The Gonzo Blog
Welcome to Notes from Beyond the Boxes.
The bulk of this blog is about marketing and branding; more specifically Gonzo-style marketing and branding. So if you’re looking for a blog on Icelandic poets from the 17th century you’ll have to look somewhere else. Similarly, if you’re looking for a stuffy agency using the latest “corp-speak” buzzwords you should hit your back button now. However, if you’re looking for marketing info you’ll find useful and fun to read, ways to trim your costs without sacrificing quality, and info to help you brand your business without breaking your bank account – stick around.
Why Does It Look Like That? Understanding RGB and CMYK Colors
To save money, some small businesses use DIY methods to create their marketing materials. They’ll set-up their business cards, brochures, etc. in Publisher and then send them to an online printer to be produced. But when the product comes back they get a shock because...
Give It Away to Get It Back
Since I started Gonzo Strategies, several people have given me copies of a book called “Gonzo Marketing.” The book itself isn’t great, but it has a theme I can totally get behind. It talks about “giving it away and having it all come back to you”. To the traditional...
Keep It In Your Name – Or Risk Losing It
Every website has two requirements in common - a domain name (address) and hosting (where the site’s files are stored.) I’m a big believer you need to keep those two things in your own name. Why? The person who controls them (especially the domain) is the person who...
Business Owners Beware: Ransomeware Scam
Getting a lot of website traffic is generally a good thing, but along with potential buyers, the bad guys are looking for you. If you have a website you’re probably used to getting spam through your contact forms – annoying, but generally harmless. However, recently...
Just Be Creative – I Trust You
The title of this post is a phrase that usually leads to disaster for everyone involved. Every design or creative project I work on starts with a strategy meeting with the client. I interview the client about what they like and don’t like. I gather information to...
Warning: Website Owners Beware of this Scam
I'd like to tell you, and warn you, about a little marketing scheme (scam) that was attempted on a couple of my clients. While I had to admire the company's nerve - in the same way I admire the Kardashians (i.e. I'd never do anything even close to what you did, but...
You Can Avoid This Painful Marketing Strategy Blunder
Your marketing strategy should be based around removing a “pain” for your clientele. But you have to make sure the pain you solve is real one and solving this pain doesn’t conflict with your customer’s somatic markers (hard wiring in the brain that influences buying...
Branding Essentials: Understanding Pixels
Last time I talked about the different types of electronic artwork and the differences between pixels and vectors. Since I spent most of my last post discussing the importance of vectors I thought it fair to give pixels equal time. When it comes to using images and...
Branding Essentials: Why You Need to Know About Vectors
“When it comes to branding, Vectors make the world go ‘round” Recently I was working on setting up a promotional product for one of my clients that needed to include logos and branding from a variety of businesses in the Fort Worth area. When I asked for vector art,...
The 3 Letters You Need To Know To Market Your Business
Ages ago when I was teaching a class on marketing for small businesses and start-ups one of the students asked a question that still makes me chuckle. He said, “Can’t you just tell me what works and I’ll do that.” If I had the universal answer to that question I...