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added: Wed, 21st September 2005 | 14213 views | 0x in favourites
feed url: http://www.jvmediadesign.com/blog/rss/?mode=2.0
RSS feed of JV Media Design - Web Design News
As more and more consumers are turning to the internet to research local buying opportunities, small, locally-based businesses without an internet presence are really losing out on one of the most cost-efficient, effective forms of advertising for their business. Even entrepreneur.com published a lengthy article discussing why every small business needs a website.
The old way of thinking that you need to shell out thousands of dollars to a designer and have a big, complicated site for your business is, in my opinion, outdated. Since you conduct your business offline, your website only needs to serve as an advertisement for your business, not a method of doing business. By having a site that is optimized to show up for local searchers and combining that with an effective, direct-response message to get those visitors into your business, you can have an advertising medium that is out working for you and your business 24/7!
WHAT TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU HIRE A DESIGNER
Before you rush out and hire a designer, there are a few things you should consider.....
1. Does the designer have any marketing or advertising experience? Many designer do awesome work, but their minds are geared toward appearance rather than business functionality. You want a nice, professional, catchy site, but you need to remember that the real value in the result the site produces for you. A site obviously does no good if nobody sees it. Furthermore, it does no good if the right audience does not see it. If you sell landscaping services in Cleveland, what good does it do you if someone in San Francisco sees your site?
2. How many ways can your business benefit from having a site? A website is a great tool, you can send current customers to it, use it to draw in new customers and many other useful tasks. For example, when I design a site, I like to include a way for visitors to "opt-in" to receive emails from the site owner. The enticement is usually some sort of coupon or other valuable tidbit. This is awesome for a couple of reasons. For one, it makes the visitor more vested in you and your business and hopefully provides the enticement to either come into your business or call. Secondly, the site owner can now legally send an email to the people who have opted in. Imagine having a list of 500 names and email addresses that you can automatically send an email to promoting a new product or a special offer. This is very powerful!
3. What kind of ongoing support does the designer offer? Will you just be handed a site or will the designer provide hosting? If hosting is provided, how much does it cost and what does it entail? Does the hosting include revisions or do you need to pay every time your site is updated? Basically, unless you know your way around the technical parts of a website, having your designer on hand to host the site and make changes is a good idea. Some designers charge a flat fee just for hosting and then if you need revisions you pay their hourly rate. Other designers offer a more broad package that may include a certain number of revisions every month plus other services to keep your site performing well. This is just one of the areas you must thoroughly research with your designer before signing up.
My company normally charges a flat fee for all the design work and then a monthly hosting fee which includes unlimited revisions and other proactive services designer to keep your site performing well and generating leads for your business.
So, if you are small, local business without a website you should seriously consider having one because your competition probably does!
About the Author
Brian is the owner of Medina Web Marketing, a small design company in Northeast Ohio catering specifically to the internet marketing needs of small, local businesses. You can learn more by visiting their site at http://www.medinawebmarketing.com
One of the most important strategies in the world of internet marketing and business is the fact that you have to come up with ways of attracting potential customers. In the world of Internet marketing, one of the sure ways to keep the customers coming up is when you have an effective and at the same time an attractive website.
Web design is nothing more than a conceptualization of various electronic media content delivery through the Internet in the form of technologies. This requires planning and modeling so that such data will be suitable for interpretation and display by a web browser or other web-based graphical user interfaces (GUI's). In other words, it must be suitable for viewing and very much understandable by the clients.
The rationale behind a web design is to create a website that has a content presentation for the benefit of the end user. The elements used in making a website are text, bit-mapped images, forms that are placed on the page by using HTML, XML, or XTML tags. If you intend to display a more complex media you may opt for programs such as Flash, Quicktime, Java run time environment and other plug ins that can be infused into the web pages using HTML or XTML tags.
To further manipulate web pages, you may also make adjustments as to the various browsers' compliance with w3c standards. Web pages are either static or dynamic.
What are static pages? If your web site has static pages then the content and lay-out does not change unless manually done so by the owner of the website. However, if your pages are dynamic then the appearance will depend on the end-users input. Content may be changed by using client-side scripting languages such as JavaScript, Actionscript, media players, JScript, and PDF reader plug-ins, etc. To alter DOM elements you can use DHTML. In complex applications you may use server-side scripting languages (PHP, ASP, Perl, Coldfusion, JSP, Python, etc.
What should your website have?
As to the content, the substance should be relevant to the site to reach the targeted audience. The site must also be user friendly and its navigation is simple and reliable. The appearance must look consistent and uniform when it comes to the usage of the graphics and the text. It must appear convincing, professional and appealing to the eyes of the viewing public. Another important factor is that the site must also be easy to find through advertisement media and major search engines. In other words you must have an effective web design to make this work. After all, your website will serve as the front liner in the ever emerging battle in the world of Internet Marketing. The competition is getting stiffer, so make it worth your while!
