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Branding is very important to a business, whether it is an online or offline business. Your brand will be the first impression the public has of your business and could very well be the most important one. The goal in business branding is to give consumers a visual image of your company. Business branding is very important to a business because it allows the public to identify your company name on sight.

There are several elements of business branding, the first of which is your logo. It is a good idea to use a professional in creating your company logo. A logo designed with clip art and unprofessional graphics can make your business seem unprofessional. Your company logo should appear in as many places as possible including emails, letterhead, pens, and notepads. The image your company projects should be professional and memorable.

Another important feature of business branding is your slogan. A slogan identifies the values and mission statement of your company. A slogan should emphasize the message you want to convey to the public. You should choose your wording carefully and create a short slogan that is easy to remember. Business branding is very important to any type of business and you should include your logo and/or slogan in your web site design and signage. In creating the perfect brand for your business you need to determine who your customers are and how your business can fill their needs, and who your competitors are and why your business is a better choice for consumers.

Business branding must be highly visible and easily identifiable to the public. Your branding logo and slogan should be consistently displayed in all your company advertisements and correspondence. The image your company projects is just as important as the quality of services and products you provide.

For more valuable resources for growing a successful business head over to http://www.redrockva.com today!

Tags: article submission, articles, email, email marketing, email newsletter, ezine, publishing, writers, writingarticle submission, articles, email, email marketing, email newsletter, ezine, publishing, writers, writing

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All You Need is Branded Email
Or
Always Branded Email There to Remind Me

For the past 75 years, almost every form of popular communication has transformed from black and white to color. Newspapers, television, and computers are only a few examples. (Well, some computers went from green and white to color)

That leaves this question: Why hasn’t everyday email communication done the same? Think about it this way - your company probably spends quite a bit of money on building brand image. Billboards, newspaper ads, radio ads, jingles, TV commercials, logo creation, business cards, corporate letterhead, and websites are just a few of the places that corporate marketing dollars might be spent. Why leave out one of the most used (if not the most used) form of communication that you have?

Everybody Wants to Brand Their Email

Branded email can be classy enough for more conservative companies (legal, banks, medical, etc) and showy enough for businesses to highlight products or services that have to have that graphical edge. Most companies can develop a template (or set of templates) that’s geared toward how you want to use them. The ability to choose from more than one template is also a nice feature to have, so you can vary the emails you send based on purpose.

Me and Branded Email Down By the Schoolyard

When you’re considering a branded email system, do your homework. And if the company has a free trial, take it. You don’t want to purchase something and end up hating it. Keep in mind, however, that most companies, however, won’t develop a custom design for you to use during your free trail, so you won’t get the full experience until after your purchase. But while you’re researching, here are some things to look for:

• Spam Filters - See what they say about spam filters. A good system can get past most spam filters (with the exception of extremely strict filters). If you’re testing the system, can you send an email to yourself? (If you test lots of systems and none of them get past your filter, consider getting a better one, or making yours less strict)

• Email size - If the system embeds or attaches the images to the email, stay far, far away from it. You don’t want all of your emails going out at 300-1000k in size. That would be a long download even on a broadband connection. The typical plain text email is 5-10k; your emails shouldn’t go over 100k, and even that is pushing it. - Do note that Outlook, by default, will embed any image in an email when you click send. You have to turn this off through the Tools > Options > Mail Format > Internet Format > HTML Options checkbox (MS Outlook 2002 and 2003)
• Usability - Make sure the product is easy to use. The last thing you want to do is waste precious time trying to use a bad product while sending your email. You should be able to set your account up, and send emails like normal.
• Functionality - If your email contains links to specific pages or areas in your website, you can send traffic directly to your catalog, your affiliate/reseller site, your online video, anywhere you want them to go. This is a much better opportunity than “Hey, go check out my site at www.EmailAppeal.com!” As the old adage goes, on the Internet you’re always 1 click away from losing a customer.
• Dynamic Capabilities - Be sure you can easily change your contact information, picture (if the system allows you to upload one) and any other sensitive information on your template.
• Control - Do you have control over the aspects of the design, or can the user change the design at will? Brand control and consistency is a big deal in any business.
• Security - Does the system require you to send your email through a different server or to a different email address? This is a security risk whether they say so or not, as your emails are all being routed through a third party server. A good system will work without requiring you send your email through a third party.

