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Need graphic design assistance? Contact us to request a free quote.

Space Chimp Media | Space Chimp Media New Sticker Design

Email Marketing Best Practices

Responsive Design

Everyone wants there websites to be responsive so why aren’t your emails responsive? This is a must for the new mobile age in which we live. Did you know 41% of email is now opened on a mobile device?

Split Testing Emails

Create two versions for every email and then do a small blast to test groups. Once your email message is perfect – go ahead and blast to your larger audience. Sit back and watch your email marketing click throughs sore.

Landing Page Optimization

There are a number of conversion optimization tools you can use to optimize your website like Optimizely, CrazyEgg, and Qualaroo. Make sure you are getting the most out of your conversion funnel with these tools.

Anatomy of a Well-Designed Email

1. Logo

Duh!

2. Social Media Icons

Always be building a community.

3. Supporting Image

Grab your readers attention with an awesome image.

4. Clear Value Proposition

Tell your reader what this email is about and why they need to click in less then 5 seconds

5. Dominant Call to Action

Don’t be shy. Tell your customers exactly what you want.

7. Supplemental Content

Upsell and engage when possible.

8. Contact Information

How can they get in touch?

9. Unsubscribe

Its a CAN-SPAM must

In need of email marketing strategies or design? Contact us to get a free quote.

What are some other elements to a great email design?

Space Chimp Media | The Anatomy of a Well Designed Email Template

Tackling the World of Taboo Marketing

First let me say that this blog in no way is an endorsement of any illegal drugs or other restricted products or substances. We absolutely do not condone the use of these products or substances.

Now, with that said, there are perfectly legal products and substances that are restricted from certain advertising channels. Taboo as it may seem, these companies make up billions of dollars of revenue within our economy and pay taxes like other companies. Thus, we feel that these businesses should have the same resources and understanding of effective online promotion as non-restricted products.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that these companies should have an even playing field. But I am saying that there should be a more robust conversation as to how you market a taboo business.

Moreover, with the rapid legalization of marijuana around the United States and the rapid investment into these industries we feel it is imperative to get the conversation started on ways to promote these types of businesses now. One of the worst things to happen to new industries is misinformation and lack of education on the correct methods of effective promotion. Millions of dollars are wasted in bad marketing and advertising on infant industries during these formative years. Eventually, industries do evolve and a lot of the inefficiencies are worked out of the system but much of this could be avoided with educational information by trusted marketing agencies like us.

This articles sole purpose is to provide insights to these startups and businesses in order to show what things you can and can’t do to market and grow their businesses online. Hopefully, in the process, we can save some marketing newbies in these fields alot of unnecessary time and money that could have been better spent elsewhere.

What are legal products or services that are restricted from advertising online?

Restricted Products Include:

1. Alcohol
2. Guns
3. Tobacco
4. Head Shops/Smoke Shops
5. Online Pharmacies
6. Sexual and Adult Content
7. Weight Loss Supplements
8. e-Cigarettes

What You CAN’T Do

First, to understand how to market and advertise your restricted products or services online you must first understand all the things you can’t do. Once your understand your restraints and boundaries of the business environment you are working within you can then begin to better operate within it.

A list of things you can’t do:

1. Advertise on search engines like Google, Bing, etc.
2. Advertise on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon
3. Advertise to children
4. Advertise on websites without age screen pages
5. Ad retargeting
6. Design ads with people actively using these products in the advertisement

The moral of the story is – you can’t utilize mass advertising channels to advertise your products to consumers.

So What CAN You Do?

Marketing restricted products and services takes creativity and a bit of one on one interaction with individual websites and influencers. Since you can’t broadly advertise to the consumer, you will need to take a more targeted approach to your marketing efforts which should include:

Website Specific Advertising

Since you can’t just put some ads on Google or Facebook like other companies you’ll need to reach out to specific websites and influencers and ask if they are willing to promote your product. Remember, to be safe, try to only advertise on websites with age screening pages or if there are a ton of similar companies advertising on a site then you’re probably “good-to-go”.

Organic and Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Since there are no laws against creative promotion and building word-of-mouth buzz about your company. We encourage all business to be creative online and build organic traffic to your web landing pages.

