Monday, June 20, 2011

5 Important Rules in Website Design

weWhen it comes to your website, extra attention should be paid to every minute detail to make sure it performs optimally to serve its purpose. Here are seven important rules of thumb to observe to make sure your website performs well.

1) Do not use splash pages

Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They normally have a very beautiful image with words like "welcome" or "click here to enter". In fact, they are just that -- pretty vases with no real purpose. Do not let your visitors have a reason to click on the "back" button! Give them the value of your site up front without the splash page.

2) Do not use excessive banner advertisements

Even the least net savvy people have trained themselves to ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable website real estate. Instead, provide more valuable content and weave relevant affiliate links into your content, and let your visitors feel that they want to buy instead of being pushed to buy.

3) Have a simple and clear navigation

You have to provide a simple and very straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to use it. Stay away from complicated Flash based menus or multi-tiered drop down menus. If your visitors don't know how to navigate, they will leave your site.

4) Have a clear indication of where the user is

When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you will want to make sure they know which part of the site they are in at that moment. That way, they will be able to browse relevant information or navigate to any section of the site easily. Don't confuse your visitors because confusion means "abandon ship"!

5) Avoid using audio on your site

If your visitor is going to stay a long time at your site, reading your content, you will want to make sure they're not annoyed by some audio looping on and on on your website. If you insist on adding audio, make sure they have some control over it -- volume or muting controls would work fine.

Andy Ray Uppole is an artist from Peoria, Illinois that specializes in audio and video production, graphic design, commercial art, and creative consulting. You can contact him by calling 209.509.4120 or email him at subversiondesignsolutions@gmail.com

Friday, June 10, 2011

How to run a successful flyer marketing campaign and why is graphic design, marketing, and printing of your flyer important.

As I'm sitting here this morning I started thinking, "I wonder if people know that there is more to flyer design, printing, and marketing than just handing over color flyers to random people on the street?" To be highly effective and ultimately successful with your flyer marketing campaign, you need to take highly planned deliberate actions that increase the chances of responses to your flyers. If you want a little help on how to do this, then read on. I am going to show you some great tricks here in this post that will help you effectively run your flyer marketing campaigns. Your time in flyer design, printing, and marketing should become a little easier and better once you go through all these steps.

1. Base your designs and copy on research – One of the most crucial parts to an effective flyer marketing campaign is the composition of the design and text marketing copy. For those two main elements to become hugely effective at their job, you will want to base their creation from actual market research.
By having some intimate knowledge about your market, the readers and their preferences, you can effectively create the ideal design and content that will make those people respond more readily. That is why you should not be lazy and not do market research. Take the time in getting important data so that your flyer marketing campaign becomes a lot more effective with more powerful designs and marketing copy.

2. Print as many flyers that you can afford – Another important trick to run an effective flyer marketing campaign would be to print as many flyers as you can afford. This may sound simple, but in reality it is one of the best things you can do. Simply put, the more flyers you deploy, the more people you can reach and of course the more successful you can become. So do not be afraid of pushing the set resources for flyer printing to its limit. Believe me, each flyer printed will pay for itself overall. So print as many as you can.

3. Go for key high traffic areas first for deployment – When it comes to deployment, you can be more effective with your color flyers by first going for key high traffic locations. This ensures that your best efforts are driven to distributing those flyers to the most people in one location. So make sure that you deploy first at those large high traffic areas such as bus stations, train stations, community areas, public parks, and even sporting arenas. You’ll have a faster time getting those flyers picked up in those places and then once done, you can deploy the remaining color flyers to other likely locations.

4. Redeploy and repeat if possible – If you still have a lot of custom flyers after your main deployment, it never hurts to redeploy and repeat your efforts if possible. Some readers may actually ignore or totally miss the whole point of your marketing flyers. By repeating the distribution of your custom flyers, you can reinforce what you are saying and hopefully get through to those others who were slow to respond. This works to a great degree actually getting you an extra 5-20% more responses that you would otherwise would have lost.

