General Business Talk

Depending on the type and scale of your campaigns, advertising online can cost you anywhere from nothing at all to many thousands. Like traditional media, advertising online can be done using many different models and strategies and the prices of these online advertisements vary widely from service to service and site to site. Being able to develop and implement an effective online advertising strategy which fits into your firm’s budget depends on knowing the factors which drive these costs.

Many websites sell advertising space on their sites to subsidize the costs of operating their sites. Paid advertising space on websites is one of the more established methods of advertising online. However, the more popular the website, the costlier their advertising space will be. If your budget permits, it’s a solid investment. Websites which have a large audience which matches up with your target market guarantee your business a large number of impressions on exactly the consumers you’re trying to reach.

You’ll get the best return on your investment in advertising online when you have a detailed knowledge of your target market and their online habits. By targeting your advertisements to exactly where your prospective customers are most likely to be, you’ll get more results at a lower cost. Study the site yourself and ask the owners for in-depth data on how their visitors behave on the site. Keep in mind that some ad placements will be more expensive than others (since they have more prominence).

Normally, buying advertising online in the form of placement on websites will be aimed at every visitor. However, a growing number of sites allow your adverts to be geo-targeted (displayed to visitors from certain locations). It’s generally a little pricier, but can be valuable to local businesses and for reaching highly targeted micro-markets. Another factor in the cost of advertising online is your content and format. Larger size, graphics, video and other multimedia content will usually mean a higher price.

Now, let’s have a look at the contextual models of advertising online. There are adverts sold on the basis of cost per 1,000 impressions (known as CPM – a model also seen on websites as well as contextual search engine based advertising) and cost per click (CPC, also known as pay per click or PPC). Both are inexpensive and available for a flat rate per a certain number of clicks or impressions. CPC advertising can cost anywhere from a few cents to several dollars per click, with larger search engines like Google being more expensive, but very effective.

There is also the cost per action (CPA) model -very cost effective, since you only pay when you get exactly what you want; but also far more expensive than CPM or CPC advertising. What approach should your business take to advertising online? Always take advantage of free advertising before investing in paid advertising. For instance, forums allow you to post links and even small banner ads in your signature – if there are active forums in your niche, make the most of them! Start small and ramp up your online advertising step by step, making a careful cost-benefit analysis as you proceed.

The biggest mistake most people make when they order a logo is using too much of their personal taste and forgetting about their target audience needs. Although it’s great to have a logo that looks exactly like you want, this is not the most important aspect to be considered. Logos are made to sell and this is their only task. You don’t need a cute logo, you don’t need a beautiful logo and you don’t need an astonishing logo, you simply need a logo that represents your company and helps you sell more.

So, how to decide what you should use on your logo design to avoid your personal preferences leaning too much on your logo?

First of all, make a list of your brand definition to keep the whole design process ‘on the main road’. For example, what is your business purpose, what products and services your company offers, and what your company can do to help your target audience.

Secondly, narrow the elements on your logo down to the few most important characteristics. It is proved that logos with too many details tend to be out of focus, which means people won’t be able to tell what your business is all about at the first glance. Logos are supposed to be simple in order to communicate more easily your business purpose, therefore, you should make sure your logo design contains all the essential elements related to your company.

Lastly, try to connect your logo with your audience. As we discussed above, often your potential clients have different taste from yours, so you need to make a logo for them instead of yourself. It is very important that the design of the logo works well for your audience. You may, for example, show your logo design to some of your clients in order to gather their opinions. If your clients love your logo, then your logo really does its job.

These 3 steps will help you balance your personal taste and your business purpose. It may not, sometimes, result in a logo that you will love, but if it communicates your business message to your target clients, it is a great logo.

Everybody wants to receive a logo that meets their expectations. So what should you do to achieve this goal? There are 3 easy steps that you may consider to follow.

First of all, come up with a general idea or vague picture of the logo you want for your company. For example, if your company is selling food for pets, then you may want an image of a dog or a cat. You may also discuss your logo idea with a colleague, a business partner, or a close associate so that you may gain a few insights aside from your own.

However, sometimes you may be completely lost about what you want for your company’s logo, in this is the case, try checking out the logo designs of your competitors. Take notes about the elements they have and try to think about ways to incorporate it to your own logo design. Once you take your notes and think about what you want, you may write everything down and show it to your logo designers, this will surely help them in the designing process and your chances of getting a logo design that you like will dramatically increase.

The real key for the perfect logo is clear communication between you and your logo designers. If you receive a logo that doesn’t meet your expectations, you cannot always put the blame on the designers, you need to ask yourself:

Did I try to consult the logo design website or company before I made my logo purchase? Did I clearly specify what I like or what I want for my logo? Try to provide as much information as possible when placing your order, this way you will narrow the possibility of mistakes and will save a lot of money.

Follow these 3 simple steps and you will get the logo design you deserve.

Many people require designers to add a tagline to their logos, but I found out that several times the required taglines came as sentences and even paragraghs. This is horrible. The business owners want to enhance their company’s advertising on the logo design and try to cover as much information as possible, but they ignore the definition and functions.

How to create an effective tagline for your logo then?

First, we need to know what a tagline is and what it can do for your business. A tagline is a branding slogan that is typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product. From this definition we know that a good tagline can make your business and even your logo more memorable in the target clients’ minds.

A good and effective tagline should be concise and clear, usually including from 3 to 7 words. This will avoid being overly wordy and will ensure your audience understand what your company does or offers.

An effective tagline should be inspiring and also reflect the personality of the company. For example, Nike’s tagline-’ Just Do It’ inspires their buyers to take action to achieve their goals; while Apple Inc.’ s tagline-’Think Different’ reflects the personalites of both their products and their clients.

Last but not least, an effective tagline should also be memorable. For example, Mcdonald’s tagline- “I’m Lovin’ It.” , deeply captures attention and interest from both you and me.

An effective one will make your logo design look more powerful, and will reinforce the image that your target audience holds about your company. Follow the principles illustrated above, and create an effective tagline for your logo!