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Years ago I worked as a writing tutor and answered students’ writing questions over email. We were told to never write our comments in all caps because it came across as yelling at them. This is important to remember when creating your marketing pieces.
I think this still applies – possibly even more so now with the use of instant messaging and other technologies where all caps really do come across as yelling.
Not only do all caps scream at your customers, there is a more technical, graphic design/ psychology reason not to use them. Turns out our brains don’t actually look at every letter when we’re reading a word. We’re programmed to sorta identify the overall shape of the word, which is made up of overall shapes of letters. The problem with all caps is that each letter is now essentially the same shape - SQUARE or RECTANGLE and each word is also the same shape. Our brains actually have to work harder to read text in all caps as we have to actually “READ” each letter. For example, Brighton is easier to read than BRIGHTON.
While the occassional use of all caps for a heading or a few words here or there isn’t going to make someone’s head explode with extra effort, whole blocks of text in all caps are going to be significantly harder to read and your customers may not actually do so. Or if they do, they may miss what you’re trying to tell them.
If you need to add emphasis to a piece, try italics, or bold or a different color or size. Avoid underlining however. Underlining has come to mean hyperlink to a lot of people. Also - huge pet peave of mine here - if you are using a wordprocessing program to create a print piece and it automatically underlines and turns your web and email addresses blue – turn them back to normal before you print it. Since the whole point of a blue underlined piece of text is that someone knows to click on it – that whole point is mute in print media.
How do you perceive all caps or underlined text?
I had a Brighton, Michigan based construction client recently email me to say we needed to reprint the materials that were on their way from the printer – the website on the back was wrong. This immediately put a lump in my throat, worried that I had done something wrong – had missed a very important detail. Turns out in this case, it was the client’s error, but I still felt pretty bad about it. I want my clients to be excited when they receive their stuff, not bitter that they had to pay twice for it.
But… this underscores the importance for everybody – client and designer – to really truly proof your marketing materials before sending them to the printer. Now I know this may seem like the most obvious advice in the world, but really, how well do we proof our work?
Here are some tips to help avoid catastrophic “typos”:
- Read it out loud. When you hear the sound of the words, it is much easier to tell if the grammar is wrong or a sentence is awkward.
- Print it out. Who knows why, but it can be considerably easier to see errors on a hard copy than on the screen you’ve been staring at all day.
- Get a second (or third) opinion. This is especially important if you’re the one who designed the piece. It can be very hard to spot little errors in our own work after we’ve been looking at the same document for awhile. Fresh eyes can always help
- Get a second opinion. Yeah, I know I already said this one. But it bears repeating. Plus, while one person might be really good at spotting places where images don’t line up, but is horrible at spelling. Another will catch all those words that spell check misses because they’re still real words (their v. they’re).
- Which brings me to the obvious one that a lot of us (myself included) still forget from time to time. Use spell check. While it’s not perfect, it will catch the really bad mistakes.
- Pay special attention to contact information. Website, email, phone number. This stuff is critical in a marketing piece. While a typo is bad enough in the prose, imagine how much worse it is when the person reading it is ready to call and do business with you, but can’t because you got a number wrong.
Nobody wants to put out bad work, and it’s hard to take the time to really truly look closely at what we put out before we put it out. But when you’re sending something out to be printed, and paying the extra money for it, take the time. Get excited and stay excited when that shiny new brochure comes in smelling of fresh ink.
What have you found helps when proofreading your work?
Most small business people started their business to do something specific – and hopefully something they love. What did you go into business to do? Work with homeowners on remodeling their homes? Sell insurance? Create custom wedding invitations? Serve the best Mexican food ever?
Whatever business you’re in, chances are that you end up spending a whole lot of time “doing” something other than what you wanted to go into business for. This could be spending time on invoices, dealing with pushy salespeople, ordering office supplies, entering data into your corporate database or working on your own marketing.
Think about all the things you do as part of running your business. How much time do you spend on the things other than what it was you wanted to do in the first place? Could you more effectively use your time focusing on what you’re really there for?
“But I have to do those other things! It’s part of running a business.” Well… sorta. Somebody has to do those other things, but my guess would be that there are quite a few of those tasks you could outsource, possibly for a lot less than you would think it would cost. Not only would you have more time to focus on what you are good at and want to do in your business, chances are whomever you outsource to would probably be better at these other tasks, since it is what they went into business to do.
Take graphic design and marketing (as a self serving example). You could spend hours working on a flyer. It might end up looking okay. Meanwhile, you’ve spent that many fewer hours focusing on your clients and the flier isn’t going to be nearly as good as it could be. Outsource that flyer, and you get a much higher quality end product and can put your own time to better use.
I recently worked with Noreen Owens, a photographer based in Howell, Michigan, on her brochures. As a photographer, she has an artistic eye, and much of the software needed to put together professional marketing materials. But she decided to work with a graphic designer because as she put it, “Could I do my own brochure? Probably. Would it turn out as good? Probably not. And in the meantime, it’s better for me to focus on my photography.”
What would you be able to do with your time if you were to outsource your marketing?
One of the challenges when doing graphic design as a consultant for small businesses rather than an inhouse designer is how to most efficiently complete those little edits once a project is close to done. You know, the “Can we try that piece in the lighter orange?”, “Nope, don’t like that, how about we switch it back to red and try the other little bit in blue.”
These little edits meant to tweek the final piece are absolutely crucial to making sure the client is happy with the final product. But when the back and forth is going on via email, or phone with emailed results, it can be very time consuming for something so very simple. Meeting in person with your laptop also often doesn’t make sense for a variety of reasons – especially if it’s a small project and multiple in person meetings can very quickly eat up the designer’s fee.