5. Get feedback, update and improve – Finally, an effective color flyer is a dynamic and adaptable custom flyer. If you want your marketing to continue succeeding for a long time, you should always get feedback from your flyers and then continually update and improve your design and content for every batch of flyer printing. This more dynamic kind of design habit helps you always be competitive with your flyers, giving you the most out of your investment in flyer printing.

Now that is how you run an effective flyer marketing campaign. Do all of the steps detailed above and you will get almost guaranteed results from your effective flyer printing.

Andy Ray Uppole is an artist from Peoria, Illinois that specializes in audio and video production, graphic design, commercial art, and creative consulting. You can contact him by calling 209.509.4120 or email him at subversiondesignsolutions@gmail.com

Corel.com

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Why are business cards important and what does graphic design, marketing, and printing services have to do with them any way?

Business people are always lecturing the importance of networking. While these same people have joined a number of social networking sites like facebook, twitter, and linked-in they are forgetting the importance of passing out traditional business cards.

Building new relationships face to face is just as important as building relationships with the internet and other venues. One of the best ways to secure a face to face connection is by exchanging business cards.
Business cards are the best way to make sure that potential clients and associates have your contact information. These cards state your name, phone number, employer, position, and other important contact information that can be easy for others to forget. Giving these cards ensures that acquaintances will remember your name, while making them feel comfortable with contacting you in the future, since most professionals give out business cards as a means of opening the lines of communication.

What Your Business Card Says About You

A business card is often the first impression that a new acquaintance will have of your company this is why it is so important that you have a well designed business card that was executed by a true professional designer . A plain, generic business card will generally not leave a great first impression. However, a sturdy, professional card will enforce the impression that you are a successful individual. Therefore, professionals need to view their business cards as a representation of themselves, since that is exactly how they appear to others.

Important Information to Include on Your Business Card

In the past, professionals simply placed their logo, name, position, employer, phone number, and address on their business cards. However, in more recent years, that information is usually not enough.
People are now including their website, email address, and the address to any social networking sites they are active on. If you or your company has a Twitter, Linkedin, or professional Facebook account, be sure to mention it on your card. This is a great way of raising awareness and getting clients and potential clients more involved in your business. Remember to have your business  card made to be as memorable as possible and one that represents your personality as best as possible.

Business cards are one of the best ways to make a lasting impression and ensure that clients know exactly where you can be reached. Choosing a high quality, well designed business card will not only be a great representation of you, but of your overall success as a professional.

Andy Ray Uppole is an artist from Peoria, Illinois that specializes in audio and video production, graphic design, commercial art, and creative consulting. You can contact him by calling 209.509.4120 or email him at subversiondesignsolutions@gmail.com

Corel.com

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

How Do I Market My New Business On The Internet?

Marketing on the Internet can be huge task for some people, especially ones who are more used to more traditional methods of marketing and advertising. Doing your marketing on the Internet is generally less expensive than traditional types of marketing. When done correctly will yield great results.
So how do I market my new business on the Internet? Do your research. I know that it seems like that’s always the advice you get. Research, though, is vital to learning what types of marketing best suit your style and pocketbook. So before you start throwing down your money for banner ads, do your homework to find out if this is really the best, most efficient way to market your particular new business.

Planning is also an important part of marketing online and off line. A common mistake Internet marketers make is to jump in with no real plan. You will want to be certain that any marketing plan you develop fits your budget as well.

The best advice is to start small and work up to more expensive marketing techniques. Doing your research, making a budget, and drawing up a marketing plan for your Internet business will ensure that you get off to the right foot.

Some typical ways of marketing on the Internet are:

• Banner ads
• Solo ads
• Ezine ads
• Press releases
• Email
• Promotional offers
• Linking to other sites
• Pay-per-click

There are other methods as well, but these are the most common and useful. All of the above methods are extremely effective ways for you to market your new business on the Internet, but a combination of several of them will bring you the best results. It will be up to you to decide which ones work best for you and how much you can comfortably spend.

