HauntJaunts.net: Logo and Advertising

There are a lot of administrative things to take care of while I'm building HauntJaunts.net, including designing a logo and tackling advertising. (Both from the perspective of doing it for the site and getting others to advertise on the site.)

THE LOGO

Last year Randy Okane at 5MinuteMystery.com hooked me up with the graphic artist who did his logo after I contacted him about it. (I fell in love with it and just thought it was extremely snazzy. I wanted the person responsible for creating it to do Haunt Jaunts' logo too.)

He did get me something I loved, but then my mom fell ill and the rest of 2008, including all my set up plans for Haunt Jaunts, got put on hold. Then I got cancer...well, Life got in the way.

But all that's behind me now and I can focus on getting my site up and running. And part of that is coming up with a face to represent my vision.

I tried to get a hold of the guy (whose name I'm not revealing because he actually works for a graphic design company and could get in big trouble for doing work on the side), but his email is no longer valid. Drat.

But then I saw another logo I liked for a company called Cross Checking. I found out who designed theirs, contacted them, paid a small fee ($80), BUT...have not been pleased with the results.

Yes, I asked for a revision...which I got, but which just basically changed the color scheme and a few minor details of the original samples they sent. Which are okay, but not what I had in mind. And since I had to wait two months (when the policy is to have revisions back in 2-3 days), I'm just sort of done with them.

My friend Chris Verstraete had sent me a link to a free logo generator site, Cool Text , so I finally checked into it today. In less than two minutes I created a logo, admittedly a very basic one, that will totally work for me. (Yep, it's the one leading off the blog.)

Moral of the story: It's worth it to me to eat the fee I paid. In the end I came up with something I can live with...and I know going forward I'll check out the free stuff first before opening my pocketbook!

ADVERTISING

Speaking of pocketbooks...what a great lead in to the advertising segment of today's show. (Hey, who says administrative business stuff can't be entertaining?)

The reason I needed a logo is because I want to be one of the sponsors for HauntedCon. (Well, I wanted a logo for other reasons as well, but it makes it a little easier from an advertising perspective if you have a logo rather than just a link...)

Anyhoo...it also got me to thinking about how I'm a one-woman show at the moment. (I have visions of hiring help down the road, but I don't have the funds to pay anyone with yet.)

Between collecting and inputting Haunts (that's a job right there!), fiddling with the website (it's a template, I have no web design skills --again, another position I could fill), reading submissions (I see this being my main role at some point), and trying to procure advertising (I could never be a bum, I hate approaching people for money)...I've got my hands full!

But I need money coming in, so...how to do that if I hate asking for it?

LIGHT BULB MOMENT: I may not be able to pay a sales force, but I can accommodate commissions.

THE DEAL

Feel free to post this around to anyone you know who's interested in making a little extra money.

• I'll pay 40% to anyone who brings in advertising to my site. You can find rates (remember, "they're spookily affordable") on our Rates Page under the Advertising tab.


• By "bring in" I mean they buy advertising and mention YOUR name. OR, you send me an email saying, "I contacted so and so who should be contacting you about advertising." If they do and if they buy, you'll get credit.


• Somehow I MUST KNOW YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEAL OR I CAN'T PAY YOU. I don't want to put up an ad and have people randomly claiming responsibility for it and demanding 40% from me. Ain't going to work that way, folks. If I don't know you brought it, you're not getting paid.


• You get paid when I get paid. The second the funds clear in my PayPal account, I'll zap you your 40% via PayPal. (Unless we've agreed beforehand upon other payment arrangements.)


• If your advertiser renews advertising, say upgrades from a one month deal to a six month deal down the road, you'll get 40% of that too. (Basically, if you bring in an advertiser who continues to be an advertiser for as long as HauntJaunts.net shall live, you'll receive the 40% credit every time they renew.)

Good luck and may the force be with you!