Got a new Logo and Illustration Business, how should I market and advertise, have a website-?

Question

wont be able to afford a big ad or marketing campaign, really short actually tight budget.

Answer 1

Websites are one of the most powerful, and affordable, ways to advertise your business. Not only to advertise, but to display your portfolio of work and to make it easy for your customers to reach you, learn more about your services and to easily order from you.



I know a number of graphic designers and they all have websites. In fact, I don't know of any designer who doesn't have a website today. Think about it, you pass out a business card with your website address on it and instantly people can see your samples, contact you, ask you questions and learn more about you and your business.



You will need to start where everyone starts and that's by carefully selecting a domain name and then buying one. A domain name today can cost you less then $10.00 a year. Try to think of a domain name that others will remember and not more then 2-3 syllables long.



Make a list as it's quite possible others will have bought that domain already. You can use this free online service to check for domain names and the program will also offer to you suggestions.



You also will need a web host account which is where you will place your web pages. There are so many web hosting services out there and you can find some very good ones for less then $5.00 a month. Do a search here in Yahoo Answers as others have recommended good web hosts.



If you know a lot about graphic design but not enough yet of making a website, you might want to consider hiring someone to make your site, to get your jump started. There are web designers out there who can make you a very decent looking site, using your own logo that you make, for as little as $50.00 and up.



I suggest using a professional service like Rent A Coder http://www.rentacoder.com/ where you can tell other designers, or coders will call them, what you want and they then make bids on your project. They are not paid until you are satisfied with the job, but you will get bids from people all over the world.



In addition, you too can offer your designing services on Rent A Coder and find graphic design related jobs to make extra money. It's free to post a job there and just a small fee to accept a job.



I suggest you make yourself a good portfolio of various graphics. You will want those graphics for both print and for the web which is basically the same file saved as a .jpg or .gif or .png file. You also would take all of your samples and put them onto your web page. Do a search for graphic designers and check-out their websites and how they went about putting it all together. It's really not that hard.



Once you have your website up and running, you can advertise it in various ways, both online and locally like in mailing out brochures or flyers, classified advertising and word of mouth. There are also many regional classifieds online so people doing searches can find you locally within their area. Yahoo has a great local service that can plug you into their search engine for as low as $25.00 a month. Click here to learn more:



There's also Google Adwords where as low as a few dollars a day (you can set your own spending limit) you can select cities, states, countries of where you want your ads displayed. I have many clients who spend like $3.00 a day and they bring in hundreds of dollars a day in sales.



So for a limited budget, I would recommend getting your domain name as that's your online calling card, get a web host account, make a website and then go around your town, knock on some business doors, pass out a nice brochure, make an online portfolio of your samples, and drum-up some business.



Lastly, today it's very common to find designers for print doing graphics for the web. The learning process from one to another is not that hard. If you use Photoshop, for example, they have tutorials and functions to save from a print medium format to a web format. Most web graphics are in .jpg or .gif or .png file formats. Visit some good graphic design message forums and ask questions and learn. You can do it!



Good Luck to you!

Answer 2

There are a number of ways a small business such as yours can advertise without spending money on a big ad campaign. I would first determine who your target markets are. You have a very specialized business, so a big ad campaign would be a waste of money anyway. In other words, you would be spending money to reach people who don't really need your services. Really think about groups of people who would need your services, and focus on those.



You may have tried some of these things, but here are a few ideas.



To begin, I have a small marketing company. People with companies such as mine are often in need of people with your skills. Contact small ad/marketing firms in your area and let them know of your services. They may very well job work out to you.



If you design logos, the people in need of those are your start up businesses. Do you have a business incubator or a SCORE office in your area? If so, pass your contact information on to them. The Chamber of Commerce might also be a way to reach new businesses. Although many of the companies you find there would already be established, some may be in need of a new logo.



Send a basic news release out to your local paper or business magazine announcing the launch of your business.This doesn't target a specific group, but it's free if you can get a mention in the paper.



The type of business you are in really does lend itself to the Internet. Make sure you have a basic online portfolio of your work. Then, with all information you distribute, make sure you have a link to that site so people can see your work. Logo design and illustration can be done from your location for anyone in the world. As far as the illustration part, there may be people looking for someone to illustrate their e-book. Do a search for freelance sites. An example is www.ifreelance.com. They do charge a monthly fee, but it's fairly low. You create a profile and bid on illustration jobs submitted by individuals and companies.



With the kind of work you do, you're really restricting yourself if you only focus on local work. To get your business going, focus on both local and online business.



For more ideas for marketing small business, visit http://www.marketing-small-business.net

Answer 3

Websites are useful when people know to look for you but are not a great way to advertise. As a printing company the best way to advertise is by sending out a coupon or business card in one of those val-pak type mailings. If you can't afford that, print a flyer or card and walk through a parking lot or drop them in mailboxes. It takes a lot of effort but it is cheep. You have to get people to see the quality of your printing and design, that is what will get you business.

Answer 4

Build up your portfolio Submit your site in different forums that are related to your business. Submit your site in different directories Try to get top position in google for related keywords for your business like logo design etc.