How to Promote Your Business


	Affordable Web Design for small businesses, churches, and organizations Text writing - Newsletters, web text and News Releases

Business Classifieds

Classified Ad Rates

Advertising Opportunities

Blog Articles

Home & Small Biz Forum

References

Our Member Directory

Resources


	Come work in an atmosphere that contributes to the success of the young work-at-home Mom, as well as the seasoned corporate worker-turned-entrepreneur, or the retiree venturing into online business as a supplemental income choice.


	Visit our Membership Section to join this working community!




PRIVACY This web site does not collect any information from you -- no cookies, no personal credit card information -- absolutely nothing! Credit card information is seen and processed only through 3rd party PCI compliant credit card processing systems at iTransact.com or PayPal.com, if you choose

		Visit some of our member sites and look for our web ring! Click below to begin your shopping trip!



	Disclaimer: The information on these pages is meant for informational purposes only. Anyone contemplating starting a business should be aware that laws and regulations differ from place to place and year to year. To insure that your business will/is operating within legal limits of the physical area in which you operate, or on the Internet, we strongly urge you to consult an attorney, a tax specialist, and your insurance agent. Opinions stated in articles on these pages are the personal opinions of the writers, and not to be considered a guarantee of success in a business venture or as definitive expert opinions. Creative Enterprises is not responsible for any financial loss incurred in business start-up ventures or through personal dealings with any of our member businesses. Individual members are responsible for their own operations and business decisons, and are liable for their own customer service and satisfaction. Entrepreneurs are responsible for researching any business opportunities, possible expenditures associated with thoseopportunities, and legal and tax requirements. Purchases of products or programs offered through links on this site are the responsibility of the buyer alone. Although we do our best to confirm the legitimacy of products and vendors, buyers are responsible for and strongly encouraged to do their own investigation before making purchases. All information, graphics, text, and design elements on this site are the intellectual property of Creative Enterprises unless otherwise stated. ©1998-2010 Creative Enterprises

“Selling” Your Business

Making the Visual Pitch

It can take a long time to impress people with your words alone. How many times have you heard someone say something like, "I talked myself blue in the face, but FINALLY I made the sale!" You have to be speaking of something that interests them, talking on the same level as they talk, and zeroing in on the exact piece of information they're looking for (whether they tell you what that is, or not.) So you just keep talking -- keep trying to reach them -- keep searching for the right "button" to push. And if you're good at it, you will -- eventually.

But with a "visual pitch," you get one chance and one chance only. They're going to click on to your web site and they're going to love it, hate it, or be totally indifferent to it -- and whatever they feel, that's the impression they will have of your business from then on.

The same is true for business cards. I remember the first time someone handed me a business card on colored paper -- it was lime green. My initial reaction was that it looked like something a child had made with construction paper. Since then, I've seen them in neon yellow, hot pink, orange -- and each time I find myself totally "under-whelmed" by the professionalism of the person who actually dared to hand them out to anyone. (No hate mail, please! I'm sorry, but those colors do not represent a business person well.) Neon colors are bright and fun -- but they need to be confined to children's toys and beach umbrellas -- or at very most, to a company that maybe sells gags or fun stuff -- (even then, I would be totally unimpressed, but at least could see the logic -- sort of.)

We've come a long way in our ideas of "proper" since this woman's day; but good taste and good sense never go out of style. People still seek out "quality" in the products and services they buy. Take the time to create a proper and timeless image for your business.

Fonts are definitely up there with colors on the "first impression" scale. On a web site of course, there's always the need to keep things fairly simple and straight forward -- easy to read while scrolling, easy to navigate, quick to load, and viewable on a majority of browsers. You don't want to get too carried away with any form of design. So your entire design -- including the font you use -- should be constructed with that in mind. If you decide to use an Old English Scroll font -- confine it to the headlines. Can you imagine how difficult that would be to read in blocks of text? And if you want to use an elaborate font for headlines on your site -- OK -- but use a little logic in the font you choose. If you're creating a site (or print materials) to advise people on financial issues, you don't want to use a cute little font like Crazy Legs or something equally "fun" in its style. You don't have to use Times Roman necessarily, but stick to something with a traditional, professional style -- people want to feel secure and comfortable when making financial decisions. Now if your business is involved with kids or pets, or entertainment -- almost anything goes (except those lime colored business cards!) -- the cuter the better -- because "fun" and "cute" are what you're selling.

Whatever decisions you make concerning the visual impression you make on prospective customers, remember this -- fair or not, people still judge books by their covers!

Carol Daly is the owner of The Creative Enterprises Network, a networking community site for home-based and small businesses online.


	This site is best viewed with 1024 x 768 resolution. Other resolutions may cause items to appear off center

INDEX

Home About Us Writing Services & Samples

Affordable Web Site Creation Articles for Entrepreneurs

Member Directory Advertising Opportunities

Resource Links Contact Us