Dana Susan Beasley is publisher/principal of AngelArts, a creative arts agency and publishing house. While Dana's expertise is in graphic arts, writing, publishing, and music, she also is a homeschooling mother devoted to working at home. Her desire is that AngelArts, and her work, be a vehicle for God's glory. Because she is always reaching for new heights in her life and beyond and wants to inspire others to do the same!
Invest yourself. This is the wisest investment you can make, better than the stock market, even wiser than real estate. When you invest your particular passion and channel it into a small business or career, you are safeguarding yourself in any economy. You will be thriving, not just surviving!
Watch the video to learn more about why investing in yourself is the wisest investment you can make!
Want a gift you can send? Click here to order my just-released Colorado art notecards! These are truly one-of-a-kind!
Here’s a business advertising and marketing idea for you, the small or home-based business owner, that is often overlooked: treat your customer right!
How? By creating a customer retention program!
Why is this important? Because your current customer is your best customer. This seems to be forgotten by most companies, even major corporations. How many of us have been repelled by a big business that once we became a customer we were treated like we didn’t exist? I know I have!
If you keep the well-being of your customers in the forefront of your mind, you and your brand will be on the top of their minds! This is a business advertising and marketing idea you can bank on!
So how does this work and what can you do?
Here are some customer retention business advertising and marketing ideas to get you started:
1) Treat your customer the way you want to be treated.
It’s called the Golden Rule and it was taught by Jesus Christ. This is a timeless principle and applies in all areas of life, especially business.
If you treat your customer with respect, just like you would want to be treated, you will be elevating your brand. You will be building trust and credibility.
In this day and age, customer service has taken a rapid turn for the worst. Having an excellent customer service ethic will distinguish you from your competition.
CEO of Chick-Fil-A, Dan Cathy, has this value at the heart of his company. In an interview with Mike Huckabee on Fox News, he described how he trains his employees to greet every person with a smile so that they are happy to be there. Now, I realize Chick-Fil-A is under a lot of controversy right now (which I fully support them), but as I’ve heard from others, they have no lack of business, even in these hard times!
2) Set up a thank you, birthday, and Christmas card program.
Let’s face it. Our mailboxes are either filled with junk or bills. Actual personalized mail is very few and far between!
So here’s a chance for you to shine! Set up a system where you send out cards to your customers, whether that’s a thank you card for new business, a birthday card, or a Christmas card.
Big corporations get this. Branded Christmas cards are very popular with big business. What is it they know that we don’t know as small businesses?
They know that sending cards for whatever occasion is worth the investment. Why? Because you are showing your customer that you care. And when you show them that you care through something as simple as a card, your business and your brand will be in the top of their minds.
When they find themselves in need of a product or service like yours, you will come to mind first. And what will this do? Raise your revenue!
3) Give gifts to your premiere customers.
For your best customers, consider creating a gift retention program. Again, corporations get this. Reward loyalty. Send unique items that will remind them of who you are.
There are many options available out there. It’s really only a Google search away. Plus, you can also create branded products that your customers need, want, and desire. This is going to put your business literally under their noses!
Treat your customers well and you will be treated well. This is a simple law of reciprocity, kind of like the law of gravity. It is immutable. Because what goes around comes around.
And when you treat your customer well by instituting these business advertising and marketing ideas, your brand will sizzle and your future will dazzle!
What is a brand, why should you care, and how do you make an effective one? Watch the video below to learn what branding is, why you should care, and how you can create an effective one.
Brand and logo design. Are they the same thing or are they different?
A recent consultation with a potential client got me thinking about this when it comes to brand identity design. What is the difference between a logo and a brand and why should you, as a business owner, care?
The following is my answer. I hope it helped you as it helped my client! Because my chief role as a brand consultant is to educate my clients to think outside the box when it comes to designing logos.
A LOGO is a symbol that describes a company, product, organization, or idea. It usually is comprised of a name and an image. Sometimes the logo is only the lettering itself.
