons of invitations) to participate in your projects.
• Make your project guaranteed — that means someone will definitely win the prize — since it will result in 70% more concepts.

I’ve been thinking about doing not only a blog redesign but also a website redesign and MycroBurst might be just the thing for me. I don’t have a huge budget, and I’m smart enough to know that I shouldn’t try to design something myself. I’m great with concept, but the technical execution not so much.

Happy MycroBursting!

Tell us: Have you used a crowdsourcing service? Did it work for you?
Shonali Burke  is a public relations and social media expert and consultant based in Washington, D.C. Her firm provides integrated PR for measurable results. You can connect with Shonali via her website or follow her on Twitter.