How to make sure your Newsletter gets read

Creating a newsletter can serve as a quick and easy way to get your companies’ information out to the public. However, failing to provide useful and simple content can result in your newsletter getting a one-way ticket to the junk box. Benefits to creating your newsletter include

• reminding your clients about your business
• keeping them well informed about your products and services
• letting them know what’s new within the company
• it helps you to build a unique relationship with the readers

The key to showcasing what you offer is to provide interesting, relevant and current information that doesn’t bore the reader. Here are a few important notes to keep in mind when creating content for your newsletter;

Tell users what they will get, and outline the benefits of signing up. If you want to provide unique offers and deals in the newsletter, make sure to keep them consistent and practical to the client. Offer information and tips that are exclusive to the newsletter. It is also important to inform readers of of how often they will receive the newsletters, for example, weekly or monthly.

Write a interesting and attractive subject line. A first glance at a newsletter the readers will notice three things; the title, the name of the author, and the date that it was posted. It’s important to catch the readers attention right off the bat so try for a juicy title and not just facts.

Keep it relevant to the reader. Write with a client focus not a company focus. This will ensure that your clients are looking forward to receiving the newsletter, and makes them more likely to recommending your newsletter to potential clients. Engage them, ask their opinion and allow them to comment. Provide client stories, everyone likes hearing about company solutions that are similar to their needs.

Writing for a newsletter can be a tad scary at first, but if done right it can grow your client base, and help your company build on it’s customer loyalty. Once you get the hang of writing about topics that have strong value to your industry, your newsletter is sure to bring in more clients for your business. When writing your newsletter content, the best thing you can do is ask yourself – Would I enjoy reading this?

What does your website say about your organization?

How many times have you come across a website and wondered whether or not it has been updated since the mid-nineties? It doesn’t take long to notice poor design, out-dated content, and difficult usability. But what if that website was yours? Here are a few tips on how to analyze what your website says about your company, and whether or not it’s time for an overhaul.

It only takes 3-7 seconds for a potential client to scan the site and get a first impression of your business. If your website is unable to impress and inform the potential client of what they need within that time frame, chances of them ever coming back are very unlikely. Your website should be parallel with the personality of your brand, displaying your top qualities. Make a short list of words that you feel represent your company, such as dependable, high-quality, and eco-friendly. Does your website illustrate these same qualities? It is vital that your design complements your products are services in order to deliver the correct message to the user. What does your colour palette say about your company? Is the layout simple to navigate around, and is the content current? These are just a few factors that determine how people view your website and your business as a whole.

Don’t think that just because your website may only supply static information about your company, that it has to look boring. This is a huge mistake made among many local businesses, which will only exhibit that the work your business produces is boring as well. Although you may not have the need to constantly update information on your website, it is important that the information supplied on it is accurate, and to the point. When most viewers come across a web page that has multiple paragraphs of content, they simply move on to the next page, or leave the site all together. By keeping your information short and condensed, not only is it more likely to be read, but will lead the viewer of the site to inquire for more information if their interested in your products or services.

Keep your direct competition in mind when considering possible designs for your website. Although you don’t want to have the exact same site as theirs, it’s important to know what people searching for the same services are also viewing. Consider the layout and colour scheme used, and what kind of information they are supplying to the user. Although you want to stand out from your competition, you should also supply similar basic content that will allow potential clients to compare business (and choose yours). Remember, your company is made up of people, and therefore viewing your website should be just as simple and comfortable for the user as walking into the office.

Another important aspect of how your business is portrayed is how it looks when being viewed on a mobile device. If your website was made using Flash, many mobile devices will be incapable of viewing it at all. Try looking at your website on a mobile device such as a phone or iPad, and compare it to how it looks on your computer monitor. If certain things are not where they should be, or the site does not display at all, you certainly will want to update the websites back-end programming.

One major mistake made on many local websites is implementing music and sound onto the website. Although for some organizations such as orchestras or bands, music may be appropriate, but for most businesses it is a very poor choice. For the majority of people browsing the web, having music randomly pouring out of their speakers while viewing a website is not ideal. If you feel that you must have music on your website, opt for implementing a music player on your website that will allow viewers to play, pause, and adjust the volume to the music being played. This will allow the sound being played to come as less of a shock to the user.

If your company’s website is in need of a facelift, feel free to view some of the services offered at Spincaster Productions Inc. We offer a variety of web development, design and marketing services that will get your company noticed (in a good way)!

What is the W3C and how does it affect you?

You may have heard about W3C compliancy for website construction or PCI compliancy for ecommerce sites. What are they and why are they important – in a word quality. Let’s look at W3C in this article and see why it is important.

W3C stands for World Wide Web Consortium where a group of volunteers and staff work to develop Web Standards much like ISO standards. They are involved in defining an open web platform for web developers and companies to follow when designing applications online. What does this mean for you and your developer? Well there are backyard mechanics and factory certified mechanics. Who do you want working on your car?

A good development shop will closely follow these standards, for example;

• Web design and applications for building web pages
• Web architecture for the underlying technology and principles
• Semantic web for the interaction of data in databases
• Web services that include protocols, security and interfaces for accessing data
• Devices, Browsers and Authoring tools to provide access to the web

We will not get into all of the gory details here but the difference in a professionally designed and coded site (versus one from your nephew’s friend in high school) involves understanding and implementing these standards to create a well designed and well structured set of tools online. Regardless, of whether it is for communications, marketing or a business process. When done poorly web sites do not load properly, can’t be viewed, don’t get indexed and ranked well, crash and basically drive you nuts.

