King’s Boxing Reading PA
King's Boxing
A Reminder From A Friend…
Global Spirit - Pac West Spirit Group
Global Spirit Now
Planet Papp: Spiritual Practice 101
Spiritual Practice 101
Getting On The First Page
As a graphic and web designer here in Lancaster PA, I have received numerous emails over the past 6-8 months from “Internet Marketers” about raising my page rank and being on the top of the Google searches, blah blah blah… Well here’s the deal for all you “suspect” SEO’s out there… take your wares and peddle them elsewhere! You’re no good and you don’t know what you’re doing.
The bottom line is that if you haven’t been doing SEO and SEM for the last 3-5 years then you are way behind the mark when it comes to being a online bigshot with SEO. I get a ton of emails and phone calls about linking my pages and and raising my ranks. I’ve even gotten SEO request from overseas because some of my keywords can be valid in Europe as well! They all give me the same lines, the same lines that I have heard from real SEO’s and the basics that ANYONE can figure out by reading a little bit on Google. Landing pages, inlinks, backlinks, page content, H1 content, title content… All stuff I already know and all stuff that will give you a short boost but not enough real push to get you there and keep you there. You see, there are so many techniques for SEO and “getting on the first page” and most of them require your undivided attention for as long as you want to stay at the top. That means you need to work your SEO everyday. EVERY DAY.
The other thing that these new SEO’s fail to understand is that you can’t raise my rank when you have NONE! Linking my site to your shitty site brings my rank down and reciprocal linking doesn’t work. I don’t know if you “SEO’s” out there are aware of that or not… if this is news to you, maybe you should go back to the drawing board. Another major factor why the top SEO’s are successful is because they started doing it years ago and a link from them can make or break you. If you or your company don’t roll with this kind of “link juice” then you should probably abandon ship!
And if you’re thinking of buying links? Forget about it! Wanna get blacklisted? If you’re selling, I’m not buying.
Truth is that there a plenty of basic SEO techniques that Endure Online Graphic and Web Design includes with their regular design services… And if you really need to get to the top and you want to talk to a REAL SEO WHO GETS RESULTS, send me a message and I’ll set you straight.
Alchemy Hooka Lounge
I got an email from one of Maria’s friends, Jackie, the other day and she wanted some help with a school project. Her group had to create a full business plan for a fictional venture. Along with the business plan and all the details going into that, the teacher recently dropped the bomb that the students would also need to design a logo and full visual standards for the business as well! Jackie explained that her group decided to plan an “upscale hookah lounge” they aptly named “Alchemy”. She asked if I would be interested and offered a little compensation for the work. She included art boards with samples and designs… textures and colors they liked and felt would represent the “Mod-Moroccan” feel they were looking for. I designed two separate logos with different feels. One was more 60’s and colorful; the second was more mod and professional. There were a few standouts and it just so happens that Jackie and the group felt the same way about my designs. With a few minor changes I sent the logo out hoping to help the group score and A+ and feel good about a job well done!
Doin Time In The Shade Redux
Since my layoff in February, I have been reluctant to flood the job market with anymore of my resumes, references, cold emails and cold calls. I did it months ago, I did it weeks ago, I have been doing it the entire time that I had a job! The fact is that there just isn’t anyone hiring for my position or even offering close to what I need as a salary. My reluctance also hinges on a small venture with an up and coming internet marketing firm, Shade Tree Marketing. It looks like this may be the break I’ve been waiting for.
I think every designer wants to work for themselves. From the time you graduate your design school, or start your journey into the working word, the idea of being self-employed is an intoxicating thought. Setting your own hours, working in a comfortable environment, having the freedom to go when and where you need to and not having to answer to a boss who knows squat about good design. You’re the boss. At the same time, it’s a challenge. You have to be able to budget what money you can get and try to keep up on your bills. It’s a great freedom but it has a price, just like anything else. In my current position the idea of going freelance or contracting to a business seems like the best opportunity for me to keep working, expand my portfolio and begin to live that life we all dream about. I am happy to say that so far things seem to be working out. I have two new websites under my belt, a few new logos and one big project on the horizon… and possibly a lot more work to come!
