Posts Tagged ‘Web design’

Are You Exposed to Copyright Liability?

Canadian copywriting company, webcopyplus, recently confirmed it paid approximately $4,000 US to settle an image copyright infringement claim, and warns web designers, developers, business owners and other marketers they may also be exposed to such claims, with statutory damages of up to $150,000 per image.

“Like many other creative types in the web industry, our copywriters were not clear on image copyright laws, and we were taught an expensive lesson,” said Rick Sloboda, Senior Web Copywriter at webcopyplus, which provides designers and businesses optimized web content. “We’re sharing our story, so others can learn from our experience and avoid the same mistake.”

In May, 2010, with the assumption web images without copyright notices were “public domain” and free to use, a webcopyplus copywriter used Google images to find an unmarked 400 x 300 pixel scenic photo to complement an article for a tourism client’s blog.

In December, 2010, the client received a formal cease and desist demand and copyright infringement claim letter, demanding the following actions:

1. Immediately cease and desist all unlicensed uses of the image, and delete all copies from computers and digital storage devices.

2. Remit almost $4,000 to the lawyer’s trust account.

The image was removed within minutes, and a letter of apology was sent. However, following several emails, which included requests for proof of copyright registration and ownership, a counter offer, and the threat of additional legal fees and court action, webcopyplus ultimately opted to settle for $4,000.

“While we accepted responsibility and were willing to settle from the start, we felt the amount was excessive,” said Sloboda. “However, our client was caught in the middle of this matter, and he’d be the one who’d get subpoenaed, so we needed to resolve this issue promptly.”

While copyright laws are complex, Sloboda encourages other creative types and marketers to follow this simple guide: if an image or work is on the Internet and others wrote or created it, do not use it without their permission.

“Ironically, since our start in 2006, this was the only image we ever acquired for a client’s project,” said Sloboda. “Had we purchased a photo from a stock image website, it would have spared us a lot of time and money.”

There are several elements surrounding copyright laws that designers and marketers should explore, including ‘Fair Use,’ where copyrighted work is used for teaching or news, and ‘Creative Commons’, where photographers let people share and use photographs with certain conditions, both which webcopyplus touches on in an article titled Legal Lesson Learned: Copywriter Pays $4,000 for a $10 Photo.

“As copywriters, we work with and rely on a range of creative types and specialists, including photographers,” said Sloboda. “We didn’t mean any disregard for this profession and now have a greater awareness and appreciation for the fact that freely using photos from the web diminishes a photographer’s income and livelihood. We apologize for and regret our action, and we’ve created internal policies to ensure it won’t happen again.”

For specific information or clarification on copyright laws, one should seek the professional advice of a copyright lawyer.

Link: http://blog.webcopyplus.com/2011/02/14/legal-lesson-learned-copywriter-pays-4000-for-10-photo/

Is your web copy right?
Find out at www.webcopyplus.com

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus http://www.webcopyplus.com/, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Jameel in Getting Organized on March 23rd, 2011

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The Search for Bananas: Building Better Websites, PART ONE

By Rick Sloboda

In his 2002 book, The Big Red Fez, marketing author, Seth Godin, critiqued selected websites, commenting on how they helped or hindered their visitors. He likened the website visitor to a monkey looking for a banana. If the banana is too hard to find, then the monkey will go elsewhere. Today, are websites making it easier to find the banana or is the furry guy starving?

Godin’s Principles of Website Design and Today’s Websites

From Godin’s critique, we can derive some guiding principles for website design. Here is a brief description and thoughts on how websites today measure up:

Use technology to convey information, not obstruct it.

In his book, Godin described a company home page that comprised a list of technological requirements for viewing. If visitors didn’t have the right browser version or software plug-in, they couldn’t view the site. They needed to either download the required software or, more likely, try somewhere else.

Thankfully, we see fewer home pages like that today, but it is still common for sites to require specific software plug-ins. Website elements built in Flash or saved as PDFs still require visitors to have the appropriate software to view them.

This continues to be a challenge for website developers. Website visitors use a vast array of different hardware and software. Building a website that works for all possible combinations is time consuming and costly. For most companies, deciding how inclusive to make a site comes down to an analysis of risk and return on investment.

Limit each web page to one objective.