About the Author
Virginia Magallanes, 25, works as company writer for Call Center Philippines Unique Interaction
Any seasoned Internet entrepreneur will tell you that without a target market, your online marketing business will have a difficulty getting off the ground. Marketing and selling your products or services without a well-defined market is like entering unknown territory - you never know what you'll get. You could, for example, sell cookware to a group of hardcore bikers or market high-end skin care to lower-income housewives and not be aware of it. With a target market, your products or services are more likely to sell and you'll also have access to the right reviews and feedback later on.
Advantages of defining a market
There are several benefits for knowing which among the segments that make up the market is truly your target area. Here's why:
- Your product or service will find the right audience. Think about it: would you sell a work-at-home business solution to a home-based mom or to a busy executive?
- A targeted market is much more likely to convert than a general-interest market.
- Your products or services are easier to promote.
- You're less likely to spend more for marketing and promotion because all your attentions are focused in only one area.
- Your products or services are easier to price.
- You get feedback from the segment of the market that matters to you. It's far easier to make related adjustments or improvements on the product or service when the reviews or comments come from the very group of people who actually use it.
Steps in defining a target market
Consider these four factors when defining your target market:
Your product or service
Begin with the type of product or service you have or want to offer. That should be the best basis in defining who your target market will be, regardless of whether the product or service is still an idea in your head or already a tangible product or business. What is it about? What is its purpose? How does it work? What makes it attractive? Can it compete side by side with other products or will it fit best in a niche market?
How much will it take to produce the product? Consider the production and delivery costs, along with the manpower required to process not just production but also distribution. Remember that pricing affects your target market.
Potential customers or clients
To define your target market, ask yourself, who will buy my product? Who will have potential need for it? Who will appreciate it? Who will buy it once and who will continue to buy it? What are the demographics of this group and how long can I do business with them? How much will they be willing to pay for the product or service?
Try to observe people's buying preferences and habits and how often they have bought or paid for similar products and services in the past. If you want a target market that buys from you more frequently, you might want to keep away from groups that tend to be fickle.
Your competition
Conduct some simple research regarding the industry you're involved in and find out who your competitors are. Find out which similar products and services have captured the largest segment of the market. Can your product or service realistically compete with these? If you conduct a search online about products and services related to your own and come up with over 1,500 online or offline businesses that sell the same stuff, consider if it's worth the gamble. Generally, the more saturated the market, the more you'll find big players and known brands. While this doesn't necessarily mean you should back off, it's just a sign that you should be careful about entering the same market. Competition can be very tough, particularly for products and services with high or specialized demand.
Your online marketing business' direction
Another factor that can help you define a target market for your online marketing business is your business goal. Where do you intend to take your business? Targeting twenty-somethings today, for example, may be great for your business but 10 to 20 years from now, will your online marketing still be able to keep this group's attention? Their preferences and priorities will have changed by then and so will their buying capacity. Do you still tap this market? If you don't, will you be missing out on a great opportunity or should you continue targeting the same yet fresh-faced market?
For more information on internet marketing for beginners please visit:
http://www.thebiginternetmarketinggame.com
It's great that you have worked hard on your SEO, (Search Engine Optimization) knowledge and skills and have achieved decent, or even first page placement in the search engine results.
It's even better that when the visitor arrives at your site, they are greeted with a beautifully designed website. Afterall, you've worked hard at developing your design knowledge and skills.
The problem is though, they stay for about 5 seconds and then hit the back button to go to another site because they didn't immediately see anything to tell them that this site is different and has what they're looking for.
Bounce Rate
My first recommendation would be to use Google analytics. You can do this by clicking on the Business Solutions on Google's home page. Then go to "Analytics" and follow the instructions. This is a free service and will give you an enormous amount of valuable information.
Pay attention to your reported Bounce Rate percentage. If your bounce rate is 80%, this means that 80% of the visitors are looking around and not seeing anything of interest and leaving. You can couple this with the "Avg. Time on Site" information to see the obvious problem pretty quickly.
Use Good Content
1) The first line a visitor sees should tell them why they want to buy your product or use your service. You need to grab their attention right away. It should have your site's keywords and should probably be inside of H1 heading tags.
Keep it short and sweet, and try to avoid sounding like a pushy salesman! Keep your text to the point and don't go on too long. If it looks like there's going to be too much reading, they'll be gone in a heartbeat. In other words, sum it up quickly.
2) Give your visitor a reason to feel good about your product or service. Tell them why your service or product is different than the others. Give them a list of benefits. In other words, what they're going to get out of it.
You could consider adding a couple of testimonials or case studies. Or you could add a FAQ page to your site. This gives the reader information and establishes a comparison to the products on other sites they have visited. It could cause them to come back again.
