Preliminary Trademark Screening

How does an Ink and Key naming project work? Short answer: You need to go to our naming page, select a package, make your payment, fill out our questionnaire and then work with my naming team and collaborate with them until you're ready to choose a name. Longer answer: If you want to start a naming project with Ink and Key, then first you need to go to our website if you're not already there: inkandkey.com. Once you're there look under the Services tab and you'll find the Naming page. Once you're on the Naming page, then go ahead and select a package, make your payment, and then once we receive your payment we're going to email you our Naming Questionnaire. Once you receive that questionnaire, take your time filling it out, send it back to us, and once we get your questionnaire, we're going to send you our Next Steps email which gives you all the information you need about what you can expect next. On our end, when we receive your questionnaire, we're going to ask you for 48 hours to get ideas ready for you. If you have asked us for a non-disclosure agreement, we take care of that first and then my naming team starts onboarding your project. We set up your naming project on a Slack workspace. Slack is an online collaboration platform. You're probably familiar with it most people are who work with us but if you're not familiar with it don't worry it's very user friendly and if you have any questions I'm happy to help you with that. So, my team will onboard your naming project. They're going to start working on ideas for you, and then in 48 hours, you're going to get an invitation to the Slack workspace. If you have colleagues or partners or anyone else that would like to join the project with you, just forward them that link. And so once you arrive in the Slack workspace, you'll be in the general channel, which is kind of like the living room. You'll see the naming brief there, and once we see that you're there you'll need to give us a few minutes, but once we see that you've arrived we're going to start adding you to private channels which looks like a naming person's name with a little lock next to it. So each person on the naming team has a private channel in Slack and that's where they provide their ideas to you. So you'll go into each private channel, you'll review ideas with that person, you'll give them individual feedback, you'll give us group feedback in the general channel and then I'll be in there too to support you and we're going to work together and collaborate until you find the name that is a great fit for you.

How long does an Ink and Key naming project take? Short answer: It depends. Longer answer: It still depends, but I will say that we've had projects come in and out and be completed in 2 or 3 days which is lightning fast, and we've also had projects of course take a lot longer. I would say that the average time for a really good solid naming project is anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks, so the speed at which you make a naming decision is going to depend on a lot of things. One of the things that it's going to depend on is how many decision-makers do you have. If you're the only one that gets to make that final decision then it should move pretty quickly. As soon as you're ready to make that decision you can make it. Now if there are a lot of other people that need to sign off on that name, it's going to take a little bit longer. And let me say something about that really quickly. If you have multiple decision-makers, please schedule a call with me before you start your naming project. And the reason why I'm asking you to do that is I can help you set up clear expectations from the beginning, so that by the end of the process, things will, you won't be frustrated, first of all, and also some of the things that I can I can give you a few tips that I can help you to set things up as you go so that it'll be smooth and easy and everyone is going to get the outcome they're hoping for. So do contact me if you have multiple decision-makers and I can help you with that. Now, something else that can, if you sort of want your naming project to move quickly, which most people do, what you can do on your end is show up on Slack, talk to my team, give individual feedback, give group feedback, make a video for the team. That's really, really fun if you'll make a video and post it on Slack and just talk to the team and tell them about your brand, and show how passionate you are about whatever we're naming. Because anytime that you participate with us and talk to the team, that energizes them. They're excited because they're really working hard on those names for you. So I hope this helps and if you have any other specific questions or you just want to talk to me about your specific timeline for your naming project, then feel free to contact me and we'll do everything we can to support you.

What about domains? Short answer: We don't buy domains for you and we don't sell domains but we will provide domain options for you. Longer answer: What about domains? Same thing I just said. We don't buy domains, we don't sell domains, but here's what we do with domains. So when each person on the naming team provides a name idea for you, they're going to also say like "Here's the name and here are some options for a domain that will work well with that name." On your naming questionnaire you'll notice that we ask you a lot of questions about your preferences for domains. For instance, "Are you okay with a modifying word or an industry definer that we can add to your name in order to get that domain?" "Are you okay to other extensions or do you want an exact match.com?" So we ask you a lot of questions about that. We'll ask you, "Do you want to invest extra money in a premium domain?" Because a lot of the domains that are out there are purchased and people are selling them at a higher price. So we ask you all of those questions so that when we give you a name idea, we're going to give you domain ideas that are also a good fit for you. But, having said that, here's what I recommend. I always always recommend a name-led project as opposed to a domain-led project. What I mean by that is that if we are leading the project with only the focus of "We have to get this specific kind of domain," If you give my team really really tight parameters, and like, for instance, you might say, "The name has to be six letters long, start with a B, exact match.com, a real word spelled correctly." Obviously, those parameters are going to be so tight you're going to miss out on all these creative names that are outside that parameter. So what we suggest is keep the domain parameters pretty loose and open, and what that means is you're going to get more creative names. You might see some names that would never have occurred to you otherwise which is really an awesome thing. And so I hope this helps and if you have any other questions about domains feel free to reach out.

