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I’ll be the guest on The Best People We Know Radio Show (Motivational Radio Show) on: February 3, 2011 and at 7pm (EST). We will be talking about:

• marketing
• search engine optimization
• website design
• graphic design
• social media
• …and more

Host Deb Scott

Deb Scott is an award winning author of, The Sky Is Green & The Grass Is Blue -self help book- and a certified professional coach and motivational speaker. She is a terrific host and an incredible person. If you have not meet Deb, make sure to visit her site (motivational website).

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When I think of marketing I’m reminded of extreme sports.

I have surfed an 18 foot wave -Ya it was a rush. I have sparred with a 260 pound guy who had a left jab that felt like a right hook. I’ve SCUBA dove at 125 feet to watch the gray sharks. I have jumped off a 50 foot cliff into the ocean -and I don’t like heights. I do these things because I want to, not because I have a death wish. Sure each activity carried a certain amount of risk. But with training and practice I can make sure I’m prepared. This risk to reward ratio is also how I approach Extreme Marketing; and when the day is done the reward  is worth pushing the marketing limits.

What is Extreme Marketing?

Extreme Marketing is about creating new and imaginative ways to use the latest marketing tools to promote your brand or service. But before I go higher and faster I’m going to make sure to DO IT RIGHT! Sometimes bigger is NOT better. It is NOT about crashing …or failing. It is about correctly using every marketing tool available. This translates into:

• Search Engine Optimization -Being above the competition in Google.
• Social Networking -Using sites like Twitter to promote a brand, promotion or event.
• Traditional and Online Marketing -Coordinating a direct mail campaign with a landing page.
• Creative Promotions -Attract customers with a text messaging campaign.
• Email Marketing -Knowing how to contact customers using an email campaign.
• Logos and Branding.
• …and more

The owner of Caliber, Dan Ryan, has a quote he likes to say,

“If you always do what you have always done …you will only have what you had before.” -By the way Dan is the king of extreme automotive marketing.

This saying is what Extreme Marketing is about. It is why I keep pushing myself to stay ahead of the competition. I will not lie, it is not always easy to motivate myself. There are many days I don’t want to develop a new technique, or learn the latest marketing tool. But something in me will not rest and I’m always searching for the next best marketing technique.

The First Step To Extreme Marketing

Extreme Marketing means being in front. Blazing the tail and cutting a path “…being ahead of everyone to enjoy an unspoiled view.” For some clients the “Extreme” part starts with taking the first step on that untraveled path. For the conservative business owner who is still trying to learn how to email, I might start with a website. Later we might talk about a landing page for a pay per click campaign? However for the client that is ready to take their marketing to the next level, I can also create a marketing campaign that uses all the latest tools. This might include: designing a website and blog, create a promotion that uses text messaging and an online contest. Or, a client might want to coordinate a direct mail campaign that uses an online sweepstakes to generate a buzz around their product, service and brand.

The possibilities are endless. The point is that marketing does not need to stop at a direct mail postcard …at least not if you are into Extreme Marketing.

If you have a marketing technique that has worked for you make sure to share it with our readers.

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Logo Design

It is always interesting to see a huge company like Kraft Foods change their logo. But for the first time Kraft has also added a tag line. This new addition to their brand is,  “making today delicious“. For a company like Kraft, a change in their logo really reflects a new company image and brand. In this case, the new Kraft Food’s logo is much lighter, softer and sleeker. The new Kraft logo has a much fresher feel, with a burst of flavor at the end. I’m suspecting this is to parallel a more healthy, delicious selection of products.

So why change this iconic logo? Not only was the BIG BLOCK font and BOLD RED outline not current and hip, but it was heavy. Heavy and bold are two descriptions that are juxtapose to today’s attempt at health healthier. After all, Moms don’t want BIG BLOCK kids eating heavy food. They want healthy, sleek children eating nutritious and natural food. So does this new Kraft logo achieve all this? Will we start to see a new line of products hit the shelves? My guess is the new logo design is just the beginning of a big marketing and advertising push that will be in full swing come summer. There will be more TV ads, radio ads …and yes, internet marketing. I’m sure we will soon see a Kraft Twitter account filled with tweets about nutrition and information on healthy eating. Today a new Kraft logo, tomorrow a healthier, more delicious Kraft product.