Organic and Word-of-Mouth Marketing includes:

1. Content Marketing (infographics, blogs, articles)
2. Search Engine Optimization
3. Social Media Marketing (tumblr, facebook, twitter, pinterest)

Do you need help marketing and advertising your taboo products or services online? Contact Space Chimp Media and we will review your company. Only select clients will be accepted. FYI, if you think your product is too taboo for us then it probably is.

What are some other ways you can market and advertise your taboo products online? What is some other common misinformation in the marketplace?

Space Chimp Media | How to Market and Advertise Head Shops or Other Restricted Products Online

To the untrained eye it may be hard to see the difference between a successful infographic and  an infographic “dud”. However, through our experience, we have found that a great infographic design has 7 simple key elements. Discarding even one of these elements can mean the difference between a potentially viral piece of content and a graphic that nobody ever sees.

Element 1: Thesis

This is often times the most overlooked piece of an infographic. We have all probably heard this term from our days in elementary school. Right? We were tasked once a year to put together a science project to test a hypothesis of some sort. There were really interesting thesis projects and then there was the ever over done Volcano.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement offers a concise solution to the issue being addressed and states the claim of the argument.

What makes a good thesis statement?

A good thesis statements will usually include the following four attributes:

• Take on a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree
• Deal with a subject that can be adequately treated given the nature of the assignment
• Express one main idea
• Assert your conclusions about a subject

Source – Wikipedia

Without a great thesis you have no story to tell. Without a story, nobody will share your infographic and it will immediately fall into obscurity.

Element 2: Data

Your data needs to tell a story. That story should support your thesis. A bunch of random data does not make an infographic. Flush out your data in a well organized outline which can be easily read while designing the infographic.

Element 3: Color

Start off picking one core color that fits the theme and topic of the infographic. Think about the elements you will be creating. What color will bode well for these elements? Once you have chosen one core color start building out your color pallete. Make sure to be flexible. Finess you color treatments until you have something that is pleasing to the eye. Your infographic info could be compelling but if its ugly you will have a hard time getting people to share it.

Element 4: Flow

Think of your infographic as if you were telling a story. You need to guide the reader through your story so that they can easily derive the value and meaning from your infographic and come to there own conclusions as to what it all means. When writing a book, the reader follows along page by page in systematic order. The same concept should be followed for infographics. There should be some sensible order of elements to guide the reader through the infographic. Much like a story in a book, it would be quite impossible to follow along if you were skipping back and forth between pages.

Element 5: Visualizations

I have a couple simple rules to visualization design. Follow these rules and you will have the tools you need to make an infographic that gets people to stop and take notice:

1. Design your data visualizations to tell a story
2. Create custom visualizations based on the theme of the infographic
3. Never use stock illustrations
4. Don’t bury your data in text

Element 6: Sources

In order to give your infographic credibility, its important to site your sources when appropriate. You can place your sources in the bottom of the of infographic. In some instances you may want to site the source within the infographic as long as it doesn’t take away from the reader experience.

Without sources you won’t get picked up by any credible media outlets. That reason alone should get you to take the extra time to gather your sources. And, don’t wait until the infographic is completed to go back and find your sources. At that point you’ll most likely have forgotten where you got the data.

Element 7: Branding

Whether your a freelancer, work in an agency, or part of a marketing team within a company – you will probably be asked at some point to integrate the companies colors into the infographic. This is a tricky proposition to navigate. One, because you want your infographic to stand out and be innovative and its hard to do that with such constraints  Two, because on the surface it does sound like a valid argument. However, my advice is to design the best infographic you can that creates the most buzz and sharing possible. If you do this then in the end the colors of the infographic don’t matter.

Don’t get me wrong constraints breed creativity in most cases. However, rigid constraints that will impede a constructive design process are highly advised against.

With that said, you should include the following branding elements to drive traffic and awareness for the company you are marketing:

1. Company Logo
2. Tagline
3. Website/Landing Page Url

Did we forget anything? What are some other important things to remember when designing an infographic?

Need an infographic designer? Contact us to get a free quote.