Godin argued that if a web page offers too many objectives, you risk alienating visitors. Instead of building one page to meet the objectives of all visitors, he recommends building different pages that cater to different needs.

Today, it is still standard practice to build one home page to handle multiple objectives. This practice might be partially a result of search engine preference for flat site architecture. It is also easier to manage and brand one domain name than several. However, aside from home pages, there has been a definite movement to build web pages specific to different markets. For example, Toyota segments its site into pages for prospective car buyers and pages for Toyota car owners. Webcopyplus also segments web copy solutions for designers and businesses.

Website segmentation reflects the influence of marketing on website development. Eight years ago, technology and engineers dominated website development. Today, companies apply fundamental marketing principles and target audiences’ needs and feedback to website design.

Stay tuned for PART TWO of The Search for Bananas: Building Better Websites on Monday.

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Getting Organized, Technology on February 25th, 2011

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Don't Let Poor Website Design Hold Your Business Hostage: Part Three of Three

By Rick Sloboda

Designers Can Be a Copywriter’s Best Friend

With design forming first impressions before visitors even have a chance to process headlines and body copy, designers can make copywriters’ jobs awfully hard, or easy. Poor design can put visitors into a negative mindset, which sets the stage for a grueling uphill, nearly impossible battle for the Web copy.

On the contrary, good design, explained Dr. Lindgaard, can prime visitors for a sale, and make them more lenient and forgiving. Reflecting on the study, she said, “The strong impact of the visual appeal of the site seemed to draw attention away from usability problems. This suggests that aesthetics, or visual appeal, factors may be detected first and that these could influence how users judge subsequent experience.” She added, “Even if a website is highly usable and provides very useful information presented in a logical arrangement, this may fail to impress a user whose first impression of the site was negative.”

Therefore, it’s wise for Web copywriters and other Web specialists who take their craft seriously to partner with high-caliber, experienced designers. Professional designers have the know-how and skills to set the right tone to help websites gain credibility and trust, and achieve desired objectives, goals and conversion rates.

While many people say, “content is king,” on the Web, Webcopyplus has politely turned down several prospects whose website design was so dismal, no Web copy — regardless how optimized and engaging it might be — would be able to produce the desired value, results and ROI.

Just last week, we told a business owner of a moving company start-up to “invest in a professional designer.” The flaw-filled website comprised a long lineup of trucks, each with a company logo amateurishly Photoshopped on its side. The image was clearly fake, even to the untrained eye. If visitors feel they’re being misled, why would they trust the business behind the website?

Good Design Produces Happy Visitors and Healthy Businesses

Designers are at the core of the Internet’s abruptly advancing speed, sophistication and reach. Good designers can make websites aesthetically enticing and so much more. They can make them findable, usable, distinct, helpful, productive and profitable.

As Thomas Watson of IBM said in the 1950s, “Good design is good business.”

 

clip_image002_thumb.jpgRick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus , which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on October 29th, 2010

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Don’t Let Poor Website Design Hold Your Business Hostage: Part Two of Three

By Rick Sloboda

 Looking at the ROI

Before making the decision to do things on the cheap by taking the do-it-yourself route, it’s important to consider the bottom line. Let’s say a professional website costs Dean the Mover $7,500. That’s a lot of pocket change. But, if it generates just four sales a month at an average of $300 a pop, that’s $14,400 worth of business in the first year alone. 

Those are conservative numbers, but regardless, the site’s paid for in about six months. And the business will continue to benefit from the website with minimum costs for several years. That’s an outstanding marketing investment and ROI. Our copywriting firm has teamed up with designers to create websites that paid for themselves in as little as three months. 

So, while many business owners view design as a fluffy, abstract, let’s-play-with-colours-and-move-the-logo-around activity, they’re missing the point. Design is not art that merely exists. Design serves a specific purpose, forming a connection and relationship, as award-winning designer Gonzalo Alatorre says, “between object, business and consumer.” A good designer can solve complex problems and create a wealth of opportunities with direct, measurable impact on a business’ bottom line. 

Meanwhile, a $500 website that doesn’t generate business and merely shows up on sites like www.webpagesthatsuck.com will only hurt a brand and business.