Now do you think the new Kraft logo is a copy of the Yoplait logo?

logo design -Kraft Logo and Yoplait Logo

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Logo Design and Branding

The internet is a lot of things. It is social networking. Online marketing. Websites. Blogs …and more. But did you know that the internet is a great tool for promoting your brand? I’m not just talking about your logo stuck in the top left corner of your website. No. I’m talking about thousands of people seeing your logo every day! Of course to do this you will need a few things, starting with a logo. Next you will need an avatar and logo icon. And finally you will need a favicon. If you are not familiar with an avatar, logo icon or favicon don’t worry, I will show you what they are …just keep reading. As for a logo, I am going to show you why investing in a custom logo is worth every cent. I’m not going to talk about colors, text or symbolism of using blue vs red. For a business person you need to know how and why a professionally designed logo is better than a free logo. So, today I’m going to show you five ways to market your brand online and how a custom logo will increase online branding options in ways a free logo does not. Speaking to the business person, this means more profits. So lets get started.

With the help of a logo the internet can become a conduit for boosting a brand. This is especially true when a logo is incorporated in an avatar, logo icon or favitar. What all this amounts to is more real estate in more places.

To begin taking complete advantage of the internet and online marketing,  your internet branding campaign will require three tools:

1. A LOGO- a logo is the first tool a business needs in order to take advantage of online branding opportunities. With the aid of screen shots I will demonstrate that online marketing can boost your brand to incredible heights. Furthermore, you will see why a logo requires a professional graphic designer whom understands the internet and how a logo design can be applied to an avatar, logo icon and favicon; something a free logo design software does not provide …and this is a huge disadvantage when using free logo software.
2. LOGO ICON and AVATAR – Compared to a logo, the logo icon and avatar are usually smaller. As a professional graphic designer when I design an avatar or icon logo I focus on a small part of the logo that carries over some specific and recognizable element in a usually small area.
3. FAVICON – Simply put a favicon is an avatar for your browser. It is usually very small so it needs to be designed with one recognizable element from your logo.

With this simple explanation of how an avatar, logo icon and favicon are based off a logo, lets go over how they are used in an online marketing campaign, social networking, blog or website.

First, lets start with the website with the logo in the top left corner. This is a common place for a logo since it is one of the first areas the eye will go.

Next, the favicon is displayed in the visitors browser next to the domain name in the address bar. It is also displayed if the website is bookmarked, so when the user opens their favorites, your logo is there too.

Put the website and favicon together and you get some impressive online branding. Imagine your visitor or customer seeing your logo as displayed below!

Using social networking to increase your brand exposure can be done using an avatar. One such method is using Twitter to splash your logo/avatar across the twitter network. Here is a snap shot of my tweetDeck, only imagine your logo being displayed everyday in front of your followers …WOW!

Using Twitter For Online Branding

Perhaps now you are beginning to see the value of having a professional graphic designer create your logo? Specifically, a professional can design with all these elements in mind. This can leave a lasting impression and one that should not be left up to some free logo design software.

If you are still not impressed, let me show you more. Online branding goes beyond Twitter. Another method is one that has been around the internet for years, that’s right …the forum.

A forum is another online branding opportunity to display your logo

Forums also have profile areas where your logo design can be viewed.

Forums also have profile areas to display your avitar or logo

Estetica Design Forum is a great community with discussions around graphic design and website design, but if a forum is not for you, than try to use one of the newer social networking communities. For example, one of the more popular professional social networking groups is called LinkedIn.

Finally, using FeedBurner to syndicate your blog can also be a way to promote your brand by adding your logo to your blog feed.

Branding

I hope you are starting to see the picture and how a professional graphic designer can take your logo and use it to turn the internet into an online branding machine. For a business, a professionally designed logo is more than colors, pictures and text that goes on a website or business card. Furthermore, I only touched on five ways to market your brand online: website, social networking, forums, favicon and you RSS feed (FeedBurner). I did not even touch on a dozen other online branding resources available to boost your brand online; which for all the bottom liners means, increased profits though branding.

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Typography is art.

Typography has become very popular among graphic designers, website designers and artists. Why? Because typography is an effective method of drawing a viewer into a layout, while keeping the design interesting. The power behind typography is the use of fonts, colorful text and twisted punctuation; and the combination of these elements is what makes typography an art. In addition, typography works well across multiple mediums. Examples of typography and can be found on: posters, magazine ads, newspaper ads, and brochures; but this is just the beginning. Other examples of typography can be found on buildings, signs and posters.

I did not design either of these two samples.

Here is an example of typography being used in a poster (visit: bridgerun.com).

