If you consider your web site a money pit, you are not alone. Quite a few business owners have told me that they have web sites because "everyone else has a web site", but they haven't gotten any business from their web site. None. Zero. Nada. Zip. Many of them have paid thousands of dollars to web designers to create the web sites for them, and than the web sites just sit there, gathering the proverbial Internet dust, and getting enormous traffic consisting of three to five unique visitors a month.
Your web site should not be languishing in one of the rarely visited corners of the Net. Instead, it should be working 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year getting leads and clients for your business. It should serve as marketing brochure and as your best salesperson (who incidentally never sleeps, and doesn't require either salary or commissions).
So how do you turn your dust collector into a lean, mean sales machine? First, you need to lay down the infrastructure for your online business. Here are three guidelines your web site should adhere to before its initial debut:
- Your web site must be easy to navigate, understand and use. When a web surfer comes to a web site and doesn't understand what the web site is about in the first few minutes, the surfer moves on to the next web site (trust me, there lots of them out there. Approximately 2.7 billion at last count, give or take a few billion).
If the purpose and intent of your web site is not blatantly obvious, a surfer will move on. If your web site is difficult to navigate, a surfer will move on. If your web site is hard to use (for example, it is not obvious how to contact you or hire you) a surfer will move on.
- Your web site must discuss what you do AND how what you do will benefit your customers. Let's say Sue and Jane are both weight loss coaches. Sue's web site says that Sue is a weight loss coach. Jane's web site says that Jane is a weight loss coach who helps women look and feel better by losing 30 pounds in 3 months.
Which coach sounds more appealing? The one who not only states what she does, but also shows what is in it for the customer. The site must answer a fundamental question: Why should I hire you?
- Have a newsletter sign up box on your web site. The majority of your web site visitors will not contact you about your services after visiting your web site, but they will subscribe for a free newsletter. By subscribing, they give you permission to send them your information-packed newsletter, which will also serve as a reminder about your business.
Without a newsletter, many people will visit your web site once and promptly forget about it 10 minutes after leaving it. By having a newsletter, you are able to capture these visitors, and tell them about your business again and again.
Take action today! Take a critical look at your web site and make sure that it conforms to the guidelines outlined above. A website that follows these forms a solid foundation for having a marketable web site for your business.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
The Basic Attributes of an Effective Logo Design
Logos are an important part of any business. They can visually define the brand and attract customers. Logos are sometimes the reason consumers make specific purchasing decisions. Creating an effective logo is not easy and usually requires assistance from professional graphic designers. It is still important to know what to look for when reviewing logo designs. An effective logo design has several basic attributes.
Simplicity
Simplicity is an attribute of effective logo design NYC business owners should look for. Simplicity means that each of the graphical elements is clearly defined. The entire logo as a whole is something that can be visually understood right away. Overly complex designs tend to confuse people and become forgettable. A poor design is often perceived as nothing more than a random collection of colors, shapes and fonts that do not flow or work together. Simplicity helps because it makes a logo something that consumers can identify immediately without having to look closer at a product or sign.
Uniqueness
The purpose of a logo is to differentiate a single company from all the competitors and other businesses in the market today. A logo is only effective in this way when it is unique. Good logo design means coming up with something original and different from all other logos. Professional designers can create logos that no one has ever seen before. Logos that are not unique could confuse consumers. This could lead people to think the company is actually another brand. Uniqueness leads to a logo design NYC residents will be able to identify correctly right away.
Versatility
When choosing a logo design NYC businesses need to consider versatility. A business might actually be selling a number of related products and services. An overly specialized logo that shows only one specific item or category of items is going to look awkward when applied to other products. The logo that is designed must be versatile enough to apply to every service or product the business is offering. Versatility also helps customers to better understand the larger brand and mission of the business.
Reproducible and Scalable
Two technical aspects of a logo design NYC business owners should look at are scalability and reproducibility. The logo should be able to be scaled up or down to whatever size necessary while remaining identifiable to average people. This can become a problem when logos rely on photographs or intricate patterns. The second thing to look at is whether the logo can be easily reproduced across a range of mediums. The logo should look good in black and white. It should look good on products, letterheads and clothing. A logo that is reproducible and scalable is an asset for any business.
Relevant
Effective logos are relevant to the business or product in some way. A mistake that an increasing number of companies are making today is to choose a completely random logo design. Simply choosing an attractive image or shape is not enough. The logo needs to relate to the name of the business, the industry, the products or the services. This is true even if the logo is a highly stylized graphic. A relevant logo will help to develop the brand. It also makes certain that people can identify something about the company just from the logo design.
Timeless
A final attribute of effective logo design NYC businesses should strive for is timelessness. All of the iconic logos are timeless. This means the logo design is not relying on modern cultural references or images that could become unidentifiable in just a few years. Logos should rely on universally accepted symbols, original graphics or images related to the business that will not lose meaning in the future.
Simplicity
Simplicity is an attribute of effective logo design NYC business owners should look for. Simplicity means that each of the graphical elements is clearly defined. The entire logo as a whole is something that can be visually understood right away. Overly complex designs tend to confuse people and become forgettable. A poor design is often perceived as nothing more than a random collection of colors, shapes and fonts that do not flow or work together. Simplicity helps because it makes a logo something that consumers can identify immediately without having to look closer at a product or sign.
Uniqueness
The purpose of a logo is to differentiate a single company from all the competitors and other businesses in the market today. A logo is only effective in this way when it is unique. Good logo design means coming up with something original and different from all other logos. Professional designers can create logos that no one has ever seen before. Logos that are not unique could confuse consumers. This could lead people to think the company is actually another brand. Uniqueness leads to a logo design NYC residents will be able to identify correctly right away.
Versatility
When choosing a logo design NYC businesses need to consider versatility. A business might actually be selling a number of related products and services. An overly specialized logo that shows only one specific item or category of items is going to look awkward when applied to other products. The logo that is designed must be versatile enough to apply to every service or product the business is offering. Versatility also helps customers to better understand the larger brand and mission of the business.
Reproducible and Scalable
Two technical aspects of a logo design NYC business owners should look at are scalability and reproducibility. The logo should be able to be scaled up or down to whatever size necessary while remaining identifiable to average people. This can become a problem when logos rely on photographs or intricate patterns. The second thing to look at is whether the logo can be easily reproduced across a range of mediums. The logo should look good in black and white. It should look good on products, letterheads and clothing. A logo that is reproducible and scalable is an asset for any business.
Relevant
Effective logos are relevant to the business or product in some way. A mistake that an increasing number of companies are making today is to choose a completely random logo design. Simply choosing an attractive image or shape is not enough. The logo needs to relate to the name of the business, the industry, the products or the services. This is true even if the logo is a highly stylized graphic. A relevant logo will help to develop the brand. It also makes certain that people can identify something about the company just from the logo design.
Timeless
A final attribute of effective logo design NYC businesses should strive for is timelessness. All of the iconic logos are timeless. This means the logo design is not relying on modern cultural references or images that could become unidentifiable in just a few years. Logos should rely on universally accepted symbols, original graphics or images related to the business that will not lose meaning in the future.
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