Now that caught your eye, didn’t it?  Sure it did.  And why wouldn’t it?  I mean, I just handed you your dream concept on a silver plate, didn’t I? Your blog, literally everywhere.

So how do you achieve this concept?  Well, it’s an idea you may want to consider.  You’re going to use two basic principles to take a shot at huge name recognition.  Those principles:

1. People love free stuff.

2. Cafepress will put your name and logo on ANYTHING.

And that’s the idea.  Put your name and logo on some stuff and give it away.  Now, I understand that not everybody’s got the kind of cash required for such a venture, but the good part about this plan is that it’s scalable.  You can start small or you can go huge, and you have loads of options.

For instance, let’s take a look at this idea:  Create fifty bumper stickers for about a hundred bucks.  Put them in envelopes and mail them out at random.  Announce to your local newspaper that fifty lucky people will be receiving free bumper stickers as part of your (insert random celebratory event here) celebration.

With any luck, you’ll get a newspaper ad for your blog for less than a hundred and fifty bucks if I’ve done the math right.  Plus, fifty people will hear about your blog, and if they actually USE the bumper stickers, you’ve got plenty of word of mouth advertising gratis.  Got fifteen hundred bucks to blow?  Up that to five HUNDRED bumper stickers.

Think outside the box, and who knows how far you’ll get?

Popularity: 2% [?]

Sure, you could pay a guy to make a stellar-looking logo for your blog or company, but you can try to save a hole in your wallet by creating your own. Saving money isn’t the only advantage of making your own logo, the essence of the company is being captured by the person who knows it best; you!

It can be an intimidating task when you look at it; a company’s logo can make or break it. If you aren’t completely confident in making your own logo, try it out anyway and see if you like it. If you don’t like the looks of it, you can just choose not to use it and move on. But if it so happens that you’re a natural and your logo surpasses your expectations, you have yourself a beautiful logo.

First step is to find a nice font. You can stick with the basics; Arial, Tahoma, etc. if you’re comfortable with using them. If you want to go for a more simpler approach, however, check out some commercial fonts at sites like DaFont.

Now, you need an image manipulation program. Adobe Photoshop is the most popular choice, but it can be pricey. For a free alternative, take a look at GIMP.

Once you have all the tools ready, you will want to experiment. Start creating whatever you can with the default settings and get used to the user interface. After a while, you’re going to want to grab some new brushes, patterns, etc.

There are many tutorial websites on the web for specific instructions on how to create logos, backgrounds, etc. Some sites I use personally are GoodTutorials and Tuts+. Once there, a quick search on how to create your own logo will lead you to hundreds of options. In no time, you’ll be creating your own logo, web design, or maybe a masterwork!

Popularity: 3% [?]

Finally, after a long long wait, the Sly Guy is back!

For those of you that don’t know, the Sly Guy is the SlyVisions cartoon mascot. When I first introduced him, he was simpler and in 2D, created by a promotional tool by Burger King called Simpsonize Me. The results were good, but it was too simple. He needed more interactivity.

So for only under $100, I got the Sly Guy redesigned by a freelance designer. The first thing we worked on was adding some interactivity to the mascot. We kept the sunglasses because…well, it made him sly (no pun intended). Also, you will see that he is now holding a laptop (SlyVisions branded) with some cash coming out of the screen. Why is there cash coming out of it? Well, just think about the slogan of SlyVisions:

The Internet Through An Entrepreneur’s Eyes

Put together a guy with a suit and sunglusses, a laptop + cash to compliment it, and you get a perfectly interactive cartoon mascot.

So what do you guys think of the new Sly Guy?

By the way, I’d like to thank Jay for helping me getting the Sly Guy up at the header. After struggling on doing it myself, Jay had offered to help me out. The cartoon would still be behind the curtains right now if it wasn’t for Jay. Thanks man!

Popularity: 8% [?]