Articles by Erin Ferree on ArticleSnatch.com

Signs It's Time To Redesign Your Company's Brand

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0500

When you first start a small business, you create your brand based on your hopes and plans for the future of the company. Sometimes this is based on experience, but more often than not it's based on a guess. Then once you actually start doing business, you may find that your business isn't following the same path you set out on. And now for something completely different Just like in Monty Python, everything can shift and change in your business. It may even take a whole new direction. But changing everything in your brand isn't a matter to be taken lightly. Redesigning a brand requires a solid business reason. What "solid business reason" can cause a brand change? Even though I believe that it's important for a small business to design their logo for life, there are occasionally big reasons for a business to redesign their logoâ€”and even renameâ€”their businesses. What kinds of change are big enough? Company name. This seems obvious, but if you change your company name, it's important to redesign your logo and marketing materials to signal the change. Don't just put the new name with the old logo and hope that no one notices. **End Summary** Topics: logo]]> symbol]]> design]]> graphic]]> graphic design]]> branding]]> identity design]]> mark]]> trademark]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the logo design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

How to Make Sure Your Website Won't Need a Do-Over

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0500

It's recess time on the elementary school playground. A group of third graders is playing kick ball in teams on the grass. Suddenly, there's a big argument over whether the last point goes to the girls' team or the boys' team. The argument rages on for what seems like forever â€” almost a whole minute of precious recess time has been wasted! In third grade, wasting recess is a crime! And it must be stopped before time runs out. One of the girls realizes, stops arguing, looks around and declares, "Do-over". The boys accept this proposal, the last play is forgotten, and the game starts again. The slate is wiped clean, but the play has to be repeated When you were young, do-overs were an easy way to resolve an argument, fix unfairness or quickly change history. Why wouldn't you want to be able to do this with your business website? Unlike the playground game, designing a website takes a lot of time, work and money â€” it's just not a task that you're going to want to start over from scratch again! **End Summary** Topics: website]]> design]]> web design]]> web site]]> marketing]]> branding]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> characteristics]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. Her workbook, "Design a Website That Works", will walk you through all of the questions that you need to answer in order to create the best possible website. http://www.elf-design.com/http://www.elf-design.com/products-webWorkbook.html

The Domino Effect of Changing Your Logo

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0500

It's a rainy afternoon and you've got a hot cup of tea and a box of dominoes. You set them up on end, one next to the other in a snaking line across your dining room table. Then you bump the first domino and watch as the rest fall down, one after the other. Redesigning your logo is more than just fun and games Changing your logo is a lot like playing dominoesâ€”once you start, you have to keep knocking over project after project until you've got all of your marketing pieces set up again. Once you decide to create a new logo, you'll instantly find a whole new list of to-dos. This would include setting up the brand definition, expressing it in a logo, and then making sure that all of the rest of the pieces flow from those Knocking down those to-dos takes more effort than the simple little bump that topples over the row of dominos. What does redesigning really mean? Think back to the first time you designed your logoâ€”the work, time, expense, and thought you had to put into the project. **End Summary** Topics: branding]]> brand]]> redesign]]> small business]]> brand definition]]> brand identity]]> logo]]> design]]> marketing]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the logo design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

The Building Blocks of Visual Vocabulary: Flexibility

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Just like the sidekicks help out a superhero, your Visual Vocabulary together with your logo helps put the kapow into your brand identity. These Visual Vocabulary "sidekicks" are the graphics, font styles, colors, and layouts you use in your materials, and even the type of paper you print your materials on. One of the best features of a Visual Vocabulary is its flexibility. It's important for a small business to use the same logo for the life of the business. Using the same logo will improve the memorability and appearance of stability of your business. By using a Visual Vocabulary in conjunction with your logo, you'll be able to have a flexible set of visual elements in your brand. There are several reasons why you might want to change your Visual Vocabulary elements. There may also be circumstances where you want to use different Visual Vocabulary elements to distinguish your offerings from one another. Some of the main reasons we recommend switching out your Visual Vocabulary include: - To make better use of the limitations of the media that you're using. **End Summary** Topics: visual vocabulary]]> brand]]> design]]> graphic design]]> branding]]> marketing]]> consistency]]> fonts]]> color palettes]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the logo design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

Why Entrepreneurs Divorce Their Logos (And Why It's A Bad Idea)