What about trademarks? Short answer: We're not trademark attorneys, we can't give you legal advice but we do have a partnership with a trademark attorney who can help you and we also offer preliminary trademark screening. Longer answer: All those things I just said but here is what it looks like. When my naming team presents name ideas to you, we don't do lots and lots of research before we present a creative idea to you because if we do that it's slows down the creative process. So what we ask you to do as our client is as you're going through name ideas, if you see a name that has potential, all you have to do is just ask the person that presented the name. Like, "Hey Sheila, would you do a little research for me on that name?" You can ask Sheila, "Hey, will you look up, just go on Google and look up similars in the industry?" Like if you're in the financial services realm, then Sheila can go in and put in her suggested name idea along with some words that that will link it to financial services just so we can see are there other similar names in the industry that might kind of knock that off the list. The other thing you can do having to do with trademarks is you can ask someone on the naming team or ask me, "Hey would you look this up on the USPTO website?" We're happy to do that for you and we can come back and just report to you what we find. We can't give you any legal advice or any legal counsel but we can say, "Here's what we found." Now I will say we have preliminary trademark screening which is a wonderful service. 24-hour turnaround, Monday through Friday, and you will get back from preliminary trademark screening, you'll get back either your name as a GO name, a MAYBE name, or a MAYBE NOT name. And what this does it just helps you narrow down your list, so if you're between like 5 and 6 names it can take a few names off the list and I can give you more information about preliminary trademark screening. The other thing is you will notice there is a whole section of trademark questions on these videos on our FAQ Video page, so I encourage you to go watch those videos and then you'll get to meet the trademark attorney that we are working with now at Ink and Key, and we do have a special offer for you that it's very generous that she has partnered with us to offer you a trademark package so that if you want to move straight from your naming package to like "I want to go ahead and and get this legal, I want to own my name, I want to register my trademark," then you can purchase that package from us. If you have any other questions about trademarks, let me know.

Do we do audience testing here at Ink and Key for our naming projects? Short answer: No, because I think it's a waste of time and money. Longer answer: I don't believe that audience testing is effective. I don't think that for most people audience testing for names only gets you the outcomes that you're hoping for. Most people when they want to do audience testing for a name they have good motives. They are needing some help and maybe some affirmation about the decisions that they're making. They want to make make sure that they're choosing the right name and they might just be a little bit unsure about that decision. They might be looking for some extra help and also they want to make sure that, you know, "I want my brand name to really resonate with my target audience." That's those are all really really good things but the thing is, when you're testing a name only, you're testing a word on a screen. So that word that can become your brand isn't your brand yet. It's just a word. It's just a name on a screen. So the people that are doing the audience testing, and they're looking at a list of names, and people are asking them questions about it, they're forced to look at a brand name that's out of context of the entire brand. When we encounter brands in the real world we encounter them in context. In the context of, there's visual brand assets like a logo, there's a website, it might be in an ad, it might be on a billboard, it might be in a salesletter, it might be when we're talking face-to-face with someone. And so we create associations about a brand based on all different attributes, but they're all things that happen in a real world context, and so when you ask people to, you know, you ask them questions, and you're asking them to test out this name and rate a name, possibly, you're going to get results that are probably not very accurate because what people do when they encounter something that is unfamiliar, if I am doing an audience test and I'm looking at a list of names, I'm going to see words that are unfamiliar to me. So my brain wants to take this unfamiliar name and I want to attach it to something that's familiar and then what I'll do is I'll come up with whatever the first association is I can think of. So I might look at this brand name and then make my own association with something that it reminds me of, but that doesn't mean that everyone that looked at that name is going to have that same association. The association might be negative, it might be positive, but what I'm trying to say is that I don't think that for the most part, audience testing for naming is accurate, and I don't think it's going to get you the outcomes and results you're hoping for anyway. So if you have more questions about audience testing I'll be glad to help. I think that the team and I can help you get the outcomes that you're hoping for without having to bother with audience testing.