Good Design Gains Importance With Information Overload

More than 75% of North Americans are using the Internet, and more consumers are seeking products and services and spending more money online. As a result, businesses are swiftly transferring their marketing dollars online and delivering more content to consumers at an explosive, unprecedented rate. As people are bombarded with information overload and have limited time to observe, orient, decide and act, they may increasingly rely on instinct and intuition.

Living in a world where we assume the quality of a decision has direct relation to the time and effort that went into making it, it can be difficult to trust our primitive ‘gut feelings.’ But consider the fact that we don’t need to understand mass x velocity to leap out of the way of an oncoming car. It just “feels right” and ultimately results in a decision with an optimal outcome. The old adage that you should always trust your instincts is supported by scientific studies. 

Dr. Lindgaard and her team presented volunteers with brief glimpses of Web pages previously rated as being either easy on the eye or particularly jarring, and asked them to rate the websites on a sliding scale of visual appeal. Even though the images flashed up for just 50 milliseconds, roughly the duration of a single frame of standard television footage, their verdicts matched judgements made after a longer period of examination.

 German social psychologist, Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, conducts breakthrough studies on the nature of intuitive thinking. Based on his research, he told the New York Times, “When a person relies on their gut feelings and uses the instinctual rule of thumb ‘go with your first best feeling and ignore everything else,’ it can permit them to outperform the most complex calculations.” 

In the book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell wrote about a marble statue from the sixth century BC, which was bought by a California museum for $10-million, following a 14-month investigation with an electron microscope, electron microprobe, mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence. The point is that they had top industry authorities use all sorts of high tech equipment to confirm the statue’s authenticity. 

However, the were a few observers who — in a single glance — felt an “intuitive repulsion.” They felt the statue was a fake. And they were right. Letters used to trace the statue’s history were found to be phony and the statue didn’t come from ancient Greece. It came from a forger’s shop in Rome in the early 1980s, when mullets, the Rubix Cube, and Madonna were ‘in.’ 

Blink also documents a study where psychologist, Nalini Ambady, gave students three 10-second videotapes of a teacher with the sound turned off. The students had no difficulty coming up with a rating of the teacher’s effectiveness. Then the clips were cut back to five seconds. The ratings were the same. The ratings were remarkably consistent when students were showed just two seconds of videotape. Then Ambady compared those snap judgments of teacher effectiveness with evaluations of those same professors made by their students after a full semester of classes and she found they were also essentially the same. 

Gladwell noted, “A person watching a silent two-second video clip of a teacher he or she has never met will reach conclusions about how good that teacher is that are very similar to those of a student who has sat in the teacher’s class for an entire semester.” 

Stay tuned for Part Three on Friday!

clip_image002_thumb.jpg Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on October 27th, 2010

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Don’t Let Poor Website Design Hold Your Business Hostage: Part One of Three

By Rick Sloboda 

Online visitors form a first impression of a website quicker than the blink of an eye — literally. It typically takes humans 300 to 400 milliseconds to blink. Meanwhile, scientific research led by Dr. Gitte Lindgaard at Carleton University in Ontario, reveals that websites have as little as 50 milliseconds to establish a first impression — a mere 1/20th of a second. That’s it!

This is crucial information for any business, since once a visitor forms an impression on a subconscious level, he or she will selectively search for information confirming that impression. People do this because we all want to prove we have good judgement. So, if our first impression of a website is negative, we have a tendency to mainly seek and see the negatives, regardless of how good their products and services might actually be. Alternatively, if we immediately like what we see, we’ll look for positive information to reinforce that impression.

So how do you avoid making a bad first impression on the Web? Easy. Find a good designer.

Poor Design Sets the Stage For Failure

DIY website design might seem like a good idea at the get-go. Not only can you avoid spending wads of money on eccentric creative types, only you know how you really want your business branded. No one loves your business like you do! Plus, throwing together a layout with some colours, images and buttons, while sipping a Caramel Macchiato on a Sunday afternoon is easy, right?

