You don’t have to search far and wide to find the best branding agency. These days, you only need to go online to compare service providers and work with them remotely to get high-quality designs that will push your brand forward.

But with a myriad of options out there, where does one start the search? We did the hard work for you and came up with our list of the best branding agency options in terms of portfolio, pricing, and turnaround time.

Here are our top picks, along with each platform’s pros and cons. You’re welcome!

1. Penji

Penji offers unlimited graphic design at a predictable monthly rate, making it a good option for ventures that need a lot of designs by professionals. Hailed by users as one of the best Superside alternatives, Penji has stellar reviews from clients, making it a great option if you’re looking for the best branding agency.

Pros:

• Top 2% designers
• 24-48-hour turnaround time
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

• Not practical if you only need one or two designs per month   

2. ManyPixels

ManyPixels, meanwhile, is a good option if you’re working within a tight deadline. Its higher tiers offer same-day delivery, which is a valuable option if you don’t have a lot of wiggle room in your campaign schedule.

Pros:

• Same-day delivery available for more expensive plans
• Unlimited design requests

Cons:

• Slightly narrower project scope compared to others
• Premium services locked in higher plans

3. Design Shifu

Design Shifu could be the best branding agency if you’re working on a tight budget. With plans as cheap as $399, it’s certainly a good service for brands with limited resources that need simple dsigns.

Pros:

• One of the cheapest platforms
• 14-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

• Best for simple designs
• Quality depends on assigned designer

4. Kimp

Last but not least on our best branding agency contenders is Kimp. A favorite among users who need both static and motion designs, this platform offers three simple plans: graphic design, video design, and both.

Pros:

• Simple pricing
• 24-hour turnaround

Cons:

• Higher pricing than competitors
• Not ideal if you only need branding

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Polina Zimmerman from Pexels

Do you feel frustrated over the trickle of leads you’re getting for your business? Worry not, struggling to get more people to buy your product or use your service doesn’t always mean they’re invaluable. It may be that you’re not reaching or engaging with your audience enough. Here are a few reasons you can’t get leads for your business, along with several ways to get prospects.

Common Lead Generation Mistakes Holding You Back

One of the biggest challenges a business can face is generating leads. If your strategy is overlooking visibility, trust, or clear messaging, even the best offers will fall short. Here’s what you need to know:

• Weak Online Visibility: If your business isn’t showing up in search engines or social media platforms, prospects won’t even know your brand exists.
• Unclear Messaging: When website visitors leave even before they see your value proposition, it may be that you aren’t making it obvious enough. It can also mean that your CTAs (calls to action) are confusing.
• Lack of Trust Signals: You may not have included testimonials, case studies, or user reviews on your website. It can also signal poor and inconsistent branding that makes prospects hesitate to engage.
• Poor Follow-Up: Your leads may slip away when you don’t make an effort in nurturing them with email sequences or personalized outreach.
• Targeting the Wrong Audience: You can have the best campaigns, but if you’re not targeting the right audience, you still won’t get enough leads.

And to help you fix these, below are prospecting tips you can use to attract more leads for your business:

Prospect Everyday

If you want to be good at prospecting, you have to set aside time everyday to do it. if you’re one of those people who go to the gym regularly, think of prospecting as going to the gym. However, instead of building muscles, you’re building relationships and bringing in leads. Unless it rains prospects, your calendar won’t start filling itself. Set aside at least 1 hour a day to prospect. Pick up your phone and start making those phone calls. Prospecting is not the most fun activities but being consistent will yield good results.

Focus On Your Target Market

As they say, it’s a big ocean out there. It is composed of different people, industries and companies. So where should you start?

Before diving into the ocean, take time to find out who your ideal customer is. Do some research. Who are your 5 best customers? Who are your 5 worst customers? Who are the most profitable? Who are the least profitable? Create profiles for each group of customers. Just because these people are in your database does not mean that they fit your ideal customer profile.

Once you know who your ideal customer is, it will be easier to start prospecting. Once you know who to focus on, it can help you land leads and secure sales more efficiently.

Use Every Method Possible

Prospecting is about building relationships. But that’s not what prospecting is for. Prospecting is about getting results from cultivating those relationships and there are many ways to do this. You can do cold calling, email marketing, networking, tradeshows, direct email, social networking, referral and many more.

Make a list of all the methods that you should and will use. For every method you use, plan which customers you will use the method on and the expected results. For example, you plan to attend 1 trade show per month and promise to get at least 2 prospects per event. Measure the results of each type of method and focus on the method that generates the best rate of return.

Be The Best At Cold Calling

Cold calling is still the best way to schedule appointments and open relationships. There are many ways to become a great cold caller but that’s for another blog. Find ways to do it and make sure that this is in your prospecting arsenal.

