Hemphill and Moore Realty look a like ?

So if you know me you know that more times than not when I get to pick where we eat I like to pick Mexican food. I am not talking about Chi-Chi’s or Taco Bell. I eat at Mexican restaurants where the folks speak Spanish. I believe these are the best kinds. I’m sure they are all over the country. Here in Nashville we have plenty to choose from. Every town usually has 4-5 run by Hispanic families. Anyway on to the point. I find my self eating lunch at odd times like 3pm. Usually things are slow and half the staff is sitting down folding napkins and watching Univision. Which from what I can tell is the Hispanic channel of choice.

A month or more ago I was driving around and saw a Hemphill and Moore Realty Sign. At this time the sign was in black only. After seeing it for a week or more and noticing that it resembled the Univision logo. I called the company. I told them that there logo looked very close to that of the Univision logo. They said ok with no real interest and that was it. I few months later I noticed that there signs had changed to color and now look even more like the logo.

So what do you think. Is this a logo rip off or a honest mistake? To see other logo’s that look alike visit this site.

And just in case you are wondering it is not ok to take a symbol of of another logo and put it on yours. Even if you change the color up a little.

Don’t talk about your Brand and nobody will know

I have recently been spending more time networking on the internet. I read other peoples blogs and follow interesting people on twitter. I don’t know any of these people but I feel they have interesting or helpful information that I would like to know. The only thing I know is what they tell me. I don’t know them personally. We don’t hang out. I don’t know where they live. If they have a picture of them in a suite on their profile or site. I assume they where suites. If they twitter about going to the gym I think they must be healthy.

This reminds me of branding. With a brand businesses can be whoever they want to be. If they want to be the best at what they do they just have to say I am the best at what I do. If you want people think that you are hip and modern all you have to do is have marketing and design materials that are hip and modern. If you want to be the expert on something just have lots of information about one topic on your website and in your print materials. Perception is reality in many cases. Now you may have to prove that all this is true on day ,but you may not get that opportunity to prove yourself to be the expert if you don’t act like the expert.

The same is true in the opposite scenario. Unfortunately this is all to common in today’s small businesses. If you don’t have any information about what you do on your website or print material people assume you are not the expert. If your logo is poorly designed and inconsistent people assume that you are not hip and modern or even professional. If you never tell people that you are the best at what you do. Why would they ever thank that you are the best at what you do?

Sometimes business just assume that people will figure it out on their own. That is however unlikely. Perhaps only if they happen to stumble in your door. But if a person is looking for someone that is the expert in your field you are not going to make the list. You will not likely get found. Instead you have to go out and find the work as oppose to the work finding you. And once you do find the work you have to convince them that you are a professional and that you know what you are doing with out anything to back it up other than I nice smile.

So act like the business you want to be. You set the bar. You tell the world who you are. They have no reason to doubt you. Be proactive. Take charge. If you don’t have your stuff together than we should meet. I am the best logo designer in Nashville. I am tall and very handsome. I smell good and have a delightful personality

Why you should read about Logo Design and Graphic Design

Here is a casual video of why you should be reading this blog on a regular basis. I hope the bandage on my pinky is not distracting. I whacked it in a cheese slicer accident. Do not worry I am left handed and can still deliver great design.

Dutch Cheese is my Favorite.

First Logo Design Then the Business Card / Nashville Graphic Design

This video covers a few reasons why it is not wise to start a business with just business cards and no logo. A well designed logo will make your company look professional and set your business up for success. To find out more about logos read some related categories or Contact Rush Design Group.

Seo Experiment Day 18 of 30 Graphic Design

It is day 18 of the 30 day seo experiment.

The goal of the experiment is to:

1. Blog every work day
2. Sign up for as many social networks as possible
3. Read everyday about SEO ( Search Engine Optimization) Basically how to show up on Google.
4. Network with other bloggers and leave real comments

So far so good. I have noticed an increase in traffic as well as a better rank in search results. Throughout this experiment I have received some questions from clients and friends. Here are a few with some answers.

1. What is a blog? Surprisingly not everyone is familiar with blogs or how they work. Most blogs are focused on a specific topic and consist of one persons opinions on that topic. The blogger or blog owner writes on a regular basis about the topic that they want to be the expert on. The writing is generally casual and asks the readers to comment and share their opinions. The blogger can choose to approve those comments or delete them.
2. What is SEO? SEO stands for ( Search Engine Optimization). SEO is a lot of things and every post that is part of this experiment touches on different parts. But basically SEO is Optimizing your website to rank well on search engines for specific keywords.
3. What are Keywords? Keywords are the words that get typed into the search field on Google. You as the website owner decide what words you want to show up for. For example, Rush Design Group wants to show up for 3 basic Keywords or Key Phrases: logo design Nashville, graphic design Nashville, branding Nashville. So I make sure those words are on my site as much as possible.
4. Why do you keep spamming me? Sorry, I have been trying to promote my blog to everyone I know. Unfortunately not all of my clients, friends, and family like to hear from me everyday. What I have learned is that Facebook, Twitter ,and other social networks offer a passive form of contact I can say what I am doing with out demanding anyone read it. Emailing often may not be a good way to go if you want to promote your site. Although a Newsletter once a month has shown to be very productive.

I can’t believe how productive this experiment has been only 18 days in. I look forward to updating everyone on the final results. Leave a comment if you enjoy the post and if you are tired of hearing about it.