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Remember how excited you were when you first designed your logo? How beautiful you thought it was, and how you couldn't wait to get your first batch of business cards printed so you could show it off? How you excitedly described its meaning and subtleties to your mom (and your clients?) And the rush to the trademark office to get your new love "made official"-what excitement when the papers finally arrived! Where did that magical feeling go? The problem is that you keep seeing your logo. Over and over again. You spend time working on your marketing: creating flyers, updating your website, putting together your email newsletter, etc... And of course, each of those pieces includes your logo (right?). Then you do your business development and billing: writing up proposals, processing client intake questionnaires, writing up invoices-again, all with your logo. Then there are the pieces that you see on a day to day basis: the business cards in your purse or wallet, your office signage, the promotional graphics on your car. Just in the process of running your business, you'll see your logo constantly. Did I mention constantly? **End Summary** Topics: logo]]> symbol]]> design]]> graphic]]> graphic design]]> branding]]> identity design]]> mark]]> trademark]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the logo design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

Signs It's Time To Redesign Your Website

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Designing your first website is a stressful undertaking. It requires you to dig deep into your business in order to write the copy for your site. You need to work with a designer and go through the process of creating a site that looks unique and works well. Plus you'll end up investing a lot of time, energy and money. And finally, after all that, you're finished and it's time for the site to go live. What a relief! Many business owners go through this same process. By the time the process is finished, many entrepreneurs are very glad that it's over - and don't want to do it again any time soon. Unfortunately, websites don't last forever. Even if you plan your site to work for the current vision for your business, you can't accurately account for the entire future of your business. Eventually you'll have to make some changes to your website. Some of these changes can be accomplished with simple maintenance, and by making updates to your site. But there's only so far that patching and revising your current site can go. **End Summary** Topics: website]]> design]]> web design]]> web site]]> marketing]]> branding]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> characteristics]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. Her workbook, "Design a Website That Works", will walk you through all of the questions that you need to answer in order to create the best possible website. http://www.elf-design.com/http://www.elf-design.com/products-webWorkbook.html

9 Keys to an Effective Logo

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The right logo, with the right characteristics, will boost your visibility, credibility and memorablity which means more business for you! These characteristics include: Consistency in use of your logo, tagline, materials. Repetition of similar elements, used in the same or similar ways, helps people to remember who you are and what you do. Memorability, so that your logo stays at the forefront of your potential clients' minds. That way, they'll think of you next time they have a need. Meaningfulness, so that your logo can spread the message about the distinguishing characteristics of your business, and tell your business's story. Uniqueness, which helps you stand out from the crowd. For example, if everyone in your industry uses a particular symbol (i.e., travel agencies often use globes in their logos), try to use something else that way, your logo doesn't just look like everyone else's. Professionalism, in the quality of the graphics, the printing and the paper on which your materials are printed. Using home-printed business cards or clip art for your logo will make your buisness look cheap. **End Summary** Topics: branding]]> brand]]> small business]]> brand definition]]> brand identity]]> logo]]> design]]> marketing]]> niche]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the brand identity design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

What Rushing Your Design Project Really Means

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

If you don't plan to allow enough time for your project to be designed, printed and delivered, then you may still be able to have your project completed in time, but the design will have to be rushed. This means that your designer will put aside other client's work and work late nights, even weekends, to get your project out - but at a price. And the price takes several forms other than just financial. The cost of rushing your project includes: - Skipping important parts of the design process: With less time there's often not enough time allowed for a designer to spend much time at all on a creative approach or concept for your project. There also may not be enough time for your designer to present a lot of concepts to you or to go through a lot of revisions. You'll also be rushed through the approval cycle - which means it's more likely that you might miss your deadline. - Quality may suffer: With less time and more stress the finished product often won't be of as high a quality as it could be. **End Summary** Topics: time line]]> lead time]]> project management]]> design project]]> rush]]> print time]]> timing]]> graphic design]]> marketing plan]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity packages, Erin helps her clients discover their brand differentiators, then designs logos, business cards, and other marketing materials and websites to reflect that differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and memorability. http://www.elf-design.com

Get Your Website Launched!

