How Much You Should Spend on Branding Your Business

Today, branding has become important than ever. Forward-thinking entrepreneurs are realizing that creating a brand identity isn’t just meant for the big companies- they need it too. However, many fail to come up with an appropriate budget. If you are facing trouble with that yourself, then this post can help you get started.

If you will talk to a few branding agencies, then you are likely to get quotes starting from $1,000 to as high as $50,000. However, taking service from a freelancer designer or content writer will set you back only by $50-300. The question is, how do you decide the budget? It depends on your requirements, of course, but having knowledge of the subject can help a lot.

The following highlight some of the major costs of branding:

Logo

A company logo may seem like an unimportant part of a brand, but the reality is that it’s one of the most aspects that can’t be overlooked. After all, it represents everything that a company stands for- the values and mission statement of the company. It also helps the company to stand out from rival brands.

It goes without saying that you should spend a generous amount of money on a premium logo. If possible, you should take help from a reputed design studio that can charge you as much as $1,000 to 2,000. You can also find a skilled freelancer on portals like freelancer.com or Upwork.com and their services can be as high as a few hundred bucks. But what if you don’t even have this kind of money? If that’s the case, then you can use an online logo maker. There are many online tools and affordable solutions like Tailor Brands that are capable of delivering high-quality designs for as little as $2.99 a month! As long as you are able to get quality designs, you are free to pick any option.

Domain Name and Website

You can ask any branding expert worth their salt, and they will tell you that all businesses must have a domain and a website. However, if you are picking a business name that doesn’t have a domain or if the domain is available for a premium price, then it can emerge as a big branding cost.

A domain usually costs around $2-3 a year. However, there are many that can go as high as $100. That said, if you are able to get a concise and attractive URL for a premium price, then you should go for it for long-term branding perks.

If you have a domain ready, then you can host a professional website even on a budget. You can use a CMS like WordPress to build a beautiful website without professional services. The hosting service is also usually cheap and ranges from $50-$200 a month.

Powerful Content

You may not know this, but content is also an important part of branding. Here “content” means your website and blog, videos, posts and visuals for your social media accounts, etc. These are used to attract the target demographic, and depending on the style you pick and the kind of effort you put into the work, you can use the material to take your business to the next level.  

Quality content isn’t that expensive unless you hire a full-time content writer, which is something that can set you back by around $49,000 a year. On the other hand, you can find freelancer writers across the globe and get decent rates ranging from $10 to $20 per blog piece. Comparable rates can also be found for copywriters that can write content for your website and products.

Conclusion

As you can see by now, branding isn’t that expensive when done right. Most importantly, you don’t have to take formal education or even join a branding institute like the one launched by the Brands of Desire to practice the best techniques the industry has to offer. There are plenty of resources on the Internet to learn from, and plenty of tools to give you a bang for your buck. Good luck!