I Want to Know What Branded Email Is

Branded email can fall into the following categories, each works a little differently than the next:

• Stationary - Microsoft Outlook comes with its own stationary tool, and there are quite a few other stationary companies. Drawbacks - These systems typically provide little or no customizability, no functionality; no usability; can be email size issues

• Mail Redirect - This type of branded email system can use (or allow you to develop) a custom template, then in order for you to send branded email, you send an email to second- or third-party servers, via an email address like this one - your.recipient@company.com@MailRedirectCompany.com - which puts your message in the body of the branded email template, then send it to the recipient on your behalf. Drawbacks - low usability; not secure; hard to reply/forward email with branding

• Web Based - Now we’re getting to the more advanced systems. This type of system offers custom and/or generic templates that you can use with your email. You log in to their website and send your email through their site. Drawbacks - Most won’t allow you to use your own email address; not secure; hard to reply/forward email with branding

• IT Department or Design Department created - If you have an IT guy/department or a design guy/department you can probably do this in-house. Create the HTML template that you want to use, and add it into your client. Drawbacks - it takes time to change the templates if your contact information changes; you have to duplicate the design and change it for every person in your office; you have to host the images on your server, or attach/embed them to the email (size issue)

• Integrated - This is the type of system you should be looking for. Integrated systems integrate with your mail client (Outlook, Eudora, etc) and allow you to send branded email just like you would any other email. Good systems allow you to do this with as few clicks as possible, and the best ones don’t require you to start another program in order to add the branding aspects. Drawbacks - if you use an off-brand client, it may not be supported

It’s the End of the Article as We Know It and I Feel Fine

Branding is alive and well in the world today, and its next frontier is email. More and more businesses are switching to an email branding system, and plain text email is slowly losing its grip on business communication. Find a system that fits your business, and start branding today.

Copyright 2005 Jason DeVelvis - www.EmailAppeal.com

About the Author:

Jason is a long time web developer and the owner of Email Appeal, an email marketing company located in Holland, OH. You can contact him by calling 866-665-3887 or by visiting http://www.EmailAppeal.com

Tags: Branded E Mail, Branded Email, E Mail Marketing, Email Branding, email marketing, OnLetterheadBranded E Mail, Branded Email, E Mail Marketing, Email Branding, email marketing, OnLetterhead

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Okay, so you’ve been in business a while. You have a few
different services you offer. You have regular clients who know,
like, and trust you. So now it’s time for me to ask you, do you
have a signature line of products and services, each one feeding
into the other?

A signature line of products and services is more than just a
marketing funnel. It’s where you deliver the same result, just
in different formats.

For example, my friend Barbara delivers editing and writing services, with a focus on ghost writing and book editing for speakers and consultants.

She’s already plenty busy with clients and publishes a free monthly newsletter, but she has the opportunity to build an even
stronger business by offering a signature line of products and
services, each tightly focused on helping speakers get their
books written and published.

For example: Barbara could create a series of information
products. Each one focused on subjects like writing one-sheets
(something all speakers must have), how to get started writing
their book (including outlines, templates, and schedules), how a
speaker can turn their keynote speech into the nucleus of their
book, how to decide whether to self-publish or try for a
publishing deal…the list goes on!

If she wanted to, Barbara could lead or co-lead workshops,
teleclasses, and seminars on these same topics, all pivoting
around her core brand, which is helping speakers and consultants
get their book in print.

Of course, she would also become sought after as a speaker
herself, speaking to NSA audiences and other entrepreneurial
conferences.

And, she could create a training program, getting paid
handsomely to teach other editors how to serve this big,
lucrative market.

There you have it! A complete line of products and services, all
focused on delivering one result. The advantages to this
business model? In a nutshell: focus, expertise, credibility,
money, brand strength, and business prosperity.

So, are you wondering where the opportunities are for you in
YOUR business?

Creating a signature brand plan is where my creativity runs
wild! If you want customized coaching to design and renovate
your packages, services, and products then watch for an upcoming
email announcing my autumn HorseWise Brilliance Unbridled
program.

*
You are welcome to publish this article
in its entirety, electronically, or in print free of charge, as
long as you include my full signature file for ezines, and my Web
site address in hyperlink for other sites. Please send a
courtesy link or email where you publish to
Kendall@KendallSummerHawk.com

Kendall SummerHawk, the “Horse Whisperer for Business”
delivers smart, savvy ways entrepreneurs can turn their
hectic business into a smooth-running, fun, 6-figure
money-making dream. To learn more about her book,
Brilliance Unbridled, and sign up for more FREE tips like
these, visit her site at http://www.kendallsummerhawk.com

Tags: article submission, articles, email, email marketing, email newsletter, ezine, publishing, writers, writingarticle submission, articles, email, email marketing, email newsletter, ezine, publishing, writers, writing

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