Space Chimp Media | 7 Key Elements of a Great Infographic Design

Through hours of pain stacking research combing through successful and failed crowdfuding campaigns of all shapes and sizes – I have come up with a digital strategy based on  7 factors that will have a direct impact on the success of any crowdfunding campaign.

Step 1. Create Something Exciting

You here it all the time but it needs to be said. If you’re product isn’t exciting, how can you expect people to get excited about it. The funding crowd needs to be compelled to open there wallets and fund your project because they feel they are going to be a part of something big. Spend time carefully crafting your vision for the company and why you need the crowdfunding communities help.

Step 2. Reach Out to Your Core Network of Supporters

You need to get the ball rolling somehow right? The best way to kick start your campaign and start building buzz is by reaching out to family, friends, and any other contact lists you have access to.

How to contact your network:

1. Create an email before the launch and schedule it to go out on launch day.
2. Send out messages on your twitter and facebook
3. Don’t be afraid to directly tweet or message people you know on social media. That’s what its suppose to be used for!
4. Throw a launch event in your home town

Step 3. Build a Compelling Rewards Strategy

Here’s the secret to pricing. Are you ready? If people feel like they are getting a great deal or value, they don’t care how much they pay for a product or service. So make your rewards for investing a great value for funders no matter the investment tier. Secondly, make the rewards something people can be excited about. If you have any questions whether your rewards are lame then they most likely are. Be creative. Be clever.

Step 4. Produce an Awesome Pitch Video

Oddly this seems to be the most important and common factor in determining whether a crowdfunding campaign was successful. In almost every single crowdfunding campaign that was a big success – the company had a super creative video to support the campaign. When creating your pitch for crowdfunding we find that “how say it” is almost as important as what you say. Once again, be creative. How can you make a compelling video that is different from people viaing for the same attention from community on the crowdfunding site you are utilizing. However, in the end, you still need to connect with people and your message needs substance.

Even though this isn’t a crowdfunding video, I still find it to be a great model for a creative pitch video:

Here’s some tips from the founder of Dollar Shave Club to help you make your own viral pitch video.

Setp 5. Design a Superior Funding Page

Your funding page is where people go to learn more about your crowdfunding endeavor. The content, design, and messaging is as important as your website. You wouldn’t want to build a a sub-par website so why settle for a sub-par funding page. If you don’t have copy writing and design resources then hire an agency or freelancer to knock this out for you.

Anatomy of an Awesome Funding Page:

1. Kick ass video
2. Well written copy
3. Previous Successes and Rewards
4. Clear vision for your company and how the funds will be used
5. Well designed imagery
6. Cohesive design

Step 6. Find the Right Site for You

There are a ton of crowdfunding sites popping up every month it seems like. However, there are only a handful that are worth using (see list below). When launching a crowdfunding campaign, its important to pick the right crowdfunding site for you. Look through successful campaigns. Do you see a trend? Do you have competition? How large is the community? These are just a few of the questions you should be asking yourself when determining what site is right for you. Finally, don’t be afraid to contact the crowdfunding sites. You may be surprised, but if your pitch stands out from the crowd, a funding site will be more than happy to help you in any way they can to make your project a success.

Top Crowdfunding Sites

1. Indiegogo
2. Kickstarter
3. Rockethub
4. Funders Club
5. Fundable

Step 7. Execute Word-of-Mouth Marketing

OK, so you’ve checked off steps 1 through 6 and your ready to get the word out about your crowdfunding campaign. But, how do you create the viral buzz of some of those famous crowdfunding campaigns from the past? Before we get int that, let’s talk about what you don’t want to do.

Things You Never want to Do when Marketing Your Crowdfunding Campaign

1. Sound needy or desperate – Always be creating exclusivity around your campaign
2. Advertise – Remember you are trying to raise a ton of money, not spend it.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about steps you should take to drive buzz about your crowdfunding campaign. The answer is simple – start executing word-of-mouth digital strategies. I’ve provided some basic strategies below but if you don’t feel confident in doing so you can always hire a creative digital agency like Space Chimp Media.