. How does our branding process work here at Ink and Key? Short answer: We base everything on brand strategy and we align how we build out your brand with your goals. Longer answer: When we use terms like brand strategy a lot of times that word strategy means different things to different people. When I say strategy what I mean is I just help you and I together, we come up with a framework or just some rules and structure around how we make decisions for your brand. So when I say strategy I'm really just talking about making decisions. We want to make decisions that will help you reach your goals as a brand and also that will help you serve your customers well because everything we do here at Ink and Key to help you build a standout brand is focused on you as our customer, but it's also equally focused on your customers, on the people you serve. We work really hard to create a Buyer's Journey through your brand that makes sense for who your buyers are. So that's how we do it and that's kind of our approach, is strategy first. Let's figure out how to make good decisions for your brand so those decisions will move your brand towards your goals, not away from them. And then as far as the process, we work hard to communicate with you on a regular basis and depending on who your buyer is, and depending on your goals, there's going to be some visual assets that will be designed, and that's going to depend on what you need. Some people, all they need is just a logo and that's fine, and then sometimes you're going to need a lot of other things to go along with your brand to express yourself visually. And the other thing that's really important to us besides obviously, you and your customers, is we focus really hard on consistency. We want to make sure that when you are talking to your customers and when you're showing your visual brand to customers, that everything they see is consistent. So that's just a little bit about our branding process but if you'd like more information, feel free to schedule a call with me and we can talk about your specific situation and I can give you even more details.

What is brand messaging? Short answer: It's a series of talking points that we create to equip you and your team so that you know how to talk about yourself as a brand. Longer answer: So brand messaging is just a great way to equip you and your team to kind of take the pressure off so that you always know what to say when you're talking about your brand. One of the beautiful things about creating a clear brand message is that you're going to have these buckets to pull from any time you and your team want to create any kind of collateral for your brand. If you're writing website copy, if you're writing a social media post, if you're writing a sales letter, if you're writing an ad, all you do is you look at your brand message and you decide, "Which bucket am I going to pull from?" "Which talking point or which sound byte am I going to use?" The wonderful thing about this too is that you're going to create a consistent message. Meaning that anytime your audience encounters your brand they're going to hear this same consistent message over and over again. It might be mixed up a little bit, it might be sometimes they're going to hear a message pulled from this bucket, sometimes they're going to hear a message pulled from that bucket, but what's really great is it's going to be the same things over and over again presented in different ways so you don't sound like a robot but still it's consistency. And when we are consistent verbally as a brand, that's what helps our customers remember who we are. Because as we know, marketing is an exercise in memorization and your customers need to hear something at least seven or eight times to metabolize that information and so when they hear those consistent talking points over and over again representing your brand, what that does is it helps them memorize you and it helps them kind of put you away in this really neat and tidy spot in their brains so that when they're ready to buy, they're going to think of you first. And the other thing about brand messaging - there's so many good things about it - is it's going to help you be consistent, it's going to help take the load off your team so nobody's wondering what to say, but it also provides so much clarity. When your brand message is clear and it's not about you, it's about your customer. It's focused on your customer. When your customer encounters your brand message, they're going to feel seen and heard and understood because all the brand messages we create are based on empathy and that's why we talk about the fact that we are in, we do empathy-based marketing. We're really focused on that. And everybody wants to be seen, heard, and understood don't they? So if you have any more questions about brand messaging, feel free to reach out.

What is a brand diagnostic and do you need one? Short answer: A brand diagnostic is a tool that we use to look at the strengths and weaknesses of your brand so we can make recommendations. Longer answer: Our brand diagnostic is an awesome tool that is just so effective in helping brands figure out, "What do we need to do next?" "What are we doing right?" "What are opportunities for us?" "What are some things we can do better?" and "What are some things maybe that we're worrying about that we don't need to worry about anymore?" So here's how a brand diagnostic works, is we'll have a call first to talk about if it's even right for you, if it's something that you need. But what is really great is that sometimes the things that are just kind of staring us in the face are not obvious to us, because we're so close to our own brands. That's another reason why a brand diagnostic can be so helpful is that you will get our outside objective perspective looking over kind of a broad overview of everything. All of your marketing, all of your brand assets, and we can help you spot some things that might be hard for you to see. And I've experienced this myself when people have done sort of an overview of my brand, because I'm close to my brand too. So I totally get that. So if you choose to do a brand diagnostic with us, what we'll do first is we'll send you a checklist. And these will be things that you need to get to us, and once you have completed that checklist, then we'll probably have some questions for you. We might want to get on a call, but once we have everything that we need from you and once we have all of our questions answered, then we get to work and we take a look at everything. We'll evaluate what we see and then we'll schedule a live call with you and your team and we'll present our findings to you in a keynote deck. And so we'll share with you our observations, we'll talk to you about what we found, we'll talk to you about opportunities that we see, and ways we think we can help you. We'll talk to you about what we see as just really strong, and maybe what are some areas that can be improved. You might be doing some things that we feel like, you probably don't need to do that anymore, so we can help you kind of pull together your resources and use them more wisely. We've seen that happen a lot with brand diagnostics, and in the end, we'll give you a marketing roadmap so that you can take our findings and actually apply them to "Alright, here's what we do next practically," and we will align that marketing roadmap with your goals and with your marketing budget.

