A website is not an island. It needs help and support from your marketing efforts. Just because you’ve built it doesn’t mean people will automatically come. So you need to promote your website via print ads, marketing materials, business cards, email signatures, phone messages, word-of-mouth, etc. Below are a few examples of how a top-selling magazine draws readers to its website:

1. Make the Most of QR Codes.

Sometimes an ad doesn’t and shouldn’t say it all. It should leave the reader (potential customer) wanting more. A well-placed QR Code can be the door leading to more information. Next to the code, say something like: “For more warning signs, scan this code with your smartphone.”

2. Be Specific.

Sending people to your homepage is great, but sending contest participants to a specialized landing page all about the contest is better. Continue the excitement by sending them specifically where their interest lies. The URL should be short and sweet — just your domain.com/keyword if possible. Or send people to your Facebook, Google+, or Twitter page to get a conversation going.

3. Get Subscribers, Not Just Visitors.

At the end of an article, intentionally leave out some information. Save that privileged information for members, subscribers. Send it to them in a newsletter that also features other helpful tips and product or service suggestions. A subscriber looks forward to receiving something of value from you. And they are that much closer to becoming a customer. Say something like: “Find 9 more ways to get website visitors at domain.com/newsletter”

These are just three ways to direct people to your website from printed materials. What ways have you found to work for you? Share!

Your letterhead is going out to potential and current customers, potential and current partners, vendors, employees, and others. It represents your organization, and so it’s important that it reflects your public image while conveying essential information.

What Company Letterhead Should Include

Make sure you prominently place your company logo, name, address, phone number, fax number, email address and website address. Other items to possibly include are your tagline and/or brief promotion.

Paper Quality is Most Important

The first thing your readers will notice even before reading (or not reading) your letters is the quality of your paper. So your envelope and letterhead should represent your image. And your choice may be dictated by whether or not you are printing your own letterhead and letters. Common choices for paper are 50# or 60# text, or 20# or 24# bond or writing papers.

Other Considerations

You may also want to consider including a watermark, using exact (Pantone or other) color matching for your logo, graphics bleeding off the page (costs more), paper colors, or custom sizing. Look online for inspiration, but stay true to your own brand.

Check, double check, and triple check your phone numbers and other details. You don’t want thousands of copies of useless letterhead because of a careless error.

Check out this interview on mobile app usability:

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2099266/jakob-nielsen-usability-mobile-sites-apps

Nielsen gives good tips on making a mobile app for your company.

I want to add my thoughts on short copy, however. You want to keep text concise, but not ambiguous. Titles and explanations should not be able to be misinterpreted. In your editing, keep things crystal clear.

Also, the suggestion about hiring a usability team to test your app is crucial.

I recommend small businesses who are developing apps to read this article along with the App Makeover article (especially under the subhead “One Bad Screen=Millions Lost”), and other news in Nielsen’s Alertbox.

• It’s slow to load
• Slow load times means more people are bouncing away from your site, going to somebody else’s.
• Pages are missing
• This looks unprofessional and untrustworthy.
• Links are broken
• This looks unprofessional and untrustworthy.
• It’s not generating leads
• Websites are not to look pretty, they’re a business investment that should be bringing you a return.
• It’s hard to read
• Clutter and confusion do not convert to customers. They frustrate and push people away.
• It only works with one web browser
• This is an outdated practice. Internet Explorer is far from the gold standard of web browsing, and there are many browsers out there. So get with the program and make it accessible to as many as possible!
• It’s a Flash website
• Graphic and Flash heavy websites are not easily found in search engines. So less people are finding you.
• Customers can’t find things
• Need I say more?
• Customers keep calling asking the same questions
• This is a surefire sign that the necessary information is not readily apparent online. Listen to your call center/customer service department and find out what needs fixing.
• Information is outdated
• Old information, dated articles that are no longer relevant are wasting space and customers’ time. So clear these out and make room for new pages. Search engines like newer stuff.
• There are many more reasons … why do you need a website redesign?
• Email info@mindspringdesign.com to get a free quote and get started on a fresh, dynamic website that makes money and attracts customers!

So everyone’s heard — Consumer Reports says that the new iPhone is badly designed causing weak signals and dropped calls. As a left-handed person, I was shocked that lefties were told they were holding the phone wrong. Jobs cleaned it up soon after, but here is a good example of poor usability. This blunder cost Apple a decrease in stock price, bad PR and some annoyed customers. The negative media attention seems to have outweighed the phone’s many good features.

RANT: Web sites and interfaces in general should clearly and easily draw people to where they want to go. Offer people too many choices, and they can’t make a decision.

