This post corresponds to podcast Episode 5: Sourcing Your Design Projects with crowdSPRING and Episode 6: Brand identity beyond design with Vistaprint which are included in the Free Marketing Made Easy Core Program, accompanied by workbook and video tutorials that show you how to do this on your own.
Our last post described Content Marketing; the discipline by which we create a concrete message. Since you now understand how to speak to your target audience , it’s time to consider how you’ll create your brand identity. This includes everything from logos and websites to business cards and more.
Let’s face it: finding a good, affordable designer can be difficult. And even when you’ve found a good graphic designer, the actual logo, website and marketing collateral you want can be pricey. Consider these questions:
- Do people regularly compliment you on your brand image?
- Is your marketing platform consistent, with the same look and feel across your website, business cards, brochures, e-newsletters, etc?
- Are you working with a limited marketing budget?
These are the issues we help you with in the brand design segment of Free Marketing Made Easy. In case you haven’t already completed the course, here are a few short cuts for you.
Typically, we small business owners look online and ask colleagues for referrals to a ‘good’ graphic designer. Once we find someone, we can really only evaluate them based on the work they have done for other clients…we can’t really be sure that we’ll like what they come up with for us.
crowdSPRING turns that process upside down, and minimizes our risk by getting numerous designers to compete for our business. It’s simple: we go to their website, register, write a brief description of what we are looking for and indicate how much we are willing to pay. Then we sit back and watch while actual samples start coming in.
Each project receives well over 100 entries from 35+ designers. As we provide feedback on initial designs the submissions get closer and closer to what we have in mind, until we decide on one and choose the winner. That’s it! It’s a can’t-miss service for small businesses.
Vistaprint is another great resource for your design needs. Offering everything you need to market your business, Vistaprint produces high-quality printed and electronic marketing materials and promotional products. They also offer individualized services such as copywriting, design, websites and postcard mailing. You can upload your own design, choose from their templates or utilize their custom design services for your projects. It’s really easy for you to choose one item (such as a business card) and match your design to other complimentary items so you don’t have to start every project from scratch.
The Vistaprint Marketing Learning Center is a phenomenal and free resource for marketing success. On their website you’ll find free webinars, on-demand marketing tips, expert advice and more, much of which is spelled out in easy to follow videos. If you need to re-brand your company or create new marketing materials, these two companies are your easiest, most cost-effective place to begin.
Once you have a good grasp of how to affordably design a unique and compelling brand identity, you can put these elements to work by creating an up-to-date, powerful and easy to manage website. We’ll discuss how in our next post, Building Your Website on WordPress.
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