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

There are many elements in a website design project. Elements may include the overall strategy, the site map, site contents, design, coding, search engine optimization (SEO) and additional functionality. With so much to track, it's easy to let the website design project roll on forever. It's tempting to keep tinkering and adjusting the various components until they're perfect. But you should remember that while you're editing the website, it stays on your designer's temporary server for testing or on your desktop - and never gets launched. This is counter-productive. While it's important to launch a website that looks professional, it's also perfectly OK to launch a site that isn't 100% finished. Launching a site that's not perfect can actually help you! Once your site is live, you'll be able to: - Get Feedback: While you're working on your website, you're working in a vacuum. Even if you're working with a designer and testing it out with some of your clients, you'll only be getting input from a few people. Once you launch it you'll be able to ask all of your visitors for their impressions and feedback on your site. **End Summary** Topics: website]]> design]]> web design]]> web site]]> marketing]]> branding]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> characteristics]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. Her workbook, "Design a Website That Works", will walk you through all of the questions that you need to answer in order to create the best possible website. http://www.elf-design.com/http://www.elf-design.com/products-webWorkbook.html

13 Tips for Finding a Graphic Designer

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Are you ready to hire someone to design your logo, collaterals, or artwork for your website? Well, here's just the information you need to get the best results from hiring your first (or your first successful) graphic designer. To assure that we begin on the same page, a graphic designer designs your marketing materials - the print- and web-ready art which are then turned over to a printer or coded for the web for the final outcome. Some of their vocabulary can be foreign to you, and their processes may not be familiar either. We'll address that and more with these tactics. This advice gives you the essentials for hiring the right person for this critical project. The more qualified the designer, and the better the match between you and your designer will lead to more appealing final designs. the more professional you and your business will look. 1. Look at their work samples. Many designers offer a portfolio of samples either on their website, by email as a PDF, or in a hard-copy format. When you review these, look for a general design style that you like, not necessarily whether they have lots of experience within your particular industry. **End Summary** Topics: design]]> graphic designer]]> graphic design]]> brand]]> logo]]> hire]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> contractor]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity packages, Erin helps her clients design effective websites that help them extend their brands, bring in new clients and make sales. http://www.elf-design.com

9 Tips for Getting the Best Work From Your Graphic Designer

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

A graphic designer's goal is to provide you with the logos, artwork and page designs that best fit your business, personality, industry, and target market and conveys your offerings and differentiators. The experience of reaching that goal can be extremely smooth and pleasant if you know what to expect upfront, and if you understand that you do need to work with your designer, as opposed to just letting them loose to create with little input. To assure that the experience you and your designer have is productive and successful, our last article, "13 Tips for Finding a Graphic Designer" offers insight, definitions, and advice on beginning the relationship. Once you've selected the designer with whom you feel most comfortable: 1. Communicate, communicate, communicate! Clarity and understanding are key to a good working relationship. Keep in mind that most designers tend to be highly visual people, so communication may be ever so slightly difficult. Have patience, and use all of the other tips in this section to facilitate your communication. 2. And, be clear about what you mean. **End Summary** Topics: design]]> graphic designer]]> graphic design]]> brand]]> logo]]> hire]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> contractor]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity packages, Erin helps her clients design effective websites that help them extend their brands, bring in new clients and make sales. http://www.elf-design.com

Types of Logos: Text, Symbol and Combination Logos

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

There are three basic types of logos: text, symbol, and combination logos. The type of logo that will work best for your company depends on a number of considerations, such as the size of your company, the uniqueness of your name, and a variety of other factors. Text logo A text logo (also sometimes called a logotype or word mark) is a logo largely made up of the text of the company's name. This type of logo can have some graphic elements-lines, boxes, borders-that interact with, surround, or even form the letters. However, the graphic elements should be used as an accent to the text, not as a major or equally-weighted part of the logo. A text logo works well when: - You have a multi-word business name. If your business name is made up of many words, that are not commonly or easily abbreviated, or when an abbreviation may not be appropriate developing a text logo will keep the logo design as simple and clean as possible. - You're working with an innovative, unique business name, as with Yahoo or Google. In each case, the business name is enough to make the logo memorable. **End Summary** Topics: logo]]> symbol]]> design]]> graphic]]> graphic design]]> branding]]> identity design]]> mark]]> trademark]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the logo design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

How to Make Your Website Search-Engine Friendly

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

One of your ultimate goals when creating your small business website will be to ensure that the website can be found by clients and prospects using Internet search engines (for example, Google, Yahoo!, and so forth). But there's not a lot of understandable information available about what the average small business owner can do to improve the number of search engine "hits" their websites get. So, here are some tips that you can use to improve your site's ranking: - Site coding language: The content of your website should be coded in HTML so that the search engines can read it. If you create your site in Flash or include PDF documents on it, then the search engines won't be able to see the text-which means that they won't understand what your site is about. - Keywords: When planning your site, consider the words and phrases that your prospects are most likely to use when running a text search for your products or services. In many cases, it will be easiest for a small business to optimize for a keyword phrase instead of a single keyword. **End Summary** Topics: website]]> design]]> search engine optimization]]> Google]]> ranking]]> visibility]]> online]]> visitors]]> web design]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. One of the best ways to do that is with Search Engine Optimization, which you can learn about in her eLearning product, Raise Your Ranking, which is available at http://www.howtoraiseyourranking.com .

