tips & tools
Articles, downloads and other resources for small businesss.
tools, worksheets & downloads
Free Download – Social Media Response Planner
A handy worksheet to help you plan your approach to negative comments on social media, including a template for crafting responses - and creating opportunities from those moments we all dread. Click here to start your...
Free Download – Ultimate Website Planner
Every business needs an online presence. The Ultimate Website Planner helps you plan, prioritise and choose the best option to get your business online.
Free Download – Ultimate Branding Checklist
A step-by-step worksheet for small business startups tackling DIY branding. Find out what's essential, what's nice to have, and where you should start.
Free Download – Design Brief Worksheet
This worksheet makes working with a professional graphic or web designer a breeze. It guides you through the entire process, from getting quotes to signing off on artwork. Perfect for small businesses making the leap from DIY to outsourcing their graphics....
D.I.Y. Social Media Templates
It's World Creativity and Innovation Day! Never have creativity and innovation been so important to our businesses. To mark the day - and to help small businesses currently innovating and #workingon - I have put some FREE downloadable DIY social media templates...
resources, tips & knowledge
The Power of Typography – 4 Tips For Shaping the Identity of Your Business
Welcome to the captivating world of design, where every visual element plays a pivotal role in shaping your brand's identity. Today, we're delving into the captivating realm of typography and its profound impact on your branding journey. Choosing the right fonts is...
Marketing Funnel Magic
Welcome back to the Powdermonkey Design blog! Today, we're diving into a topic that holds immense potential for small businesses looking to optimise their marketing strategies: marketing funnels. As a small business owner, you're constantly seeking innovative ways to...
The Psychology of Colour
Ahoy, small business owners! Are you ready to embark on a transformative branding journey? At PowderMonkey Design, we have years of experince creating captivating visual experiences that elevate brands to new heights. Today, we'll uncover the magic of colors in...
6 Ways to Make Your Email Marketing Rock!
Email marketing has long been a key tool for small business owners looking to connect with their audience and drive sales. In today's digital age, email continues to play a critical role in business communication, offering a cost-effective way to reach a large and...
The 3 reasons EVERY website needs regular maintenance
1. Security The Internet can be a sketchy place - and staying ahead of the bad guys is a never ending job. The types of threat and the ways into a site are constantly changing. If your website was built using a Content Management System (you know the ones - WordPress,...
How To Handle Social Media Haters Like a Pro
The 8 must-have strategies for every social media admin As a breed, small business owners are really passionate about what they do. It’s that passion that drives us to put so much of ourselves into our businesses. But it can also drive us crazy the moment we read a...
What’s The Deal With Email?
How does it work and how do I get it up and running on my device? Email is ubiqutous. We all use it. Plus it's been around a really long time. Maybe it's even a little too ubiqutous - it's one of those things we all use every day, without really considering how it...
5 Ways To Get the Most Out of the Design Process
Because getting stuff designed for you should be fun! There comes a moment in the small business journey when you are ready to stop DIY-ing and hand your design work over to a professional. Maybe it’s just because I love graphic design a little bit too much, but I...
Your Ultimate Branding Checklist
A step-by-step guide for small business startups If you’re starting up a small business, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now. And you probably have a lot of money going out and not much coming in yet. It’s a hectic time, and I am guessing branding is one...
Your Ultimate Website Checklist
Everything you need to do or delegate to get your new website up and running There is absolutely no doubt about it anymore - if you’re running a business it needs an online presence. In Australia, Internet use is pretty much ubiquitous. Consumers use the web not only...
15 Ways You Can Work On Your Business (When You Can’t Work In Your Business)
Crazy times, am I right? The current situation has left small business owners reeling. For many, business has slowed almost to a stop, with no way of knowing how long the downtime will last. More than ever, these small businesses are drawing on their adaptability,...
How Getting Passionate About The Small Jobs Changed My Life
There are always a certain number of 'bread and butter' jobs in graphic design. The sort that may not be the most exciting, but they keep the lights on. When you get your first job as a *professional*, you are excited to be given anything at all to work on....
10 Ways to Avoid Procrastination
How to set and achieve goals like a total boss! There's no denying it - self-motivation is one of the hardest parts of running your own business. With no one to crack the whip, it can be really easy to fall into a procrastination black hole... and once you're in that...
What Do I Need to Set Up a Website?
And what on earth is the difference between 'hosting' and a 'domain name'? There's no arguing that nowadays a web presence is absolutely essential for anyone in business. And there are a myriad of ways to make that happen, from a simple business page on Facebook to a...
Do I Need to Trademark My Brand?
It's a question many people ask themselves when they are starting a new business - "do I need to trade mark my business name or logo?" The short answer is no; you don't. But SHOULD you trade mark your logo or business name? The answer to that one is a bit trickier....
4 Rules For Small Business Branding
Starting and running a small business is daunting. No doubt about it. The number of things that need to be weighed up and decided upon is endless, and varies so much from industry to industry that even seasoned business people can find themselves on a very steep...
What’s the difference between raster and vector?
Ever had a printer or another supplier ask you to supply a 'raster' or 'vector' file? It might sound like jargon, but knowing the difference between the two can have a huge effect on the quality of your finished job. #designtrivia #designnerd #nerdalert #ilovedesign...
7 Ways to Find Creative Inspiration
The situation all creative professionals dread… This week I have been suffering from a touch of the dreaded creative block. Not – thankfully – the crippling ‘complete and utter’ type that stops you in your creative tracks. But a struggle with one particular creative...
Dear Design… A Love Letter
When I was a kid, and I had to do a school project, I would put way more thought into the look of the thing I was handing up than I did the actual content of the assignment. If it was an A4 report or essay of some kind, I would try to make an elaborate title page. If...
What’s the difference between a font and a typeface?
Are fonts and typefaces the same thing? No. Does it even matter anymore? Probably not. Find out why these terms aren't as interchangeable as we might think... #typesetting #ilovedesign #typography #typefaceorfont #designnerd #designnerdery #designtrivia #graphicdesign...
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