8 Tips from a Logo Design Addict
8 tips for the aspiring logo designer that will save time, money, and headaches.
Before I begin, stop sucking at design <-That's a link, click it. Thank you! ;)
First, who am I? I’m Gary Simon and I have made most of my money within the past 14 months by designing logos. Check out my logopond portfolio.
People come to my site through the search engines and order my logos through my logo portfolio page. The average month brings in between 25 to 30 logo design orders at $99 a piece. And because I offer 1 concept and I’ve been able to refine my process to combat unnecessary revision requests, I don’t have to work more than an hour or two a day on the logos.
The purpose of this article is to provide some very valuable tips that I’ve learned either off the bat or the hard way. These tips will save you time, energy, and will make you more money. I will cover the tips in a consecutive fashion from the moment a potential client visits your website, to the very last stages of their logo design.
Tip 1 Get them to your portfolio as soon as possible
No matter what page of your site that a potential client enters, make sure there is a very visible link to your portfolio page. Before a client even cares about a price, they first care about what you can do. This sounds obvious but I’m willing to bet 75% of the designers reading this can improve on this. Visitors are lazy and if they can’t see find your portfolio within a few seconds, they’re gone.
Tip 2 Forget the Price Quote Form!
Requiring potential logo design clients to fill out a form to only find out the cost is a bad thing. This requires time and energy for a situation that has the potential to not pay off. I say that because if they receive your custom quote a day later, and realize you’re out of their budget, they wasted their time. This plays out in the visitor's mind *before* they fill out the form, which is why many neglect fill out the price quote form. Even if they fill out the form, they will still browse other websites and potentially find someone or some service they like better and leave you in the dust.
Instead of the price quote form, state your prices. No gimmicks. You cut out a massive step the visitor has to take and ensure more orders.
Tip 3 Provide a Guaranteed Turn-around Time
One of my biggest selling points I have is I guarantee a 24 hour turn around time. Most websites can’t match this and it gives me an advantage. Now you might think to yourself, “But what if I get a ton of orders a particular day?” – Don’t worry, do what I did. Build a backorder system. Notify them before they purchase that there is an “X” day delay due to other pending orders. So if I have 9 pending logo designs in my system, it will let them know there will be a 3 day waiting period. After the 3 days, they will have their logo within 24 hours. Simple!
Tip 4 Automate your System as much as possible
An easy to use order process is very important. Don’t require them to fill out a form about their logo before they order. The first thing you want to do is require them to first make the purchase. Auto-generate a login for the client if their order is successful (through php/mysql) and have them login immediately after they purchase to fill out the logo design information form. This is basically what I do, and it works out well. Of course though you need to have some basic coding skills to do this.
Here’s how my system works: The client orders the logo, they receive an email with their login information. The client logs in, and it lets them know that the first step is to fill out the logo design information form. They fill it out, and based on any the amount of pending logo designs I currently have, it lets them know of a backorder status. For me, every 3 pending logo designs in my system counts as a 1 day delay for new orders. Sometimes I have as many as 12. As long as you state the backorder status on the order form, clients are OK with waiting since they ordered regardless.
Once it is time for me to design a logo, I login to a special administration section and view the project that is next in line. I see exactly what they enter in the form, and I design the logo. After that point, I add a preview image of the logo in my form and click “Upload!” Then I upload all of the project files (AI, EPS, JPG, PSD) through the form. Then I provide a response with an explanation of the logo I designed. At that point, I set the status to “Primary logo designed” and they’re automatically emailed and notified that they need to login to see their logo.
The client logs in, and views the logo. They’re required to respond and specify (through a radio button) if they want to request a revision, or if they’re satisfied. If they’re satisfied, the project files (which are automatically zipped with PHP) are immediately released to them. If they request a revision, they can specify what they need changed and I’m notified. This process repeats itself until the customer is satisfied.