Sure the times are tough but we are getting by fine. I hope that I can keep this gig running and keep doing what I ultimately want to do, work at home, work for myself and just be happy!
Shade Tree Marketing
Shade Tree Marketing
Another Marketing Graphic To Drive Up Profits
If you are running an online business, you know how important it is to spend your advertising money wisely. It is why you need to make sure your website is selling as well as possible.
So when you create a website that is meant to sell stuff, it is important you use the best marketing graphics that sell the most stuff. If you use cheap graphic designs, then your conversion rate (percentage of visitors who buy) will drop, and your advertising budget will skyrocket to make the same sales.
When you start selling online, you will notice that different folks like different things. It is the reason you need to match the marketing graphics to your market - to make sure you are bonding through the visual representation you are creating.
Go discover the branding graphics you want on your site, and see if they help boost sales and profits. Your graphics should look great, boost sales, while not alienating any buyers.
One other thing… you should know about message unity or continuity. It is a term used in the graphics design world to mean that one message is being presented to the world. Consistent messaging can increase profits, and create better connection with your consumers.
Just remember to use effective marketing graphics for your particular websites in order to create the most profits. Do this, and you’ll be the most profitable, and that lets you buy up your competition if and when they fail.
Go ahead and see what graphics work best for your market. Send us a message and let us take a look at your current graphic representation. If you want to drive up the profits and give your site a professional look, we can help!
The Importance of a Corporate Logo
Corporate identity may seem like a high-level problem for medium- and large-sized corporations, but this cannot be farther from the truth. In fact, at the risk of sounding biblical, each business is created equal. In other words, big or small, each is considered its own, separate legal entity. Just as each individual has its own birth certificate, each business has its own Articles of Incorporation establishing its “birth.” And since each business is considered its own entity, would it not stand to reason that each business have its own face or personality? All Fortune 500 companies have their own face and personality, which appear in the shape of a corporate logo.
For many small business owners, creating an appropriate image for their company seems to be one of the greatest challenges. Business owners may have no interest whatsoever in developing a brand, company name, or corporate logo. In these cases, the business relies heavily on word-of-mouth referrals for sales, arguably the best path to low-resistance growth available today. But at some point, the referral gravy train slows and the business has nothing but a name. Sometimes, that name is stenciled into a window in a plain or fancy font, or just simply printed on a car-door magnet that goes on in the morning and comes off at night (because it’s embarrassing to look at).
To develop an image for your business, the typical first step might be to design and adopt a corporate logo. While some business owners might enjoy the chore of creating a corporate logo for their business, many more cringe at the thought. After all, most people can identify a do-it-yourself logo. But for owners who insist on creating their own corporate logo, we recommend seeking the opinion of a third party. Former clients and network colleagues who have no interest in your business might be able to offer honest opinions of your in-house corporate logo design.
Perhaps the easiest way to obtain a professional corporate logo is to hire a professional. These professionals will create your design from scratch. The process typically begins with the business owner completing what is known as a creative brief, which outlines the business’s area of focus or industry, as well as some of the owner’s preferences and ideas. While not a difficult task, we recommend that business owners take the time and care to accurately and honestly complete the brief in order that the designer might get a true feel for the business’s personality.
The next stage involves designing the logo. During this period, the designer uses information provided in the brief to mould a corporate that will not only fit your business and needs, but will meet your (or exceed) your expectations. As a non-designer, this process seems rather simple because everything you want has already been written down in the creative brief; all the designer needs to do is incorporate each element the same way you might follow a recipe.
The last step involves reviewing a series of sample logos and choosing the one that best fits your business and the image you are trying to project. With a few final tweaks, the corporate logo that will help give your business its presence is complete.
The quality of service ranges (just as do the prices). Low end corporate logos can usually run $50 to $250. Often, the quality is something most business owners can live with but as their company evolves, they will normally find themselves evolving their corporate logo and image as well. The second-time run may cost a little more as the business owner realizes just how important the quality should be. Higher end corporate logos can cost upwards of $2,000 - 5,000 (ouch).
Send us a message from the contact page and we’ll be happy to review your logo and branding and if necessary we’ll give you the $5,000 logo service for an incredibly lower price!