Font Basics for Branding Your Small Business

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

There are many components of a brand identity: logo, color palette, font choice, and the Visual Vocabulary. There's a lot of information available about the use of logos, colors, and Visual Vocabulary, but not much on the effective use of fonts. So, here's some information on the creative, practical, and technical aspects of fonts. Font basics A font is a set of all the letters in the alphabet, designed with similar characteristics. This is also known as a typeface. Fonts are usually designed to include several style variations. This can include styles like light, regular, bold, semibold, ultra bold, and italic. Some fonts also include "Expert" versions, which are fonts that include fractions and mathematical symbols. Font families are typically packages of fonts that include all of the different versions of a font. Using fonts with large families will give you a wide range of fonts to use in your materials, for variety and emphasis. There are many basic classifications of fonts. Four of the most common classes of fonts are: - Serif fonts, which have little "feet," called serifs, at the ends of the lines that make up the letters. **End Summary** Topics: design]]> graphic designer]]> graphic design]]> brand]]> logo]]> font]]> type]]> typography]]> small business]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity packages, Erin helps her clients discover their brand differentiators, then designs logos, business cards, and other marketing materials and websites to reflect that differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and memorability. http://www.elf-design.com

The Layers of Your Brand

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Branding is a hot topic in marketing these days, but it's defined in different ways and looked at from different angles. There are many components that make up a brand, and we call each component a Brand Layer. Here are our definitions of some of the most important Brand Layers: Brand Foundation The base from which all brand elements will be created and measured against for accuracy. This layer consists of the following elements: - Brand Vision is your company's plan for itself-how your company wants to appear to the world, and how your company wants to grow and change in coming years. - Brand Mission is what your company wants to create in the world, through its products or services. - Brand Values are those ideas that your company brand stands for and that you believe in-and also what you don't want to and won't do. These values help your potential clients to decide whether you can help them, and they also help you decide who you will help and what you can't offer or deliver. **End Summary** Topics: branding]]> brand]]> small business]]> brand definition]]> brand identity]]> logo]]> design]]> marketing]]> niche]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the logo design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

Follow Up With Your Clients

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

A follow-up tool such as a post card, HTML newsletter, or note card is essential to make sure that your services stay "top-of-mind" with the people that you meet. It's said that a prospect needs to hear from you seven times before they will make a purchase. So it's important to create tools and a system to enable you to followup with your prospects once you've made that initial connection. Steps to planning your follow-up method and system: 1. Determine how your customers prefer to receive information from you. Communicating with them in the method of their choice makes them more receptive to your messages and more likely to buy from you. Consider whether your ideal clients are "computer people" or whether they'd be more likely to respond to postal mail. 2. Then, consider which media you're most comfortable using to follow up. Do you have the technical skills to produce an HTML newsletter or the budget to hire a specialist? And do you have the time to create articles about your area of expertise? Do you have the time to apply addresses and postage to post cards? **End Summary** Topics: newsletter]]> keep in touch]]> follow up]]> marketing]]> design]]> branding]]> small business]]> ezine]]> HTML newsletter]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. Her ebook, "All The News About Email Newsletters" will tell you everything you need to know about desiging, writing, and sending out an email newsletter to stay in touch with your clients and prospects. http://www.elf-design.com/products-mini-newsletter.html

Business Card Basics

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Making a great first impression often begins with your business card. Your business card is typically the first of your marketing materials that a new client will see. It should clearly tell your client who you are and what you do at first glance. A business card is a convenient way to introduce yourself at networking events, and it's key to passing your contact information along when you meet someone. Important elements to include when designing your business card include: - Your contact information, including your business mailing address. Including a mailing address greatly increases your credibility and makes you look much more established! If you're concerned about privacy, a Post Office box or mailbox is a great way to go. - Your logo, as discussed in many of the other articles in our library. - Strong secondary graphics and design elements, which we refer to as your visual vocabulary. - A list of your services, which is especially important if you offer multiple services or if your business name doesn't specifically make clear what you do. Be concise when creating this list, so that all of the relevant information will fit on the business card. **End Summary** Topics: business card]]> marketing]]> design]]> graphic design]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> brand]]> brand identity]]> branding]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity packages, Erin helps her clients discover their brand differentiators, then designs logos, business cards, and other marketing materials and websites to reflect that differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and memorability. http://www.elf-design.com