How to Drive Word-of-Mouth about Your Crowdfunding Campaign:

1. Contact the crowdfunding site and see if they can help you in any way
2. Use social media to contact influencers and others that could help spread the word
3. Create a brilliant story that people can share
4. Email writers and editors at targeted publications
5. Send out a press release on multiple newswires
6. Send an email to family, friends, and colleagues

Conclusion

In the end, launching a crowdfunding campaign and making it a huge success is a ton of work. And rightfully so. Money shouldn’t be free. Success is never easy. And to build something people want to invest in simply takes time and effort. The one thing I hope this blog shows is that crowdfunding success doesn’t have anything to do with luck. Your success will come from building a great product, crafting a brilliant message, and getting the word out that your funding campaign even exist. Crowdfunding communities are hyper competitive you will need strong will and passion about your project. Good Luck!

Space Chimp Media provides creative digital design and marketing design services. To hire us for your crowdfunding campaign launch – feel free to contact us today.

Did we forget anything? What are some other important factors to consider when launching a crowdfunding campaign?

Space Chimp Media | How to Create a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

Placement

The higher the trust factors the better chances someone will see them and help make the case. However, always keep in mind a beautiful web design in itself can be the greatest trust factor of all. Thus, smashing a bunch of logos and content above the fold to try to boost conversions will most likely result in adverse results.

Testing

When implementing trust factors always be testing. Try out a service like Optimizely for quick/easy A/B testing.

Here is a list of 9 trust factors that can effect the conversion rate for customers.

#1 Testimonials

Testimonials can really add credibility to a website. Solicited or unsolicited testimonials can be a great way to get the consumer to trust a brand. In order for the testimonial to work, it should be authentic. Testimonials can be leveraged across marketing materials and social media platforms.

#2 Product Reviews

Product reviews give the potential customer a glimpse of the customer experience. Product reviews with rating mechanisms, customer comments or a combination of both encourage people on the fence to purchase.

#3 Certifications

Certifications go a long way in improving the conversion rate for a business. Customers want to know that they are dealing with a business who embraces industry best practices.

#4 Featured Publications

Featured publications can improve credibility. An article published by a blogger or influencer touting the benefits of the service or product can improve the conversion rate. The more notable the publication the more trust it brings to your site and brand.

#5 Security Badges

Security badges such as “Secure Checkout”, or “Google Trusted Store” is another important consideration. Companies conducting business online must be prepared to assure customers that their personal information will be safe.

#6 Guarantees

Guarantees are a great way to lower risks for the customer. Many businesses offer a return, delivery, service or satisfaction promise for their customers. Knowing that a product or service has a guarantee signals you have confidence what you are selling.

#7 Social Media Icons

Visible social media shares improve the conversion rate. Consumers are swayed by social media shares and recommendations made by their peers.

#8 Overall Design Quality

The quality of the website conveys professionalism. It can also instill confidence in the consumer. A great user experience, a clean layout and a stunning design can make a company’s site stand out from its competitors. The question begs to be asked – If you don’t take care of your website what does that say about your product, service, or customer support? How can the customer even trust that you will get there purchase or contact request?

#9 Easy to Find Contact Information

With the web being still thought of as a seedy underground world filled with shady individuals praying on the weak with scams and fly-by-night businesses – it’s important to show that you have a phone number and that you actually have an office with real people. Easy to find contact information such as a phone number, office location, customer support emails shows the customer that you’re a real business and that you’re easy to get a hold of if needed.

The company’s website is going to have to be designed with conversion in mind. Every aspect of the customer experience has to promote credibility and professionalism for the business. Space Chimp Media based out of Austin, TX is a reputable digital marketing agency that specializes in improving conversion rates for websites.

What are some other important web design trust factors that we may have left out?

Space Chimp Media | 9 Important Trust Factors that Affect Your Website Conversions

Best of SXSW 2013 infographic by spacechimpmedia.

