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10 More Dirty Words for Email Subject Lines

May 16, 2008 at 3:59 am · Filed under Articles, Free Tips, Resources ·Tagged , , , , , ,

So, you have a strategically-designed email blast ready to send to your target customers. But, what should the email subject line say in order to avoid getting dumped into the recipient’s email junk bin? For starters, here are some words that you need to avoid.

  1. as seen on Oprah
  2. buy
  3. compare
  4. earn
  5. eliminate debt
  6. hello
  7. information you requested
  8. mortgage
  9. offer
  10. stop or stops

© Copyright 2008. Banana Creative. All rights reserved. Would you like to reproduce portions of this article? Please contact Banana Creative for permission.

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Copyright Lessons from An Artist

April 23, 2008 at 6:51 pm · Filed under Articles, Design Stuff, Free Tips, Resources ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recently, I had an incident occur where someone downloaded a piece of art from my website, bananacreative.com, and used it as their own art on their website. This really opened my eyes to the issues surrounding copyright, and how artists and others need to protect ourselves better. This event also taught me about what to do to remedy the situation. I am not a lawyer by any means, so please do not take this as professional legal advice, but use it only as a guide into the sometimes murky world of copyright.

Ways to Avoid Getting into Copyright Trouble

One should always create their own content or artwork, get written permission from the author to reproduce, or purchase the rights from the creator (or stock company). At the very least, one should give the author or artist credit wherever it it used. If the author or artist cannot be contacted or found, it’s better to not use it at all. It’s better to be safe, than to get sued or worse yet, be convicted of a Federal crime.

Taking someone else’s work, changing it in subtle ways, and claiming ownership is also illegal. Even if the modifications to the work are substantial, you may have a difficult time proving your case in Federal court.

If you are contacted by someone claiming copyright, promptly remove the art or content in question in order to avoid serious consequences. You can claim ignorance, but that will not protect you if it isn’t removed in a timely fashion.

If you are the author or creator, I would recommend displaying the copyright line so that it is obvious that you take copyright seriously, and would prosecute anyone who violated these rights. To have the ability to prosecute in a Federal court of law, the author or creator, can register the copyright for an individual work. This can be done by going to http://www.copyright.gov. The cost is less than $50 per item, and the application process is pretty straightforward. Of course, you can hire an intellectual property lawyer to do this for you as well.

What to Do if Your Work is Taken

Promptly notify the owner via email or phone (or both) and politely ask for the item to be removed. Give them 24-72 hours to remove or respond to your communication.

If the art/content is not removed, and you have not received a response from the owner within 24-72 hours, contact the company who designed/developed the piece where the art/content appears. For websites, often there is an area at the bottom of the site where you can find this info. If not, contact the web hosting company, which can be found by going to this site which lists all of the contact info by domain name http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois/. You can send an email to abuse@webhostingcompany.com citing your specific example of the copyright violation and demanding a prompt response to the situation.

If you don’t have any luck with the above, it’s time to contact a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property. Most lawyers at this point, would create a firm cease and desist letter and send to the above parties. This letter would explain the situation, cite the violation and copyright law, request the removal within a specific timeframe, and detail the consequences if it is not removed.

Most owners will remove the art/content in question after receiving a cease and desist letter from a lawyer, but if not, your only other option is to litigate and bring the case to court. This is only an option if the author or creator of the piece in question had registered the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. If one only displayed the copyright line: © Copyright. Date the piece originated. Your company name, then you would not be able to take this case to court.

As you can see, copyright infringement should be taken seriously. Whether you are trying to avoid copyright issues with others or trying to protect your own work, it’s important to remember these guidelines.

© Copyright 2008. Banana Creative. All rights reserved. Would you like to reproduce portions of this article, or portions thereof? Please contact Banana Creative for permission.

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Web Design Tips

April 1, 2008 at 4:51 pm · Filed under Articles, Design Stuff, Free Tips ·Tagged , , , , , ,

I’ve seen a lot of web sites. Some bad. Some good when it comes to design. There are certain elements that draw the user inside your site to explore further, and others that cause users to run the other way. Here are a few elements that will make your web site more attractive.

