July 2017
Branding Strategist Quickie

A lot of unfamiliar terms get tossed around when marketers talk about branding. 
 
Don't let terms deter you from defining your brand

When marketers talk about branding, terms get tossed around like veggies in a salad. You hear about the brand framework, promise, mission, values, personality, tone of voice, pillars, elevator pitch, positioning statement or value proposition.

When trying to get your mind around the mumbo jumbo and understand how these terms relate to one another, you might look for an example by searching Google images for "brand framework." You would see scores of diagrams, no two the same.

At that point, you might be tempted to toss the whole salad into the garbage (or compost). Understandable, but unwise. Here's why: D efining your brand has a clear purpose and tremendous value. 


Website Design DOs and DON'Ts

Poorly designed pop-ups can prompt reader rage when they should be delivering an effective call to action.
 
Whac-A-Mole is for arcades, not websites  
 
Have you ever played Whac-A-Mole, the game in which you try to anticipate where that annoying little critter is going to pop up next so you can smack it with a mallet?

It's lots of fun in the arcade, but on a website, pop-ups that are poorly designed risk enraging visitors. Rage is warranted when pop-ups block navigation, are impossible to close or chase the reader from page to page.
 
But pop-ups don't have to induce rage! If you design them well and implement them with specific intent, they can be great tools for your business or nonprofit.
Email Marketing Q&A

According to unofficial studies, an email that makes a prospect yawn is more than twice as likely to get marked as spam.
 
Email snoozers are for losers

Q: I read that email marketing has the potential to bring my small business big prospects, so I fired up my computer and began sending missives to my list of prospects. A week later, my inbox is so empty that I've started reading spam just to comfort myself. What am I doing wrong?

A: After reading that snoozer of an email you sent out, we can definitely point you in the right direction.


Event Branding Case Study with Tips

Conference marketing and attendee materials are easily identified by a consistent graphic identity.
Effective event branding conjures up the magic 

For the Annual Airport Business Diversity Conference, we were challenged to create a graphic identity to support the 2017 theme, "The Magic of Flight," then design all marketing and attendee collateral with a consistent, branded look.
 
Deadlines were very tight and the conference needed a sponsorship packet, promotional flyers, graphics for a website and social media, a program guide, a PowerPoint template, artwork for a hotel key card and signage.
 
This case study includes helpful tips to guide you if you are branding an event and designing the print and digital marketing materials.

You Want This
Why doodle when you can drum up ideas instead?
 
Drum roll, please! Get your groove on and practice those paradiddles with this month's giveaway: The Drumstick Pen Set. Each wooden pen is 8 ½" long, features a replaceable ink cartridge and will have you shifting from white papers to "Wipe Out" with ease. Who knows, you may even land on this list of The 20 Best Drummers Of All Time - if you don't drive your coworkers crazy first.

Want to win this item? Click to answer the question in this email!  Three subscribers who answer the question  will be randomly selected to receive a Drumstick Pen Set.
Like us on Facebook More than 2,770 people follow us on Facebook

We are entertaining and educating our fans with examples of good and bad writing and design as well as winning strategies for marketing and communications. New posts 3x per week. Join us and enjoy!
On our website

How We Help Business Owners

How We Help Marketing Directors

Managed MarCom Services

What We Do

Thanks for all the fan mail!

We've posted comments from readers of this e-newsletter.
Read fan mail.

What clients say about us