Wrong. Based on 20-plus years of communications experience, speaking at Web-related events, and teaching Web-writing courses to small business owners, our copywriters have come to recognize a common cycle: 

  1. The do-it-yourselfer spends several hours to a few weeks building a website.
  2. The website is launched. 
  3. The website is live, but there are few visitors that trickle in, if any at all. The few who arrive don’t stick around. 
  4. Typically, 12 to 24 months later, if they’re still in business, they reach out to specialists to improve their SEO. If they get rankings, they wonder why the emails and calls still aren’t arriving. 
  5. Another six to 12 months later, they start to realize the website isn’t working and it’s not going to fix itself. Then comes the sobering realization that, in addition to wasting a few hundred dollars and countless hours and enduring unnecessary stress, they missed out on about three years of opportunities, revenues and growth.

Stay tuned for Part Two on Wednesday!

clip_image002_thumb.jpgRick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on October 25th, 2010

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Building Your Business on the Web (Part Two): Turning Online Visitors into Customers

Q&A with Rick Sloboda, Senior Web Copywriter for Webcopyplus

(Part two of a two-part series. Also see Generating Online Traffic.)

clip_image002So you’re getting people to your website, which was covered in Generating Online Traffic, the first part of this two-part series. Now, how do you turn these visitors into customers? Rick Sloboda, Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which produces professional Web copy for businesses around the globe, including Scotia Bank and AT&T, answers your questions.

How important is the first impression on a website?

It’s essential. Studies show you have no more than a few seconds to make a positive first impression on the Web – and as little as .55 seconds. Your website should have a clean, appealing design, with relevant, engaging and informative Web copy, and intuitive navigation and information flow. If you don’t answer key questions right off the bat, Google, Yahoo and Bing will take your visitor to a competitor that does.

What are the key questions?

Am I at the right place? Can these guys help me? What makes these guys different? Several factors are already at play. For instance, is the design professional looking, does it generate trust and credibility? If you get your niece or nephew to do website design and development for $500, chances are it’ll show. That’s like selling retail products or consulting services from a lemonade stand. Also, is your Web copy clear and customer centric? Does it explain why people should choose you over competitors? Or is it full of self-centered, empty hype? Business owners need to that when a person arrives at your website, the visitor doesn’t really care about your business. They care about what your business can do for them.

That’s where experienced copywriters and marketers come into play?

Whether you write the web copy yourself, or hire a copywriter, make sure you flesh out and promote your benefits. Most business owners and copywriters write exclusively about features – what the product or service is, or has. Benefits are what the visitor gains as a result of the features. For instance, binoculars might have oversized lenses. Fine. But what will engage a visitor is the fact that they deliver low-light performance.

Benefits engage people emotionally, which is how we make decisions. We then rationalize decisions logically. For instance, does a person really need a $120,000 luxury vehicle? No. They might desire it for status, which is an emotional desire. And then they’ll justify it with rational, practical reasons, such as cutting edge brake technology, safety rankings, and so on. Benefits appeal to a person’s self-interest, and get people to act. People purchase things for three basic reasons: to satisfy needs; solve problems; or make themselves feel good. That’s why experienced copywriters often say, “Features tell, benefits sell.”

If benefits are so important, why do most websites promote features?

Because it’s easier to list features. A copywriter has to really understand a product or service, and have a good marketing mind, to define and convey benefits effectively.

So isn’t it better for a business owner to write their own web copy, as they know their business best?

Well, most people can write. But most people can also take photos. Take your own photos, and chances are you’ll have an amateurish website representing your business. The same goes for copywriting. Moreover, business owners tend to write what they want to say rather than what website visitors need to hear. A copywriter can bring an objective view to the table.

How much information is necessary on websites?

It varies. For instance, if you’re in fashion selling perfume, and want to build presence and nurture a brand, a few words might do. Visuals would play a key role. But, if you’re actually trying to get visitors to purchase a product from your website, or sell a subscription to a publication or software, you’d need a lot more web copy to make the sale.

As a general rule, web copy should be about half of what you’d use in traditional print, such as brochures. This is partly because it’s harder to read content on monitors and handhelds, and people tend to be impatient and easily distracted when using the Web. So it’s good to keep web copy concise.

What other elements are important to engage and convert visitors?

Since about 80% of people scan copy on the web, meaning they don’t read word for word, it’s helpful to provide visitors web copy in digestible chunks. To achieve this, web copywriters and designers often apply information layering techniques, using links to let visitors drill down to get more detailed information. It allows visitors to quickly access info relevant to their needs, without having to wade through huge chunks of text.

