Marketing Services

Our marketing services range from logo design to trade show products. There really isn’t a need we can’t supply and we can help you discover ways to creatively market your business or product.

It always starts with logo development though. And we take our logo development seriously. We don’t believe in over-philosophizing logos to the point of death. I mean, did Pepsi have some great, powerful meaning behind a swivel line between a circle? Doubt it. But logos are important. They are a vital part of your company. They serve as your image and foundation. When people see your logo, you want them to think of YOU without seeing the name of your company anywhere around.

So we don’t just throw around an idea or two and splash some colors and shapes around until we come up with something cool. No, we discuss your vision and passion. We ask you questions, we look at the heart of your company, and then we think about your project before we even touch design tools. Finally, when an idea sparks, we fly with it.

And it doesn’t stop there. We play around, change things, mix things up, until WE are satisfied enough to show you some options to choose from. And believe me, it’s not easy to satisfy us. We are our worst critic, but that’s a good thing. That means you can trust us with your design as much as you can trust yourself. We don’t want to let you down.

Branding

When I (Ashley) first started writing I thought it would be so easy to get published. Write the book, get the agent, get a publishing deal, and there you have it. As I researched and read blogs about the industry I realized how little knowledge I had when it came to the writing industry fundamentals.

Brands, voices, platforms, marketing … it overwhelmed me, but I figured I could handle it, right?

Not so much. Thankfully I am married to a talented and artistic designer who understands marketing and design from a creative standpoint, who just so happens to own Author Lab and Tekeme Studios. Yes, that’s us.

Anyway, George and I discussed my “voice,” asking questions like:

1.) What kind of topics do I write about?

2.) What kind of prose do I have? (Poetic, literary, technical, simple, etc.)

3.) What is the main theme behind everything I write?

4.) Who am I and what do I represent as a unique author?

Then, we took the answers and developed the first part of my brand. The ONE WORD that describes my writing (or in some cases – your business) in the shell of a nut. Hope. For me, the ONE WORD is hope.

After we had ONE WORD, we developed a tagline that summed up my answers to the above questions and elaborated on the ONE WORD. The tagline was beauty after rain.

So, hope turned into beauty after rain. Meaning, I write about difficult things and the beauty that comes after the storms in life. This became my brand. Beauty After Rain. And after that, we developed a website. The theme of the website was beauty after rain, with hand-drawn creative elements. You can see a snapshot of the site here. (FYI – I am showing this site for informative purposes, but I have taken it down because it no longer represents who I am and the way I want to present myself to the world, which is why it’s not in our portfolio. Most people wouldn’t even think that’s me if they met me nowadays. Alas, it’s here to help you understand our creativity in branding.)

In essence, developing your brand is easy, but not easy all at the same time. And you’ll need this brand to carry you through your writing career and all of your marketing material. You can’t steal this from someone else, no matter how much you love their presentation. This is YOU. And the only way you can have an effective brand is by knowing yourself, your voice, your writing, your career goals and direction, and what makes you unique.

The basic things to ponder when developing your brand are:

1. As I search myself and my writing, what is the ONE WORD that sums it all up?
2. Turn your ONE WORD into a tagline.
3. Turn your tagline into a concept that can seep into your web presence, print presence, and real life (speaking) presence
4. Develop a web presence on a blog or website (with a good logo that utilizes your brand).
5. Write, maintain a web presence, seek out speaking engagements, and develop strong connections with your readers

When you work with us to develop your brand we will walk you through all of these things!