Blog from Pragmatic Design

Newsletters get your Business Noticed

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We're currently being kept very busy designing newsletters, both eNewsletters and traditional printed mailers. We'll share the secrets of a successful campaign with you, helping you to increase sales enquiries.

Newsletters come in two distinct forms: electronic newsletters, sent via email, and printed newsletters through the post. We'll discuss them both below.

Printed Mailers

The traditional printed newsletter should be immediately eye catching with bold, intriguing headlines which draw the reader's attention straight from the envelope. Large, colourful pictures of people and products complete the look and hook. In these busy times, people haven’t got time to read reams of prose, so articles should be short and concise. Their objective is make the recipient pick up the ‘phone and call you for more information- turning them from reader to client.

You may be tempted to dust off that old copy of Microsoft Publisher and do it yourself. Don’t! Your newsletter should be professionally put together – nothing puts of a potential client more than a do-it-yourself publication.

We've recently completed a full redesign of The Haven Wolverhampton's printed newsletter. Bright, colourful and packed with information, it's designed to tell of the Organisation's success stories, and act as a reminder of the job ahead. We’re also currently redesigning printed newsletters for WOW (Women Organising Women) and Wolverhampton City Learning Centre.

eNewsletters

Electronic newsletters need an immediate impact, or they get dismissed.

It is entirely possible to replicate your printed newsletter in email form, as we have achieved for The Haven Wolverhampton’s newsletter. All articles are reproduced in full with a clear, eyecatching layout. Standards compliance ensures that the newsletter downloads quickly and works with all email software.

Another way to grab attention is to use intrigue. Break down each article into just one or two short sentences, followed by a link to the appropriate page on your website. For example:

“Internet Explorer 8 will be available later this year. But big changes mean that your website may not survive the experience. Read more...”

Not only does this draw the reader to your website, it also means that if they’re not interested in the first article on your newsletter, they can still see many of the others further down.

It’s all very well having killer content, but you need to make sure that your mailer gets through in the first place.

First, choose the right software. It’s easy to simply create a list, and send your email via Outlook. This is fine for small lists, but when you have lots of contacts, it can become difficult to administer. Also, people cannot subscribe or unsubscribe without your intervention – and the last thing that you need is extra work!

There are many bulk mailer applications out there, some are great, some awful. You could spend time shopping around, or you could choose a system that’s integrated into your existing website.

Our Content Management Systems (CMS) include a Newsletter Manager which allows you link to web articles, handles subscription requests, and can send to thousands of readers in seconds, all via your web browser. The newsletters for Pragmatic Design and Wolverhampton Business Network both use this system, and have enjoyed excellent results for both businesses.

Don’t forget to choose a good email address.

If you send your newsletter from DO-NOT-REPLY@yourwebsite.com, it’s highly likely that the reader's spam filter will delete it. And use your name as the sender- people are more likely to read an email from a person than from “newsletter”. It also gives them a point of reference should they want to call you.

Need more advice? Pragmatic Design offer solutions for all of your marketing requirements. For a friendly chat about our professional service, call us on 01902 58 10 12, or email info@pragmaticdesign.co.uk and we’ll help you to grow your business.

Is it time to reconsider our opinion on Flash?

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

With the announcement that Flash files will be better indexed by search engines, is it now time to reconsider our opinion on their use?

Adobe Systems, makers of Flash, recently provided Google and Yahoo! with the technology to access the content stored within the media files. Prior to this, much of the text within Flash based websites was invisible to search engines. Invisible content = an invisible website.

Pragmatic Design's opinion on Flash has always been this:

Flash is like chocolate. Tempting. Rich. Self indulgent. But too much will make you sick.

So why are we against the use of Flash files?

We've documented an overview of why Flash should may avoided in our free "Guide to Choosing a Web Designer", but it's worth reiterating here:

It can take a long time to load. It used to be said that a user would wait no longer than 10 seconds for a web page to load. Nowadays, users have faster PC's with faster connections, and Flash websites containing more and more images and sounds, we think that 10 seconds is optimistic.

Mobile Internet usage is increasing massively. Mobile 'phone's are rapidly turning into mini computers, and 'phone operators are finally reducing data charges. Yet most devices can't handle Flash files. Your website must not lock out these viewers.

You also have to keep updating your Flash plug-in (the bit of software that lets your browser show Flash content). If content was created using the newest version of Adobe Flash, user's will usually need the newest version of the Flash plug-in in order to view it.

Finally, there's a bit of a backlash against Flash. It started because of user's annoyance at increasingly obtrusive Flash based adverts on websites. Many removed the Flash plug-in or installed "Flash Blockers". If they can't view Flash adverts, they can't view your Flash website.