Do we offer sales funnels or sales flywheels here at Ink and Key? Short answer: Kind of both, but kind of neither. Longer answer: When we use terms like sales funnels or sales flywheels what we're trying to do is just put a label on how your customers move through that Buyer's Journey. So when we talk about funnels we kind of are talking about what looks like a funnel. And your customer neatly drops into the top of that funnel, does these things, and pops out at the bottom of the funnel and is ready to buy. When we're talking about flywheels, we're talking about more of a cyclical approach to the Buyer's Journey, meaning that your buyer may not always pop into the top, in other words your buyer is not going to always encounter your brand at the same touch point. They might, everyone may not visit your website and download your lead generator and read your sales emails and then click Buy, right? That's just not real life because we're humans and we're going to encounter brands at different points. So the flywheel takes that into consideration and is more about just assuming that your buyers, your customers, your clients may encounter your brand here, but they may also encounter your brand here or here, so our job is to ensure that no matter where people encounter your brand, at what point, that we create clarity for them and we help them know what to do next. What's the next step? Because what we're finding is that buyers have changed. It used to be that buyers would come and talk to you as a brand, contact you however you like to be contacted, and they would ask you lots of questions and get their information and then make their decision. But what's happening now is the majority of buyers, today's buyers, are doing all their research first. They are going to be really really close to a decision before they even contact you. That, I will tell you, is why I'm putting FAQ videos on my website, why I'm sitting here filming this today is because I understand that you're probably one of those people. And you're doing your research and you're looking at lots of marketing firms and you're trying to decide, "Who do I want to work with?" "Who's a good fit for me?" So because of that I'm offering this touch point for you, so because if you encounter my brand in this way and you look at my FAQ videos, hopefully I can answer some questions for you, and either help you think, "This is not a good fit for me." or "This is." So the thing is, it's not always going to be a funnel and honestly it's not always going to be a flywheel, which is why at Ink and Key we decided to make up a special name since we do naming anyway, and we're calling your Buyer's Journey and the deliverables that go along with that, we call it a Buyer's Journey Suite. And the reason we do that is that way we don't set up expectations of an exact funnel or an exact flywheel because it might be like this, we don't really know what that buyer's journey is going to be like until we learn more about your buyer. So usually your Buyer's Journey Suite is going to include sort of the same deliverables as a funnel or a flywheel but it might have more and it might have less, and using Buyer's Journey Suite as an approach helps us customize exactly to the needs of your buyers and also to the length of your sales cycle. Depending on what you offer, you might have a really long sales cycle or a short one, and so all those things have an effect on the Buyer's Journey that we create for you, so I hope this is helpful.

