Tag Archives: Product

5 Trendy Web Design Techniques to Modernize Your Website

February 24, 2015Web DesignAesthetics, Brand, Business, Commerce, Company, Design, flat, Flat Design, Market, minimal, modern, modernize, Parallax, Product, sleek, storytelling, Techniques, Trends, video, Web, Web Design, Websiteadmin

In the age of digital commerce, it’s vital to have a spiffy website. Even if a business does sell its products online, the first impression customers have of a brand often stems from the website. A messy website brings to mind a messy product. In this post, we will examine how 2015’s upcoming web design trends present ways in which to improve websites to make them look modern.

1. Nail Your Landing Page

The landing page is the first impression a visitor has of a website, thus it’s a great opportunity to dazzle the viewer. Many websites have landing pages which are not only physically big, with imagery and design taking up most of the screen, but also large in metaphorical scale. Check out the website of Born Group, a creative media company with an extremely ambitious landing page.

Born sells something intangible—creative services. Their product is the ability to provoke emotion. As a creative agency, it’s vital for them to establish that they produce emotionally riveting content. The image of the ape is not only beautifully photographed, it’s powerful. If a prospective customer were on the verge of hiring Born Group, they would indubitably be swayed in the right direction from the moment they hit the landing page.

2. Video Rules

For some companies, going for a message as big as Born would come off as overly self-involved. Born has an intangible product and sells B2B (Business-to-Business). They need to sell an idea and if they bring in a single project, it will pay for a big-budget investment in their site.

For smaller companies with tangible products, it’s important to put the product itself front-and-center. One way of doing this is to embed a video on the landing page of your site. For example, check out the salivating video on the landing page of Dunwell Donuts, a vegan Brooklyn donut shop.

The video succeeds on nearly every level. It makes the viewer crave donuts, artfully portrays the product, and tells the story of the founders of the business in an extremely intimate manner.

3. Tell Your Story

The primary accomplishment of the Dunwell video is in the arena of storytelling. The Dunwell video tells the story of the company brand in an intimate way. By the end of the video, the viewer feels like they have a good sense of who runs Dunwell Donuts and what donuts mean to them.

A video is a cost-effective way of telling the personal story of a brand. Storytelling is a powerful medium because it creates an emotional connection between the viewer and the subject when executed effectively. For a business (especially a small business), this translates directly to brand loyalty. We’ve detailed other ways in which one can tell the personal story of a brand in our Parallax Scrolling article.

4. Flat Design

Minimal web design is in. Apple’s design technique, flat design, is defined as “a style of interface design which removes any stylistic choices that give the illusion of three-dimensions (such as drop shadows, gradients, textures, or other tools that add depth) and is focused on a minimalist use of simple elements, typography and flat colors.”

Flat design is visually sleek and virtually inexpensive way of displaying one’s brand in a modern way. Check out some of the best flat design websites on the internet here.

5. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

A really well-designed landing page with minimal content looks much better than a lot of redundant, visually lacking pages. For an alternate approach to the donut vertical, check out the site for Elsie’s Donut Shop. It’s flat, minimal, sleek and to the point, stressing the products.

With the internet working more and more as a gatekeeper for customers to select which businesses they choose to solicit, modern aesthetics have a direct impact on business. Equipping a business with a sleek, modernized website puts them in the best position to excel in the marketplace.

Mystic Media is a web design and application development company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, click here or contact us by phone at 801.994.6815.

A Guide to Promotional Writing Part 2: Perfecting the Method

November 18, 2014Android Development, iOS Development, Web DesignAction, Argument, Audience, Consumer, Copy, How To, Outline, Process, Product, Promotional, Proofread, Reader, Response, Revise, Service, Technique, Title, Writingadmin

The Mystic Media Blog will be devoting our expertise into a five-part series of articles detailing the ins and outs of Promotional Writing. The series will cover several topics, including general techniques, suggested processes, press releases, website copy writing, and social media.

Last week, we tackled an overview of Promotional Writing and covered some general techniques for writing engaging copy. This week, we’re going in-depth into the processes you can use to ensure the smooth creation of compelling copy.

WRITING AN ENGAGING TITLE

Where to begin is often the hardest part of writing.

When competing with an overload of content aimed at drawing attention (be it emails, newsletters, website copy, advertisements, or what have you), it’s vital to begin by capturing the audience’s attention. The title of any piece will determine if the reader will continue to read it. The key is to connect with your audience immediately by ensuring them that the piece is relevant to them.

