Human beings are hardwired to be captivated by stories. We find them irresistible! That's why when your marketing message is delivered as a story, your prospects find it easy to listen to, pay attention to, and act on.
(Watch the video to see why I made that face!) There are a few design concepts that confuse people when they're first learning them. White space is definitely one of them. You know that well-designed pages use white space. But when it's time for you to use white space yourself, you may not know how to approach it.
Choosing brand colors to represent your business is one of the most difficult tasks you may face as you create your marketing materials. It doesn't have to be, though. First, it's important to realize there's an aspect of trial and error when it comes to color. It's usually not a "once-and-done" task.
Your marketing message is delivered wrapped in fonts. The fonts you choose - and the way you combine them - will affect how your message and your business are perceived. That's why it's crucial to spend some time searching for and combining unique, readable fonts to represent your business.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks people encounter when they try to do their own marketing is that they don't know where to start. Is that where you are right now? The First Step to Marketing Your Business It's simple, really. Start by gaining a deep understanding of the people you want to reach - your target market.
This week marks the first in a series of ten video posts that will run on Big Brand System through August. They feature the ten basic concepts in my Design 101 series, which you can get when you sign up for my Marketing Toolkit. In this series, I'm adding short videos to explain the concepts visually.
When your small business has a solid, professional website, it feels like everything is right in the world. You have a place to invite your prospects, and a way to build interest in all the products and services your business offers. The bonus? Your website is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When your site visitors hit your home page for the first time, it takes a second or two for them to orient themselves. It's a little like walking out of a dark room on a bright summer day. Their eyes have to acclimate to what they see and take in the structures around them before they can move forward.
You've got a great business idea. You've poured all your sweat and hustle into it. But it's still not quite "there." You want to play in the big leagues. But your brand doesn't look like it belongs. It's amateurish. It's small-time. It's embarrassing. Your business isn't growing.
Do your prospects really know what you offer? Do they understand how your business is unique? If you asked them to describe your business in one sentence, could they do it? If you answered "no" to any of the previous questions, it might be time to finally build the BIG brand your business deserves.
There's nothing like a testimonial from a real-life customer to convince your skeptical prospects to do business with you for the first time. Testimonials show prospects how real people have used your product or service to get real results. Testimonials break down your prospect's defenses because they're easy to believe, especially compared to regular marketing copy.
You're busy. Why should you carve out time in your schedule to write an ebook? What will it really do for your business? Today's post is the last in a series about ebook publishing for small business owners. We've talked about how reading habits are changing because so many people own tablet devices now.
This week, I'm very pleased to have Ali Luke as an invited guest here on Big Brand System. Ali is a prolific writer, penning 4000+-word posts on her blog Aliventures.com. Lately, a lot of her writing has been about ebooks. She's the author of Publishing E-Books for Dummies by Wiley.
We're focusing on ebook publishing here on Big Brand System for the next few weeks. It's part of the build up to the re-launch of eBook Evolution , which is coming up on May 8.
In a few weeks, I'll be releasing brand-new "flavors" of one of my flagship products, eBook Evolution. I've been hard at work creating the new products, and building all the support materials to go with them: quick-start ebooks, videos, FAQ pages and more. I can't wait to show it all to you!
"I'm not an artist." "I don't have time." "I don't know where to start." Excuses, excuses, excuses. We all start out as artists. The difference between the art we made when we were kids and the art we make now is: When we were kids, we didn't care about whether our drawing "worked."
There's a revolution in the making. Have you noticed? We're getting more information from images than ever before. We're relying on infographics, video, and all sorts of marketing images for information, entertainment, and connection. Does your business "speak" images yet?
I got my first piece of hate mail from a graphic designer this past weekend. To be honest, I expected the angry emails to start rolling in as soon as I started this blog back on January 2, 2010. I'm grateful it has taken this long.
If your business does anything online at all, chances are good you've had to build a sales page for a product or service. How much fun did you have? The truth is, if you're not creating sales pages on a regular basis, they're not easy to put together.
We know that simple website design works best. At least, we've been told that. But why? What is it about simple designs that makes them timeless, functional, and beautiful? When you're creating your own website, part of the reason a simple design style is so appealing is that - frankly - it means less work for you.
Do you have the sneaking suspicion your website needs a redesign, but you're not sure if it's worth the effort? You may know all the basic website information. You may have been inspired by some great websites as you put yours together. But when you look at your site now, it's just not quite there.
Infographics are all over the web. They're those graphic representations of data that look like this: Infographics can be a great way to absorb information if done right. But too often, they're not. Too often, the time you spend trying to decipher an infographic leaves you scratching your head and feeling like you just wasted five minutes of your life that you'll never get back.
I've lived in Pennsylvania for many years now. People here tend to be plain-spoken, straightforward and friendly. But this past week, I've spent some time in Nashville, TN. Here in the south, I've seen the power of "nice" in action. What does it look like?
You're reading this, so there's a good chance you enjoy learning online. And you're reading a blog that features information about marketing and design, so there's a good chance you're interested in learning more about both of those topics.
You might be making this journey harder than it needs to be. When it comes down to it, marketing your business is just a 3-step process. Work through these steps, and you can market your business successfully: You need to understand marketing tactics and strategies.