Example of typography used in a poster

The next example uses typography in a layout (visit: Skirt! Magazine, march 2009)

Typography Ad

Typography is an art that has no bounds. With twisted puncuation, change in colors and interesting fonts, the combinations are infinate. As typography brings creativily to both graphic designers, website designers and artists, the power of typography to create fun and interesting layouts can also be a great method of holding a views attention.

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The Better Business Bureau is warning about schemes that target many cash-strapped Americans during this tax season. According to the BBB,

Jobless claims in January reached the highest level since 1982 in the U.S. as more than 2.6 million jobs were cut in 2008. With more families facing financial hardship, the promise of a tax refund is a welcome sight. Unfortunately, some schemes tied to the tax season will leave consumers even worse off in these tough economic times.

Here are three common schemes used by theives:

• Beware Tax Reduction Schemes -Some companies claim that they can help consumers reduce the amount of money they owe in taxes or fines to the government.
• Just say No to Refund Anticipation Loans -Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) are cash advances offered by a tax preparer based on a taxpayer’s anticipated refund.
• Don’t Take the Bait on Phishing E-mails -Phishing e-mails around tax time
  usually tell the recipient that there’s an issue with their refund, that they are being audited or that there is a problem preventing their taxes from being processed.

If you think something is too good to be true, it probably is. If you are not sure and you live in the South Carolina area, call the BBB at: 803-254-2525 | 843-766-9616

If you live outside of South Carolina go to the BBB website.

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I’m not a lawyer, so these are just some items to consider when you write up your next graphic design or website design proposal.

1. Number of versions and revisions.  You will want to define what a version is and what a revision is. Also, how many versions or revisions are included at the proposed price.
2. State the customers name and project. Be specific
3. Put an expiration date on the bottom of the proposal
4. Terms and Conditions. I request a design depost of 1/3, paid before I start a project. If it is a website, I request another 1/3 after the design is approved, before I start the code.
5. Proofing Clause. I like to add a clause that stipulates if a proof is not returned in 7 days, I can request another 1/3 of the balance before continuing. I add if another 7 days passes without a proof being returned, I can request the balance before continuing. This way if a client gets sidetracked during the coding/design phase, I can get paid for the work I’ve done up to that point.
6. Take it to a lawyer. I suggest once you get the terms and conditions written out, take them to a lawyer who can make sure it legally covers your needs.

Regarding the 1/3 upfront, 1/3 after the design, the balance paid on job completion. These are guidelines to go by. If you have an establish relasionship with a client you can be much more flexible. These terms are good if it is a new (out of state) client that you have never worked with.

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“How does Google’s search engine (algarythm) work?” Of course this is a huge question, but there is a general answer.

• To rank well in Google, write good original content that your visitors will find valuable.
• Make sure the robots understand what information you consider to be the most important.
• Get other sights to link to your website.

Now this is very general and basic information, but it leads me to an interesting article called, “Google Keeps Tweaking Its Search Engine“. It was written back in June 2007, but the information is still very relevant and if you have not read this article …Google allowed a reporter from The New York Times to spend a day with Mr. Singhal and others in the search-quality team, observing some internal meetings and talking to several top engineers. There were many questions that Google wouldn’t answer. But the engineers still explained more than they ever have before in the news media about how their search system works…

So if you are curious about how Googles search engine works and you want some insight into Googles search engine,  read the article, Google Keeps Tweaking Its Search Engine

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Recently I was hired to make a logo and the client had some very specific elements. One element was a background that looked like a sunrise. So I began to create a sunrise and thought it would make a good Adobe Illustrator tutorial.

Here is the final sunrise

I’m not going to go into the basic info on how to make shapes or gradients, instead I want to talk about the different tools, and the steps, I used to make the sunrise.

Step 1. First I made a sun. This sun is on the horizon so I made a half circle. To make the sun glow I used the gradient tool set to radial; using two colors yellow and white.

Step 2. Next I made the rays. I used the same gradient technique.

Step 3. I put the sun and rays together.

Step 4. With the sun complete, I now had to add the background. To make the background I used the Mesh Tool

Step 5. Finally I put it all together.

Personally I lik the rays standing out, but you can control your gradient to any effect; here are some options. Oh ya …If you notice the bottom sample, this technique is not so good for a sunrise, but it is a good technique if you want to create a sunburst style glow as a background

Applied Sunrise– Here are a few versions of the final logo with the background

Other Famous Examples– By varying the size and shape of the rays, the background and the sun, you can recreate your favorite sunburst backgrounds used by Disney, Dreamworks and General Mills. Here are a few examples that use a similar technique to create the background.

Thanks for stopping by, hope this technique comes in handy when you are designing in Adobe Illustrator.