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professional business card Tagged Articles
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Business Card ABCs
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| Many people overlook the value of having a professional business card that accurately reflects your brand image…yet this small piece of paper can be an important part of your collateral package. It often is the first item prospects receive from you, so it your first opportunity to make a strong, positive impression on them.
The preponderance of do-it-yourself online business card printing companies is an interesting and somewhat troubling phenomenon. With limited exceptions, it is fairly easy to spot an inexpensively produced card. When you choose to “go cheap” on your business cards, what message does that send to those with whom you wish to do business? Are you really doing yourself any favors by missing out on the opportunity to start building a positive brand image right from the start?
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Top 5 Biz Card Blunders (& How to Avoid Them)
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| Perhaps nothing is more important to making a good first branding impression than your business card. In addition to the information on your card, its look and feel also send a message about your business– in fact, a card’s look and feel send a stronger message. That’s why I’m perplexed by the many poorly designed business cards I see these days. Sure, one can log on to various websites and “design” and print cards for free. But that doesn’t mean one should. |
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Brand Aid: The Basics of Branding
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| Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does “branding” mean? How does it affect a small business like yours? |
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Branding Trends: Delivery Channels Take Forefront
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| In looking at current branding trends, and what might be around the corner in 2007, what strikes me most are not the tactics being used, but the mediums being called on to disseminate the messages. Marketers can no longer rely on traditional outlets such as TV, radio and print ads to “get the job done”; they must take into consideration all the new media at their disposal, including blogs, podcasting, mobile phone-based programming, social networks, and RSS feeds. |
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You, Inc. What it Takes to Build a Personal Brand
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| It’s a brand new work-world. And I do mean “brand.” It used to be that only businesses worried about branding. To thrive, they worked diligently to distinguish their company from the competition. This meant carving out a niche based on competitive advantages and specific corporate attributes. In other words, they crafted and maintained a strategic brand – a unique, useful promise to current and prospective customers to gain brand equity and loyalty. This was business, after all. |
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Matchmaking 101: Creating Sales Tools That Build Your Brand
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| If you’re like other entrepreneurs, you know a good logo is important to branding your company. You may already have a great logo. Now what? How can you create a variety of marketing materials that build your brand?
In a word: Coordinate. All your materials should tie to one another graphically. They should convey the same look and feel, or image, and evoke a similar emotional response in your customer. When viewed side by side, your stationery, brochures, and other promotional materials should create a cohesive “family.”
Of course, your materials don’t need to “match” each other completely, but some elements should remain consistent from one piece to the next:
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Key Ways to Convey Quality
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| Let’s say that what differentiates your product or service from the competition’s is quality. It may seem like advertising “quality” would be a breeze, right? Unfortunately, it’s not. Customers hear the word “quality” all the time –often from companies selling low-quality products.
In this sense, quality is like trust. If a salesperson resorts to “You can trust me,” it’s often an indicator to beware. Accordingly, if a company is too direct in how it advertises “quality,” customers may ignore the claim or be suspicious of it. So how can you prove that your product or service is the real deal? Following are some often-overlooked ways to convey quality.
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5 Tips for Writing Quick-Read Copy
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| Click here. Buy now. Free trial offer.
The world of advertising is full of short and snappy copy promising instant gratification. After all, most prospects simply don’t have time to read thoroughly. They skim. They glance. But if you’re betting they’ll wade through long paragraphs of narrative copy, it’s time to adjust your expectations. Your copywriting must be clear, compelling, and to the point.
These days, the best copy is served a-la-carte, allowing readers to sample one message here, taste another message there. Which leads us to the most important rule in writing copy that sells: Make it “digestible.” Rely on headlines, subheads, captions, and bullet points – short snippets of copy with key nuggets of messaging. Long blocks of copy tend to overwhelm readers. They snooze, you lose.
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Success Stories Boost Branding
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| Whether your business is local (like a home remodeler) or global (like an online specialty retailer), you can make a tremendous brand impression by telling stories-real-world stories illustrating how your business has benefited customers. |
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Global Branding Starts Here
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| Telling memorable stories about your customers’ real-world experiences can build your credibility, add moxie to your sales/marketing and luster to your brand. Stories are readily available to any business that has satisfied customers-and that means every viable business on the planet. You can adapt customer stories to a variety of business needs, for instance by tailoring their length and details to fit different venues and audiences. |
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What to Do, What to Avoid: DIY Logo Design Checklist What Not to Do When Designing It Yourself
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| Have you ever noticed how many articles there are on creating your own marketing materials? These articles concentrate on things you “should do” – like “know your audience”, and “say it with pictures.” Now, I’m not saying that’s bad. That’s great. But you should also know what NOT to do. That’s what this article is about. Specifically, it’s about what most do-it-yourselfers are TEMPTED to do but shouldn’t.
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Logo Design & Your Favicon: Spotlight Your Brand Online
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| By now, you’re probably familiar with the term “sticky website.” The phrase refers to a site that compels visitors to “stick around.” In order to entice visitors to stick around, however, your site must first project the image that you are a credible (i.e., large) company. If potential customers don’t have this comfort factor, they are likely to bounce before they even see what you offer. There are many aspects to developing a credible, “sticky” website, but one easy and valuable way is to create a “favicon.” |
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Business Identity Secrets
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| A few years ago I owned a toy company. At the time, I heard an interesting philosophy on packaging: that you should design your toy’s package so artfully that when children opened it and touched your product, they were just a little disappointed. Maybe this sold more toys in the short run, but I can guarantee it didn’t in the long run. Because when perception trumps reality, your brand is the loser. |
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Niche Branding
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| It is a common misconception that if you’re not casting a wide net with your marketing, you’re leaving money on the table. Actually, the opposite is true. It’s more expensive and usually less profitable to sell a range of products to a wide audience. Furthermore, if your product or service is too similar to a competitor’s, price will always be an issue. When price is your only point of comparison, it’s tough to build a successful brand – especially if you are a small business. Targeting a niche market is a great way to avoid these issues. But how do you find the right niche? |
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More Mileage from Branding
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| Let’s say your online business-or your local business with an online presence-has some really strong customer stories. Where can you place these stories on the Internet to enhance your brand, boost credibility and support your sales and marketing? There are numerous online ways to use customer stories. You could try any or all of these: |
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Personal Branding Tips
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| A great deal of time and energy are expended to create memorable brands that add value to company marketing strategies and (in the case of public companies) pique the interest of the investment community. While company brand equity is certainly important, the significance of personal branding should not be overlooked as a key to success. |
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Does Brand Imitation Work?
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| To Copy or Not to Copy, This is the Question.vWe all know that it’s tempting to copy the competition. There is safety in conformity – a certain “comfort factor” in being similar. After all, the other company knows what it’s doing, right? Not always.
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What's Your Brand Image ROI?
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| If you’re like millions of other small businesses, creating a professional visual image is key to your success. After all, your image - as seen on your business cards, marketing materials, packaging and website - is the first and sometimes only chance you have to introduce your company to potential customers. If your customers like what they see, you’re one big step closer to getting their business. |
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Top 5 Tips to Increase the Effectiveness of the Most Important Sales and Marketing Tool
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| What is the most important sales tool that you have? And more importantly, are you losing opportunities to leverage this key tools? These 5 tips will help you use that tool more effectively as well as to increase sales. |
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