Space Chimp Media | Best of SXSW 2013 Infographic

As an app developer you are probably well aware of the challenge of choosing the right pricing model. Most developers choose a price for their app based on competition or based on a “gut feeling”. There are many hours spent arguing with team members, investors, and yes your customers about what you should charge. Unfortunately, developers don’t know they have a pricing model problem until they actually start spending marketing dollars to acquire customers. The app marketing team usually complains about conversion issues and the developer is forced to look at why people aren’t downloading the app. I’m not saying that conversion issues are always pricing problems. Often times, there can be fundamental problems in the product offering itself that need to be addressed. However, if you aren’t seeing conversions, pricing is one of the easiest variables to adjust to acquire new customers.

The truth is, there are clear principles that can be followed to help determine a pricing model that truly generates the most revenue and users for your app. Yes, that’s right, there is really no need to waste time and resources marketing an app with the wrong pricing model.

The Wrong App Pricing Model Effects:

1. Overall Revenue
2. User Acquisition
3. Profit per Customer
4. User Engagement

Why Free is Almost Always Better

Let’s face it, it goes against everything we’ve ever learned about business to just give a product away for free. There is a bit of comfort you get from slapping a price tag on your app. Heck, you put all this time, effort and money into building it. Why would you just give it away for free?

The truth is, a free app with in-app purchases can drive more revenue per engaged user than an app with a one time charge. A paid app generates revenue only on the initial purchase. Conversely, a free app with an in-app purchases has the ability to create revenue every single time the person opens the app; either from ad revenue or from purchases made within the app.  In-app purchases often take the form of unlocking features within the app or monetizing elements within the app like weapons, points, photo filters. The ability to monetize your app from in app revenue is only limited to your imagination.

Thus, for this reason only, free apps with in app purchases simply create a higher revenue per user.

Don’t Take Our Word for It

Even Apple believes that a free app with in app purchases is the best way to drive revenue. Our clients have reported on multiple instances of  Apple pushing them towards a free model. And let’s face it, Apple isn’t suggesting this so they make less money.

A Gartner Study Supports this Same Theory:

In-app purchases will drive 41 percent of app store revenue in 2016, up from 10 percent in 2011. The number of downloads with in-app purchase will increase from 5 percent in 2011 to 30 percent in 2016, According to a report by Gartner.

How to Decide if You Should Charge for Your App

Hopefully, by now you should understand why a free app model is superior to paid. However, there are instances where a paid app does makes sense.

You should Consider Charging for Your App Only if:

1. Your app is NOT a social networking app
2. You don’t require ad revenue
3. You have a highly superior app than any other app in your sub category
4. Your app rivals the quality of equivalent paid desktop software
5. The app can create an immense increase in productivity

Once again, if your app doesn’t meet any or all of these criteria you should not charge for your app. Don’t even consider it. Don’t pass go. Don’t collect $200. Hopefully, by now we should have convinced you as to why free is almost always better. Now, its up to you to take everything you’ve ever learned about business and throw it out the window. Build a great product and focus on creating a community of engaged users that use your app regularly.

Need help to determine the right pricing model for you app? Hire App Marketing experts like Space Chimp Media and unlock your apps potential.

Space Chimp Media | Paid vs. Free: Which is a Better Pricing Model for My App?

A Guide to Choosing the Right E-Commerce Platform

We are often asked to consult our clients on the right CMS software to build on top of before designing an e-commerce site. Because each client’s needs, business, industry and resources are often different there are a number of questions we need to ask and an evaluation process taken before we can fully answer the question of “What E-commerce Solution is Best for Me”.

It’s important to note that there are two main categories of CMS systems; Hosted and Self-hosted. The following article breaks down the difference of both types of systems, provides pros and cons to each, and provides a list of popular platforms for each type of system. A client will fall under one of these two categories. After determing which category is best for you, it then time for you to determine which CMS will work best for you. This will depend no the types of features you believe you will need to be successful. After defining your needs, consult with a rep from each company and determine based on your analysis which is right for you.

Hire Space Chimp Media for you E-commerce Web Design today

Hosted E-Commerce CMS

Defined: Hosted CMS – A Content Management platform hosted by the software provider.

PROS:

1. Lower development costs.
2. Customer service to help answer questions about the CMS.
3. Good for beginners.
4. Easy integration to included 3rd party software.
5. Quicker to market.