Instead of titling a piece with a factual statement on the subject, propose a problem. By proposing a common, easily relatable problem, you’re much more likely to connect with the reader. If the opening message connects with the reader, they will continue to read.

Say you’re working for an application development firm writing a newsletter or advertisement about a business intelligence app.

Instead of opening with: “New App Makes Business Intelligence Easy”,

Ask the viewer: “Trouble Keeping Up with Your Workflow?”

Whereas the first example incites a reaction in which the reader may immediately reject the notion of a new app, the second incites empathy. Most people have occasional trouble with their workflow, thus the headline is directly relevant to them. It’s a problem they need to solve. There’s no risk in reading on, but failure to read may prevent the audience from enriching their life with a solution.

Check out this informative article over at Author’s Den on promotional writing which offers four formulas for writing a good title.

ESTABLISH THE DESIRED ACTION RESPONSE

Unlike an essay, the goal of promotional writing is not to demonstrate a thesis, but to persuade the reader to take action.

The Desired Action Response is whatever the writer intends for the reader to do after they finish the piece. It could be to buy something. It could be to click something. It could be to ingrain the brand in your brain. In the case of a blog, it could be to engage the reader with an opinion and prove your expertise. Before diving into a piece, it’s vital to phrase the Desired Action Response into a single statement and move forward based on generating the action.

For more on the Desired Action Response, check out this “formula” for good promotional writing.

OUTLINE BASED ON STIMULATING ACTION

Once you’ve established the Desired Action Response, every sentence in a promotional piece must contribute to the goal of triggering it. The process of outlining offers the opportunity to design a piece to induce a specific train of thought which could potentially cause the reader to take action. The process of outlining will strengthen the argument and improve the flow of the writing.

Before writing, create a flow-chart of the streams of thought which would have to go through a consumer’s mind in order to act. Focus on both positive effects caused by the product or service, as well as the negative effects the product or service helps the consumer avoid. As you flesh out your thoughts, strengthen your argument by analyzing how a reluctant consumer might poke holes in your points and actively working to stay a step ahead of the curve by addressing potential pitfalls.

For more information on honing your arguments, check out this cool article over at Mind Tools about analyzing your relationship with your audience.

Upon completing a flow-chart, write an outline of the piece using sub-headings to specify the purpose of each paragraph. Create a logical structure based on how best to order the argument. Ensure that each paragraph pushes forward the ideas from the paragraph preceding it and/or sets-up the next paragraph. Once you’ve created a logical structure, flesh out your paragraphs with complete sentences, cap the piece off with a call-to-action and you will have a complete first draft!

~~RAVICE~~, ~~RAVISE~~, REVISE

A first draft will sometimes suffice when it comes to copy writing, but most businesses hold their work up to a higher standard. For those interested improving their craft, the process of revision is crucial to not only understanding the medium, but to maximizing their skills.

If possible, it’s always helpful to get a proofread from a person who has distance from the piece. When a writer has been working on the same project for hours, it’s hard to get enough cognitive distance from the writing to accurately identify mistakes. An outside proofreader can read without context and therefore give unbiased opinions and observations.

If you don’t have anyone to proofread for you, spend a couple hours doing something else and come back to the piece. When you return, you should have the distance you need to objectively proofread.

During the proofreading process, be sure to consistently link features to benefits. A feature describes a product or service, whereas a benefit describes the positive effects the product or service has on the reader.

Instead of writing: “The new Macbooks come with Retina Display”,

Write: “The new Macbook’s Retina Display screen is easier on your eyes, creating unparalleled clarity in the viewing experience.”

The first statement describes a feature of the product, while the second directly links the feature to a positive effect on the consumer, making for more effective marketing .

The goal of revision is not simply to correct grammatical errors, but to hone what’s on the page and fully realize ideas. Once the benefits of the product or service have been effectively and efficiently communicated with the goal of provoking the desired action response, publish it and get started on the next one.

In the next entry of our Promotional Writing series, we’ll tackle how to write an effective press release. Stay tuned!