Nurture Relationships

Even if you’re the best in cold calling or use the best prospecting methods consistently, you’re still going to a No, and you’re going to hear it a lot. But relationships including those in business are built over time. A consistent and unrelenting pursuit of your clients should be a long term plan for success and not an overnight sales fix.

This means that your clients need to hear from you consistently, like the sun rising every morning. Some of the best business relationships will take a long time to win and consistently nurturing this relationship will open opportunities over time. Being consistent and nurturing means that you are not going to disappear like some of your peers. It means that you really want to work with them. It means that you are determined and you can execute. This is one of the characteristics businessmen look for in salespeople.

Build Your Social Media Presence

In case you have been living under a rock these last few years, social media is where everybody is at.91% of adults are on social media. 80% of internet users visit social networking sites and blogs. 57% of marketers acquire customers through social media. Companies that blog have 44% more customers. 61% of global internet users use the web to research products before purchasing.

This means that social media is where you need to be. Boost your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram presence. Hire bloggers to talk about your products or services and writers for press releases. Remember that social media should be another tool in your arsenal and should not replace any of your other prospecting activities.

These are just some of the best examples on how you can be better at prospecting. It doesn’t have to be difficult or uncomfortable, especially if you cultivate relationships and have a routine to help you get on track every day. Remember: great communicators open doors, and deploying the right prospecting tips will consistently bring top-tier leads into your orbit.

While many people seek podcasts for news, entertainment, sports, politics, music, and more, they have also become an important resource for designers and creative professionals. If you want to hear tips, tricks, thoughts, and valuable insights into design, here is a list of the best podcasts for designers:

The Deeply Graphic Designcast – DGDC

If you’re looking for a graphic design podcast targeted to freelancers or agency designers, The Deeply Graphic Design Cast by Nick Longo and Mikelle Morrison may be one of the best podcasts for you. Their show is described as a web and graphic design podcast that offers both practical and creative design advice you can use. The creative hosts tackle relatable design topics and answer listener questions every episode!

The Unmistakable Creative

An iTunes Subscriber once described The Unmistakable Creative by saying, “If TED Talks met Oprah, you’d have the Unmistakable Creative”. The show has fielded over 600 interviews with guests ranging from best-selling authors & entrepreneurs to ex-cons. The show interestingly characterizes itself as a place for “wide-eyed wanderers and starry eyes dreamers”. This is one of the best podcasts if you’re searching for diversity of guests and topics. It allows for a wide range of listeners who consider themselves free-spirited, rebellious, and passionate humans.

Developer Tea

Developer Tea is a unique podcast because of the length of each episode. This is a podcast that you can literally listen to in about ten minutes. On your lunch break, on your commute in traffic, or while washing dishes, you can be informed about development and manage time simultaneously. The show is hosted by Jonathan Cutrell, a developer and director of Technology at a company called “Whiteboard”, in Chattanooga, TN. Jonathan says that he wants to help designers “level up” and achieve their goals.

Let’s Make Mistakes

If you scour the reviews online, you will see conflicting opinions from the listeners of “Let’s Make Mistakes”. Another podcast that frequently lacks structure and often goes off on tangents, the hosts still discuss design effectively. Though there may have been a few changes among the co-hosts, Mike Monteiro and Jessie Char are mainstays and fan favorites. An opinionated voice on the show provides a great balance to his two counterparts on whatever creative topic they discuss in each episode.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman

In 2005, Debbie Millman created a radio show called “Design Matters”. Though it started as a small idea surrounded by a great vision, the show has progressed to become a staple in one of the best podcasts for community. Millman saw the show as a great way to interview some of the designers that she admires most and ask them everything that she ever wanted to know. Millman is not just a podcaster; she also made history by being the first design podcast to distribute episodes for free on iTunes. 200 episodes later, the show has gained awards, recognition, and critical acclaim, and has grown exponentially since 2005.

Boagworld

This particular web design podcast, Boagworld, is hosted by British UX designer Paul Boag, along with Marcus Lillington. If you are looking for an informative show that tackles all things web design, this may be one of the best podcasts for you. They have been joined by a diverse cast of guests over the show’s history, and always provide a unique take on the design field. If you’re looking to shake things up a bit, while gaining valuable information, this is the podcast to check out.

The Creative Agency Podcast

For entrepreneurs/designers who are interested in owning or working in the creative/digital agency space, you may have some questions that cannot be answered from a mere Google search. “Creative Agency” focuses on growing and managing a creative agency. Chris Bolton hosts and interviews a myriad of entrepreneurs on the best practices for staying afloat in the agency space. Check it Out!

Adventures in Design

Adventures in Design is a podcast hosted by graphic designer Mark Brickey. “Adventures” is an entertaining yet informative gossip show that incorporates relatable “Shop Talk”. Brickey focuses on people who have successfully fused design and happiness into their professional lives.