3) Quickly give your visitor direction. With this I mean that you should give them a link to your contact page, or Buy Now link, immediately after you've given them interest in your product or service.
In closing, remember, keep your message short and to the point. But make sure you're giving the visitor valuable information. It's all about quality content.
About the Author:
Curt Despres is the owner and designer of Xcel Webworks, a website design and development company located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
In part 1 we touched on your Username and Profile.
Now I wanted to get into the meat. Posting. You want to have a good look around the forum first before you post. Get a feel for it. Is it a forum that genuinely helps people solve a problem or are most of the posts just blatant attempts to advertise?
You want to align your self with a reputable forum. I usually wait 3-5 days from joining before I post. ( Keep in mind we are joining here to brand ourselves, not to get an issue resolved, so we are not in a hurry to post.)
As an addition to this, your joining date is usually displayed and if people see you have just joined and made a number of posts they will presume your intentions for joining are not valid.
YOUR FIRST POST
I always structure my first post on a forum in this way.
Hi Guys, my name is Craig. This forum was recommended to me by a friend and I must say that after reading over it for a few days [Remember, they can check your joining date] it is a wealth of knowledge.
I have a question. I currently offer instant 100% commissions on the front end to affiliates but I am stuck on what to offer them for the OTO. I am leaning toward 100% also but on a $67 back end I am not sure. What do you recommend?
OK, what have we done here? Firstly, full disclosure. I have told them my name upfront. Do not underestimate the importance of this. Next, the forum was recommended to me meaning that it is reputable. Good enough for someone to refer it. I then said I have been looking it over for a few days. In other words, after doing my due diligence, I have deemed this forum to be of benefit to me.
Then you tell them you have a question. You need them. They are the ones that you have chosen to solve your problem. I then relate my issue. Now, notice my question? WOW, you offer 100% commissions? Hmmm
We just killed 2 birds with one stone. We will get people clicking on my signature file to see what I have to offer and of course I have genuinely asked for a solution.
That is it for your first post. The gist of what I have just said,in a nutshell, is to be honest, genuine and sincere. Forum Marketing works but if we do it with the wrong intentions, it will backfire.
About the Author:
Forum Marketing is a hidden jewel. Learn more about this medium by visiting http://www.jonathanlegersuccess.com/blog/forum-marketing.php Plus get my free software "Niche Forum Finder"
Forum Marketing works. Of that, there is no doubt.
Many successful internet marketers credit their rise through the ranks from the fact that they used forum marketing as one of their main tools. To get the most out of forum marketing you have to have a handle on the following points. Each one of these points is vital and compliments each other.
Keep in mind that we are using forum marketing to develop and brand an online business with the end result being an ongoing online income.
1. Forum Log In or Username Name
Your login or username are of the utmost importance. I register, for the majority of forums, under my real name. Remember, we are building a business here and not doing this for fun. Using your real name tells the other forum members that you have nothing to hide. You are being upfront about who you are. Given time and your valuable contribution to the forum, you will become known as a person with a great deal to offer that chosen niche. Even if your niche forum is about Dogs, resist the temptation to log in as PuppyLovesYou or something as mushy. Our goal is to become an expert. Word of mouth is a wonderful advertising tool for you. Imagine having a forum member say to their friend, Hey, This guy from the forum is very informative. Check out his posts. His username is PomeranianPooch69.
Get my drift here.
To really understand this point, go to the warrior forum and see how many nicknames are there. Nearly all use their correct name for this very reason.
2. Forum Profile
Take the time to fill this out as much as possible. Same as above, we want to have full disclosure about who we are. I am not saying to give your Social Security number here but tell everyone what city and country you live. Give your MSN or Yahoo chat I.D's, put your website URL in and let forum members email you. You are basically telling everyone "This is who I am and I am here to help you"
Tell people how old you are. If you are in your 20's, people will be thinking that you are ambitious. So young yet having an understanding of this niche. Other side of the coin is if you are approaching middle age or beyond. You gain an instant respect because of your maturity.
Most forums have a short bio box. Use it. Don't fill it with crap. Tell people what your goals are. What you can offer them.
Be honest and sincere. (You will see that said often through my articles)
Stay tuned for Part 2 where I will discuss points such as:
Your first few days on the forum
Your first post
Question posts
Answer posts
And the all important Signature File.
About the Author:
Forum Marketing is a hidden jewel. Learn more about this medium by visiting http://www.jonathanlegersuccess.com/blog/forum-marketing.php Plus get my free software "Niche Forum Finder"
It's no secret that words sell products, not pictures. The debate continues over what is better to use when filling in your Website homepage. If you're a visual person, you'll lean towards more product pictures. If you're a technical person, you'll probably lean to more text. However, a rule most people forget when designing the look of their websites, is that you're not designing it for you. You're designing it for your customers.