Twitter beginner ? and the Twitter Wheel

As part of the SEO experiment I have been spending way more time on the internet. I am getting started about 2hrs earlier in the morning now to do a little research, and then put up a post hopefully before you guys get to work and start looking on the internet for some non constructive activities. (This blog is educational and will grow your business. Just in case someone asks.)

While wandering the internet I have seen a lot about Twitter. Twitter is a site that lets you keep up with people by sending out short answers or questions. You can see an example of my “tweets” as they are called in the right column. As you can see they are short. The basic idea is that you get to see tweets from people that you want to follow, and the same is for people that follow you. On Twitter, a tweet is like your myspace or facebook status. It basically answers the question, “what are you doing?”

The useful thing about Twitter is that you can receive and make tweets with your cell phone or computer. While you are not required to use a cell it can be very convenient. As long as you have unlimited texting. Or if you have unlimited web you can log in to Twitters mobile site.

So why should you use it? Because SHAQ does. Do you need another reason? I know, I don’t care what SHAQ is up to but that is what is great. You can see what people are doing with out being all personal with them. If I send a request to be your friend on facebook ,and you only know me through a blog comment, that would be weird and stalker like. With Twitter I want you to follow me. I don’t care who you are. Really, follow me. Because if I break down on I65 I can send out a tweet and everyone I know will get it ,and merge left so they don’t hit me as they pass. Twitter is a combination of texting and instant messaging that lets you communicate through the phone and computer to everyone all at once.

Companies could use twitter to send out notices to out of office staff. Instead of texting everyone or using the old, slow, email. Or let customers know that you have a limited supply of that thing they want and you just put it on sale. Seriously though the CEO has hinted that tweet will become a money maker for corporations.  Whoever you are you could find a reason to set it up and try it out.If for no other reason sign up and save your companies name so that when you do get on the ban wagon it will still be available. So sign up and follow me on twitter.

Once you have signed up try this cool twitter wheel. It shows you how everyone is connected. Mine is pretty sad looking. But once you sign up to follow me, I will show you the updated wheel and hopefully it will be bigger. When you create your wheel it gives you a url. that is like this http://www.tweetwheel.com/rushdesign . Make yours and leave the address in the comments below so we can all see.

Other interesting notes about Twitter is that they were offered $500 million from facebook and said no. All this while Twitter has brought in little to no revenue. Although the CEO has said that that will change first quarter 2009.

What is Feed Burner. Why you should use it.

So if you are one of the many that read this blog every day and check it regularly for new content you will be happy to know that there is a service that will deliver the newest posts directly to you. A Lot like USPS except it doesn’t cost me anything and you don’t have to put on your slippers to go get it. The most popular service is Feed Burner. I have just added it to this site and the icon is in the right column.

So How does Feed Burner work.

It is really quite simple and free. When you click on the button that says subscribe in reader it will take you to a new window. You will see something that looks like this.

You will likely see a familiar logo. Maybe you have a yahoo account or a Google account like most intelligent people. These companies that you use to check your email along with others have caught on to this popular blogging kick and have created readers. A reader is like a newspaper customized by you. All of your favorite blogs that you subscribe to like this one and this one will be included in the reader. So instead of trying to visit all of the blogs that you like with your morning coffee. You can open the reader and see them all in one place. This is also convenient when you find a blog that you may want to visit again but may not remember the URL. You can subscribe in your reader or bookmark it. If they let you down with boring content you can unsubscribe. It is like breaking up or just not answering the phone anymore. It’s ok it will likely make them a better person in the long run.

Why You Should Use It.

Because it is awesome. And because blogs usually have the latest news and trends affecting your industry or hobbies. You can stay in the know and become more intelligent and better looking as a result. It also lets the blogger know that you thought the blog was worth keeping track of. That is a great morale booster. As you can tell by the feed burner readers on this site, that unless I get some clicks soon morale could be low. But this is the season for giving so why not throw out a charity feed and sign up.

Have you ever used a Reader or Feedburner? Leave a comment.

4 Steps to Building a Marketing Database

This summer I started to commit more time to building a database of contacts. In the past I had not been very good about working on the list on a regular and consistent basis, but now I do. Actually I pay someone part time to do it from home because it would never get the attention otherwise.

Here are ways to build and use a database for growing your business in a slow economy.

1st. Make sure that the names you get are from people that you have met or have given you permission to contact them. That is the reason for building the list, because you plan to contact them.  If you get a business card or an email from someone add them to your database. Or call and ask if you can contact them later or I ask “Would it be ok if I sent you my contact information”. Or “Can I email you some info about our company.” Those are ways to build the list.

2nd. Get good information. I use Google documents this lets me set up a spreadsheet that I can update and edit from any location. It also lets multiple people update the same list. This keeps the information up to date and correct. I can leave notes about the conversation I had and when I last contacted the business. I keep track of Industry, Company, Contacts Name, Title, Phone, ext, Date Contacted, Date to call back, Email, Website, and Comments about the call.

3rd. I use that info to import into Rush Mail this lets me send a email newsletter to that list on a monthly basis. I could also use that list to form a direct mail campaign.

4th. Always update the list. Call your contacts on a regular basis. I make a point of calling my potential clients when ever I have down time. I call them every 3-4 months. I ask if they recieved the email or post card that I sent and if they have any project coming up in the future. I am not very aggressive with the call. I keep it casual and quick. If they don’t need me I don’t want to be annoying. But I do want to remind them that I want their business.