Leigh Feather

 by Leigh Feather

How to Boost Your Business for Free

One of the easiest and free-est things you can do to get business is claim your Google listing. It’s often overlooked, even by successful companies that have been around for awhile. Chances are Google has already created a listing for you. They’re sneaky like that. They’ll populate it with whatever info they can find. It might show a Google maps image of your house! But, you can fix that. You can add your logo, some nice professional photos, your business hours, website address, etc.

You can start by doing a Google search for your business, or for a business like yours in your area to see where you rank. It’s a good idea to see what a first time customer sees. I looked up 110 FRONT and then I looked up “graphic designers hellertown pa”. We weren’t the first listing to come up, so I’ve got to work on that. You might be tempted to place an ad for your business and that will definitely put you up at the top, but there are some other things you can do first.

 

CLAIM YOUR BUSINESS LISTING

First of all, if you haven’t already done it, claim your business. Search for your business and either click on the link that says “claim you business” or “own this business”. You will be prompted through the steps. Usually it’s as simple as having Google send a postcard to your business’ physical address.

 

POPULATE YOUR LISTING

It looks so much better when you have your logo and a few good photos. Be sure to add a phone number and/or email so customers can contact you easily. And enter your correct hours. If you have a website, enter that.

 

GET SOME REVIEWS

I realized that our listing had no reviews and although we don’t rely on that as much as word of mouth referrals, I thought I’d see if I could get some clients to write a review. I sent out a couple requests and two clients immediately wrote 5-star reviews that day! So, it doesn’t hurt to ask, right?

 

That’s pretty much it. You could do this now. If you run into issues, call us! We can help. 

 

 

 

 

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 by Leigh Feather

How Much Does a Logo Cost?

The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical GuidelinesThis is a common question. How much should a company expect to pay for a logo? For their overall branding?

I should start by saying that design is more than a service and it doesn’t make sense to charge by the hour. Good design has the ability to shape people’s perception and value of a business. It has value and it’s standard in the industry to charge accordingly.

These days almost anyone can create a logo. There are online tools, stock imagery, and friends & family who will do it for free. It makes people wonder why they should pay more than, oh, I don’t know, $100 for a logo?

The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines 10th Edition (bought when I officially started working for myself full time in 2001 and very out of date) says a logo design project should be billed at $5,000 to $12,000 for companies grossing under $1 million annually all the way up to $40,000 to $70,000 for those over $500 million. Do we charge that much? No. But we charge more than $100 and we don’t do it for free. It’s unethical. There are lots of variables to consider. How big the business is, is one. How many uses the logo will have is another. Our costs are lower than a really big agency or one in a large city with a higher overhead. But we try to balance the value of the art with the value to the client. The bottom line is we want to help our clients succeed in business. Creativity and design may be mysterious and enigmatic but making money is not.

And, lastly, we believe the logo is just the start. It’s the launch point for all the branding — in color, style, mood, image, etc. — and will ultimately be rolled out in all needed marketing materials.

If you’re interested in learning more, please feel free to contact us,

Tim & Leigh

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