Because so many small business owners have a long standing dream of what they want their websites to look like, they forget about what is fruitful for business. If your aim is to make sales, you must design for the customer. That means following the Research.
It's all about the Research, People!
Research has shown that people are more inclined to purchase a product when they are sold on it with good writing. People want details, and they want them fast. The Stanford Poytner Project conducted a study on how people use the internet. It showed that 92% of people who participated in the study read text first. 22% later went back to look at pictures once the text had been read. This study made a critical point come even more into the light:
"Nonetheless, the provider's first chance to engage the reader is through text." With only 3 seconds or less to capture a potential buyers attention and turn browsing into buying, you'd better figure out what's going to work better for you: lots of pictures or lots of text.
Researches also found that people tend to read in an F shaped pattern across the page. Starting in the upper left had corner ( which receives the most focus), an online user will then scan across the top of the page, down the left hand side, and then scan out to the right. This is important because it shows us that 90% of people look at the headline and sub headline text before moving on to the rest of the page.
Large businesses are doing what many small and work-at-home businesses ignore: they write to sell products. Magazine ads, print ads, in- store signs and television spots are all based on well written and persuasive copywriting. So, knowing that people want to read about a product, before they consider purchasing, consider your Tagline. Do you have one? A tagline is that snazzy little slogan by which people will remember you.
Think of Subway ( eat fresh) and Mazda (zoom, zoom, zoom). These taglines are examples of catchy writing that will stick with a customer long after an image of a meatball sub or flashy car disappears from their minds. While you may never grow into a nationally recognized corporation, you should be aiming to be remembered by, at least, a portion of your target market. These folks will be your repeat customers who will refer more customers to you, hence helping your business grow.
What you want vs. what your customers demand
So, lets say you have a dream of a bright, cotton candy pink front page, which will display thumbnails of 10 of your most popular items. On the left, you have navigation, flash animation boxes and a row of banner exchanges. On the right are some framed areas announcing your current sales, and some more navigation. In total, you have less than three sentences of information on your home page. Your visitors can visually see what you offer, but they have no idea what you:
- Specialize in
- What your products will do for them ( what problem will your products solve for them?)
- What makes your product special (why are you different than your competition, who sells for less than you do?)
- Who you are
- Or, what other information they need to making a purchase decision.
All of your thumbnail photos, fancy flash and banner exchanges are simply overrunning your page with visual distractions, and are not providing any solid information for your customer.
A good rule of thumb is this: If your stat counter is showing that people are not staying on your front page long enough to enter into your other pages, you have a problem.
Now is the time to play The Balancing Game!
The word balance really comes into play when your are setting up your front page. You may already have your template installed, and your front page designed. However, it's easy for you to take a few steps to de-clutter and add some important product information.
Simply take out some blank paper and start making sketches of what you want your front page to look like. Play around by moving product pictures around the page, add text lines, move some things to other pages. While the design you come up with on your sketch pad may not transfer exactly into your page coding, you will get a great idea of what you are going for. Points to follow:
- Leave some white space. Research still suggests that even small areas of white space are necessary for the eye-brain coordination when reading and processing information.
- Keep flash animation to a minimum, if at all. Flash is very distracting to some people, and can actually draw the eye away from information and clog the brain!
- Have a balance of text and graphics:
You will want to use your best pictures to place on your front page. Of course you want people to have a beautiful visual of what you offer. However, you must combine necessary text with those images as well.
- Talk about the immediate benefit of your product! Answer the "what will your products do for me?" question right away, before your potential customer hit's the back button.
How about an example? Hypothetical example of a Baby Sling Boutique:
Beautiful top page picture of a mom holding baby in a sling
(tagline)You can't stop time, so keep them close while you can
(immediate information) Hold 'em Close baby slings are an innovative brand of sling that offers a micro fiber interior for premium comfort for baby, and an elastic outside pocket to hold small essentials while on the go.
Easily adjustable, these baby slings can safely be used from birth through 32#, and comfortably accommodate premature infants as well. (show a few more pictures if desired) Keep text following your pictures in an easy to read format.
Not only is appropriate text essential for your customers, it's necessary for your search engine ranking and positioning as well. A front page without at least 250 words of textual content gives search engine robots little to browse on your site. The more appropriately written text you have on your front page, the more eager search engine robots will devour your page and Website. Give them a reason to find you, and boost you into the ranking system.
Finding a balance on your front page is a process of trial and error. Give yourself time to get it just right, always keeping in mind you are creating it to be customer friendly. Trust me when I say, they will thank you in the end by buying what you are selling!