Marketing by these methods does require close monitoring and the ability to make adjustments when you see something that isn’t working or isn’t delivering the results you need to grow your business. The great advantage that marketing on the Internet has is that you can track your result easily and respond quickly with any needed changes to your marketing plan.

Perhaps, though, one of the best and most cost-efficient answers to the question how do I market my new business on the Internet is to write articles and post them on website across the Internet. In these articles or at the end, you add your contact information with a link to your site. By providing information people need about topics related to your new Internet business and a link to find your site, you will get a lot of visitors—and more important, lots of sales!


Andy Ray Uppole is an artist from Peoria, Illinois that specializes in audio and video production, graphic design, commercial art, and creative consulting. You can contact him by calling 209.509.4120 or email him at subversiondesignsolutions@gmail.com
Corel.com

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

3 Must-Have Strategies to Stay on the Cutting Edge

http
1.  Explore New Advertising Methods
The first sign that you might need to explore new marketing strategies, is a sharp decline in the effectiveness of your advertisement campaign.  Yeah, you shell out a lot of hard earned cash to advertise, and the public turns its nose up!  Don't wait until your profits are plunging to start hunting for new marketing strategies.

Keep searching for the pot of gold.  The whirlwind of change that continuously sweeps through the marketplace offers great opportunity for discovering new advertising mediums. Be on the lookout for one that will set you up for brand new heights of success.

Here's the rule of thumb for advertising:  Keep 80 percent of your advertising budget invested in the "tried and true" methods that bring in a steady flow of profit, and invest 20 percent into the exploration of new ways to get  your message to potential customers.

2.  Be On the Lookout for New Markets
Be alert! Diversification is the key to staying on the cutting edge of an ever-changing marketplace.  You'll be insulating yourself against the effects of these changes by continuously changing as well.  And hey... you never know when a brand new market will translate into millions of dollars in sales! 

You don't have to go out on a limb to reach new markets.  There are marketing niches within the market you are currently dealing with.  Think of it like this...your market can be subdivided into several narrowly defined markets.  A Multi-Level Marketing company may notice that many of its prospects are stay-at-home moms and retirees.  Hey a few advertisements directed at the right people...two additional Web pages targeting stay-at-home moms and retirees linked to their home page...and they've effectively customized their markets and are likely to see a 20 percent increase in sales.

3.  Invest In New Products or Services
Have you noticed a continuously progressing slump in the sales and profits of a product or service you currently offer?  It's no sweat if you have other products and services to fill the gap.  Keep a sharp eye out for new products and services that complement what you already have to offer.

A bridal shop owner may have a humming business that sells gowns and veils, but what about tuxedos?  Wouldn't it be easier for the wedding party to get everything in one place?  Tuxedos aren't just for weddings...proms and parties call for bow ties and tails as well.  The potential is expansive.

Yeah, you don't have to be intimidated by clever competition and new technology when you stay on the edge, and make changes with it.  Try these 3 strategies to keep you sales numbers vibrant and climbing!


Andy Ray Uppole is an artist from Peoria, Illinois that specializes in audio and video production, graphic design, commercial art, and creative consulting. You can contact him by calling 209.509.4120 or email him at 
subversiondesignsolutions@gmail.com



Corel.com

Monday, December 13, 2010

This is your new information souce on topics including art, politics, business, graphic design, and new technology.

Welcome to my blog!
This is now your new source for anything art, business, politics graphic design, and new technology related. I will be posting articles several times a day on these topics, giving product reviews, business and design tips, political commentary and pretty much anything else that might be on my mind. You can visit my official web page @ www.subversiondesignsolutions.com My company provides graphic design and printing solutions for small business start-ups to fortune 500 companies. Take a look at our services and give us a call or shoot us an email for a free consultation and quote. Act now and get 10% for the entire first year!
-Andy