A BRAND is an emotional connection, a kinship, that a company, product, organization, or artist has with a target market. A brand encapsulates the essence of an entity’s reason for being and communicates to an audience what is unique about it. An effective brand builds trust and credibility over time with its intended target market. It is a living relationship.
A LOGO encapsulates a brand’s message through visual means. But not all logos reflect a brand.
So why should you care about this difference?
If you only put a logo up that does not represent your brand, you will be missing out on leads, conversions, sales, and profits.
Recently, I ran across one company that really had neither a logo or a brand. Their company name was just set in a nondescript font. The business owner revealed to me their struggle in marketing because they have no brand and no logo!
Don’t get caught in this scenario!
With a logo that does not communicate effectively your marketing message, your Unique Selling Proposition, you will confuse your prospects.
A logo that effectively reflects your BRAND will attract your prospects to you. Instead of pushing them in, you will be pulling them in.
We all know what it’s like to receive solicitation calls from pushy telemarketers. This kind of tactic does not build trust and credibility. A logo with no thought to branding is kind of like these pushy telemarketers that no one pays any attention to. A brand is a living relationship between you and your customer. Protect your brand because it is your most valuable asset.
Building a brand is an essential step in building your business. You will create effective name recognition for your brand with a professional logo that accurately reflects who you are as a business. You will be building trust, credibility, and a living, engaging relationship.
And that will truly make your brand sizzle and your future dazzle because you will see an increase in revenues!
Tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Want to create your own economy to truly make money online?
Well, here’s a way you can REALLY create a dazzling future for yourself–learn how to create a sizzling brand identity design that gets noticed!
I am excited to announce the launch of my Brand Identity Quest Online Study Course!
Create Serious Profits and a Serious Life for Yourself with this Brand Identity Design Online Course!
Plus, get marketing ideas for small business and brand positioning strategies!
This comprehensive step-by-step course on brand development, design, and marketing will show you every facet of a winning brand identity design marketing program. Through 24/7 and lifetime access to my membership site, discover your authentic identity and Unique Selling Proposition. I will explain what is branding, where it came from, how to create a brand marketing plan, and so much more. Plus, you can learn how to write an elevator pitch, tagline, and slogan! Create a vision for your life and business and develop a brand identity design that you will be thrilled about.
A brand that is going to sizzle and make your future dazzle!
Purchase today! I am dribbling out the 14 modules over the next few months so you can get in on the development phase! That means savings for you!
Because the sooner you get started, the sooner you will skyrocket your business success! Because you will have a brand identity design that gets noticed! That will truly give you a dazzling future!
Courses in Online Marketing. There are plenty of them. The Internet provides endless learning.
This is what I discovered a few years ago as I embarked on my journey to learn everything I could about Internet marketing. This is a lifelong process and one that brings me much joy. I love that it is immediately actionable to my business!
Watch the video below to get some ideas on how you can create your own course in online marketing; where to find classes, what to avoid, and why you should also embark on this journey!
Video marketing is hot. There’s no denying it. Videos show up better in Google rankings, and face it, they’re more compelling as a medium.
So how do you do videos, what equipment do you need, and how do you get over that fear of being in front of the camera?
Before I answer the above questions, let me tell you a little bit about my experience. In 2010 when I first started doing videos, I was petrified. I was actually teaching a class to high school students on making videos. I had to learn REAL fast.
I took a webinar course from Perry Lawrence and Carrie Wilkerson. This got me started! I also entered a video contest to win a free conference ticket. Although I didn’t win, it showed me what I needed to improve upon.
So the first videos I did were very awkward. It took me many tries to get anything remotely good. I was never happy with my backgrounds and my favorite camera broke, causing me to learn on a whole new one. I discovered that following scripts just don’t work, so I learned how to ad lib.
The main thing is, I just tried and tried again. Today when I do videos, I have my set up exactly how I want it, I can turn my camera on, and just start talking. I may have to edit out a few things, but on the whole it’s much easier than it was two years ago and I’m much happier with the results.