The Great Two-Sided Business Card Debate

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

A business card is one of the most important marketing pieces that you'll develop for your company, since it is typically the first piece of your marketing materials that a new client will see. One of the most debated points in business card design is whether to print information on just one side of the card or to use both sides. There are many views on this controversy, and here are some that we frequently hear. The arguments for keeping the back of the card blank are that printing on both sides has the following disadvantages: - Not having a space to take notes while networking: Many business people use a system of writing notes on the backs of the business cards they receive while networking. They do this to remind themselves of the commitments they made or to later jog their memories about the conversation. Too much printing on the back can make this difficult or impossible. Glossy coatings on the backs of cards can also prevent note writing. - Rolodexes, business card filing systems, and card scanners: These are widely used in business today, and many models don't allow for the back of the card to be viewed. **End Summary** Topics: business card]]> marketing]]> design]]> graphic design]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> brand]]> brand identity]]> branding]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the logo design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

The Art of Website Maintenance

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Now that you've designed and launched your website, you have a powerful marketing tool for your business. But, your website is only as useful as the content is current. The process of keeping the content on your site current is called website maintenance, and it's important to keep both visitors and search engines supplied with new information. Just like regular maintenance on your car, you have to make changes on your website every few months to make sure that things run smoothly. If you update the content on your website on a regular basis, potential clients will be drawn back to your site to find out "what's new". The search engines pay visits to websites in their queue regularly. The catch is that you'll stay in the queue only if you update your site regularly. If the search engines visit your site several times in a row, and don't find anything new, they may decide not to come back-which can be a blow to your search engine rankings. So, when is it appropriate to update your website? You don't want to waste time and money nitpicking at your site if you don't have updates of real value to add. **End Summary** Topics: website]]> design]]> web design]]> web site]]> marketing]]> branding]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> characteristics]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. Her workbook, "Design a Website That Works", will walk you through all of the questions that you need to answer in order to create the best possible website. http://www.elf-design.com/http://www.elf-design.com/products-webWorkbook.html

How Search Engine Optimization Helps Small Businesses

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

You've probably heard people talking about Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, and wondered if it would help your business. The answer, in short, is absolutely! Search Engine Optimization is the process of fine-tuning your website code and content to rank well in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The basics of the SEO process are to: - Choose keywords and keyword phrases that describe what you do and that your target market will use to search for your services. - Use those keywords throughout the code and text for your website. - Place links back to your site, containing those keyword phrases, on other websites. The search engines look at incoming links from other sites-not at outgoing links from your site-to improve your rankings There's a whole field of consulting built up around Search Engine Optimization, mainly because the search engines are constantly changing how they work, to discourage unethical or unfair Search Engine Optimization processes, such as loading a page with invisible keywords or using code in the page that specifies words that have nothing to do with your business. **End Summary** Topics: website]]> design]]> search engine optimization]]> Google]]> ranking]]> visibility]]> online]]> visitors]]> web design]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. One of the best ways to do that is with Search Engine Optimization, which you can learn about in her eLearning product, Raise Your Ranking, which is available at http://www.howtoraiseyourranking.com .

No Logo?: Launching a Business Without a Logo Can Sabotage You

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The initial lack of customers and cash flow often causes new small business owners to put off designing a logo and marketing materials professionally "until they get a few clients" or "until they get started." Unfortunately, designing their own marketing materials when they launch their businesses instead of having them professionally created will make getting those initial clients more difficult and may result in a business that will not succeed. Many entrepreneurs choose to design their own marketing materials when they launch their businesses, especially by creating their first business card. Or sometimes they will have an amateur designer, friend, or relative create the design. There are several reasons why this is not the best idea. An amateur logo design and business card can make your business more likely to fail for a number of reason. - Your business will not look stable. It will appear to be more likely to fold or to fail. Clients will not have confidence in doing business with you. Would you do business with someone who seems to be on unstable footing and who might not be in business by the end of your project or after you have purchased an item? **End Summary** Topics: branding]]> brand]]> small business]]> brand definition]]> brand identity]]> logo]]> design]]> marketing]]> niche]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the brand identity design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

