ten tips from Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide by James Stephenson

1. Don't enlarge your logo so it's the main focus of the page. People are interested in what you're selling, not who you are. In fact, the smaller your logo, the more established your company will appear. Check out ads by pros like Nike or Hewlett-Packard.

2. Don't place your logo in the text of your piece. Of course it's fine to use the name of your company in the text of any of your marketing materials, but inserting your actual logo into a headline or body copy is design suicide.

3. Don't use every font at your disposal. Choose one or two fonts for all your materials to build brand equity. Your font choices should be consistent with your image and your industry. For example, a conservative industry = conservative font.

4. Don't use colour indiscriminately. More colour doesn't necessarily make something more appealing. Often it just makes it loud and off-putting. Most, if not all, your text should be the same colour, preferably black for readability. For a unique look, try duotone photographs or print in two colours.

5. Don't be redundant. Don't repeat the name of your industry or product in your company name and your tagline and your headline. Potential customers know your inductry. Restating it implies you don't.

6. Don't choose loq-quality or low resolution photography. A photo may look great in an album, but unless it features balanced lighting and good composition, it's not print worthy. Photos need to be at least 300dpi. And yes, people can tell the difference.

7. Don't fill up every inch of white space on the page. White space, or negative space, brings focus to what's important and gives the eye a rest. You may have a lot to say, but cramming it all in creates chaos and minimizes impact. Your piece will end up visually over-whelming. Think less, now more.

8. Don't focus on the details of your product or service; instead focus on how it benefits your audience. Unless your product is extremely technical, make your offering relvant to your audience by emphasizing its benefits not its features.

9. Don't do exactly what your competitors are doing. When you're positioning your product, it's good to know your competition. But don't copy them. Find out what your customers want and are attracted to. Stand out without sticking out.

10. Don't change design styles with every marketing piece you create. Strive for a consistent look and feel, keeping the same fonts and logo placement. If you use photos in one ad, don't use illustrations in another. If you place your logo in the middle of one brochure, don't place it at the top-right corner in another.