  1. Your home page (including HTML, graphics, etc.) should be less than 80KB in file size and should take less than 20 seconds to download at 56K. Remember less is more.
  2. Your site needs to be unique, not like everyone else on the net. It needs to be well-designed and provide interesting content that you cannot find anywhere else.
  3. Update. Update. Update. The more often you update your site—even a blog on your site—the more visitors you will get, and the more likely the search engines will list your site.
  4. Always put contact information on every page, so that it is one click away from the user. Seems basic, but many site ignore this rule.
  5. Test your site with all of the different browsers.

<>Author, Danielle Mai, Banana Creative, www.bananacreative.com.
Copyright © 2008. All Rights Reserved.<>

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10 Quick Tips for Boosting Sales with Direct Mail

March 20, 2008 at 12:45 am · Filed under Articles, Free Tips, Uncategorized ·Tagged , , ,

Whether you are looking to create a new direct mail campaign or update an old one, you have many opportunities for improving the response. Based on decades of testing, here are 10 of of the easiest and most effective.

1. Make an offer that’s irresistible.

2. Create an envelope to get noticed and opened.

3. Use teaser copy to tease, not tell.

4. Add drama to your offer with stamps or stickers.

5. Write the letter in a friendly, personal tone.

6. Design a brochure that is simple and targeted to your audience.

7. Highlight the deadline.

8. Incorporate photos of people using your product or service.

9. Include an unconditional guarantee that is prominent.

10. Test and use results to refine your creative strategy.

<>Author, Danielle Mai, Banana Creative, www.bananacreative.com.
Copyright © 2008. All Rights Reserved.<>

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10 Dirty Words for Email Subject Lines

February 22, 2008 at 5:56 pm · Filed under Articles, Design Stuff, Free Tips ·Tagged , , , ,

Email marketing is all the rage lately. So, when you decide you are going to jump into the email marketing pool, don’t forget to use a subject line that will allow your email to be delivered. Here are 10 words that are sure to get your email blocked:

1-100% Free

2-50% off

3-act now

4-amazing

5-apply now

6-as seen

7-discount

8-free

9-loans

10-refinance

<>Author, Danielle Mai, Banana Creative, www.bananacreative.com.
Copyright © 2008. All Rights Reserved.<>

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Web Site Traffic and the Eye of the Search Engine Spider

January 28, 2008 at 5:31 am · Filed under Articles, Free Tips ·Tagged , , ,

A team of copywriters, designers, and developers has come together to create the greatest web site your industry has ever witnessed. After months of meetings and many late nights, the moment has finally arrived — the web site launch. At last, a beautiful home page quickly appears on screen. And then….

Nothing happens. No visitors. No traffic. The web site disappears into cyberspace.

What went wrong here? The team created a web site without any regard for the role of the search engine spider — a program that routinely combs the internet searching and indexing web sites. A large number of expensive web sites are designed beautifully from a human perspective, yet all but invisible to search engine spiders, and thus those searching on the web. You see, there is quite a difference in what is seen on the screen and what is seen by a search engine spider.

Here are a few common web site elements — what search engines can see, and what they cannot.

A Search Engine Spider Can See

HTML Text. A search engine spider relies heavily on HTML text to determine the subject of a web page. Spiders, therefore, index HTML text and will even make distinctions between differences in how the text is presented. For example, the text that is present in a headline or appears bold is assumed to be slightly more important than the regular body text.

Links. Outgoing links on pages are easily understood by the spider, especially if they are text links. The wording of these links can, like HTML text, give the spider an idea of the content on the page. However, if your web site team embedded your links in a drop-down menu that uses JavaScript or other scripting language, it will prevent most search engine spiders from seeing them.

Tags. There are several different types of tags, not all are important to search engine spiders. Meta tags include the “keywords” tag and the “description” tag. The keywords tag should list all key phrases or words that describe the page. The description tag is one or two brief sentences that describe the page. The “title” tag contains the words that appear at the top of your browser’s window. All of these tags should directly relate to the product or service your company provides.