Lisa Otto is a freelance writer and is the owner of Creative Writing Studios, a Small Business Copywriting service with a strong interest in helping Work-At-Home Mothers polish their websites and business materials. Lisa resides in Wisconsin with her husband and three children. http://www.creativewritingstudios.com
This summer, JV Media Design relocated from the bustling metropolis known as Southern California to the more rural and peaceful surroundings of Southern Oregon. Ive spent the last couple months creating a marketing plan for our new local area and in so doing have met some wonderful business owners with some not-so-wonderful websites.
Seeing some of these retro sites on the web of today made me a little nostalgic but it also got me thinking that many businesses, no matter where they are located, have a, build it once attitude with their websites. Many believe they were innovators by having a website built in 1998 and have held on to that while the internet has evolved around them.
Of course, these are extreme examples; websites that have not changed in 10 years, but what about those websites that have not changed in 2 years? I find the large majority of clients who engage us to redesign their company website have not touched their old one in at least two years. Many factors go into the reasoning behind this but leaving a dated site on the web is like leaving a container of spoiled food in the fridge: sooner or later, youre going to have to deal with it and when you do, it may not be pretty.
Often, businesses are so busy with their day-to-day operations that their aging websites are put at the bottom of every corporate to-do list. What many companies fail to realize is how that moldy old website can actually be hurting the business rather than helping it.
First Impressions
Many viewers that find a business on the web may be getting their first impression of that company. If they are faced with cryptic navigation, out dated information or a dated design, like it or not theyre going to formulate an opinion about the business based on their initial reaction to the website.
First Considerations
Its important to think about the kind of initial look and message you want to convey when you start to tackle your redesign. A good design agency will help you in this process, but its best to have a rough idea first.
Think about who your target market is. What is their age group? Have you previously done other successful marketing that can help guide you on redesigning the website? What sort of things would appeal to your market?
Remember who your market is when you consider things like animation, video, audio and other interactive, media-rich features. Dont be tempted into using something just because its the new hot thing. Make sure it works for your audience and within the new design.
Next youre going to want to think about what the goal(s) of your redesigned website is. Will it be to present updated information on the company or to sell more products? What is your call to action? A well designed website will lead the viewer to exactly what you want them to see.
Try to come up with a site map (an outline of the website pages) that will help you to focus in on the content and refine what information you want the viewers to see. Also be sure to include any specific features you want on the new site (for example, a shopping cart, a user forum, a blog
)
Another thing you may want to consider is hiring a professional copywriter for your updated content. Many design agencies do not check copy for spelling or grammatical errors or even if it will make sense to your target audience. This is where a copywriter can make your site a standout and help you zero in on your viewers.
Knowing what you want out of your redesign in advance will really help the design team understand your needs.
The Final Wrap Up
Just because youve built it doesnt mean people will visit it. During the redesign think about how you will drive viewers to your site. Dont neglect traditional marketing in lieu of using only online marketing. Spread your marketing efforts around to see what works best.
Track how your redesigned website is doing. Most hosting companies provide statistical software that will help you determine how many visitors your site gets, which pages they are viewing most often and other helpful data. Additional resources such as Google Analytics can also give you valuable information on your viewer's behavior on your site.
Have a maintenance plan in place. Dont get sold on an expensive content management system if your site is small, or if you do not have a designated staff member who will be using that system to make updates. Many times Ive seen elaborate content management systems on sites that were just as out of date as regular websites. Also, there are now many alternatives to a full system. Blogs, newsletters, and news software can be easy to learn and quick to manage.
Finally, remember that the internet is a constantly changing place. Be prepared to set aside time for your website so it stays consistent with your business goals and the needs of your target market.
---
Sherry Holub is the Creative Director at design firm, JV Media Design. http://www.jvmediadesign.com
A recent thread in one of the professional design forums I frequent raised an interesting discussion about how designers justify their rates. I find it endlessly fascinating that design buyerseveryone from corporate ventures to mom and pop shopshave such a hard time understanding what it is they are actually paying for.
It's not uncommon to get questions like why so expensive; it's just a five-page website? and It can't possibly take that long to design a logo, can it? and even the old But there's no way to know if it's even going to work or not, so why should I have to pay premium prices?
The problem with this line of questioning is not that the client wants to know why they're paying what they're paying. We all have a right to know what we're spending our money on. The real problem lies in what it reveals: the client who asks these questions has no idea what they are actually purchasing.
