Archive for Branding
July 4, 2007 at 9:24 pm · Filed under Branding
The financial potential of such a venture is quite high, especially if you manage to build yourself a nice and complex portfolio. Working online as a freelance graphic designer can be very rewarding, from more points of view. First of all, you can create your own schedule and show flexibility in your work hours. Secondly, freelance logo design projects are easy to manage online, and the logo delivery and payment can also be handled over the Internet. The demand for freelance logo design is high because more and more web masters are turning their websites into a branded company, so they need to create unique and memorable logos as part of the branding strategy.
Tips for a successful freelance logo design business:
- Create a portfolio of your previously created logos to show your clients what your style and quality level is.
- Improve your reputation as a freelance graphic designer by participating in the numerous online contests.
- Even if your client will only use the logo as a JPG or GIF file you should still create it in vector form (using Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator), as the client might need it later for t-shirt printing of Flash animations.
- Treat each client as he or she is your only client - this is a vital freelance logo design business characteristic. Take an extra minute to write a nice message, to create an additional mockup or to deliver the files promptly - if you do so the client will be happy and will return with future projects.
How about creating your own design website?
With thousands of new websites coming to life each and every day, it’s only natural that online graphic design services are a popular business. If you are one of the people skilled in graphic design and ready to earn some money online, then freelancing is the way to go. All you need is an online graphic design website where you can showcase your work and display your online graphic design service characteristics (pricing, delivery time, payment methods accepted). Creating a website and getting leads from it will take a little of your time, but once your business is rolling, your online profits will certainly make it worth it. Develop a nice looking and functional website and make sure to optimize it so that different relevant keywords, such as online graphic design services, or logo design rank high in the search engines. You can also turn your online graphic design web site into a genuine online business and create a brand image you can also use on business cards, letterheads or t-shirts.
Steps for creating a good online graphic design web site:
- Your website could turn, in time, into one of the most profitable online business opportunities, but you have to take some time and prepare it properly. Here area few steps that should help you give an attractive and efficient shape to your online graphic design services:
- Create a good looking website. The online graphic design web site’s functionality is vital, but so is the way it is displayed from a visual point of view. Selling online graphic design web services on a dull and poorly built web site is the equivalent of a marketing suicide.
- Don’t overcrowd it - you don’t have to display 400 logos and 200 banners in your portfolio to convince your clients how good your services are. Simply select 10-20 of each graphical element and give them a short explanatory text and maybe a testimonial.
- Optimize your site for Google, MSN and Yahoo by talking about it in forums and making link exchanges with related websites. Your online graphic design service business name should appear as often as possible in various places - you never know where you will find a client.
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May 2, 2007 at 9:23 pm · Filed under Branding
A brand is probably the most valuable asset that belongs to a company and these days, businesses are trying to get their name or logo on to as many useful, quirky or memorable items as possible in an effort to build their brands and raise awareness of their product or service.
The days of being limited to a company t-shirt, keying or branded pen sporting your company name or logo have long since passed. Nowadays, there is a full spectrum of promotional products that companies are using to get their name out to the masses; from the fairly mundane, to the downright wacky.
Take the promotional weather station for example - yes, you read right, it is now possible to buy various weather station devices that are branded with your company’s name. Such promotional products are designed to sit on clients’ (or potential clients’) desks, disseminating meteorological data such as the humidity, temperature and a short term weather forecast whilst reminding you of how great “Company X” are.
But not everyone would be enthralled by the idea of being able to know the exact air humidity at any particular time. Perhaps you’re looking to promote your brand to a younger clientele, in which case you’ll need something a little more fun than a weather station. Many companies use branded sporting equipment such as basketballs, Frisbees and even boomerangs! Or how about making some noise with your brand using a promotional football rattle or whistle?
Those companies who are really keen to impress are taking advantage of branded electronic gadgets. At one end of the price spectrum you have items such USB memory sticks, radios, calculators and torches, on the other end of the scale you have more expensive items such as MP3 players, speaker sets and even DVD players - products which most people would be very happy to receive.
Companies are also using seasonal holidays to help with their marketing. For example, many companies make promotional Christmas gifts which they give to their staff, clients and prospective customers, as a little reminder or their company. Favourite corporate Christmas gifts include company branded tools, penknives, flasks, binoculars, travel accessories and the corporate classic - pens (high quality parker pens of course!).
