Business cards are a great way to promote your business. Unfortunately, many small business owners try to save a few bucks by doing it themselves. Often times these business cards look very unprofessional. Not only does this make your business look less than impressive, it’s also is a waste of your advertising dollar. But there is hope for those of us who are lacking in the area of print creativity. iFreelance.com is a great resource where graphic artists bid on your design projects. You as the business owner are also project coordinator, where you post your project online, similar to an ebay type site where potential artists bid to win your business. You will be amazed at the super low bids that will come into your inbox on a daily basis. The beauty of this site is that you can set your max and minimum bids for what you are willing to accept for your project. Also, you have the freedom of setting a suspense date of when your project will expire. As your project nears the expiration date, the amount of bids you receive will greatly increase. The key to remember when hiring a graphic artist from this site is to be as complete and thorough as possible about what it is you expect from the person you hire. Be sure to look at their credentials and ask to see previous work. The turnaround time from start to finish on most business card projects is fairly short. Usually only taking a day or two to complete. Another advantage to using iFreelance.com is that many of the graphic artists are familiar with who’s who regarding printing companies and inexpensive shipping methods. So for a very reasonable price your project can go from design, to completion, and delivered within a matter of days, saving you an unbelievable amount of money and far exceeding what any local design company could ever offer.
How many times have you been to a movie theatre and seen the whole trail of commercials both before and after the show? Believe it or not, this is a great way to captivate and target your audience. An example of targeting your audience would be a bar owner. Obviously you would not want your drink specials showing up on a picture intended for kids. The genius behind selective marketing is that you can pinpoint your audience and make sure that whatever product or service you have is viewed by the people that would most appreciate what you have to offer. The best method to find out how you go about advertising is to ask for the theatre manager, as different movie theatres have different marketing companies that they work with. Another great thing about marketing in movie theatres is that you are not limited to one theatre or one screen. Often times you will find that the same company can brand your product or service to entire regions depending on what it is you are advertising.
We’ve all heard the slogan “Dex Knows” and it’s true. The Dex Business Listing is the number one resource for putting your business on the map. Sure, there are literally hundreds of different community based phone books available. But the one that gets results is “Dex”. This is a huge company, and not only dominates the phone book game, but also dominates the internet. The bottom line is this, if you’re listed in Dex, than you’re listed and found on the internet. Also, something often overlooked is the new wave of smart phones. With the millions of applications available, many which are pre-installed on cell phones these days, your business shows up for what people are looking for. The main thing to remember is to think like the end user who thumbs through the phone book searching for what you have to offer. An easy method to pinpoint which section you wish to have your business listed is to look at your competition. Are they listed in more than one section? If so, perhaps you should do what they are doing. Another mistake many small business owners make is to try and save a few bucks by going small. If your competition has a quarter page ad – your best bet is to follow the leader. There’s a reason why some businesses have a half page ad and stay busy and why others don’t, bigger generally means more successful in the eyes of the end user. If you don’t have the money to go big from the get go, then wait a year, and next time upgrade. Generally speaking, do it right from the very beginning. I can assure you, you’re not throwing your money away when it comes to meeting or exceeding the standard. After all, what makes your product stand out from the competition? Which leads me back to iFreelance.com, after contacting Dex for a promotion packet for advertising, you will have all the design specifications needed to hire a great designer that’ll give you the winning edge over your competition. Remember, image is everything.