. How long are typical engagements at Ink and Key? Short answer: It depends. Longer answer: If you are coming to us to only do a naming project, then your engagement will probably be between 2 to 4 weeks and it's going to depend on how long it takes for you to decide on a name. Most people that come to us at Ink and Key are engaged with us for at least a year and here's why, is because we focus really hard on long-term relationships at Ink and Key. We focus on you as our customer and what your goals are. We also focus really hard on your buyer. We take a lot of time to figure out your Buyer's Journey. How your customers, your buyers are going to encounter your brand. So we create really awesome empathetic touch points for them, and we make everything smooth and also really, really clear for them. What we have found when people want to come to us for like a one-off engagement and they might come to us and say, "Hey, I'd like a website, a logo, and a side order of fries." We don't really like to think about ourselves as a fast food restaurant. When we have done engagements like that, it makes me feel kind of bad when we deliver all these things and then send people on their merry way. Because what happens, what we have found is that for a brand, things change. Things evolve, you change your mind. If we've created a brand message for you, for instance, and then you apply that to your marketing, well what happens if you decide that your customer is going to be a little bit different than the customer that you told us about? Well that's going to shift your brand message a little bit, but if we're not there with you, we can't help you decide what changes you need to make, and how you apply your brand message. What we found is so fun and so awesome is when we have at least that year-long engagement with you, then we're able to quickly, usually within a couple of months, deliver all the things that we are supposed to deliver as far as your Buyer's Journey and all those assets that that would include, but once you launch, then we're able to still be be with you through our strategic advisory services. And we're able to help you. We meet once a month, I can help you and your team kind of as you're learning how to, for instance, "How do I help my team write our social media posts or create a social media strategy based on our new brand message?" Then I'm here and we can help you kind of look over all of those assets and I can help you decide what you need to shift, what you need to change, and just kind of help you evaluate things before they go out the door. So the one-year relationship seems to work really really well. Most people will stay longer than that because they're getting a lot out of it and it's helpful, and that way, you're not off on your own and you have some things and some pressure taken off your plate. So if you have other questions about the engagement period that is best for you then we're also really flexible and sometimes to my detriment I'm too much of a customizer, but I am a customizer, so talk to me and let's figure out what's the best fit for you.

. How much does a website cost at Ink and Key? Short answer: It depends. Sorry, but it does. Long answer: It still depends. So the cost of a website depends on a lot of factors, for instance: What platform are we building that website on? How extensive is your website? How many pages is it? What kind of special functionality do you have on your website? Is it an e-commerce website? How many products do you have? So all of those kind of things contribute to the cost of a website. Like: Do you want a dashboard built in the back end of your website for all of your people to do certain things? So as you know it depends, it depends, it really really depends. One thing that we have done to make life easier on you because we don't want people to feel nickel-and-dimed about websites is we have built the cost of a basic website into all, not all of our packages but into a couple of our packages, we have built the price of a website into that. Now there might be some extra charges depending on what kind of a site you need, and we can give you all those details, but just so you know that kind of makes life easier because if you want like a basic 3, 5, even 7-page website with not a lot of bells and whistles, then depending on the platform, we've got you covered in our packages, which is kind of nice. Because that's one of the reasons why we created our packages is just so that you know exactly how much you're going to spend per month so you can stick with us in a longer-term relationship and be able to get everything you need to create a really awesome Buyer's Journey, so if you have specific questions about the cost of your website, just contact me, schedule a call, and if you give me the information I need, and even if you're not sure what information you need, I can help you, ask you the right questions and we'll come up with a very exact estimate for you so you know exactly how much a website's going to cost.

. How long does it take to build a website at Ink and Key? Short answer: It depends. Longer answer: It still depends. It's going to depend on what platform we're building it on. It's going to depend on the size of your website and the special functionality. If you want a specific timeline for your website, all you need to do is contact me and I'll be glad to go over the details with you and we'll also know, like that moment that we're ready to build it, what other things we have on our plate here, then we can give you a very, very clear timeline.

Will we update your current website for you instead of giving you a whole new website design? Short answer: It depends. Sorry, I know I say that a lot but it does. Longer answer: It does depend. Now, what we will need to do, is first of all just take a look at your website, right? If there are only a few changes needed then it's really possible, sometimes if the structure of your site is good, if the design of your site is good, sometimes all we need to do is go in and change out some words. You would be amazed at what a difference that you'll see, just if you change the headline of your website, or maybe if you have like a crazy slider of moving pictures at the top of your site, if you get rid of that and you put a beautiful image of that kind of like aspires to your customer's success and then you have a really clear headline and a clear subheadline with some call to action buttons, that can make a huge, huge difference on your site no matter what you do. Sometimes just adding a call to action button on your site can be key, because you'd be surprised at how many people don't have a call to action on their website. So what we'll ask to do is take a look at the back end of your site and just give you a really good overview of what we think, what's our opinion about whether we'll just make some updates to your site, or if we need to rebuild the whole thing. We'll be clear with you and honest with you. Sometimes I will say, that because we don't, if we were not the original builders of the site, sometimes that can get a little bit wonky because if there's coding, we can't take responsibility for someone else's work, if that makes sense. So if someone else's code breaks, but we're not the one to build it that can get a little tricky and also sometimes we don't know what kind of messes are there like behind the scenes, and when we go into a site, sometimes it actually takes us more time to rebuild within a current site than if we just started fresh. So these are all things we can discuss on a call, but I think it's a good question, and it is a question I get a lot. A lot of times people ask this question because they don't want a whole new site. They just might want to change out a few words, so we can be sensitive to that and try to help you reach your goals, kind of in the least invasive way possible. But do schedule a call with me if you have more questions and I can help you with this.

