So – I have no idea if I’ll ever be a Multimillionaire – but this article leaves me feeling at least like it’s possible!
While you may think a million dollars will give you financial security, it will not. Given the volatility in economies, governments and financial markets around the world, it’s no longer safe to assume a million dollars will provide you and your family with true security. In fact, a Fidelity Investments’ study of millionaires last year found that 42 percent of them don’t feel wealthy and they would need $7.5 million of investable assets to start feeling rich.
If your logo or your flyer is created with Comic sans and Microsoft Clipart – then you will look like a fly by night operation.
Good design gives you credibility. It makes people take you seriously.
I drove around town today, and as I looked at storefronts – I saw two independent office supply places. The first had their logo prominently displayed, and the logos of the brands they carried prominently displayed. Their logo matched in quality – it was attractive, catchy, and clean. The other – used some kind of stock lettering on their sign – and then had printed off pages on their door – and those pages were using a standard overused font, and couldn’t be read from the street. (Looking through their windows – the inside of their shop was a WRECK by the way.)
Then I drove by Staples…. and if I think about the outside of Staples, and the inside of Staples – the truth is that it’s no WONDER that people drive further down the street to buy office supplies! It’s gorgeous! I would rather support small town privately owned businesses – but most people don’t care about that. The average consumer is not conscious…. they go with the name they know – the are like moths to the flame of good design.
You can’t spend millions, like Staples has done – but you CAN learn from what Staples has done – and try to recreate it in a way that works for YOUR business!
Stay tuned next week for Why Design Matters: The Medium is the Message
Don’t want to miss it? Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox!
This article has some great information about your social media sites – stuff that you might have missed! Check it out!
Social networks are a little like Disneyland in this regard. There’s so much to see and so much to do that some of the fun stuff is bound to slip through the cracks.
If you have ever thought that your design doesn’t matter – or more likely, if you’ve never really thought about the design you use for marketing – then you should ask yourself a few questions.
Why do successful companies pay millions of dollars to advertising firms – hire attractive models – spend countless hours getting their marketing right?
The truth is – companies who are making money are making it because they KNOW it matters.
Have you seen this commercial to get people to stop smoking?
Now – obviously they are not trying to sell cigarettes. But have you ever seen an advertisement for cigarettes? Since the beginning of time – tobacco companies have been using gorgeous women (often in objectifying ways) and rugged men (funny how we wouldn’t classify this as objectification) to peddle tobacco.
Why? Because the truth is – attractive design, attractive models, and gorgeous scenery works.
Billions are spent every year to fine tune this marketing process.
You don’t need to spend that money yourself to determine what works! You can look at how major global brands are spending their cash – and you can imitate that for your small business! Obviously, you can’t plagiarize their idea – but you can certainly look to it for inspiration.
Stay tuned next week for Why Design Matters: Design gives you credibility
Don’t want to miss it? Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox!
I am a graphic designer. I make my living designing websites.
I’m letting you know that – because I’m going to tell you something that may seem self-serving…. but it’s true.
Your website will get better results if you pay a professional designer to set it up, to create your branding, to customize your theme – and make your wordpress site run.
CAN you do it yourself? Sure. But I don’t recommend it.
I know that not everyone has the kind of budget that would allow for such a thing – and so I’m cool with you deciding to do it on your own until you can afford to do it later. But I think you should decide that at some point – it’s going to be part of your plan.
If you really want your blog to succeed – don’t just expect it to happen. I’m a huge fan of planning and working ahead when it comes to blogging.
1. It assures that you won’t get behind. You’ll always have content posting!
2. It gives you a chance to explore topics over the course of several weeks, rather than just a long boring posts that gets a <tl;dr> response. (too long;didn’t read)
My advice is to take the blog post that you would normally have written, and split it up into four or five smaller parts – posting those parts once a week.
That spreads ONE post into a whole month of posting!
