At a recent "Build Boston", a convention and tradeshow for design, building, and management professionals, my then-boss and I enjoyed a rapt audience of 70 of our industry colleagues. Despite the long, narrow conference room with poor acoustics, the right-after-lunch time slot, and the information overload affecting many of our attendees, it still must be said that we held them in the palms of our hands.

Were Marc Margulies and I just that scintillating? We'd like to think so, but in truth it seemed to be our topic that held such appeal: the unique challenges of marketing a small or mid-sized design practice. Although we shared a number of strategies that had been successful for our firm, Marc and I came away from the lively discussion feeling that we'd learned at least as much as we had taught our audience.

Looking back on that experience, and recognizing the challenges of now promoting my own small practice, here are five marketing ideas for small and mid-sized design firms:

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