So what can you do to make your videos the best they can be?
1) Find a background that is not distracting. Don’t have a bunch of clutter in back of you. Don’t have a bunch of doorways in the background. I like to use my fireplace. This seems like a natural environment since I am a work at home mom. I also have used bookshelves for homeschooling topics and my garden to illustrate a point about stress.
You can make a background, too. This is one of our many home projects for this Spring. I am going to purchase some nice powder-blue curtains and my husband’s going to hang them from a soffit in my office. So then when I want to do a marketing video or instructional video, I can just pull out the curtains, point my camera or webcam, and go for it.
Most cameras nowadays shoot from a wide angle lens. Make sure your background is long enough to fit you in. This is especially important with two people in a video.
My husband and I shot quite a few videos of us in front of a green curtain. It just wasn’t wide enough and I was constantly having to crop the video. Start with a wider background and you will avoid much frustration!
2) Use natural lighting as much as possible. It’s important to not have a bunch of harsh lights facing your camera. Your light source needs to be in back of your camera. It’s best to put your camera facing away from a window. Then you will get what’s called “catch-light” in your eyes–your eyes will sparkle so you come alive. If you have no light in your eyes, you will appear flat and look uninteresting.
Also, watch shadowing when you do videos. Don’t have your face half in and half out of the light. This is distracting.
3) Be aware of composition. People want to see faces, not a bunch of space from your head to the ceiling. Think about how you can fill up most of the lens. Think about it like art. Composition is filling up the space in a pleasing manner. Do this in your videos, and you will have a much more professional result.
Okay, so I’ve given you a few ideas to get you started! Like I said, video marketing is a hot topic, so I will cover more on this later!
But apply these ideas now, and your brand will stand out above the crowd. In fact, it will sizzle!
Brand Positioning Strategy–what would it be like to survive and THRIVE in any economy?
That’s exactly what this famous brand did during the Great Depression! Watch the video below to learn 3 great lessons that will help your business grow in this down economy.
We live in the microwave generation where we expect to get instant gratification. We want everything immediately.
And in these uncertain times, long-term investments seem too risky. A wait and see attitude pervades the country as we ride out a turbulent election season. Will we come into a time that is more business friendly?
Whatever is quick and cheap or even better, free, rules decision-making. Planning? What planning? We run from crisis to crisis, barely able to catch our breath.
As a branding expert, I see this again and again in the thought that business owners take to their branding decisions.
They are actually short-sighted decisions. Instead of investing in their most important asset, their brand, the business owner only thinks of what is cheap or free, making decisions because something is cute or pretty. Very little thought is put into what makes a company’s image stand out above the competition. Or how their brand image can accurately reflect the essence of who they are and what they do.
Creating an effective brand image requires thorough analysis and strategic implementation. This is a process. It requires time, thought, planning, and knowledge.
Corporations know this. They spend tens of thousands of dollars on brand development and design. These companies have longevity because they are not short-sighted. Planning and strategic implementation of their brands is a priority.
Bu why go through all this work as a small business owner? Because an effective brand will increase your credibility with your prospects and customers. What will this do? Attract more business to you! When you take your business seriously, your prospects and customers will take your business seriously. And this will increase your bottom line! Which means, of course, increased profits.
It will also increase the chances that your company will be around for the long haul. Consider this. The statistic for failed businesses show that eight out of ten small businesses fail within the first three years.
So what about you? Are you being shortsighted with your brand identity design? Or are you ready to invest in your brand image so you will have a strong, robust business?
Here’s a little sneak peek of the press release I am sending out tomorrow!
Homeschooling mother Dana Susan Beasley took her years of experience as a graphic artist and publisher to create an extensive brand identity webinar course that starts on Apr. 10 and runs through May 24. In this course, Mrs. Beasley will teach participants how to build effective brand identity design that helps them succeed as aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners, giving them foundational tools to make money online so they can overcome financial hardship.