Will we review your current website for you? Absolutely yes, and we'll do it for free. All you have to do is schedule a call with me and I will take a look at your website. We'll spend about 15-20 minutes together. We'll go over your site together and I'll give you some insights, I'll give you some feedback, and hopefully some things that you can change just on your own really quickly that could give you a quick win. If you want a more extensive website review, I offer a paid version of a website review. You can contact me about this, we can send you an invoice, and then I can spend longer going through your whole website with you, and then I can spend up to an hour with you, and we'll go over things in greater detail. So I hope that helps, and I'm happy to help you with a website review.

. Do you have to choose one of our packages at Ink and Key? Short answer: No, you don't. Longer answer: We created our packages after several years of working with clients and we realized that a lot of the people end up wanting the same things. A lot of people as they're building, they're growing their brand, they want a standout brand, they're going to need some of the same assets, and we feel like everybody needs that strategic advisory umbrella so that we can walk with you and partner with you over time so that we can help you as things evolve and change. So most people, our most successful clients are the ones that end up choosing a package, and then they stick with us. Now, if there is just one thing that you need and you feel confident about that, then just reach out and schedule a call with me and I'll be glad to talk with you about your specific needs.

What other services do we offer here at Ink and Key to help you grow your brand? Well, we have our graphic design, our web design, we have copywriting and brand messaging, and we also have of course all of the digital marketing services. And what we do here at Ink and Key is we have a core team, and then I have my core partners. I have other people who specialize in what they do. And when you need those specialized services then I pull that person onto the team. For instance, if you need videography, if you need some explainer videos made or promotional videos, I have a video person that will join our team for your project. If you need public relations, I have a public relations partner that will join us for that project. If you need ads, if you need other specialty services like SEO then I have people that I'm familiar with, they're good friends and they're reliable and they will join the team for your project. So just know that when you work with us at Ink and Key, we're going to create a customized team to exactly meet your needs, to help you reach your goals and get the outcomes that you're hoping for.

How do our strategic advisory services work here at Ink and Key? Short answer: We have strategic advisory services baked in to some of our packages. Longer answer: We believe very strongly in long-term relationships with our customers and being able to support you as we begin to build your brand, and grow your brand, help you stand out, and help you build a journey for your buyers that is based on empathy and also to help you reach your goals and the outcomes you want and we believe that doing that through strategic advisory services is the best thing for all of us. And so what strategic advisory includes is this. The first thing it includes is we're going to meet monthly, so every month we're going to get together, we're going to talk about what's going on, I'll offer feedback, you'll give me feedback, and then any kind of other things we need to discuss we'll do that during that call. Strategic advisory also includes accountability check-ins. Now, accountability can mean different things to different people and we can decide what you need the most. I know myself as a business owner, I need accountability with my goals. If I say I'm going to finish the first chapter of my book by X date, then I want someone to ask me, "Hey, did you finish that chapter?" So it doesn't have to look exactly like that, but an accountability check-in just means that I am going to be asking you about some of the things we've talked about to see how things are going, and that will help us adjust our goals and keep moving towards the outcomes that you're hoping for. The other thing that is really, really valuable that our strategic advisory services include is tactical feedback on things that you and your team are creating as they go out the door. For instance, if we have created a clear brand message for you, and then you're taking that brand message, and you're applying it to some of the content that you're creating. For instance, if you have created a social media campaign or an email series, you might want me to look at it before you send it out and then I can look at it and say, "Oh, okay, yeah it's very consistent with your brand message," or I might say, "It's really great, but you know what? This part kind of veers off this way, so we might want to bring it back this way." So those are the kind of things that we can talk about as far as that tactical feedback, but I think you'll enjoy having that strategic advisory service brought into all the things that we do together because it just means that as your brand grows and evolves and changes, that the team and I are going to be right there alongside you to help you make the adjustments you need so you can keep moving forward without any delays.