So what's Flash got going for it?

It can be a designer's dream! Rich content, animation, sounds and a level of interactivity that simply isn't possible without it. Plus, if it works on one browser, it will work on them all (providing the Flash plug-in is installed, of course).

So what's the verdict?

It's clear that some progress has already been made, but it's also clear that the results are less than perfect. The results listed on the search engine's are far from perfect, and at worst contain an almost illegible mish mash of tags, commands and code.

We're simply not ready to sacrifice our customer's search engine rankings and customer base yet.

The Benefits of a Content Management System

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:11:22 +0000

For a business, large or small, to really make the most of their web presence, they need a Content Management System. They can increase business, whilst saving you money.

What's a Content Management System?

A Content Management System (CMS) allows you to easily add, edit, modify or remove content from your website. This includes text, images, video, sounds and entire pages.

Traditional "static" websites require someone with a some technical knowledge to make these sorts of changes. As a website grows, it can become difficult to manage. Imagine having to add a new menu item to 100 pages- one at a time! A CMS would do this to the entire site automatically.

This sounds technical

Not at all. CMS websites are easy to maintain- that's the whole point. You're given a username and password to the system, which you can access on almost any web browser, and from there, it's a bit like a standard word processor.

So how does it bring people in to my website?

By allowing you to quickly update your site, you can keep it fresh. This can help your search engine ranking, as well as giving previous visitors a reason to return to your site over and over again. Our CMS create search engine optimised pages, further helping your site's rankings.

So how does it save me money?

Once your is CMS live, you can update it yourself- no need to keep paying someone to make changes for you. Our CMS doesn't cost much more than our "static" website package, so if you update frequently (which you should), you'll save those fees very quickly.

Do they do anything else?

Yes! Our CMS websites are designed to be expandable- we can quickly and cost effectively add an eCommerce store, forum, picture gallery, blog, newsletter subscriptions and much more. Of course, we can add these to a static website too, but the ease of simply adding it to the CMS is passed on as a saving to you.

How can I find out more?

Easy. Click here :)

Internet Explorer 8

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Microsoft have announced that Internet Explorer 8 will be available later this year. But big changes mean that your website may not survive the experience.

But why such drastic changes?

The web is build on standards. They're supposed to ensure that everyone gets the same final experience, regardless of what browser or operating system they use. Internet Explorer (IE), the worlds most popular web browser, didn't adhere to many aspects of these specifications.

Many web developers simply chose to write websites for IE, and didn't really worry about the others.

However, things change! IE's market share has been slipping and Microsoft is coming under extreme pressure to comply with standards. So, they're trying to make amends by making Internet Explorer 8 more compliant.

So why does this concern me?

IE8 may now interpret your website data in a different way to previous versions. This means that your existing website could be fine, it could have a few minor graphical glitches, or it may simply not function properly at all!

Mircosoft have begun warning web developers to check that their web sites will work, and have issued a pre-release (beta) version of the software. Here at Pragmatic Design, we've been having a play with it, and are happy to report that all is well with sites which we've developed. But things aren't so rosy for everyone.

We estimate that up to 78% of current websites will experience a problem in some form or other. The first websites to encounter problems are likely to be those aimed at home users. This is because home users update their software and computers more frequently than business users.

What can I do?

Contact Pragmatic Design, and we'll be able to discuss the best options for ensuring that your website isn't left unusable by the forthcoming changes.

Promote your business with print

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Putting all of your marketing on the web is like putting all of your eggs in one basket. Print should play an important part of your strategy too.

Many years after the fall of the print industry was predicted, printed marketing material is still widely used. The reason for that is quite simple: it works!

Folders

Folders are particularly important if you have more than a couple of documents to give your customers- whether they are quotation, technical specifications, reports or anything. Rather than hand over a bundle of paper, put it in a folder.

The difference in the perceived professionalism of your organisation will be huge, and instant.

Really stand out from the crowd by having a bespoke fold. It could be an extra pocket, the cover being shaped like your logo or product, gatefold... the possibilities are endless.

Flyers

One of the most popular forms of promotional print, leaflets and flyers are cheap to produce, small enough to be carried in a pocket, but large enough to contain lots of images and information.

The ideal balance between a brochure and a leaflet.

Brochures

There's no better way to showcase your product or facilities than in a glossy brochure. A brochure is more likely to be retained than a leaflet or flyer- giving you continuing marketing exposure.

Leaflets

The ideal handout. Immediate delivery, immediate exposure. Effective and cheap - give them to people who are out and about.

But don't forget...

Put your website address on your flyer too!