When you buy a car, you expect to know the gas mileage, the type of engine, the horsepower, etc. Most of these details are disclosed outright by the manufacturer. In the design world, these details are the equivalent to deliverables, which include stuff like:
- Number of files
- Type of files
- Final printed pieces or live website
But when you buy a car, you're also paying for the manufacturer's name and reputation. With name and reputation come implied skills of craftsmanship and knowledge (advanced manufacturing processes, quality parts and materials, assembly line production, engineering, etc). Design buying is no different:
- Ability to concept and problem solve
- Research skills (general market research, competitive research, image research)
- Understanding of the structure, rules and implications of typography
- Color theory
- Grasp of composition, balance, contrast and layout and their impact on viewer behavior
- Production technique (software, assembly, handwork)
- Graphics editing (color and light/shadow manipulation, effects, cleanup, resampling, etc)
- File prep and prepress (bleeds, printer marks, color separations, file types, etc)
These skills vary from designer to designer, which is why there is so much range in pricing out there. Designers love this car metaphor; you can pay premium prices for a Porsche, or value prices for a Hyundai. Both are cars, but there can be no argument that one is sexier and handles better on the road. Maybe as a design buyer you don't want a Porsche, or simply don't have the budget for one. But you'd still shop around for a safe one, wouldn't you? One that won't break down every year? You'll always have to ask yourself what you're willing to sacrifice in order to save a few bucks.
When you buy a car, you get a warranty, right (we really haven't pushed this metaphor far enough yet)? Of course, you'd be an awfully lucky client if your designer gave you one of those. But there are some things you should get with your designer's fee to protect you:
(1) A written contract that spells out the project parameters, final deliverables, project timelines, client expectations (what you need to provide your designer so they can get the job done), and so forth. These details will protect you should the project seem to get off track. They'll ensure clear communication between client and designer from the get-go.
(2) Usage rights, or licensing rights, that guarantee you have permission to use the designer's work for its intended purpose. Your usage rights may vary from designer to designer and project to project. They might be exclusive, ensuring the designer can't resell the design to someone else, which is a good thing to have for logos. Always know what rights you're paying for.
There's something else that is expressly included in a designer's fees, something that's far too often overlooked by designer and client alike: return on investment. This is the Great Intangible that seems to make everybody cringe. How do we know this will work? There a couple of ways to measure ROI on design, and they depend largely on the type of project. Identity and branding projects can be tough to measure, for example, without conducting focus groups and surveys both before and after the project (and this is why the big boy agencies earn so much for their workthey actually do these things...I hope). But small scale metrics are available to even the independent shop:
- Direct mail can include ID references that can be tracked when taking inquiries. "Mention code ABC to get your discount," is a common one. Or send the recipient to a specific web address and track incoming visitor statistics.
- Sales numbers can be analyzed before and after the design piece is issued.
- Market comparisons and case studies can be used to decide if a particular project type has a successful track record. One of my clients, for example, was going to send out fund-raising invitations formatted in Microsoft Word and printed at Kinko's. They came to me for suggestions, and I convinced them to let me design a two-color piece with custom illustration that was professionally printed. The event ended up filled to capacity and they easily surpassed their $100,000 goal.
Finally, there are a few more things that may or may not be included in your designer's fee. These really depend on your designer's experience, history and focus, but they are extremely valuable skill sets:
- Marketing expertise including branding, positioning, outlets (media and distro) etc.
- Business expertise like project feasibility, budgeting, time and project management, legal issues, and so on.
- Vendor management (incredibly important to the final product), which includes print specifying, materials specifying, professional relationships, billing, etc.
- Writing skills: voice and tone consistency, concepting, grammar and usage, styling techniques, behavior change and persuasion techniques, etc.
As you can see, your designer (ideally) brings a lot to the table. You're not just buying a pretty pictureyou're buying a set of skills and experience that directly impacts the success of the project itself (whether or not it's a smooth, trouble-free, enjoyable process), as well as the success of your business (whether or not the designed piece actually accomplishes anything).
So the next time you're surprised at a quote from your designer, consider the above list and decide if all of this makes the price tag worth it. Remember: it's your business and your money. You should know what you're paying for.
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Copyright 2007 Jessica Sand | For reprint permission, just ask (jsand @ roughstockstudios.com). | And if you want to share this with your clients, by all means do, but be sure to include the following text: "© 2007 Jessica Sand, www.roughstockstudios.com"
By Aazdak Alisimo
A good, organized relationship with your graphic designer is crucial to the whole graphic design process, even in the age of computer generated graphics.
The purpose of the graphic designer has always been to use words and pictures to convey information. The graphic designer is an artist, but his or her artistry is directed toward a specific purpose. In the world of fine arts, the artist may create something that serves no purpose. Art can exist just for the sake of art or for the sake of beauty. Graphic design implies purpose, however, and the graphic artist has the responsibility to use his talent to accomplish that purpose.
The graphic designer today is usually going to be working for a client. This is true even if the designer is his own client. The point is that someone has an objective that they want to be accomplished and the graphic designer needs to direct his talent to achieving the object. In some ways, this limits the graphic designer, but it is necessary to satisfy the objective of graphic design which is to convey certain information.
