How exactly do you go about building a brand for your new business? Over the last few weeks, we’ve been taking a look at the various aspects of brand building. This included the basics of branding, graphic design, and how to rescue a struggling brand. But you might be wondering, but how do I start building a brand from scratch? Well, help is on the way! What is a Brand? As I’ve said before, a brand is like a container that holds all of the assets, both tangible and intangible, of your business. Everything from your logo and color scheme…
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When I’m working with a client to either create a new brand or reimagine their existing one, a common question I hear is, “What’s the difference between graphic design and branding?” Conflating the two is an easy mistake to make. After all, when people think of brands, they think of logos. Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Nike… All of these brands have logos that instantly identify them. At a glance, a customer knows everything about those businesses, just by seeing their logo. However, logos and other graphic components are only one part of branding. As I’ve said in the past, think of a…
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Does your website have a core lead magnet attached? Imagine this: You’re looking for a digital marketer (a pretty big stretch, huh?) You go onto a website, but the only things that are offered on it are paid products. There is no real way to see what kind of content they create for free. Instead, you have to go in blind and hope that they can meet your content creation/social media/email marketing/ funnel creation/ technical needs etc. And for some, that can be too high a price. Now, when you come to my website, I offer free content right off…
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Do you remember what it was like when you were a kid during the summer? It was like heaven! Three entire months off school with no work whatsoever! I remember waking up to the smell of fresh cut grass and would scramble out of bed to get outside! Unfortunately, endless summers can’t last forever. But here’s the good news! One of the benefits of being an entrepreneur with a business is that you get to make your own schedule. Yes, you absolutely need to work like crazy during the summer to grow your business, but if you want a three…
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Do you have any tricks or tips that help get you through your daily workflow? Back when I first started my small business, my daily workflow was very different than it is now. There were very few applications out there that not only make my business easier to manage, but also helped me get so much more done throughout the course of my day. Today, I have tons of programs, automated processes, and other tools that help me be super productive from the first thing in the morning until the very end of the night. If you’ve ever been curious…
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Remember the old adage for those with gigantic cable packages? “300 channels and nothing’s on?” That certainly isn’t a problem anymore. Ignoring the phenomenon of cord cutting (I mean, how many people really want to pay for cable today?), you can find just about all of the entertainment that you want from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, YouTube and other video services. Streaming video has mostly replaced traditional cable, offering people the ability to watch whatever they want, whenever they want. You no longer have to scroll through guides to see what’s on. Instead, you just type (or speak!) what you…
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About 30 years ago, do you know where one of the best places to market to people was? Their car. The very first thing they did after they got into their car in the morning was turn on the radio. And chances are that it remained on for their entire commute to work, both back and forth. This offered advertisers a captive audience (literally, if the driver was on the highway!) Back then, radio ads were smart and inventive. Frankly, some of the most effective and brilliant marketing campaigns of all time were on the radio. But then around 15…
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How much engagement is your blog getting on your website? If you don’t know the answer to that question, then you might be in trouble. Many small business owners spend hours and hours every week writing the perfect blog that will get them clicks. If you’ve followed me in the past, then you know I am hugely in favor of this! Having a blog on your website is one of the best ways to keep it active and updated regularly. It also gives you lots of material to work with on social media and through email marketing. But here’s the…
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Have you ever heard the old saying, “Those that can’t, teach?” Personally, I always thought that is absolutely ridiculous. It’s not just disrespectful to teachers, who sacrifice so much for their students, but it’s also just flat out wrong. There can be a similar perception about coaches in sports. “Those that can’t play, coach.” Again, ridiculous. The wealth of knowledge and experience that a talented coach can bring is incalculable. With their watchful and experienced eye, they can help shape an athlete or team into the best they can possibly be. That takes talent! Thankfully, there isn’t a negative perception…
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As small business owners, the internet has given us so much. It’s often used for procrastinating, with cat videos on YouTube or reading random articles on Wikipedia. But that’s the “bad” stuff. It’s also given us social media networks that we can use to connect with clients directly.
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