The challenge with our business is it is always changing as new developments drives us forward. It takes experience and great effort from web developers, creative designers, software developers and management to keep up to date. The classic Time/Quality/Value dynamic is really at work here. If one of the three seems too good to be true, it is at the sacrifice of the other two.

Infographics for web design

Infographics have become a major part in how we convey information in most forms of media. You’re likely to remember seeing these images in instructional pamphlets, signs, and even geography maps. Recently, infographics have taken over how we absorb information when we don’t have time to sit down and read a novel of statistics. These clever graphics have improved our memory on various facts and figures by supplying the viewer with both a cool image and a bit of neat information to boot.

The main goal with infographics is to allow the right side of the brain (being creative, interpretive), to process left brain (technical, problem solving) information. This process can also be referred to as Data Visualization. By supplying the viewer with small, relevant and clearly displayed content, you can give them a much more memorable experience. Chopping down your content into it’s most basic elements improves how the user viewing that information is likely to recall key points long after completion. A great example of when to put an infographic to use is in a timeline. A long line with paragraphs of texts doesn’t exactly get too many people excited about reading it’s contents. However, if you broke down the timeline into a few key points, supplied with relevant and creative graphics, your viewers are much more likely to take interest and read the few facts that you have listed. Pretty cool huh?

If you’re looking for a new way to convey information and ideas into any form of media, check out what infographics can do to spice up how you present yourself and your business. Making the viewer aware of your message in as little time as possible is key when it comes to the web, and now they are more popular than ever. Check out our services page to see how we can help you add infographics into your next website, presentation or brochure.

Single Page web site vs. Multiple pages web site design

Single page websites have become increasingly popular in recent years, and there’s good reason for it. With the use of scripts such as jQuery, Ajax, and Parallax (to name a few), one-page websites have brought on a whole new level of interactivity to their users. But having all of your content on a single page comes with it’s flaws as well.

There are plenty of questions you have to ask yourself before going gun-ho on building a single page site. Possibly the most important element you should take into consideration is the amount of content you need to have on the site. If you have a ton of content, chances are you should stick with the good ol’ multiple page website layout. When users view a single page site on a mobile device or tablet, it’s not that much fun scrolling through tons of content that takes up the majority of the site. If you have plenty of content but have your heart set on a single page design, are you able to condense it and still keep the content keyword-rich for SEO? Having multiple pages with detailed information may be exactly what you need to communicate to the viewer about multiple services or products that you provide.

Another vital factor when choosing between single and multiple page designs is the purpose of your website. Single page websites typically cater to a single purpose, and aren’t meant to overload users with more information than they can handle. In example, a single page website would be a great fit for personal portfolios, musicians, a promotional landing page for new services, or a new product launch. The purpose should be to promote a single product or service. By doing so, you can strip the content down to the essentials, leaving more room for visual and creative stimulation. Making the visual elements the main attraction, you draw a lot more attention to what it is that you’re promoting in a way that helps it stand out from the crowd. Having a single page website may be what gets the user in-and-out the fastest, but it’s not ideal for every business. For some single page design inspiration, check out a few of the links below, or contact Spincaster Productions for more information on how we can help you build your next website.

http://websitedesignvault.com/

http://onepagelove.com/
http://foliofocus.com/

Why you should Update Your Web Browser Today!

If you’ve been ignoring the persistent pop-up windows from your web browser telling you that it’s time for an upgrade, listen up. Using older versions of any browser can bring up many issues with your web browsing adventures, including poor security, layouts and limitations on what you view. Perhaps it’s time you simply updated your current browser, or even upgrade to a new one!

The internet can be supplied to us through many different browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Opera, and SeaMonkey. Each browser has their own list of advantages and disadvantage, but all are required to follow the web standards set by the W3C (or World Wide Web Consortium). Whenever a new wave of regulations is given by the W3C, all web browsers are required to adhere to those regulations by updating their system. In doing so, web browsers can provide users with a better internet browsing experience.

There are many great new features in the lovely world of web development such as CSS3, HTML5, SVG, faster loading and more fluid layouts. By updating or upgrading your web browser, you can guarantee yourself a much better web browsing experience. In example, someone using a prehistoric browser such as Internet Explorer 6 may be unable to view cool features on a web site, and experience longer loading time than that of a person using the latest version of Mozilla Firefox. By not updating versions of your current browser, you could be missing out on a great user experience!

One of the biggest concerns that come with using an older version of internet browsers is the lack of security. When the W3C promotes new regulations, they are generally to help users participate in the World Wide Web as safely as possible. When you use an older version of your current browser, you are running the risk of experiencing serious security flaws that allow nasty websites to read and damage your files, steal your passwords, infect your computer with viruses … the list goes on. You may also run into pesky bugs and limitations when viewing websites that don’t support your web browser version.

So next time you receive a notification from your web browser asking whether or not you would like to upgrade to a newer version, don’t hesitate to say “yes please!”. A simple update or upgrade to your browser can allow you to reap the many benefits of safer, more secure browsing, along with great features of better interactive web exploring. The World Wide Web is evolving, so don’t miss out!