At Mystic Media, our vast experience in strategic marketing and application development has given us expertise on the all formats of promotional writing: from copy writing, search engine optimization, social media marketing, web design, and more. Learn more by clicking here or by contacting us by phone at 801.994.6815

A Guide to Promotional Writing Part 1: Representing Your Business

November 11, 2014Android Development, iOS Development, Radio Streaming, Web DesignAudience, Blog, Business, Marketing, Product, Promotional, Service, social media, Style, Target, Techniques, Website, Writer, Writingadmin

Promotional writing is any type of writing designed to sell or promote a product or service. It can be informational, such as a blog or newsletter, or direct as an advertisement. It can be the “About Us” section of a website, a description of a service, or a press release. Promotional writing is key to marketing any business. All writing associated with your brand must adhere to a quality consistent with your company or it runs the risk of deteriorating your name. Although certain techniques apply across the board for promotional writing, the medium spans several formats to which the writer must cater. For our first article on the topic, we will cover the general principles and goals of promotional writing to help you represent your business.

EXECUTE YOUR GOAL

The goal of promotional writing is to connect with your target audience. Whether or not they ultimately choose to act upon the impulse you desire to impart is beyond your control. If you succeed in clearly communicating the benefits of the product or service you are promoting, readers in the market for whatever is being sold are likely to follow-through. So long as the message you intend to impart is effective and precisely conveyed to the audience, you will have done your job. Thus, it’s vital to consider the audience’s perspective in crafting any piece.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

A consumer stumbles upon a piece of writing dedicated to promoting a product or service. They have the choice of reading it or not. Even if it applies to them, it doesn’t guarantee they are going to follow-through and closely examine the piece. As a promotional writer, you have to make your writing as easy to consume as possible. You must consider your target audience’s perspective and structure your piece based on how you expect your readers to consume it.

Is the piece something you can imagine someone reading at work, or is it something more dense they would read when researching a topic? How long do they have to read it? What parts would they skim? Is the piece geared more toward neophytes to the topic, or veterans seeking to enrich their knowledge? Each of these questions must be answered before you write, for they dictate the audience with which your writing must connect.

PERFECT THE STYLE

While there’s no formula for good promotional writing, there are certain generally accepted principles which apply across formats.

Direct, Concise, Targeted: Good promotional writing directly addresses a target audience with a clear, concise message. The message should be defined from the outset: this is a superior product or service. It’s important to be direct by getting to the “What” before the “Why”. The writer must target a specific audience. They must know who would read the piece and what they would be looking for. Every sentence must contribute directly to your message. The minute a reader senses something was written for the sake of taking up space, they will stop reading. Be considerate of their time. Do as much as you can with the attention they give you.

Accurate, Appealing, Persuasive: Good promotional writing accurately depicts the appeal of a product or service in a persuasive manner. Rather than resort to hyperbole, effective promotional writing allows the product to sell itself by presenting accurate, benefit-led facts. You must understand how the product or service appeals to your target audience before you sit down and write. Once the appeal is established, elaborate upon both the positive effects the product or service creates, as well as the negative effects it averts to craft a persuasive argument of why they must go out and obtain this specific product or service.

Smooth, Purposeful, Structured: Good promotional writing adheres to smooth, purposeful structure designed with the objective of creating the most efficient, enjoyable reading experience for the target audience. There are infinite ways to structure any given piece, but good structure plays into an audience’s expectation to clearly communicate points. Every sentence should directly follow the line of thinking preceding it and set-up the next point. General information and the overarching message should be front-loaded so readers who only have time for the first paragraph still understand the point of the piece.

IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE VOCABULARY

Identifying proper vocabulary for promotional writing can be a bit tricky. You don’t want to overload the reader with words they may not understand, but you also must assert your intelligence and don’t want to sound too colloquial. Acceptable vocabulary depends greatly on the target audience. Your word selection will be different if your target audience is a consumer of technology products versus if your piece was targeting professional application developers.

If you follow the guidelines above pertaining to promotional writing style, the flow of your writing should exude the intelligence you desire more than an elaborate vocabulary, which can sound pretentious when overdone.

For more techniques on vocabulary selection, check out this handy article by Writers & Artists.

CALL TO ACTION

A call to action is a statement which presents an opportunity for the audience to continue the dialogue regarding the topic, product, or company. A call to action could encourage the reader to contact the company by phone, click a link to the company’s website, follow the company on social media, share, comment, or link to another article where they can read more. A call to action is anything which feeds the audience’s desire to either continue the conversation, or take action and follow-through with whatever your desired action response is in writing the article. The goal of any promotional piece is to drive traffic to the product or service, thus a call to action is perhaps the most vital statement in the piece.

Learn more about call to action techniques by checking out this great article on the topic: How To Create a Successful Social Media Call to Action.

In our next Promotional Writing entry, we will help you out big time by creating a process with tips and tricks on structuring and revising your promotional writing.