What You Need to Know Before You Spend Money on a Logo or Business Cards.

Whether you’re just getting your business started or you’re thinking of a logo facelift, you’ll want to consider these tips before you proceed.

As I’ve often mentioned, all offline and online marketing and materials need to be coordinated Here’s what you need to consider before plunking down a nice payment to a graphic designer.

Think about your target market and what type of visual image you want to project.

Images invoke emotions and reactions. Do you want yours to be light and fun, or serious and weighty? If you’re updating your company logo, why are you doing so? Be clear about your objectives, because any good graphic designer will want you to tell them who your target client is, what type of image you had in mind, and some examples of existing logos that appeal to you. So do a bit of research before you proceed.

Make sure that your domain name and e-mail addresses are the best they can be for your business.

Finding and buying a domain name that directly describes what your business does is important. For example, even though my business is called SmarTrack, and I bought the smartrack.net domain name some years ago before I realized how important it was to have a dot com, I now also own a host of other domain names, including http://smallbusiness-bigresults.com, which is my business tag line. This new domain name describes my business much more clearly.Also make sure that you set up an e-mail address with your business domain in it—so instead of sue@hotmail.com (unprofessional) you have sue@mydomain.com (looks good).

Decide which color scheme will work best for your type of business. This involves doing some internet research to see what colors your top competitors are using and finding logos and websites that appeal to you. Remember that certain colors elicit certain emotions. Dark blue, for example, represents stability and trust. You’ll want a color palette of two or three colors that can be easily matched by a printer and which you can carry over into your website.

Decide if you need stationary and envelopes.

Not every business needs these. But if you do, you’ll need to have them designed as well. Before choosing colored paper for your stationary or business card, consider the extra cost involved each time you print them. White paper is less expensive and the easiest to find.

Consider whether you want the colors to “bleed” off the page or card.

Bleed costs considerable more to print. Because the color goes all the way to the border, printers must use more paper to print them.

If you’re on a budget, don’t be talked into the highest or thickest grade of paper.

Having the thickest, most costly paper will rarely have any impact on your customers’ decision to do business with you. You want your marketing materials to look professional and meet the standards of your industry, but you don’t have to agonize over getting the fanciest paper or card stock.If you already have a website, consider how you will make the website match your logo and business card design If you make a drastic change you’ll need to factor in the cost of doing a website makeover as well.

Shop around!I can’t tell you how many clients have gone to the first graphic designer they found, then ended up paying too much for a design they were unhappy with. Shop around for graphic designers. Ask to see their work. Ask how many different renderings they’re willing to give you. Here’s what I recommend to my clients when they need a new or updated logo, business card or stationary design. I’ve gotten rave reviews about the pricing and quality of the work

http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-2102842-10446649.

Shop around for printers as well. Online printers generally charge much less and often do a decent job. If you decide to go with a local printer, prices vary widely, so talk to several and ask for recommendations.Here’s the online printing company that I use. I’ve been quite happy with the business cards they’ve printed for me.

http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-2102842-10287912

When you’re starting a business and searching for vendors, NEVER sign on with the first one you meet. A little research can save you lots of money and disappointment.


What You Need to Know Before You Spend Money on a Logo or Business Cards. - To learn more about this author, visit Janis Pettit's Website.

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