What are some things you could be doing TODAY to help your business?

Having a business is a committment. How you look will cause a response of some kind, negatively or positively. Don’t you want a positive response? Do you have a marketing budget? Why not, if looking good is so important to the success of your business?

1. Looking Great! I saw the perfect example of not investing in advertising when I was going to pick up my kids from school yesterday. I wish I had a camera, but painting this verbal picture may be more effective.

I was stopped at a red light and saw a van that immediately caught my attention. There it was, a brown van with a paint job that looked like chocolate frosting, tires with no hub caps and in a white scripty font, it read: Pampered Pooch. The name of the company was on a slant and white puppy paw prints dotted the back side of the van.

If you are the owner of the Pampered Pooch, you are in luck because I am going to give you some free marketing advice. Ready? Look the part. Period.

Dogs are your customers, but humans are the ones that will be putting the cash in your pocket, so you need to look CLEAN. That is why they would be using you and your services in the first place. After looking up the name on the internet, I found a very bad review for a mobile grooming company with the same name. Bad, bad, bad advertising.

Investing time and money into your business will bring you business. However, you don’t need to spend a ton, but investing in a few areas will put you ahead of your competition.

So I put together a list of areas where attention to detail is very beneficial but often overlooked. These are all FREE IDEAS!

*I am writing this, assuming your business has a website. If you do not, WordPress is a free blogging and website program that I use and highly recommend. Go to https://en.wordpress.com/signup/ to use WordPress to power your very own www. What isn’t free is your www. and the hosting … but that’s for another time.

2. OK. I know everyone is telling you to get on Facebook. I’m sorry, but they are right.
Many people are procrastinators because of fear. But fear of Facebook won’t work anymore, because I am going to give you a link that gives you step by step instructions on creating your coveted Facebook page. WHY? Because it is a free way to get picked up by Google, Bing, Yahoo or any other search engine. This means that when someone is looking for Graphic Designer in Hanford or Brand Identity Hanford, on any given search engine, my facebook page will also show up in the results. This gives you more link juice- (popularity in the virtual world of business). Click here to get started on Facebook TODAY. Get your Business name on FB before someone else takes your spot!

3. Get on LinkedIn and join a group. Go to LinkedIn.com and they will walk you through it. Some of your previous companies may have alumni groups, as well as the University that you attended. Ask for recommendations from past employers, friends, current clients. You name it, ask away so you can showcase your trustworthiness. Join these and look for discussions you are interested in. Make comments and even post articles that may be helpful to the topic and audience. If you are currently employed by a company, Linkup with those you know from your day to day dealings. One day you many need these connections if you are laid off or leave to start your own business. It is also a resume of sorts and a self-promotional marketing tool. Click here to learn how to write the kind of recommendation that is perfect for LinkedIn. Go get em!

4. Getting Things Done by David Allen
Are you organized? Are you level headed under pressure? Do you know how to make lists? If you answered yes, then skip this one!

This one deals with your mental in-basket and how our minds keep coming back to what we haven’t done. For me, creativity is like air. I am a graphic designer by trade, but also need to be organized to be productive.

A few months ago, I noticed I didn’t feel creative like I used to. I picked up this book not knowing that it would help me to unlock my creativity.

David calls his system an art, the art of stress-free productivity to be exact. He states that so many of us use up the RAM or part of our brain that keeps track of our undone tasks and replays them, that we cannot be productive. During the day, he works with executives to clear their mental in-box of mundane tasks and in the evening they experienced a steady stream of ideas and visions about their company  and their future. What they did was “unstick” their workflow.

I am still implementing his system, so I will keep you posted and look forward to making this work! He’s definitely onto something and if you are curious, check out his blog at http://www.gtdtimes.com/ or listen to GTD podcasts at http://www.davidco.com/podcasts/play/50.html

If you feel overwhelmed by #’s 2 and 3, do #4 and I bet you will be ready to conquer Social Media Marketing! Let me know how it goes!