I use Google Docs to create a calendar, and I chose a topic for every month. Then I split that topic into four or five parts – and write a short post for each part!
You can concievably do a whole year in just one month, if you really work on it!
That might be a little ambitious – but if you schedule a time when you will be writing – and if you try to do several weeks at a time – it keeps you ahead, and assures that you’ve got content ready to go!
Stay tuned next week for So You Think You Can Blog? Make your Blog Visually Appealing
Don’t want to miss it? Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox!
This is the most important thing you’ll ever do for your blog!
1. Defining your mission –
Make sure your mission identifies your target, and what you want it to communicate.
IE – My blog at Manlihood.com has this as it’s mission statement:
We are committed to equip, educate, and entertain men in a way that is engaging and fun.
Keep your mission statement simple, write it down – print it out – and memorize it. Everything your blog does should be GUIDED by your mission statement.
2. Vision –
This goes beyond your mission. This is what you hope your blog will accomplish. What you hope your blog will become. Keep in mind that monetization may be a part of this!
I’d like it if Manlihood.com could be a site with dozens of writers, and with several posts a day, and a weekly podcast. I’d like it to generate revenue from affiliate links and advertisers, as well as to promote books and products from my writers. I’m hoping that one day it can become an actual men’s magazine!
Is this a detailed vision? No. Does it have to be a specific vision statement? No. But it helps to have an idea where you would like it to go – and what you want it to accomplish.
MAYBE you want to be an author – in which case your blog should help establish you as an expert in your field, and showcase your writing styles, and to build your platform. Eventually you want it to become a communication and PR hub for your work, as well as a sales tool to sell your books!
MAYBE you have a storefront in a small town – you might be using your blog to help promote your products, and inform your customers of specials and savings. You could say that your vision is to grow to an ecommerce site, or just to engage your clientele and attract new customers as well.
3. Goals –
Write some goals for your blog. This could include content goals – ie – I hope to have three posts a week written and schedule for the entire year by the end of January.
They may include readership goals – I hope to have 100 visitors a day to my blog by the end of June.
Remember that goals need to be S.M.A.R.T.
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Results-Focused
T – Timebound (give it a deadline!)
Stay tuned next week for So You Think You Can Blog? Make a Plan! Work Ahead!
Don’t want to miss it? Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox!
Many people want to blog for a number of reasons. I can’t necessarily give an exact plan for ever possible purpose – but let’s talk about where to start if you plan on starting a blog.
A) Your Brand. If you desire to be a professional writer, I encourage you to build your brand around your name. Even if not – everyone that CAN should spend the 11 bucks a year to keep their name as a doman name if it is available, so that someone else doesn’t snag it! It’s a great way to secure that if you ever need that platform, it’s there.
But whatever you brand is – take some time to think about what it is. Next week, we’ll talk about Mission/Vision/Goals – and you can apply that brand thinking there as well.
B) WordPress (preferable self-hosted)
I know a lot of people like Blogger / Blogspot for their blogging – and I used it for years – but it isn’t as versatile as wordpress.
And I do recommend that you get started with a self-hosted wordpress blog.
How do you do that?
– Buy your doman name and hosting (Usually starting out at $11 a year and $5 a month)
-Install WordPress
-Pick a Theme and Customize it
-Start Blogging
Not sure how to do that? Let me know! I can get you setup with a basic wordpress install, hosting, domain name, and some basic theme customization for a reasonable monthly fee and a reasonable setup cost.
C) Make a plan! We’ll talk more about that in the coming weeks as well! But if you expect your blogging to just “happen” – it doesnt. You have to make a plan for what you are going to write, and when you are going to write it!
What if I don’t have ANY budget? I’d encourage you to start out at WordPress.org with a free account – but keep in mind that you will eventually want to transfer it to a self-hosted blog, if you want the credibility and flexibility that it offers!
Stay tuned next week for the next installment of So You Think You Can Blog? Mission/Vision/Goals
Don’t want to miss it? Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox!
