Logos and Business Cards: October 2006 Archives

Your goal is to create a business cards that prospects keep. Sadly, most business cards are tossed within hours of a meeting. The key to making a card that recipients keep is to have information on it that benefits them.

Six things you must have on your card:

1. Business Name

2. Tagline or Slogan

You can skip this if the business name clearly conveys what the business does.

3. Your Name

But it's not necessary to repeat if your name is the same as the business name.

4. Phone Number

Don't forget the area code, and the country code if you have international callers.

5. Email Address

Many of your customers will prefer to contact you by email.

6. Web Page Address

Start with the www (you don't have to include the http://)

Three optional things to include on business card:

1. Your Job Title

If you are the business owner, this might be Owner, President, Owner/Operator, Partner, Team Leader or something along those lines.

2. Business Physical or Mailing Address

Include your mailing address if people will be mailing you things. Include your physical address if they will be coming to your office or dropping off things (e.g. courier deliveries). If you don't want anyone dropping by your home based office, don't put the address on your card.

3. Logo or Photo

People tend to keep cards with photos longer than standard cards, and showing a friendly picture of yourself is appropriate for a service business.

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To get a logo designed for your home based business you have four main options:

Option #1: Hire a graphic designer

Pros: Fastest option. You can leave it to a professional, rather than fiddling around with it yourself. Your home business logo needs to look good, and if you are not a graphic designer you may not be able to do it justice. There's a lot to be said for leaving specialty tasks to specialists. You might be able to get your web designer to also design your logo, but be aware that graphic design and web design are two separate specialities and not everyone is good at both.

Cons: This is the most expensive option. The cost of having a logo designed by a graphic designer will vary depending on the designer’s rates (expect to pay $60 - $80 an hour), how clear you are about what you want, and how many revisions you ask for. Typically you are looking at about $300 - $500 and up to get a custom logo designed. That may sound like a lot of money for a start-up business, but your logo is a big part of your company image. Your investment in a well designed logo will pay off in the long run.

Recommendations:

dan@dandroid.com

http://elegantwebscapes.com/custom

Option #2: Use the online LogoYes service

Pros: Fast. You can create a professional-quality home business logo online in minutes. No design experience or special software is required, and it only costs $99.

Cons: There aren't many cons with LogoYes. You may not get the same design quality you would hiring a professional designer. But the system is so well-designed that it's hard to go wrong.