The area of web design, which is the fastest growing area of graphic design, offers a good example. The graphic designer must understand the purpose of the web site and the intentions and expectations of the sites owner. The designer might realize that he would create an entirely different design if it were his own site, but if the site owner has totally different expectations; it is those that must be met.
This does not create that much of a problem in most cases. It is the imagination and talent of the graphic designer that is his valuable commodity and most clients realize this truth. In most cases, the designer is free to utilize that imagination to its fullest to create a design that will best accomplish the purpose. Administrative, educational, and advertising graphic design must be done to a bit more rigid set of criteria, but entertainment graphic design still offers unlimited potential for experimentation.
Art is one of those special things that mark us as human beings and art can not only stir us and make us more aware of beauty, but can also open our minds to the reception of information. It can help us learn and understand. The graphic designer is an artist and in some ways his role is to make the world function better and bring more beauty to it at the same time.
Find design studios in your area at DesignServiceStudios.com.
New graphic artists and web developers are always faced with a challenge of where to start - then once they have the skills, where to get employed!
Where to Start?
School is definitely the best place to begin training for your new design career. Hopefully, the school you choose is up on all the latest technology and software. The universal standard is the Adobe software, namely, Photoshop and Dreamweaver for graphic and web design, Photoshop, InDesign, & Illustrator for graphics, and Flash for animation. So learning which software you will be using most is key. Without those skills, you're not very "hire-able" in the marketplace. Adobe also offers many regional seminars and training courses that can be a compliment (or even an alternate in some cases) for traditional schooling. But never discount the fact that an actual degree goes a long way on a resume.
An Eye for Design ...
Another important thing is actually an aptitude for design. Some folks have a natural sense of placement, what colors go good together, etc. and some need to do a little further research into the matter. And don't forget the typography is also a part of design. Using type effectively is often the crux of many pieces.
A great book I would recommend on type is "Thinking with Type, a Critical Guide" by Ellen Lupton. The How Design Books has a great series that includes, "Color Index" and "Design Basics Index" (both by Krause). A few other great titles are: "Layout Workbook" by Cullen,
"Design Matters - Logos" by Capsule, "The Big Book of Color in Design" by David Carter
What's Hot, What's Not
Keeping up on what's current is very important as well. Design sometimes changes like fashion, but there are some tried and true standards that won't fail you if you learn them. Think of them as the "blue suits" or "little black dresses" of design. Most designers consider these standards as, composition, components, and concept. Composition includes things like: placement, harmony, emphasis, alignment and flow. Components includes: shapes, icons, supporting elements, images, color, and typography. Lastly, the concept includes learning the creative process, being able to convey your message, and learning about themes. There are many other design standards, most borrowed from other forms of designs, but the "three c's" above sum everything up nicely.
Here are some other sites I would recommend checking out:
http://www.howdesign.com
http://www.layersmagazine.com
http://www.idonline.com
(These are all print magazines as well)
The Real World
I'd recommend you try to find a local company that could "take you under their wing" as an intern while you work your way through school. Even a few hours a week is helpful (our intern only comes in a few hours a week). The reason for this is to be able to deal with real world design and projects (and even clients). Hands-on use of software can often yield new and quick ways to accomplish tasks that books or teachers don't often focus on. You can also be learning how to effectively deal with clients, manage projects, and get a feel for what your skills are worth (salary or hourly rates). Many new designers strike out on their own if employment isn't readily available, so having skills like this can help you become a successful freelancer as well. You can also be building a portfolio of real work - also important when seeking employment.
Some design organizations you might be interested in are:
AIGA
National Association of Photoshop Professionals
In Closing ...
Being a designer takes skill, aptitude, training, creativity, organizational skills and more. It's also a field that you will never stop learning and striving to reach new levels in. Its impossible to cover the whole field in such a short article, but hopefully it enough of a resource to get you going in the right direction.
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Sherry is the Creative Director at JV Media Design (www.jvmediadesign.com
JV Media Design was recently engaged to do a redesign of an informational website that offered Botox injection training to doctors. One of the things that differentiate our design services from other studios is our attention to detail, experience, and knowledge of how search engine optimization works.
While we were putting together the new site pages we were also adding in special code to help with the optimization. Because of the initial research we do into a client's specific industry, we are usually better educated on their target market. This helps to create more effective title and description tags to embed into the page code. It also helps us understand what the best key words or phrases might be to encode into "alt" tags (alternate text for an image) on the page. Often we will use < h1 > or < h2 > tags for headlines on web pages as well. We also add some additional < meta > tags that the search engine robots can read.
In simple terms, all this "code stuff" simply helps the search engines to "read" what is on your web page without modifying the quality of the actual page text (which you always want to be informative for a human to read first, not a search engine bot). And it's the "extra mile" that JV Media Design goes to while working on a web development project.
