Small Business Marketing Tips

I recently attending a Greater Frederick Advertising Federation event called "1,2,3...All Eyes on Me". It was a speed networking event where marketing and design professionals gave free feedback and advice to local merchants in the Downtown Frederick district. I gave advice on print design materials, including postcards, ads, brochures, etc. While each retailer had their own marketing agenda and plan, I found I was giving similar advice to all. Here's a summation of most of the advice, as it pertains to most small businesses.

1. Hire a Professional Where Needed
Sure, you may be rolling your eyes, thinking "Of course she say that, she wants to work!". Well, naturally I'd love the work, but even if I wasn't a designer, I would recommend hiring a professional to visually portray your marketing message. This doesn't mean you have spend thousands of dollars and hire a large advertising agency to do everything for you! Perhaps you are a good writer—Great! Then, you can write all your own text and send it to a graphic designer to use in a layout. Or, maybe you know your way around a computer, but are creatively-challenged. No problem, hire a designer to create templates for your ad, then you can just update them on your own! Maybe you have a bunch of ideas for content, but just can't seem to get them across. Fine! Gather all your ideas (in writing) then meet with a copywriter for an hour or two to just edit and simplify where needed. Remember, you should ALWAYS hire a professional to design your logo and your website, otherwise you will be doing a huge dis-service to your overall marketing message. Small Business owners are used to wearing many hats, but make sure to only wear the hats that fit you!

2. Stay Consistent
Make sure all your advertising and marketing has a consistent look and message, or else you will confuse your audience. This can be relatively easy, and may be something you can do on your own. For instance, in your advertising headlines, make sure all the grammar is consistent, if you initial cap every word in one headline, make sure you do the same for all. Or, be sure to use the same color palette for all your marketing. This doesn't mean everything has to be exactly the same—use a palette of 6-8 colors. Mix and match and you'll get a variety of different looks, yet all will be tied in to each other. Also, be sure to use your logo on most, if not all, of your marketing materials.

3. White Space is Your Friend
White space is a design term that refers to the portion of a page left unmarked: the space between graphics, margins, gutters, columns, etc. It allows the eye to have a visual break when scanning across a layout. A lot of small business owners who do their own design and layout want to fit as much information as possible on an ad or postcard. DO NOT DO THIS!!! Ask yourself, if I received this advertisement in the mail, would I stop to read all this tiny text and all these crazy call-outs? Be honest, no, you wouldn't, you'd probably toss it aside—I know I would (and do). If you include too much information, your audience will get overwhelmed and simply lose interest. Skim your content down so only the absolute most important information is included. Use one clever headline, followed by smaller informational text, followed by your contact info. You want to use your marketing pieces to entice your customers to come to YOU for more information, not tell them EVERYTHING upfront! No one will want to buy your milk, if you've crammed the whole cow on your ad. (well, you know what I mean)

I hope these three tips help!

Opa! Be Greek For a Day!

If you are in the western Maryland region, please stop by Frederick's Big Fat Greek Festival, which will be held Thursday, May 14 through Sunday, May 17. The festival will be open for lunch and dinner from 11:30-8:00pm, located in the Sts. Peter & Paul Greek Church lot at 920 West 7th Street, Frederick, MD. Featuring great food, specialty Greek pastries, folk dancing demonstrations, live music, Taverna nights, a children's play area, and a Greek market—it's a cultural experience for the whole family!

Kalico is proud to be in charge of Festival design and marketing again this year, and we are looking forward to nice weather and a great crowd! If you can make it, please be sure to stop by the pastry booth in the church hall and say hi! Also, don't miss the display of custom-designed beach bags by Character Bags, another Kalico client . It's Chic to be Greek, don't miss this great event!

Kalico Sponsors WHY Magazine (Work.Home.You)

Kalico Design is the sponsor of the May/June issue of WHY magazine, an ezine representing the growing number of work-at-homers in today's business world.

An eLuna Media publication, "WHY is dedicated to work-at-homers of all sorts, including entrepreneurs with start-up businesses, full-time and part-time telecommuters, those who bring work home from the office occasionally or every day, and everyone in between." Published on a bi-monthly basis, WHY offers tools and information on how to manage the stresses of trying to juggle work with personal and home demands.

As a home-based business, Kalico is very proud to sponsor such a unique, niche publication so rich with informative articles, tips and tools. Be sure to check out the most current issue of WHY Magzine!

Spring Special!

To celebrate spring, the upcoming nice weather, and one of my favorite months of the year, Kalico will be offering 10% off design service fees for brochures, newsletters, eNewsletters and catalogs during the entire month of May! Don't miss out! If you're looking to enhance your marketing materials with one of these pieces, please email me for an estimate. Keep in mind the discounted price does not include fees for printing or stock photography purchase. Offer will be good for orders placed before May 31, 2009.