So how do we best handle this? Do we continue to do it over email and spend hours making tweeks that should only take minutes? I suggest that web based conference calls can provide a solution. The software allows multiple people to log in and view the designer’s desktop while simultaneously talking either online or on the phone. The
“try this, try that” can happen right then and there and the client can say whether or not they like it. Also, I can do my graphic design here in Brighton, Michigan and “meet” with clients throughout the world.
What do you think? If you’re a designer, would you find this useful? What about as a client?
We all use stock images, but do you know if the images on your marketing materials are actually okay for you to use?
I recently had a new client (a Brighton, Michigan based construction company) tell me that they were sued because their old designer used stock photography on their materials without the proper rights. They ended up having to pay a few thousand dollars. This really got me to thinking about copyright issues – especially with stock images.
It is extremely important that anytime you are using stock photography for your materials, you know how you can or cannot use it. And the answer to that is really going to depend on where it came from. Generally speaking, if your designer gets rights to a particular stock image, it is going to be for only one project. So us designers shouldn’t be using the same images for multiple clients after only purchasing it once. In fact, in many cases, the licensing requirements may actually require the image to be purchased for multiple projects for the same clients. This means that if you have a brochure, a website and a flier that all use the same stock photo, you may actually have to buy the rights three times.
Most of the time, there are also requirements on not using stock photos as part of logos or something you are going to trademark, or using stock photos for something you are going to sell based on the design (t-shirts, cards, etc.). Some suppliers sell special licenses for these uses.
Again, all of this is going to depend on the origin of the stock image and the particular requirements of that supplier. Because of the complex nature of copyright and the fact that the rights offered can vary so much from provider to provider, it is important for designers and clients to have open dialogue on the issue. If there are stock photos or images in a piece, the client needs to know whether or not they need to repurchase rights in order to use that design for something else. They should also know where the image came from.
Most of us would probably admit to occasionally, if not always, just skipping over the long bits of terms that we’re supposed to click to signify we agree to. But for this issue, we really do need to read the small print, and share what it says. Sure, it’s dry reading, but far better to know what you can or can’t do than be sued later on.
Do you know where your stock photography came from?
Surveys say that the number one reason people buy something (service or merchandise) isn’t actually price, but confidence. Confidence in the company or person doing the selling. Number two is quality. Price is actually last. This is true not only here in Michigan, but universally. What does this have to do with your graphic design?
Professionally designed marketing pieces can go a long way in helping with both your customers’ confidence in you and their perception of the quality of product you are offering. If you have unprofessional marketing materials, how confident is your customer going to be in your professionalism? If your materials look like they were thrown together, if your own materials make it look like you work out of the back of your truck, what message does this give potential customers about the quality of your product?
You can be the most trustworthy, professional and quality company possible – providing outstanding customer service. People should have confidence in you. They should know you have a quality product or service. But if your potential customers don’t get that impression through your marketing materials, they’ll never take that next step to do business with you and find out.
Think about the companies that you do business with. What do you expect from their marketing materials?
I recently attended a great marketing seminar put on by Brighton, Michigan based InSights Group and was reminded that it takes something like 7 “touches” to reach a potential client. These touches can include your direct mail piece or advertising, as well as any other contact either direct or indirect. What does this have to do with graphic design?
If it takes many times of a client seeing your message in order for them to even notice you, it is all the more important that you make the most of each of those touches by making sure they all “match”. Coordinatethe graphic design of your marketing materials so that even if someone doesn’t pay close attention, subliminally they can see that it all comes from one company. If every ad you place or marketing piece you put out is completely different, you’re in effect starting over each time.
This doesn’t mean that everything has to look exactly alike, but make sure there is something that ties it all together… a color scheme, your logo, a general look, etc. If you’re going to hire a graphic designer for a new marketing piece, be sure they can have access to what you’ve already done so that they can find a way to keep it all consistent even as you change your look.
Do you agree with the multiple touches theory? Ever eventually done work with a company after seeing their stuff over and over again?
My husband finds this very funny since in the non graphic design realm, I am a very messy person, but I am a huge proponent of decluttering your marketing materials.
This can be a hard one for some small business people to swallow, but you don’t have to fill every inch of your ad/brochure/postcard with text or images. Yes, you are paying for that space whether via ad buys or printing costs. But if you don’t leave white space on your piece, chances are the people you want to see it will just move on by and not give it a second glance. Our minds need a place to rest when looking at something graphic. Also, if you put too much on the piece, you are taking attention away from what might really be the piece of important information to get out to your clients.
I like to use the difference between Target and Kmart to get this point across to my clients. Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with Target. Love to shop there, but hate that I go into the Brighton store for a toothbrush and come out with $100 in stuff. They are evil geniuses who have arranged their stores in such a way to make me want to buy from them. The stores are clean, well organized and spaced out enough so I don’t feel overwhelmed when I’m there. It’s comfortable to browse and although it’s a discount store, it doesn’t feel “cheap”.
Kmart on the other hand doesn’t give me that warm fuzzy feeling. I can go into a Kmart and come quickly back out with just the toothbrush. Granted, they have been trying to change this in recent years, but compared to Target, their stores are cluttered and claustrophobic.
Marketing materials without adequate white space create the same cluttered and claustrophobic effect. They make your audience uncomfortable. And since your audience is potential customers – it’s generally best to not make them uncomfortable.
What do you think? Is it hard for you to resist the urge to put as much information as possible into your marketing materials and take up all available real estate?