Perfect case in point: Even though I love my HTC Droid Eris, there are little annoying things about the interface. Sometimes I wonder if the programmers and designers ever tried to use the phone. Let’s say you want to use the GPS feature and get directions to go to a destination. In the menu there are three feasible options — Navigator, Navigation, and Maps. Now the first two choices seem more likely, but already I’m annoyed that the phone is making me feel stupid for not knowing the difference between Navigation and Navigator. By the way you can get text directions through the Maps option. Choosing Navigation, you also get text directions, but voice turn-by-turn directions are only through Navigator.

Then if you’d like to change your Home screen, would you choose Setup or Settings? Only a tech savvy person would know to choose Settings. Setup would be for when you are first setting up your phone. Then why is it a menu option next to Settings?

The clock feature is also exasperating. How do you edit the city shown on the clock? You don’t. You must create a new clock for a new city and then delete the old one.

The list goes on and on. With each new phone I am forced to learn new things that aren’t even in the manual. I had to Google a couple of things, thank goodness the phone has internet access. Anyway, the point is, test your applications, interfaces, web sites please. Don’t be lazy, cater to the users. They will thank you in the end.

Does your business cater to young people?

Do children primarily use your website?

Have you tested your website‘s usability on your target market… children?

Children and toddlers, even, are using the internet on a regular basis. A website that targets these young people will need special design considerations, but it will also present challenges in user experience. What this means is that young kids have special needs and challenges that need to be taken into consideration when designing a website for them. These include:

Eye-hand coordination

Non-readers or new readers

Ability to click mouse buttons

Ability to use keyboard

You may want to consider:

Having audio or video instructions

Not placing important navigation below the fold

Not using complicated functionality when simplicity will do

Not recreating standard design conventions, this could be confusing

Check out an article in UX Matters that Heather Nam recently published entitled Designing User Experiences for Children. She lists a useful list of suggested design conventions when designing for children.

Mindspring Design adopts the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Designers | the professional association for design) Design Framework. This process is adopted in whole or in part for all our current and future web design projects.

Why incorporate a process? This framework helps our clients understand what is involved in the design process. Creating branding and websites is not just an ethereal, serendipitous journey. Design decisions are based on research, communication, problem-solving and innovation. Our clients are well-informed collaborators throughout the process, and their business goals are a top priority. View successful case studies here.

Contact Mindspring Design at 856-393-0385 to see how incorporating this framework into your next website project can generate value for your small business.

Mindspring Design also has developed its own exclusive, comprehensive 62-point system for creating and assessing your printed graphics materials.

“Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.” — Claude Monet
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way — things I had no words for.” — Georgia O’Keeffe

Who makes your business’ color choices and how are these choices made? (Is your logo blue because that’s your favorite color? Does your graphic designer choose colors because they are popular?) What are the colors in your advertising and collateral actually saying about you? And why is it so important?

According to recent research, people are 55% more likely to pick up a piece printed in color. The use of color increases retention by an average of 65%. Using color in printed material increases readership by up to 80%. And color can increase the likelihood of a purchase by 80% or more. (Taken from Color Your Business: Develop a Color Marketing Scheme)

The colors in your marketing materials involve the emotions and senses in a way that cannot easily be explained. Colors can convey information about your brand, visually engage potential clients, and involve their senses, memories, and responses. So it’s important to choose a website or graphic designer who makes adept use of color combinations to help you achieve your marketing goals.

Before I briefly list basic color connotations, please remember: Everyone’s reactions to color will differ slightly based on their personal experiences. Western color connotations will differ from those of Eastern cultures. Almost every color has warm and cool shades. The temperature of the color will also dictate usage.

Red. Strength, passion, excitement, stimulation, energy, attention, danger.

Pink. Youthfulness, romance, energy, fun, sentimental.

Orange. Warmth, energy, whimsy, friendly, vibrant, cheerful, youthful, fun.

Yellow. Happiness, sunshine, energy, optimism, warmth, alertness, enlightenment, creativity.

Green. Freshness, nature, energy, growth, refreshment, healing, tranquility, wealth.

Blue. Trust, loyalty, peace, coolness, dependability, security, serenity, stability, trustworthiness.

Purple. Royalty, wisdom, mystery, spirituality, nostalgia.

Brown. Old-fashioned, earthy, stability, upscale.

Black. Power, mystery, sorrow, strength, elegance.

White. Purity, cleanness, innocence, simplicity, youth, sterile.

Book Recommendation:  A Pantone Color Resource. COLOR: messages & meanings.

For a color consultation or analysis of your current marketing materials and website, call Mindspring Design at (856) 393-0385.