Marketing Manner

Nowadays, everyone and almost every company has a blog. And blogs like this one are a great way to reach out to others and make contacts with people whose interests are the same as ours. Because you don’t have to know HTML and other codes to create a blog, anyone is capable of having a blog. But, just because there’s no coding doesn’t mean you can’t have a beautifully designed blog. Take a look at the following tips and use whichever ones will enhance your blog. The nice thing with blog design is that you can test out your changes and make more changes later without much work. There’s no reason to not try to design your best blog.

1. Easy navigation for reader usability. The best designed blogs are those that are easy to get around. The headings are in the same font each time, the menus are in the same spot on each page and it’s easy to get from one page to another.

Think about what a reader would like to do at your blog. Check out photos, check for your latest posts, check for related posts to the one they’ve just read? Give users whatever they want at their fingertips – make navigation easy. If people get confused trying to get to a post, more likely than not they’ll just leave your blog altogether.

2. Use lots of white space. A crowded page is just confusing. No one wants to read a post with tons of other text surrounding it. They also don’t want to be distracted by photos that have nothing to do with the post. Photos are a great, and I would say, necessary addition to blogs, but the photos should be in the same position(s) in each post for uniformity and design aesthetics. White space helps your blog look clean and polished as well.

3. Don’t use too much advertising within the posts. Yes, you want to make money, but you won’t make much money if readers leave because of annoying ads in the middle of your posts. Put ads down the sides of the blog and leave the center for your most important content – your thoughts!

4. Use colors judiciously. I was going to say “sparingly,” but decided against it because colors can make a boring blog look fun. I don’t think you should only use a white background with one or two spot colors, but limiting your color palette to between two and four colors will help with the uniformity of the design. It’s fine to have a purple background with white boxes of black text, if that’s the feeling you’re going for. Don’t forget that colors affect people’s psyches – red can make people feel more aggressive and black can make people feel melancholy. Pick colors that give off the feeling you wants visitors to experience when visiting your blog.

I checked out the following post about a bad logo that got corrected within a few weeks’ time: http://www.jay-han.com/2008/04/22/small-changes-big-difference/. But that led me to look for other bad logos. I found a goodie page full of them at a real estate blog of all places! Check out http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/logos/when-logos-go-bad/2007/04/19/.

The logo from the first Web page mentioned, found by Jayhan, is not so bad. The logo was for Bank Islam, with the “k” of “bank” used stylistically to try to form a crescent shape around “Islam.” Many people probably didn’t get the fact that the logo was using a “k” as a design element, which is why it was changed. The “k” didn’t look enough like a “k” so the logo at first looked like something for Bani Islam.

The logos in the second Web site mentioned are much funnier. Many of them include something that looks inappropriately sexual, especially for the subject matter. The Arlington Pediatric Center’s logo, in particular, does not look good – it looks like a place that promotes pedophilia! Not good for any business, but especially a pediatric center. Doesn’t anyone look at these logos to see if any negative connotations can be picked up from them? Obviously not.

This leads me to think that these establishments need to know what makes a good logo. Here’s a short list:

1. The logo should not look like a man’s most important body part or any body parts surrounding said important body part. When you design a logo, have other people take a look at it, please! Get some opinions. Ask if anyone sees anything that could be looked at as sexual in the logo. This is generally not a good thing. Revise logo if so.

Reminds me of Mr. Garrison on Southpark, writing a book with all gay themes in it and he doesn’t see the gay themes. When the designer gets so involved in the work, he is blind to obvious themes.

2. If your company does anything internationally, it’s a good idea to check out local taboos or “naughty” words. Some of these funny logos were funny only in our language, in our customs. Ask people from other countries to take a look at your logo for any kind of offensive language or image that is culturally sensitive.

3. Don’t confuse people with your logo. When you show your logo to other people and they don’t get it, don’t write them off as dumb people who don’t know a good logo when they see one. Everyone needs to understand your logo and if people don’t, they might not want to do business with you. They won’t know what you’re about if they are confused by the message being sent in your logo. If your logo isn’t sending a message at all, that’s another problem.

And Basic Designing Differences

Brochure printing is used by companies from almost every industry, and each uses brochures for specific purposes. The three main uses are to advertise, inform, or entertain. All three types of brochures can come in different sizes, layouts, and fold techniques depending on the preference of the designer, yet all three types also adhere to their own unique design standards. Of course, the different types of brochures can overlap, for instance advertising brochures contain educational information, but what files a brochure under one particular label is its main purpose.

The Advertising Brochure
Brochures that market a product, services, or a company include a headline on the cover that makes a unique offer, something that no one else has before provided. It may also include a list of benefits. The interior contains an informational description of the distinct properties of the subject, possibly reasons why this product is better than a competitor’s, and a call to action. Images will be of the product or company. Contact information is usually located on the back of the outside panel.

The Informational Brochure
Some brochures are meant to educate customers or the general public about a product, an organization, or a public issue. The cover includes a title that clearly states the topic of discussion and a picture depicting the topic. Inside, the information is broken into sections using headings, and the tone may be emotional or objective. The back usually contains a web address, mailing address, or other form of contact for enabling readers to find more information.

The Entertaining Brochure
Many restaurants give away brochures with games, puzzles, and coloring pictures for keeping young children entertained before a meal. Unlike advertising and informational pieces, which are coated with a gloss for protection, this type is uncoated for easy writing and coloring. Often the characters depicted in the brochure are based on a restaurant iconic figure.

When a company makes the purpose of a brochure clear, designers are better able to create a product to fit the specific need. Those who plan to design on their own should include the above necessary elements for the appointed use so that the brochure printing piece successfully fulfills its purpose.

If you own a business, you need to plan your marketing campaign now.  No matter how big your company is, or how long you have been in business, you need to have a marketing plan. 

But how do you go about planning your marketing campaign?  Here are some questions you should ask yourself to send you down the right path.

What is working now?
If you have already been marketing for a while, take a critical look at your efforts so far.  What techniques or items are working?  Did your last brochure printing project lead to more customers?  Are your business cards bringing in leads?

What is not working now?
While you are analyzing your current marketing strategy, you should also determine which aspects of it are not working.  Are your posters not delivering the results you expected?  Are your radio commercials costing more than they are worth?  Try to be honest with yourself; use the data as your guide.

Why are these things working or not working?
Now comes the harder part of your analysis.  Try to determine why successful aspects of your campaign are working, and why the unsuccessful aspects are not working.  Are your posters not working because you placed them in the wrong locations?  Have your brochures been effective because you offered interesting information on them?  The reasons behind these results are extremely important.

Who are your target customers?
Surprisingly, many businesses that have been around for years do not have a good idea of who they are marketing to.  You must know who your target customers are.  What types of people are likely to need or want what you offer? 

Are there other markets that you should target?
Are there other customers out there that you should be marketing to?  There may be a demographic that needs what you can offer that you have ignored or overlooked.  Take a critical look at your product or service, and determine if you could effectively market yourself to new customers.

What is your budget?
Now you have to figure out how much you can spend on marketing.  Think of this in terms of a time frame.  For instance, how much can you spend on marketing over the next 12 months?  Put a specific number on this, and try to stick with that number as the year progresses.

How do you put all this together?
If you ask yourself all of these questions, and you are sure to be critical and specific, then you have most of the ingredients that you need to build a marketing plan.  Now you just have to put it all together.  Use the information you have gathered to determine what marketing tools you will use in the coming months, and how often you will use each of them.

If you consistently go through this process – and you are not afraid to make changes when needed – you should have an effective plan that will help your business grow.