Guest post by Hasan Shirazi, Logoinn

The significance of a unique logo for the purpose of marketing and branding of a company or its product is not hidden from anyone. Having a perfect logo could be the ultimate wish of any business owner who knows the real importance of visual identity. However, many a time, due to lack of knowledge or some other factors, business owners do some common logo design mistakes while building their business brand. These mistakes eventually develop a wrong brand image, and then a business has to face decline even when all other branding elements are fine. In this article, we have pointed out 5 common logo design mistakes most commonly made by business owners.

Not hiring a professional designer to do the job

On the surface you might think that designing a logo is not a complicated task. You may assume that nearly anyone with some taste and artistic inclinations can design a logo for you. However, reality is quite different. Designing a business logo is not a work of new or pastime amateurs. Continue reading

We live in a marketing and branding world where Jack Trout warns us that death is the punishment for companies who do not differentiate. Bloggers are trying hard to get unique or customized blogs to support their online brand. We all strive to promote a special something that’s only ours. But is it really necessary? Is it the only way? Or is the uniqueness also nurtured by something else rather than design or having your product photo recognized by everyone without seeing the logo?

I’ve been thinking lately of some large car manufacturers. Peugeot, Citroen, Ford, Toyota, all strong players in the international market. They all have something in common: producing some small cars, perfect for the city life. But let’s take a closer look at how these cars look like:

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Guest post by Alex Cristache

The list of blogs and online magazines offering tips and advice has been growing exponentially every year. Even I am the founder of one such “blogging tips” blog.

With all the hype created around this type of blogs and the (in)famous “make money online” blogs, people seem to overlook one significant thing: these blogs offer tips and advice, but encourage you to experiment.

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This entry will be part of a series of more, based on bad pitches I experience or hear of. Turning them into tips and tricks will probably help those pitching do a better job in the future.

Some blogs have moved, some are simply abandoned. Whatever the reason, the owners are clearly not interested in writing on them. So pitching to these people would be a waste of time and a full scale proof of lack of research skills or of not paying that much attention.

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I’ve met Robyn Bloom on LinkedIn, after answering one of her questions about getting beauty bloggers and journalists to write about her business, Purely Cosmetics and the line of natural mineral products she created. While talking to her, I wanted to know more about how life as a one-woman-show was in the beauty field. I had only read her LinkedIn profile and some information on her website before sending these questions. I am extremely glad they’ve lead to a great story about following your dreams and doing what you love.

You went from selling prescription medications to selling ad space in the Yellow Pages to then owning your own mineral make up company. Tell me how it all happened!

Most of my life is an accident. When I first went to college, my intention was to become a doctor – I’ve always been intrigued by science. After my first inorganic chemistry class, I nixed that idea. I started out in the fashion industry as a menswear buyer while I was in graduate school (worked in retail all through high school), intending to open up my own clothing store. My MBA was emphasizing entrepreneurship, and after going through the program, I decided I’d rather start new products with someone else’s money rather than mine. Continue reading