5. Can your website be read on a mobile device? Need I say more?
I am still fine-tuning this for my website, since WordPress uses plug-ins. Being viewable on a smart phone will help you reach more people and that makes you competitive! Don’t settle. Be assertive and get in the game, your worth it.

 

 

 

WordPress or not to WordPress?
That is the question.

In this age of modern technology and communication, how do you know who to trust, what to avoid, and how to navigate through the choppy waters of connectivity?

Unfortunately, the answer is found in jumping in and quite frankly, swimming smart so you don’t drown. That is what I did with WordPress.

I was in need of a website myself. I looked at my options, which means I google’d ALOT of questions. I love google. It is my virtual gas station where I ask for directions. I started by teaching myself DreamWeaver and used it with WordPress.

I really started to take to WordPress. I love the layout on the admin’s side. It is easy to follow and has lots of plug-in’s, which are basically extras for your website in the form of “Widgets”.

I also use MailChimp for my email marketing. I highly recommend them. They have a plug-in for WordPress that links your database to your website. There are also plug-in’s that connect your users to your Twitter or Facebook accounts. The list is endless!

Ok. So, the love affair must end sometime and the reality of this virtual commitment sinks in. I created WordPress sites and even bought “Premium” templates to customize.

My MorningStar website was the third one I designed. I chose a template from Dream Templates that I really liked. Then I customized it. Then my beautiful site disappeared! One day it was gone and no one could tell me why.

I started over, several times. What I learned when I was FORCED to change template after template, was that each template admin panel was different. In other words, each format is different in each template. Some have panels just for the Homepage and in some you need to create a page to be your Homepage. There is no rhyme or reason to it.

I finally chose a template called Twenty-Ten from WordPress, which is almost as basic as you can get. Because it was basic, I had to work my magic in Photoshop to customize the header and the background. Finally, I found a solution.

BEWARE: Premium templates come with a price behind the price.

When purchasing templates from Envato or Dream Templates, to name a few, there can be and most likely are, errors in the code. The code is all the “language” that is behind the design and movement of the website. If the code is wrong, it will effect how your site works and even how it is ranked in the search engines, like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Stay tuned….

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

This may sound cliche, and maybe it is, but think about it. When you are advertising your company and using different marketing techniques to do it, what do you do first? Design a logo? Hire an ad agency? Ask a friend for the name of a good graphic designer?

Actually, none of the above.

I have found that if you make a marketing budget FIRST, the rest will fall into place.

Here’s why:
1. Knowing how much you can spend and how often, can prevent you from hiring a cheap (inexperienced) graphic designer. You will be more willing to pay someone what they are worth if you have a marketing plan and a reasonable budget.

2. Most people that need graphic designers are not familiar or even comfortable with this area of the business. So spending money here may not be at the top of the list.

3. Many who start small businesses estimate their sales revenue, cost of goods, overhead, salaries and gross profit. According to SCORE (Counselor’s to America’s Small Business), any funds left over will be used on marketing.

That is not a good idea, especially when you need to market more aggressively as a new competitor.

4. You get what you pay for. It’s that simple.

As a graphic designer, I have seen and felt the stress of new business owners. You may already have had an experience with a designer when you were first starting out or you are there right now. It is crucial you have a consistent brand identity that radiates professionalism.

A marketing AND graphic design expert can tell you what type of marketing campaign to start with and then help you develop a brand identity.

I would recommend a freelance graphic designer with a marketing background like myself when you are looking to do the above without the hoops found at an ad agency.

Ultimately, the “egg” is a good plan and what is born out of that is one recognizable, trustworthy chicken!

SCORE is a valuable resource.
Check out http://www.score.org/marketing_your_business.html for more ideas on marketing your business.

Experience is a virtue

Have you heard the phrase, “Patience is a virtue”? Well, I think, in my humble opinion, that experience should be one as well. To gather that much coveted experience, you need patience and a lot of it.