In line with keeping web copy lean and clean, you should kill any filler and clichés. Also, keep the language at about a grade 8 to 10 level, which is in line with Time and Newsweek, so you don’t alienate visitors. And include lots of testimonials. Third-party endorsements effectively generate trust, credibility and sales. Just edit them down to a sentence or two, and be sure to include a full name and city, when possible. A vague “John S.” reeks of spam on the already suspect Web. 

And, finally, ask for the sale. What do you want visitors to do? Whatever it is, it’s in your best interest to ask. This is your call to action. We might be writing copy for the cutting edge Internet, but the old-fashioned ‘ask for the sale’ still applies.

Note: This is the second of a two-part series. Also see Generating Online Traffic.

 

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on June 2nd, 2010

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5 Myths Of Online Marketing – Part 1

By: Ryan Freeman

In my line of work, I am blessed to encounter many businesses of all shapes, sizes and varieties. From Mom-n-Pop retailers to international manufacturers, there are some truths that invariably apply when it comes to online marketing. When it came time to pick a topic for this post, I thought: “Does the world really need another ‘Intro to Web Marketing’ post?” When barely half of all small businesses even have a website, I think the answer is clear.

There is much that can be said to explain what online marketing is, but for this post I want to talk about what is isn’t. And so, based on conversations with clients over the past fifteen years, here is my list of the Top 5 Web Marketing Myths.

1. Keyword Density

clip_image002Myth: It is essential to have “keyword density” on each page of X%.

Background: The myth of keyword density is one that just doesn’t seem to go away. No matter how many times it is discounted, keyword density keeps resurfacing in cheap ebooks and low-grade SEO tools. I think this particular myth has survived for as long as it has simply because it creates an easy and understandable metric for people new to SEO, regardless of its effectiveness.

Fact: Using Google as an example (because they do deliver up to 80% of North American Web search traffic), there are reportedly hundreds of factors, each weighted differently, with the weights being adjusted daily. If you spend your time trying to find the right trick for today’s algorithm, you’re just putting yourself further behind tomorrow, as your competition invests in proven long-term strategies. Also, content written with keyword density in mind does not have a natural flow and will usually appear awkward to readers.

Best Practice: Build relevant and topical content that engages users, on a site that is well structured and easily crawlable by the search engines. Even if keyword density was a reality, it’s no good to you if your site is blocked by flash, forms or bad coding. If you come across any SEO “gurus” or software packages that advise a target keyword density, ask for your money back and run.

2. Search Engines Are The Enemy

clip_image004Myth: Search engines are adversaries that must be deceived.

Background: It’s not uncommon to see business owners frustrated by what they perceive to be a lack of justice on the part of the search engines. Of course, to the business owner, the “injustice” is ranking a competitor higher in the search results. No matter that the competition has a professionally developed website with engaging content and links from authoritative sites, while the offended business relies on  a site built by the owner’s fourteen-year-old nephew who’s really good at video games.

Fact: Search engines live and die on relevance. They are not able to suggest which is the better business, but rather, they offer results in order of relevancy to the searchers’ query. For the most part, that relevance is determined based on what clues you offer up in your site’s content and structure, along with the references to your site in links on other sites.

Best Practice: Don’t try to fool the search engines by playing dirty tricks like stuffing keywords in the text, or hiding type on the page. Not only will you be creating a poor experience for your potential customers (and likely driving them to your competitor’s professionally crafted site), but you run the risk of being penalized or banned by the search engines for employing spamming tactics. Instead, make sure you have your Web pages grouped into themed “silos” of information and write in a way that matches the searcher’s terminology. The more you can appear naturally relevant, the higher you will be ranked by the search engines – without the potential downfalls.

Tune in tomorrow for the three remaining Online Marketing Myths. In the meantime, let me know what you think about the first two in the comments below.

 

Ryan Freeman is a fifth-generation small business owner and the founder of Strider Inc., an online marketing firm providing SEO consulting and online marketing strategies for businesses and non-profit groups. You can contact Ryan through the Strider Inc. website, email or by phone at 800-314-8895.

Posted by Lynnette in Marketing on January 27th, 2010

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