Using promotional items is a very effective way of brand building, and it’s no wonder that many business are taking advantage of the development in technology which allow short runs of branding merchandise to be produced at a reasonably low price. From coasters to cooler bags, wallets to weather stations, maybe it’s time to join the branding revolution and get your name out there too!
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
April 24, 2007 at 9:22 pm · Filed under Branding
Creating your identity can be a real challenge. Your brand image is what people feel and think when your store comes to mind. You’ll need to conform your services and products to the image that you choose, so choose wisely. Consider what types of items you want to sell. Consider your demographic. Consider your location. Research your competitors. Figure out what they’ve done that helped them become who they are. The most important part of branding your retail store is to be original; completely and utterly original. Your originality is going to be what people identify with your name.
Merchandise, store displays, counter displays, color, lighting, space, window displays, the hangers and racks you choose, all will go into branding your image. Be consistent with your theme. Create promotions that revolve around the brand that you want to project. Use your brand and advertise the idea in everything that goes into and out of your store. All advertising should clearly show the image that you want to project.
Your company logo also needs to be unique and trademarked. Your logo should appear in as many places as possible throughout the store. Print it on receipts, tags, walls, doors, outdoor advertising, print ads, on your website, and on every flyer and bag that leaves your store. Keep the image that you want to portray in mind when designing your logo. You may start with a drawing and craft the logo yourself. You can also hire and agency to design your logo for you. They will make sure that your logo will look good in small print, black and white or color, large print and even on billboards. Your logo should be in all the correct formats for printing, broadcasting and to use on your web site.
Use your logo and promote your brand by researching when and where to advertise. If you’re branding a high-end store, you probably shouldn’t advertise in a poor area of town or in a cheap sales paper. Stick to the areas that contain customers in the demographic you are targeting and flood that area. People can have an idea, impression and preconception about your store before they ever set foot in it. Don’t disappoint. Let your prospective customers know why you are unique. Be enticing in your advertisements. Use product placement to get your name out there. Having a celebrity or person of interest endorse your brand can be priceless.
Your brand is like your personality out there for the world to see and recognize. It will affect people in ways that you want if you convey it carefully. Brand image has been proven to influence purchasers to spend more money. If your image fits the image that they want to project then you’re in good shape. People associate the brands that they buy with their own identities. They project what they want others to think of them by the brands that they choose. Getting your brand into their hands can help it spread and have a powerful effect on your business.
Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading provider of retail store displays and store fixtures, including slatwall accessories, mannequins and more. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com .
March 13, 2007 at 9:21 pm · Filed under Branding
When considering their specific needs and all of the available suppliers, why should a company call you to remedy their situation? What do you offer so uniquely that others do not? What makes you stand out in the crowd? What makes you special? Have you positioned yourself in a manner such that key individuals at these firms know you as their solution provider?
If you cannot readily answer these simple questions, you need to go back to the drawing board and create or re-create your own elevator speech, creatively and concisely espousing the reasons why people should want to employ your services. Your “why” should be both unique and compelling. I particularly like what bestselling author and CEO Harvey Mackay says… “The reason you should buy from me is that you get me!” That’s it.
Your branding efforts require constant and consistent attention. You cannot afford to let up or allow your image to be tarnished in any way. On the contrary, you must do everything possible to keep your brand spotlighted and visible, readily leveraged, realizing that every decision you make and direction you move in will effect your brand image and thus, your income. Your sales efforts could be quickly nullified by a branding blunder, both in the near term and the long run.
Your brand is your display ad to the world. If you have successfully established yourself as an authority in your field, properly positioned yourself in your marketplace and adequately promoted your services, your prospects will find you and be eager to buy from you. You must have that little extra, that slight-edge that keeps you in the forefront of your prospect’s mind. Your brand, being your personal storefront, is exposed to the masses at all times.
Your brand is your visible storefront. Keep it clean, publicized, well finished and well lit at all times.
Daniel Sitter, author of both Learning For Profit and Superior Selling Skills Mastery, has garnered extensive experience in sales, training, marketing and personal development over a successful twenty-five year career.
Read his blog http://www.idea-sellers.com/
