Smart marketing makes us excited! Some of the most famous brands are readily recognizable because of the money spent on impression branding. However, many of them include messages designed into lettering or other elements. A smart logo can be memorable and very effective. Simple colors, clear messaging, and an easy-to-read design help tremendously. Take a look at these logos and the explanations...

Being able to see how many visitors my sites receive is one of the biggest motivating factors for me to continue improving my websites. Some of the stats that I like to look at are the number of visitors, how many pages each view on average, the average time spent on the site, the conversion rate, and how many visitors are new vs. returning. All of these numbers are interesting by themselves but...

How many of you know people that have been unemployed for 1-2 years and are lamenting that there are no jobs to be had? How many of you are those people? It's not something to be ashamed about, but if you're going to fix it, you need to change your outlook on things. First of all, you need to stop looking to others to give you a job. I'm not saying to stop applying for work, going to interviews...

When I was a teenager, like many of my friends, I worked for McDonald's. I'd often work late on school nights, which made me dead tired the next day during school. Of course, I made minimum wage for 9 months and then got promoted to "trainer", which gave me a 10 cent raise. The realization of working hard for almost a year for a 10 cent raise woke me up. I quit the job and focused on s...

There are 5 high-level steps to starting a website when working with a web design company. Many have guidelines (Download an example here) to help you get your resources together so you can deploy efficiently and accurately. Steps may include: Register a domain Build web resources Create your sitemap Implement a design Implement your website into your design There are many web builder tools to c...

Personalized marketing messages typically perform much better than generic messages to general audiences. In some cases, conversion rates double or triple. That often equates into significant changes in ROI and future sales opportunities. Conceptually, personalization is taking a message that normally comes across as “hey you” and turning it into “Dear Joe Customer,” in s...

A DMA survey recently identified direct marketing pieces are getting more attention than in the past. Recipients are seeking: Better deals Coupons Special offers When these offers are combined with multimedia technology, many will make a purchase right online. In other cases they will give up personal information in return for subsequent offers and specials. The key is to market with proven dire...

How many leads did you convert from natural search engine traffic last month? how about over the last year? Your natural search engine rank is key to your online web traffic and converted business. We're not talking here about paid search engine advertising but natural results that result from successful SEO practices. There are 2 key concepts to successful SEO activities: Relevance Popularity S...

A marketing message is only effective as its ability to engage and compel its recipients. It is common for a message to become confusing or forgotten unless it is written clearly with direction and purpose. Several mistakes make content ineffective. Poor Grammar Great grammar is expected whereas poor grammar gets noticed. Copy writers are expected to compose content that is expressed with proper...

Effective creative materials are key in any type of marketing. Sometimes the creative is simple, sometimes it is elaborate. Sometimes it is monochromatic and sometimes it is vibrant in color. The key to great creative is to design it for the target audience based on the channel in which the message will be delivered. Here are some suggestions every creative piece should exhibit. Forethought Ever...