You’re ready to begin—or think you are. You can efficiently design a marketing project by following these five steps. Whether you do it all yourself or hire professional help, your project will go through these five stages. Step 1 — Organize, Plan, Budget First, set the budget and deadline for your project. Your budget includes all or some of the following: writing, designing, editing, proofreading, illustrations, photography or stock imagery, choosing the right paper, printing, folding, binding, labeling, and distributing. Everything that goes into making the printed piece comes under the term “production.” To determine various production deadlines, start with the…
Last month I revealed layout secrets from typesetters of best selling books. A professional book interior layout is just one ingredient in a recipe for designing a book that grabs attention and sells. Another ingredient is to create an eye-catching book cover. Here are some things to consider before designing your next cover. A book cover is like your bait. You have four ways to get consumers to bite, which are the front cover, back cover, spine, and possibly inside flaps. E-books are changing the face of book sales a bit, which makes it even more important to have a…
In Part 1 of my “First Impression Last” story, I told you about my quest to find a contractor to landscape my backyard . . . and the trouble I had figuring out who’s who with the generic batch of business cards I brought home from the local home show! I finally did get in touch with the right person for the job, but it was almost like finding a needle in a haystack. It shouldn’t be that hard to figure out what your specialty or niche is with a good business card design. I was at a Chamber of Commerce…
Let me tell you about the last home show I went to. It was your typical home show with lots of booths, pretty displays, loads of freebies. But I wasn’t interested in all that. I was on a mission. I needed a landscaping contractor to take my dismal, ordinary backyard and turn it into Fantasy Island. Not too much to ask, right? I was prepared to spend all day, if necessary, talking with every last landscaping contractor there in order to find someone to make my dream come true. So I grabbed a tall mocha on the way in, took…
What fits on one sheet and costs pennies to make? You see them all the time. Flyers are hugely effective, because you can make so many and distribute them all over the marketplace without having to spend a fortune. But just so your flyers don’t get lost in the shuffle, I’m going to show you the second 5 of 10 techniques professional designers use to design a flyer that will generate business for you. STAY AWAY FROM ALL CAPS. They’re hard to read! Instead, use bold type for your titles and subtitles. Keep it simple. Your page layout, that is….
What is an essential marketing tool that is relatively inexpensive, you can print and hand out or distribute electronically? Flyers and brochures! I’m going to show you the first 5 of 10 techniques that savvy graphic designers use to design attractive brochures: It’s all about the headline. What’s in a headline? It’s the first thing your prospects will see, and this will decide if they keep reading or not. So pick something that will stand out, stick in their mind, and make them want more! Here’s a few magic words to start with: Easy, The Secrets To, Unlock, Finally, Insider, Time Sensitive,…
Think of any large company, and I’ll bet you can picture its logo. It seems like they must have been born with it, but they weren’t. Every logo had to start somewhere. And you can start building recognition right now that will continue for years when you create a strong visual brand. To do this, you’ll need to learn how to create a distinctive logo. A good logo will be visually captivating, and will tell people what your company does and what it stands for. And then you can carry that logo onto just about everything that leaves your office, from…
Color is a magical element that gives feeling and emotion to art, design and advertising. By understanding the symbolic meaning of color you can choose the right color to support your marketing message and emphasize your design. You should always use color as a functional design element. A dominate color or overall color scheme can determine the tone of your message. Certain colors will help your product, marketing piece, corporate document or advertisement attract specific target markets and evoke desired responses. The information below will give you some generally accepted guidelines on the symbolic meanings of color and how you can use…
Are you confused by what these letters mean? Can you define RGB and CMYK? Do you know how they affect your desktop publishing and website files? These letters represent two different color models or systems, (which are types of color definitions). RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue, with the first letter of each word represented in the acronym. RGB is an “additive color” system. Red, green and blue beams of light create the colorful images on your computer monitor. Where red and green light overlaps, you see yellow (see diagram at left). When red, green and blue mix together, you…
Do you have dismal results from your direct mail campaigns? As a small business owner, it can be frustrating to spend time and money on a postal mailing and not understand why it failed to deliver. If you want to increase your postal mailing response rates, I recommend you follow these 12 proven tactics. Know your objective. Do you want customers to place an order, call you, visit your website, or return a reply card? Create an eye-catching design or theme for your campaign. Use the same theme for every piece in the campaign. Explain the benefits rather than listing the features. Make the…