Copyright © All rights reserved.  Created by MagniFicent Design

As a business owner/entrepreneur, you’ve probably got about a million things on your plate right now so it’s easy to put branding on the back burner.  But if you want to look like a professional in your field it’s essential to do the following.  By the way all this won’t take very long and believe me it will put you into another business category once they have been accomplished!

1) Set up your business mailbox

Nothing quite says "unprofessional" like a gmail business mailbox (eg. zenbodymassage@gmail.com). Same goes for yebomail, webonline, absamail, hotmail, chillibyte… we’re looking at you!

Business email addresses (eg. info@zenbodymassage.co.za) are inexpensive to set up and are included in our hosting packages. Once you’ve set up your mailbox, be sure to guard against spam.

2) Set up your email signature

The very next step is to set up your email signature.
Include your logo, contact details and web address.
Your email signature should not be more then 4 or 5 lines as it will then start looking tacky. Another ‘No-No’ is to have different fonts and colours like the example below:

MELANIE FERRIERE
Tel: 031 312 5458
Cell: 083 714 7614
Email: melanie@magnificentdesign.co.za
www.magnificentdesign.co.za

Just follow these easy steps, or contact us for a custom designed graphic signature. 

3) Set up an electronic letterhead

We often create electronic letterheads as part of our corporate identity package. This Word template can be printed in-house, emailed to clients or PDF’d for a presentation.

To create a letterhead in Microsoft Word simply open a new document, go to View → Header and Footer and insert the relevant images. It’s vital to convert custom fonts to images to ensure the recipient can read your letterhead correctly.

4) Print your business cards

With the advent of digital printing you can easily print a batch of business cards without breaking your bank! Microsoft Publisher has a wide range of options you can choose from.

5) Print CD labels

Ever cringed while handing over a hand scribbled CD to an important client? Branded CD labels are very affordable and can be printed in batches as low as 10 pieces.

6) Set up a temporary site

Even if your website is miles from completion – or conception –
set up a temporary website or "Under Construction Page"
(See our Portfolio for examples)
with your logo, contact details and a short blurb on your business.
This ensures that your business card recipients do not
end up on a dead “404 error” site.

7) Other Branding Ideas

Additional areas of branding to consider include:

ONLINE MEDIA

Websites • Email Adverts • Electronic Letterheads • Fan Pages

OFFLINE MEDIA

Business Cards • Letterheads • Compliment Slips

Envelopes • Office Stationery • Accounting Stationery

Posters • Menus • Flyers  • Brochures  • Invitations

Gift Vouchers • Catalogues • Stickers / Labels • CD Labels

Did you enjoy reading this article?

Please leave the Designer a comment below...