A Search Engine Spider Cannot See

Graphic Text. When a designer uses text in a graphics form on a web site (where the text is actually an image vs. HTML), the search engine spider cannot read the text. The main reason for using text as a graphic is to have the ability to use a font that most visitors do not have installed on their computers. It is also a way to control what the visitor will view. This is often done to maintain consistency with other marketing materials and works best in moderation.

Images. A search engine spider is not yet able to look at images or pictures and determine their relevance in visitor’s searches. A way to get the spider to see the images is to attach an “alt” tag that describes the image. In general though, a spider will ignore logos, pictures, and any other graphic element.

Flash. Flash animation, or any other form of animation on your web site will not be seen by search engine spiders. However, this does not mean that using Flash elements will render your web site invisible. Just that you should not rely on text in any animation on your web site to be indexed. If the web site is built entirely in Flash, it could potentially be an overall search engine ranking killer. While some spiders are getting better at indexing web sites built entirely on this platform, it is still wise to use Flash in moderation.

These are only some of the elements that affect a web site’s visibility on the Internet today. The list is changing as fast as technology is progressing. So, before designing and developing a web site, it is important to research and examine all of the elements that could affect your web site’s success, or hire a professional that can help.

Author, Danielle Mai, Banana Creative, www.bananacreative.com.
Copyright © 2008. All Rights Reserved.

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7 Steps To Successfully Marketing Your Business

January 4, 2008 at 1:34 am · Filed under Articles, Free Tips ·Tagged , , , , , ,

It may be easy to design a pretty postcard or a clever advertising campaign. However, for any marketing attempt to be successful, several key factors should also be addressed.

Here they are.

1. Know your goals.

Okay, I know. Your goal is always to generate more income for your business. But specifically, you need to ask yourself—Am I trying to generate new leads from this piece? Achieve direct sales? Educate my clients? Develop existing relationships with clients? All of the above?

Once you get a clear idea of the goal(s) of your specific marketing efforts, then each step of the marketing process should be designed to bring you closer to your intended results.

2. Know your target.

In order for marketing to be successful, you need to know who your audience will be and what they are looking for. Are you marketing to first-time home buyers? mature pet owners? college grads looking for a job? To help you determine your target, just visualize your ideal client and make sure your product or service fills a specific need they may have.

The more you know about your target, the more successful your marketing efforts will be.

3. Know the message you want your recipient to walk away with.

After seeing a marketing piece you always walk away with a message and/or a feeling about that product or service. This could be positive or negative. Of course, your goal is a positive reaction, which would lead to a positive result.

Choose a single message by asking yourself, what do I want to say to the recipient? What perception do I want him/her to form of me, my product or service after viewing my piece? Note that mixed messages get mixed results.

4. Know your competition.

Yes, it’s time to do your research. You need to determine how many businesses in your area offer the same or similar products or services? Who are these businesses? What are they doing to market themselves? How can you set yourself apart from these businesses? A good starting point is the yellow pages or the internet.

It’s best to know your competitors so you can market smarter.

5. Be consistent.

Once you’ve established a visual look and feel in your marketing pieces based upon the previously outlined steps, it is crucial to be consistent. Have every piece you produce reiterate your “brand” so that people recognize you. Repeat visual elements like a particular color and/or typeface. And, always use your logo and contact information.

Consistency creates a familiarity with your audience, which is more likely to elicit a response.

6. Be unique.

From the time they wake up, until the time they go to sleep at night, consumers are bombarded with over 1,000 brand names, radio ads, television ads, direct mail, bulletin boards, email advertising, etc. This is why you need to be different from the rest and get noticed.

For example, if you think a direct mail piece would receive the best response, then create a piece that is a slightly different size from the others. Use a unique offer to entice the consumer. Or better yet, use an innovative technology such as variable data (or 1:1) printing to imprint each recipient’s name on the piece.

You get the picture. Being unique pays off.

7. Track your success.

Before launching any marketing piece, determine how you will track the results. Will you do an informal tally by asking how your respondent found out about you? or will you have the consumer send in a reply card included with your piece?

Whatever you decide, information about your marketing performance will help your future marketing efforts be more successful. And, in the end, will save you both time, energy and money. Happy Marketing!

Author, Danielle Mai, Banana Creative, www.bananacreative.com.
Copyright © 2008. All Rights Reserved.

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