A blog created by the Gorilla Ad Agency. The Gorilla Ad Agency is a world wide leader in providing advertising solutions to every size business. http://gorillaadvertising.net
If you have business cards then you either went the cheap route with a flimsy free card by Vistaprint, or you had some high quality cards printed and had to pay for the graphic design.
First impressions are everything in business. A business card is often the first chance you have to impress someone. So you need a high quality business card and a high quality design to represent you and your business. Don’t save a few bucks and get the semi-cheaper alternatives, get the best! Get in touch with us today to get started, and you can have an amazing box of cards in about 1 week[...]
Just a reminder for those who want to be included in Google News. "Please stop mixing the trash with your garbage." No that's not what they said exactly, that was a quote from me. It is close to what was said though. Basically the team at Google News wants to make sure you are keeping your keeping your news articles separate from your advertising and marketing information. They suggest to go so far as block the crawler from seeing advertising material with your robots.txt file.
"If a site mixes news content with affiliate, promotional, advertorial, or marketing materials (for your company or another party), we strongly recommend that you separate non-news content on a different host or directory, block it from being crawled with robots.txt, or create a Google News Sitemap for your news articles only. Otherwise, if we learn of promotional content mixed with news content, we may exclude your entire publication from Google News." The article is quoted as stating.
Often I get clients that have no clue where to begin. With so many advertising options in the world today, and a tight economy, you need advertising that is both effective and cost effective. Where do you start? Every business is different, but here are some generalized starting points that would work for 90% of you.
Business Cards
Business cards are the number one tool in advertising your business. Even if you are a 100% online driven business you need business cards to give the people you meet or to leave at a counter at a coffee shop or diner you frequent. Passing the cards our to everyone you meet is the best way to get your business going. Most of these clients will refer you and will be extremely loyal to your business if you do a good job or treat them right.
Unless you are a complete recluse or shut-in you need to get business cards. The average cost is about $65 to $200 for about 2000 cards. They should be designed by a pro, be colorful, thick, and look like they cost a fortune. You can get "free" business cards but they advertise the printers and are poor quality, it makes you look fly by night. You also need a logo, even if its all text, to use on all your marketing. Getting a logo designed can be free to about $50 if you use the trick I learned from Nike. Yes Nike, the iconic shoe brand paid $30 to a college student for the swoosh. So hit up your local college and put a flyer on a bulletin board, or even talk to a art professor.
Web Design
Web design is arguably the best, or even a close second to the business cards. A website takes the place of a mega office and can even the playing field with any size business. A website give you an entity, a location and reputation online. Your website can be a hub of useful information to keep users coming back. Your website can cross promote, advertise your services, and do so much for your business you need to have one even before you are "open" for business.
A website is not a huge expense but a free website will not do the trick. Save yourself some time and energy by hiring an expert to do the job for you. A custom website by a professional can cost $500 to $30,000. Yes, a guy from church sold another guy a not-so-custom website for $30k. So paying more is not necessarily better. Look at portfolios, reviews, and even call the past clients of the prospective web design company. Ask the references for ease of use, if they like their website and what the web design company did not deliver just to be safe.
