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.
2020 has been a year unlike any other, but we have made it through with the support of great clients. To each and every one of you — Thank You! We truly appreciate the continued opportunities to service you.
When we design a new logo, we don’t always know where it will end up. A recent logo redesign for Corfin Industries is now on an AirGas cylinder… and it’s really big. That cylinder is 43 feet tall and is directly adjacent to the main runway at the Manchester New Hampshire International Airport. If you happen to be catching a flight out of Manchester, make sure to check it out!
In addition to the logo redesign, we have been redesigning Corfin’s website. It is currently in development and will be going live in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for the new design at corfin.com.
This 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,
As January rolls on, 2018 has been a fairly cold year thus far. Despite the cold, I have been committed to a lot of the goals that I have set out for the new year. One of which is to be more active with our blog, so here is a little week in review.
We had the opportunity to design and construct two rustic signs this past year. From start to finish, these were custom and allowed us to get our hands dirty hand-cutting the exterior shape, staining the wood, hand-painting the logos and working through the installation. Not something we do everyday but it definitely fulfilled some old art school cravings.
2015 has started with a bang. We have been rocking and rolling on a ton of projects which means the 110 site and blog have been a little neglected. So here’s a little something to keep you in the loop 😉
We added a few new pieces to the home page Recent Projects including the product illustration from the Xtralis XOa3 & iFT launch, the Good Content logo and website for world renowned artist, Peter Maier.
Here a list of some of the other projects we tackled in the last 3+ months of 2015:
- New ad design for the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic
- Website design for Bethlehem’s finest pizza shop Marlo’s Pizza Express
- Website design for international photographer Keron Psillas
- Website design for Keron’s most current photography project – Loss & Beauty
- A variety of advertisements, emails and web enhancements for DiCicco, Gulman & Company
- Enhancements to the Lizard Watersports website
- Creation of promotional materials, signage, event program and website enhancements for Whisky Advocate’s WhiskyFest Chicago