By automating everything as much as possible, you make it as easy as possible for both yourself and the client. I even provide a video of the entire process, this is a selling point that increases orders.
Tip 5 Get as many Details as possible about the Client’s Logo
I have refined my logo design information form to 9 specific questions. Take a look at this screenshot to see the exact questions I ask. The reason to get as many details as possible from the client, is so that once you design the primary logo, they don’t turn around and say, “Oh, sorry, I wanted this..” or “that”. While many clients will state they have no idea what they want and want to give you free reign, it’s not true.
One of the most helpful things I find as a designer is requesting them to link me to other logos they like and dislike. I let them know to head over to a site like logopond.com and browse around to see what they like and dislike.
Click here to check out a required “READ ME!” before they enter their logo design details. Adding this little read me has helped me weed through a lot of headaches.
Tip 6 Use Adobe Illustrator. Not Photoshop.
You want to design your logos in Adobe Illustrator so that you can ensure they’re 100% vector. Without a vector logo, your clients won’t be able to use them in print. By default, I provide them with an AI, EPS, JPG and PSD version of their logo. I’ve never had any issues with clients requesting other file-types of logos using this formula to this day.
Tip 7 Provide an easy to understand refund policy and make them agree to it on Order
Let’s face it, you won’t please every client – especially if you’re dealing with hundreds of them. Take a look at mine - Requiring them to both read and agree to this document before they order gives you a major advantage when it comes to shady clients in the future.
Tip 8 Get a testimonial
Don’t require it, but encourage it. Testimonials are a major selling point to potential logo design clients. My system handles testimonials automatically. Once a logo design project is set to complete, an optional “Testimonial” textarea shows up next to the “Download Project Files” button.
On my testimonials page, you can see there are over 100 testimonials. This means roughly 25% of clients are willing to give a testimonial. You just need to check it over from time to time to be sure no one is bashing you! LOL.
In closing
I love my job. Only a couple hours a day for a few thousand a month, you can’t beat it. Hopefully I was able to encourage you with some new ideas and approaches. Hit me up if you have any questions.
Comments (58)
True Religion Jeans.A well crafted denim is not just an apparel, but an expression of your individual fashion statement. True Religion Jeans On Sale The brands that you wear and the designs that you choose reflect your personality and attitude, becoming a part of your own identity.jeans is necessary for our daily life ,it is the fashion world enternal theme . True Religion Jeans Sale however no matter how good the jeands .It is important to look at the different selections so you do not have to wear the same pair of jeans on a daily basis. Cheap True Religion Jeans A good mix and match can get you a lot of admiration from your peers.One of the biggest crowd pullers in the denim industry is the constantly updating fashion collections. Discount true Religion Jeans Looking at the different varieties of true religion jeans, you can easily understand the premium stitching and design options that allow you to bring a casual outlook to your personality.rue religion jeans are suitable for various occasion.formal or join you frends party . Cheap True Religion when you wear true religion jeans you will apart common people from ,guys will appreciate you choose jeand taste..
Moncler Outlet Don Ed Hardy is Cheap Moncler known as "the godfather Moncler Jackets of modern tattoo", for his Moncler Branson sophistication, depth and Moncler Clairy sense of experimentation. 2011 Moncler California native Don Ed Hardy Moncler Bulgrie is recognized around the world for Moncler Chamonix his technical Moncler Badia brilliance and Moncler Himalaya mesmerizing imagery. Don Ed Moncler Ski Hardy pulls from life Moncler Eric experience to meld Moncler Karak American, Japanese, Cholo, Moncler Rod tattoo, surf and hotrod Moncler Shiny iconography. This broad Moncler Loire spectrum of taste and Moncler Moka experience, coupled with Moncler Mokacine an ongoing investigation Moncler Nantes of various art Moncler Pop Star histories and Moncler Quincy a mastery of technique, Moncler Angers give his work a unique Moncler Nantes range and Moncler Quilted depth.
Post a Comment