15 Reasons Small Businesses Need a Brand Identity System

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Business and marketing experts urge small business owners to "brand" their businesses with a logo and a set of consistent marketing materials - a brand identity system. But they rarely explain the reasons behind this advice. A logo and consistent marketing materials can increase your sales and revenue, because they convey the following impressions: 1. To convey that you are established. A logo and professionally-printed materials show that you are committed to both your business and your clients. It also makes you look like you've been around for some time, and that you're stable. 2. To attract more clients. Some clients look for a well-defined company, and "look and feel" may be one of their criteria in making a purchasing decision. 3. Others are "wowed" by professional-looking materials, and your logo may impress them into buying. 4. To increase your credibility. A logo makes you look experienced and professional, and can go a long way towards making your business appear credible. And, if you'd like to be known as an expert in your field, this type of credibility is the first thing you have to establish. 5. To be more memorable. **End Summary** Topics: branding]]> brand]]> small business]]> brand definition]]> brand identity]]> logo]]> design]]> marketing]]> niche]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the brand identity design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

Three Brand Identity Myths That Will Bring Your Business Down

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

"Brand identity" is the combination of consistent visual elements that are used in your marketing materials. A basic brand identity kit consists of a logo, business card, letterhead, and envelope. It can be extended to include a Web site, brochure, folder, flyer, or any other professionally designed pieces. Having a brand identity is extremely important to your business's success. However, many business owners have misconceptions about brand identities that can damage their businesses. My cousin/coworker/friend can design my brand identity There are some very significant areas of your business that should be left to the professionals. First of all, while your cousin may have been "great in art class," this does not mean that she has the knowledge and expertise required to create great graphic designs. Designing a logo, business card, or Web site is much different than painting a picture or making a collage. You must make a brand logo scalable, meaningful, and symbolic. Second, having a professional designer on your business marketing team ensures that your projects will be a top priority. **End Summary** Topics: branding]]> brand]]> small business]]> brand definition]]> brand identity]]> logo]]> design]]> marketing]]> niche]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand out in front of their competition and attract more clients. Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help you with your brand definition - the most important step in the brand identity design process. http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

Stop Making Excuses. Your Website Must Match Your Other Marketing Materials

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

At first glance the title of this article sounds obvious - that your website would look like all your other marketing materials. Of course that's just something that would have to happen, right? But I run into more and more entrepreneurs who want to break this rule. Creating a website that looks significantly different from all of your other marketing materials just tends to be a bad idea. I'm going to review the most common reasons I hear for breaking this cardinal rule. Then I'll tell you exactly why doing so would hurt your brand rather than help it. The 4 reasons that I hear most often from entrepreneurs are: - The web allows you to use as many colors as you want, without paying extra. Many forms of printing still charge per color of ink used and using more than 2 or 3 colors can get very expensive for small businesses. However the web allows you to use all the colors that you want, for free! Many entrepreneurs get very excited about this. They use every color they can think of throughout the site. **End Summary** Topics: website]]> design]]> web design]]> web site]]> marketing]]> branding]]> small business]]> entrepreneur]]> characteristics]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. Her workbook, "Design a Website That Works", will walk you through all of the questions that you need to answer in order to create the best possible website. http://www.elf-design.com/http://www.elf-design.com/products-webWorkbook.html

Good Design Doesn't Get Done In A Day: Part 2 of 2

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Unfortunately once you've finished designing your piece, the work is not over. There are several additional pieces to consider when you're working out your timeline: Other timing considerations: - Time for other vendors' work. Writing, proofreading and photography have to happen before the design portion of a project can begin. Get timeline estimates from all vendors and make sure that everyone involved in the process knows when their deadline is. For example, if you have a writer working on copy for a one-page sales website you'll need that copy at least a couple of weeks before the site is launched. This lets the designer use that copy to design and code the site. Once the design is complete allow enough time for printing. You'll also need time for web coding, backend development, hosting setup and domain name propagation. Printing is an often-overlooked time component - and it can take quite some time to do properly! For most projects I'd suggest allowing a minimum of one week to print the project. Two weeks will prevent the printer from rushing and will give all the final pieces plenty of time to dry as well. **End Summary** Topics: time line]]> lead time]]> project management]]> design project]]> rush]]> print time]]> timing]]> graphic design]]> marketing plan]]> ]]> About the Author: ]]> Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity packages, Erin helps her clients discover their brand differentiators, then designs logos, business cards, and other marketing materials and websites to reflect that differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and memorability. http://www.elf-design.com