LinkedIn Tips

Linkedin’s Q&A section is wonderful to start marketing.  Now I will say right away… DON”T SELL!  The goal for the Q&A is to help people answer their questions and to provide support.  So how’s this marketing you ask?  Well, by definition marketing is to promote your business right?  Well, you can promote your business by promoting your knowledge and expertise.  And what’s a better way to promote your expertise than helping people answer their questions!  Linkedin is full of professionals looking for help, you can be niche specific.  So how do you market on Q&A?  To start…

1. Look for questions that you can answer, something that is in your avenue.  Try to look for questions that don’t have as many answers too.   Now, when you find a question, you want to have a certain ‘feel’ to your answer.  Listed are steps when answering a question:

• Don’t sell!
• List or number steps
• Get straight to the point
• Right a lot of content, but not a whole book
• Provide resources
• Don’t just write a paragraph.  Make sure you have lists, and formatting.

I can’t stress enough, you don’t want to sell.  Just kindly offer your help or note a product that could further answer their question.

2. After you answer a question, make sure you follow up with a nice message.  Just say something like “Hi _______, I answered your question about ______.  I hope I could help in some way.  If you ever need more help with this, please feel free to let me know or go to my website ____________.  Thank you!”

3. If a Linkedin user does not respond to the message, be sure to follow up in 2 weeks.  Follow up with a reference to the question they had asked 2 weeks ago.  Treat them as a lead, offer help or something that will benefit them.

If you do that, you’ll have more traffic to your website, as well as help generate more leads.

Welcome Glow N Go

I've got a few extra minutes today, so I thought I'd take a moment to welcome Chelsea with Glow N Go to the Creative Alliance family.  As my newest client, I'm designing a logo, website, business card, direct marketing pieces, and a full line of business forms and stationery for Chelsea with Glow N Go.  Glow N Go is a mobile airbrush spray tan company.  She offers a quality, high end mobile tanning experience complete with all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a business that prides itself on luxury, pampering and top notch customer service.  I can't wait to help Chelsea grow her new business!  Welcome Glow N Go!

Creative Alliance is a graphic design firm in the Lake Zurich area.  We service clients large and small and provide them with superior marketing and advertising.  Website design, logo design, brochures and business cards for businesses are just a few of the services that Creative Alliance offers.

Visit our website at www.creativealliancedesign.com or call 847-533-8403 for more information.

Thanks,

julie@creativealliancedesign.com

New logo design for Meg's Quilted Memories.  She designs tshirt quilts which is a great way to preserve memories!I'm also working on her website, which is still under construction, but can be found at megsquiltedmemories.com

Creative Alliance is your one stop graphic designer for logos, custom designed business forms, business cards, advertisements, brochures, custom QR codes and websites.  We are located in Hawthorn Woods, just outside of Lake Zurich and are active members of the Wauconda Chamber of Commerce and the Hawthorn Woods Women's Club.  Check us out at www.creativealliancedesign.com, or email the owner, Julie, at julie@creativealliancedesign.com, or just give us a call at 847-533-8403.

Meg's Quilted Memories - Updated Logo

Marybeth - Here are some variations of the logo that you chose.

This is the original which you chose.

Same logo with color variations or red and a mix of colors for ‘quilted’.

Another color variation.  ‘M’ is a mix of yellows, oranges and purple.  Meg’s and Memories have the same purple.

Here’s a variation on ‘Quilted’ which is outlined is the burgundy with a light grey center.

Original logo with ‘3D’ M

Same logo with color variations.  Color scheme is red and black.

Color variation - Red and Orange.

Color Variation - Orange and Black

3D M and the letters are have a thin outline.  Meg’s and Memories is red with a black outline and Quilted is the reverse.

Logos for Meg's Quilted Memories!

This post is for Marybeth from Meg's Quilted Memories.  Here are logo choices...

Here are some TEXT logos.  

Although some do have some stitching/needle and thread, the focus is mainly on the text. 

Very trendy font right now.  Needle is the “i” and treads into “L”.

Variation of previous - “M” as needle and thread.

“L” as needle and thread.

Variation of the previous - swoosh represents thread.

Quilted font for “quilted” and stitching around logo.  (Ignore the stitching above “Meg’s”.  That is actually part of another logo.)

Here are logos with graphics. 

Tshirt logo.

Trendy women logo per your suggestion.

This logo was designed as a shirt label or tag.  It is hard to see when small, but there is stitching around the border.  (I made it a little bigger so that you could try to see the stitch marks.)

Another label/tag design.

Framing logos within fun shapes is a very trendy design right now.  Here are a few shapes that I came up with.

Fun frame with Quilted “stitched” to the frame.  Outlined with dots to symbolize a sewing pattern. (I made this one a little larger so you could see the font better.)

Puffy frame symbolizes a warmth and coziness of a quilt.

Symbolic representation of needle and thread through points and swirls of the frame.

Stitched frame outline.

Inside lines/swirls created to resemble thread. (Also made this one a little larger so you could see the detail.)

Be Honest about your product

One aspect of branding is understanding how your customer thinks.  Knowing what’s difficult for the customer in the experience you provide is a must. If it’s a necessary evil, present it as evidence of what makes it worth the trouble.  For example, with web design, the many complex variables make it hard for clients to understand that a well optimized page my not have the look and feel they exactly wanted, but it will help with their visibility on search engines, like Google.  It is totally worth the trouble to learn a little bit about on off page optimizations and it is worth my trouble to try to explain it as simply as possible.  In the end we both benefit.  They understand the limitations of the design and I have helped brand myself as reliable, knowledgeable and trustworthy.  It's a win, win.

A Lesson on Branding

To continue my blogging on branding and creating a corporate image, here's another useful tip.

When dealing with customers, or potential customers, involve them on their terms, not yours.  You need to put yourself in their shoes and really understand what they do, what they need to succeed and how they will benefit from your product.  Figure out what they do and do not understand about your product and show them the benefits.  You will soar above your competition when you start showcasing your benefits to them.

Creative Alliance Design in Lake Zurich helps companies create a corporate image.  We will create a brand for you and supply you with the marketing tools you need to be successful, attract and keep customers, and increase your profits.  Contact Creative Alliance to discover all that we offer our clients.  Visit Creative Alliance at www.creativealliancedesign.com.  We are more than just a graphic design firm.  Feel free to email me, the owner, directly at julie@creativealliancedesign.com

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