Entries Tagged as 'Marketing'
Best Options for Real Time Analytics
Published November 8th, 2011 in Marketing, Tools - 21 Comments
Every business, large or small, has a need to know what is going on with its website and how users are interacting with it. There are a number of different options when it comes to website analytics, and this post will feature the leading options that provide visitor data in real time.
Real time analytics can prove to be invaluable when working with social media or viral campaigns that tend to send traffic quickly and in short bursts. In these situations you’ll need to be able to react quickly, and real-time website analytics allow you to do so. Here is a look at some of the best options.
Google Analytics
In recent weeks Google Analytics rolled out a new feature for real-time reporting. You can see how many visitors are on your site at the moment, what specific pages they are viewing, what sites referred them, where they are located geographically, and more. You’ll need to be using the new version of Analytics in order to view the real time data (read more about that in this post on the Analytics blog).
39 Beautiful Email Newsletter Templates
Published September 13th, 2011 in Marketing - 15 Comments
Email newsletters are an important marketing and communication tool for many businesses. The appearance of your newsletter can be enhanced with an attractive design, but having a custom design isn’t the only option. Templates are available for newsletters, and many of them are provided by companies that manage mailing lists like MailChimp and Campaign Monitor. Those two providers market towards designers more than competitors like AWeber, so as a result they tend to have better quality and quantity of templates available.
Here is a look at some of the templates available.
MailChimp Templates:
These templates are free for use on paid accounts. Free accounts are limited to more basic templates.
Useful Analytics Tips and Resources for Designers and Marketers
Published February 28th, 2011 in Marketing - 8 Comments
The success of a website is far more dependent upon performance than it is on looks and appearance, although design certainly has an impact on performance. Being able to use analytics programs proficiently will make a designer more effective and more valuable to clients. In this post we’ll feature tutorials and articles from across the web that will show you how to improve in this area.
The resources in this post focus on Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer, two of the most popular tools of the trade. However, there are many other tools and programs that can be used for these purposes, and while the specific steps of some of these tutorials may not apply outside of Google’s products, the principles will.
Educating Web Designers on Google Analytics
Pro Blog Design has a post that serves as a good intro to analytics. It covers the basics of what you should be paying attention to and how you can act on the information that you obtain.
Developing a Freelance Marketing Plan
Published February 2nd, 2011 in Business, Marketing - 14 Comments
Freelancing can be a great opportunity for designers at any stage in their career. For some it may be a short stint that will help them get to where the ultimately want to be, and for others it can be a long-term destination. Regardless of which approach you’ll be taking, the competition will be fierce. The ease of entry into the industry is appealing for many people, but that also means that there are thousands of other designers you will have to compete with in order to land clients.
In this article we’ll take a look at how freelancers can approach marketing in order to increase the likelihood of success. There’s more to being a successful freelancer than just being a talented designer, and by starting with a solid marketing plan you can ensure that your skills are maximized.
7 Ad Networks for Design Bloggers
Published January 21st, 2011 in Make Money, Marketing - 29 Comments
In recent years as the number of blogs and websites in the design/development industry have drastically increased, several ad networks have been established specifically with the purpose of serving this industry. Just like the number of blogs and websites in the industry have increased, new products and services are constantly coming out to target this audience, and the networks showcased in this post exist to bring advertisers and publishers together.
If you’re a blogger or a website owner in this niche you may be looking a way to sell ads on your site. Here you’ll find 7 networks to consider. Many are invitation-only networks, but generally the do accept suggestions for new sites to be included in their network.
BuySellAds is currently the most popular option for design blogs and other sites in the design/development niche. According to their website, over 2,900 sites are using BuySellAds. In order to place BSA ads on your site you will need to be approved for the program, but it is not invitation only. BSA provides publishers with a lot of flexibility in terms of ad sizes and even how the prices are determined (flat monthly rate vs. CPM).
BSA is unlike the other options on this list in that you are not limited to the number of ads that can be shown on your website. Of course, the number of ads will have an influence on how much you are able to charge advertisers, but you’ll be able to decide how many ads you want to use, what sizes, and where you want to place them. BSA’s commission is 25% of the ad revenue, so you will get 75% of whatever the advertisers are charged. BSA is also unlike other ad networks listed here in that advertisers will be buying and ad specifically for your site, rather than buying an ad that will be shown across the entire network.
The Vandelay Design Blog has been using BSA for over two years now and we have had nothing but positive experiences.
31 Creative Business Cards
Published November 8th, 2010 in Marketing - 19 Comments
When it comes to business cards many designers like to show off their creativity by using a non-traditional type of card. A creative business card can help to leave a lasting impression with people that you meet, and ultimately to more business. In this post we’ll showcase 31 different business cards for your own creative inspiration.
25 Embossed Business Cards for Your Inspiration
Published July 28th, 2010 in Marketing - 30 Comments
Designers are often looking for examples of creative business cards for inspiration, whether it be for designing their own cards or for client work. In the past we have showcased letterpress business cards, die cut business cards, and double sided business cards. Today we’ll look at 25 examples of embossed business cards.
15 Proven Ways to Gain Exposure for Your Design Portfolio
Published July 21st, 2010 in Business, Marketing - 39 Comments
With so many web and graphic designers out there, getting the attention of potential clients and landing work can be a major challenge. The portfolio site is one of the most important assets for a designer, and an effective portfolio site will be an invaluable resource for keeping the business moving forward.
For many designers creating an attractive portfolio site is not the problem, getting people to see it is often much more of an issue. In order for the portfolio site to truly do it’s job it must be well-designed and it must attract the right types of visitors. In this post we’ll look at 15 things that you can do to increase the effectiveness of your portfolio site by getting more exposure for it.
1. Have a High-Quality Design for Your Portfolio Site
Not only is the quality of design of the items in your portfolio important, but the design of your portfolio site itself will also have a big impact on potential clients. Clients will expect a designer to have an attractive and usable site, otherwise they will question the work that the designer will be able to do for them.
When designing and coding your portfolio site be sure that it is getting all of the attention that it deserves. After all, it will be one of the most important aspects of your business, so it should not be rushed.
Impressive portfolio sites are great for encouraging visitors to contact you about their project, and they are also more likely to attract links and attention from other designers and bloggers.
23 Double Sided Business Cards
Published June 16th, 2010 in Marketing - 22 Comments
Designers love creative business cards, and they can have a big impact on potential clients as well. One way to have an impressive card is to use both sides for a purpose. In this post we’ll showcase more than 20 examples of beautiful double-sided business cards.
33 Excellent Business Card Templates for Your Own Use
Published May 4th, 2010 in Marketing - 44 Comments
Business cards are a necessity for freelance designers. If you need to save some time or don’t have the experience to design your own cards, templates can be a great option. many printing companies offer templates to choose from, and you can also find others available from different sources. In this post we’ll feature 33 templates, 11 are free and 22 are premium. The premium templates generally only cost a few dollars and can be well worth the expense.
Free Business Card Templates:
5 Business Card Templates Pack (Photoshop)