How do we communicate with clients here at Ink and Key? Short answer: We communicate with you very often. Longer answer: When you work with us on a project at Ink and Key we make sure that, well, we're pretty geeky about our systems and processes and you'll find that out, but we do that just because we want to make life really easy for you when you work with us. We want it to be fun, we want it to be a joy, we want to take a lot of burden off of your shoulders so you can do what you do best. One of the things that we do when you work with us on a project is we send you a weekly update. Every week, same day of the week, and in this weekly update email you will get this information. Here's what we've done so far, here's what we're working on now, here's what we'll work on next, and here's what we need from you, and how many days on the project. So you'll get those five little bits of information in your weekly email every week and that will help keep us on track, it will make sure that you're always informed about what's going on because we don't want people to sit there and go, "Alright they took my money. What are they doing over there?" We don't ever want that. We want you to always know what's going on, what we're doing, and also what we need from you so that you can keep up with it. That doesn't mean that that weekly email is the only way we communicate with you. We get on Zoom calls together, I might send you some Loom videos for quick means of communication, but just know that my team and I are very accessible, and we're here for you throughout the process of our relationship at Ink and Key.

What is our Trademark Power Pack? The Trademark Power Pack is your all-in-one solution for smooth worry-free trademark registration. After hundreds of trademark applications and many years of working with businesses to protect their brands we know the trademark process can feel complicated. You're focused on growing your business, not worried about trademark paperwork searches or hidden fees. And in the last few years obtaining a trademark registration has gotten more complicated than ever before. That's why we created the Trademark Power Pack. So what's included in the Trademark Power Pack? It starts with our comprehensive trademark search and evaluation. Many business owners believe that if a trademark is slightly different, like having an extra word or a letter it won't be a problem. That's just not true. The USPTO doesn't just look at exact matches. They look at confusingly similar marks. This includes similar spellings, words that sound alike but are spelled differently, and even words that are in different languages but when translated to English mean the same thing. Our comprehensive search covers exact matches, alternate spellings, words that sound alike, foreign language equivalents, state trademarks, international trademarks registered with WIPO, social media, and unregistered marks. The goal is to accurately assess your chances of registration success and evaluate any potential risks in using your trademark. After conducting a thorough search, we'll have our trademark search analysis meeting where we meet to discuss your results. We'll review any risks, your likelihood of success, and talk about next steps. This is where we break down everything for you. It's hard to find a mark that's 100% original these days. If your search shows that your mark is already in use or too similar to another, don't worry. With our risk reduction guarantee you can go back to the drawing board, pick a new mark, and we'll conduct another comprehensive search completely free of charge. Our trademark package includes the preparation and submission of the trademark application and the filing fee for one class so you're covered. If the USPTO sends a procedural office action, basically a notice that they need clarification or more information on your application, don't you worry. We'll handle it for you so that your application keeps moving forward. Substantive office actions are a bit more serious. For example, if a similar trademark is already registered we'll need to present case law and legal arguments to overcome this challenge and move your application to the next stage. If you get a substantive office action and the odds aren't looking good, you're not stuck. We want you to be successful in obtaining a trademark, so we want you to always have the freedom to make a choice. With our freedom guarantee you can choose a new trademark and we'll conduct a new comprehensive search, new meeting, and new application completely free of charge to you. If you're fortunate enough to not receive an office action throughout your entire trademark process, we give you two cease and desist letters that you can use at any point in the future as needed. So whether you're launching a new product or expanding your services or you just want peace of mind knowing that your brand is protected, the Trademark Power Pack is perfect for your needs. So what are you waiting for? Let us take care of your trademark worries so that you can focus on what matters most—building your business. Purchase your Trademark Power Pack today.

What does it mean to trademark my new business name or rebrand and what are the benefits of obtaining a trademark registration? When you trademark something you're actually applying for a trademark registration that can be federal or state and that gives you legal rights to that name, logo, or slogan for your specific industry. It's planting your flag and saying this is mine in the business world. Getting a trademark registration means you gain exclusive rights to use that name or mark for your products or services. This prevents others from copying it or using something so similar that it might confuse your customers. The benefits go beyond protection. A registered trademark gives your business credibility in the marketplace. It helps you fight against counterfeit goods, for example, plus it can become a valuable asset you can license to others creating a new revenue stream for your business. Once you have a federal trademark registration you can use that R symbol next to your name. It's a badge of honor that tells competitors and customers alike that you've officially claimed your spot in the market and if someone tried to copy you, you've got solid legal grounds to stop them.