Case In Point
The aforementioned redesign, when completed, was submitted to Google's free submission, and several medical directory sites targeting doctors. Within three weeks the website had 2 pages indexed by Google. The website also had what is known as a "natural" listing (not a Google AdWord advertisement) and it was on the second page (#15) of a Google search for, "Botox Injection Training".
That might not sound like a major accomplishment, but considering most sites may be dozens (if not hundreds) of pages deep in a search (or not indexed at all!), it's not bad.
We Don't Do Search Engine Optimization
We don't call what we do search engine optimization. Part of our service and commitment to our clients includes the small amount of what we call, web marketing, that can help their finished site at least be recognized by Google or some of the other engines or directories.
Staying up on what these various search engines and directory sites find favorable or not is a full time job in itself, another reason why we don't claim to do SEO. However, we can handle a wide range of marketing services, tailor-made to meet our client's needs that include traditional as well as online advertising. The programming of a website with the special tags that help in optimization is a very small part of our capabilities.
The Wrap Up
In short, it shouldn't take a massive budget to at least get a presence in the top search engines and directories. Many times the free submissions, although they dont gain immediate results, still lead to the best natural listings. And finally, a little research and web programming can go a long way to improving how those engines and directories view (and index) your website.
About the Author
Sherry Holub received her degree in design from UCLA in 1995. She is now the Creative Director and Lead Designer at Southern California firm, JV Media Design (www.jvmediadesign.com).
By Richard Chapo
A trademark is a distinctive image, word or other thing that associates with a product or service. So, can you trademark your business name?
Most people think trademarks are logo oriented. In some ways, this is true. The Nike Swoosh is clearly a logo trademark that stands out in peoples minds. When you see it, you immediately think of Nike and its products. While logos can clearly be trademarked, what about a business name? The answer is both yes and no.
A trademark is a consumer oriented thing. While it protects the intellectual property of businesses, it is a legal step designed to protect consumers. The basic idea is a trademark should point to a particular product or service and only be used by the company backing those items. This helps consumers in two ways. First, it represents an assurance of a particular type of quality associated with the products or services provided by the company. Second, it precludes other companies from causing consumer confusion by infringing on that mark.
When it comes to your business name, you can trademark it if certain requirements are met. I am going to avoid the legal mumbo jumbo that confuses people, and stick with a general rule of thumb. If you use your business name in advertising or on the product or service, you can trademark it. A classic example is Google. Google is both a company name and used on the service itself. When you go to the home page of Google, you see Google prominently displayed. As a result, this business name can be trademarked.
If you do not use your business name in a direct communication to consumers, you cannot trademark it. Why? Well, there is nothing distinct about it that reminds consumers of the connect. TJMaxx is a well-known discount retail store. Most people have at least heard of the name. The company behind the name, however, is actually TJCos. Nobody has heard of "TJCos" and certainly do not associate it with a store. As a result, this business name would be difficult to trademark, if not impossible.
If your name is going to be a fundamental part of your marketing effort, you should consider trademarking it. If it is not, then your probably should save your money. Obviously, each situation is different, so make sure you speak with legal counsel in your area.
Richard A. Chapo is a trademark lawyer with www.SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com.
(by Sherry Holub)
I recently read that some key phrases have jumped up in price lately in the Google AdWords system which has made many an online marketer take note and get a little nervous.
With AdWords it's very important to pay close attention to what your ads are doing - how many clicks or conversions are you getting with each key phrase? Have you tried different wording on your ads to see which brings in more clicks? Are you generating weekly reports? Google provides all the tools you need to track your campaigns, it's just a matter of spending an hour or two a week going over everything, doing your own research into what key phrases and ad test might work best for your business and potential customers, and determining how much per click you're willing to pay.
If you're in a very competitive business then you might want to run your campaigns a little differently. Try to target more specific things rather than a broad key phrase. Another thing to consider is the average cost of your product or service vs. cost of your advertising. If you're spending over $100 a month on AdWords but your average product only costs $5, then you would have to sell 20 of those products in order to make the advertising worthwhile. Of course, the more expensive your product or service, the less you have to sell to make your advertising count more. We spend about $50 on AdWords every month but we're targeting really specific key phrases because we're in a very competitive business - web design. If we were to attempt to use the key phrase, "web design" we'd be paying a lot of money per click and we'd still be pages and pages into the results, lowering our chances to be seen by potential clients. However, since we have specific phrases that are targeted to smaller sections of our target market, even if we only get one new client a month from the AdWords campaigns it more than makes up for the cost.
So the 1/3 of your income doesn't necessarily apply. We're only spending about .005% of our income on AdWords but still making it work for us.
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High End Web, Print, & Multimedia Design to fit any budget:
http://www.jvmediadesign.com
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