Today’s post is about seven pitfalls to avoid when you create a brand and business name.
Your business name is an important element that’s directly linked to your ability to grow.
Your business name can make your brand or it can break it.
Don’t hinder your progress by painting yourself into a corner with a name that will hold you back.
Learn what to avoid and what to do when you create a brand and business name by avoiding the seven traps here.
A stroll to your corner bakery can teach you five marketing tips for small business that will make your products and services unforgettable.
Don’t have a corner bakery?
That’s OK. Take a virtual stroll with me to a cozy, well-lit bakery along a busy street. It’s just a few blocks from your front door.
You make every excuse you can to stop by. You duck into their doorway several times a week, and always leave with a bag in hand.
Why? What’s the big attraction?
Yes, you can.
This little bakery does a lot of things right. They’re simple things, really, and they go way beyond flour and yeast.
In fact, none of the marketing tips for small business in this article have to do with the quality of the bakery’s product, which is about the same as what you get in your local grocery store.
What’s their secret? What draws a steady stream of customers through their doors?
Read article …Five Marketing Tips from the Bakery Down the Street
Of all the web-compatible typefaces available, the least appealing is the Verdana font.
And yes, I know it’s used all over. Believe me, I notice!
We’ve spoken about choosing typefaces and brand fonts a lot around here.
Your font matters — maybe more than you realize. Think about it:
Your font choice become the visual voice of your brand. Your words are delivered wrapped in fonts — is your font speaking in the brand voice you want?
So, is Verdana a good font choice, or a bad one? Is there a smart Verdana alternative?
The Verdana font was one of the earliest fonts designed for reading on screens. It’s a “web 1.0” version of a screen-readable font, in my opinion. We’ve come a long way since then.
Use your fonts to get attention online. Register and watch my free workshop, How to Use Visual Marketing to Get Attention — and Customers.
The Verdana font was released in 1996, so it’s a modern typeface. It was designed with one purpose in mind: to improve readability in text used very small on a computer screen.
Microsoft included Verdana as part of its Windows operating system, and so did Mac.
99% of Windows machines and 96% of Macs have it, so it’s widely compatible.
When typeface designers set out to make a typeface that will be readable at small sizes, they streamline the letters to remove flourishes that would get lost at a small size.
They also give the letters a large “x-height,” which is the vertical space between the baseline the letters sit on, and the top of lower-case letters like e, x, a, etc.
And they tend to add extra space between letters, because when typefaces are reduced very small, letters will blur together unless they’re spaced out quite a bit.
The examples below show you why I hate Verdana for regular text copy, and what it’s good for.
You’re about to see what I think is the best Verdana alternative, too.
Keep scrolling, my friend!
Should I build a personal brand for my business? Or should I build a business brand? These questions might have you tossing and turning at night.
In this article, we’re going to step back, take a deep breath, and look objectively at both options so you can chose the best brand type for the business you’re building.
Let’s start with basic definitions …
A personal brand is built around you — your personality, your lifestyle, and your interests.
It usually means you brand your business with your name. There are positives and negatives to this, and we’ll review them in this post.
A business brand is built around an identity you create for your business.
It usually means you need to craft a name for your business that’s independent of your personal name. Again, there are pros and cons, and we’ll cover each below.
It’s easier than ever to build a personal brand, especially with the tools we have available to us online. Between personal websites and social media accounts, it may be easier to create a personal brand than a business brand.
But there are a few reasons you might want to avoid this, so read on.
Discover how to use the power of visual marketing to draw attention to your personal brand or your business brand — for free.
Register for my free on-demand images workshop and see how you can create stunning visuals even if you’re not a designer.
This visual marketing is perfect for promoting your brand on your website, in ads, on social media, and in your email marketing. Register here and watch now!
Read article …Should You Build a Personal Brand or a Business Brand?
Ready to create your brand color palette … but not sure where to start?
This article shares five tools you can explore right now. Find the one you enjoy the most and use it to put together a winning color palette for your business.
The best way to harness the power of color in your marketing is to use colors that support and reinforce your brand.
And don’t go color crazy: pick two main colors, and use them consistently in everything you do.
You may not feel “artistic” enough to do this.
You haven’t studied color theory and you don’t need to know all of that anyway. You just want a nice set of colors that will work for your business.
I don’t blame you — color is an essential part of your visual brand.
In this post, I’m going to share my favorite tools for choosing your brand color palette. The right colors for your brand may be just a click away …
Read article …5 Free Tools for Getting Your Brand Color Palette Right
The most powerful brand style guide template isn’t a multi-page document that you glance at a single time.
It’s not an overwhelming brand blueprint that you save deep in the recesses of your hard drive and never review again.
After you read and do the steps in this article, you’ll have a brand style guide that’s simple enough that you can capture it in a single glance.
And it’s small enough to stick somewhere you can see it every day.
My goal is to make it easy to apply your branding elements consistently every time. Consistent application is the #1 secret to a memorable brand!
Let’s dive in so you can put this simple brand style guide template to use today.
Read article …How to Fit a Powerful Brand Style Guide on a 3-Inch Sticky Note