When should I register my new business name with my state? State registration makes sense when your business doesn't qualify for federal trademark registration. This usually happens when you're not engaged in what's called interstate commerce, which means selling goods across state lines or serving customers in or from other states. Here's what's interesting. Most businesses actually do qualify for federal registration even if they don't realize it. That local bakery serving tourists from other states? That counts as interstate commerce. That small shop selling products through their website online to customers nationwide? Definitely interstate commerce. Look at your future growth path. Will you expand to other states, sell online work with out-of-state clients? If yes, federal registration might be your better option. Remember, state registration only protects you within the state's borders, while federal registration gives you nationwide protection. Make this decision early because it affects your business's future protection. The last thing you want is to build a successful brand in one state only to find someone else has rights to your name elsewhere.

How much does it cost to file for a trademark application? The basic filing fee with the US Patent and Trademark Office is $350 per class of goods or services. But what does that actually mean? Each type of product or service you offer might need its own class of registration. For example, if you sell both t-shirts and provide consulting services, that's two different classes, meaning $700 in filing fees. Beyond the filing fees, the US Patent and Trademark Office has now started charging additional fees for things such as missing information, unmade disclaimers, or descriptions of services not using their ID manual for trademarks. Trademark attorneys typically charge for their services as well. These fees can vary widely based on experience and location and also what services they're providing. So services can vary from just preparing and submitting a trademark application to a bundle that includes preliminary searches of existing trademarks, strategic advice on your application, handling all the paperwork, and also responding to any objections that the USPTO may have. Hiring an experienced trademark attorney will reduce the risk of having to pay those additional fees for missing information or disclaimers, saving you money in the long run. This is a long-term investment in your brand's protection. While it might seem expensive up front, consider the cost of rebranding if someone else claims rights to your business name, or the expense of fighting a trademark infringement in court without proper registration. Getting it right the first time often saves money in the long run.

Can I DIY my trademark registration? Yes, you can file a trademark application yourself just like you can do your own taxes or represent yourself in court. But here's what you need to know before going the DIY route. Trademark registration isn't just about filling out forms. It's about strategy. You need to choose the right trademark classes, right precise descriptions of your goods or services, and conduct a thorough search to make sure no one else has similar rights before you file your application. One small mistake could lead to a rejection, wasting both your time and your money. These could be simple fixes or complete deal breakers. An experienced trademark attorney doesn't just file paperwork. They help you avoid costly mistakes, respond to objections, and strengthen your application's chances of success. This is an investment in your brand and company. While DIY might save you money upfront, mistakes could cost you in the thousands in fixes later, or worse, leave your brand vulnerable to competitors.

Once your trademark is registered you might think that the job is done but there are a few more crucial steps you need to take in order to ensure that your trademark remains protected and your registration is enforceable. First stay on top of your trademark registration and maintenance deadlines. After your trademark is registered you'll need to file maintenance documents between the 5th and 6th year to confirm that you're still using the trademark in commerce. Additionally between the 9th and 10th year following your registration you'll need to submit renewal documents which not only confirm that you're still using the trademark in commerce but renews your trademark for another 10 years. Second it's essential to consistently and continuously use your trademark. Trademarks are use it or lose it assets and nonuse for as little as 3 years can lead to what's called abandonment. This means your trademark could be cancelled or become vulnerable to legal challenges. So make sure you're actively using your mark in connection with the goods and services you registered for. Finally, keep an eye on the marketplace. Trademark protection doesn't stop at registration. You need to guard your brand. One way to do this is by using trademark monitoring services which will notify you if someone tries to register or use a mark that is confusingly similar to yours. This can help you spot potential infringement early and take action before it affects your brand negatively. Proactively protecting your trademark not only prevents legal headaches but also maintains the strength of your brand identity in a crowded marketplace. By staying proactive you ensure your trademark remains a valuable enforceable asset to your business, giving you peace of mind and protecting your hard-earned brand reputation for years to come.

How long does it take to get a trademark registration? The federal trademark registration process varies but typically it takes around 12 to 18 months from start to finish. But don't let the timeline worry you. You get important protections from day one of filing your application. As soon as you submit your trademark application you establish what's called a priority date. It's similar to getting in line. You've claimed your spot even though you're still waiting for that final approval. During these months your application goes through several stages. First it sits in line for about 6 months before an examiner reviews it. Then they may ask questions or request some changes.  Each back and forth can add a few months to the timeline. Here's the good news though. You can use your trademark while you wait. Add a TM symbol next to your mark to show that you're claiming trademark rights but don't yet have a registration. Once you're approved you can upgrade to the R symbol. If someone copies your mark while you're waiting don't worry. Once you obtain your registration your filing date helps protect your rights  retroactively to take action against them.