CONS:

1. Usually less design customization available
2. Does not allow for custom software development most of the time
3. Not very scalable
4. You can’t integrate with unsupported software.
5. If the hosted CMS server goes down there is nothing you can do about it.

Popular Hosted CMS

• Shopify
• Bigcommerce
• Volusion
• Magento go

Self-Hosted E-Commerce CMS

Defined: Self-hosted CMS – A Content Management platform that you download and host on your own hosting account.

PROS

1. 100% control over your code and design
2. Completely scalable
3. Good for more advanced teams
4. Slower to market
5. In full control of server up times.
6. You can integrate with any software and API you can imagine.
7. Your only limited by your imagination

CONS

1. Higher development costs.
2. Doesn’t include technical support.
3. Unreliability of 3rd party extensions/plugins

Popular Self-hosted CMS

• Magento – Community/Enterprise Edition
• WordPress – GetShopped
• Joomla – Virtuemart
• Drupal – Ubercart
• Opencart

After reviewing this outline you should have a good understanding of both CMS categories and the pros and cons of both. Now its up to you to do the leg work to figure out what CMS is right for you. Don’t have the time? Contact Space Chimp Media for our expertise on the E-commerce CMS landscape.

Did we forget something? We want to hear from you.

Space Chimp Media | What is the Best E-Commerce CMS for You?

Clear goals are imperative for all segments of your business. However, they are a necessity for the marketing team or marketing agency you hire. Without clear goals there is no way for the marketer to determine how he will be able to drive the results necessary to achieve them. Thus, it is imperative for all CEOs to understand how to create appropriate goals that will drive there organization to be a great one.

There are four common mistakes I often see when I ask a company for there corporate goals. The following is a set of fundamental principles that can help you build the right goals for any organization. No matter the industry or size of the company.

Be Specific

Be as clear and specific as you can be with your goals. For example, we often see things like “We want to generate more traffic from Social Media”. I think we can all agree that driving more traffic from social media is a noble goal. However, its not specific enough to wrap a marketing campaign around or to rally your employees to a clear and decisive conclusion. A more appropriate goal would be “We want to generate 10,000 more visits a month from social media channels”. See how such a small change gives a clear scope of what we need to accomplish? The more clear you can be the better for everyone in the organization which brings me to my next point.

Example: We want to generate awareness online

Make them Measurable

Make your goals measurable. If your goals can’t be measured how will you know if you have achieved them. Creating unachievable or unmeasurable results can be both maddening for you and your employees. Everyone has a desire for purpose and achievement. Being able to measure your success and progress is an integral tool in both motivating your employees and achieving desired outcomes. If your goals can’t be measured your most likely not focusing on the right goals. Also, take your time and make sure you are measuring the right metrics. Often times deep insights into what metrics you are tracking instead of how you are tracking is often the times the difference between good companies and great companies. Many companies that are leaders in there industry are simply great because they understand what metrics are truly important to drive push to drive growth and success.

Example: We want more happy clients

Be Realistic

Like any product or marketing launch, you can plan until you’re blue in the face but until you start testing and getting feedback you’ll never know if you are headed down the right path. Therefore, its important to have goals that  are realistic to achieve. This doesn’t mean you should’nt strive to achieve greatness. It just means to be clear as to why you are choosing the goals you are settling on. You should be confident you are making these decisions on fact and deep analysis. Picking numbers out of there air will most likely set you up for disappointment and will demoralize your staff.

Example: New startup wants 1 million users in a month with a minimal budget

Make Slow and Steady Pushes

There are few organizations that were built overnight or that saw success from one big initiative. Many successful organization don’t even know they are achieving such profound greatness until it has past them. For this reason, you should have a mind set of slow, steady pushes forward. Set a realistic goal and then build upon it. Before you know it success will start building. Each year or month you will see it building faster and faster, until in the end you are behind the steering wheel of a humming engine of business perfection.

Example: This cool/hip new marketing campaign is going to make us the next big thing

If you follow these principles set forth, you will find yourself with more motivated employees, a clear understanding of your corporate strategy, and most importantly a business that is moving in a positive direction.

For help setting your digital marketing and corporate goals hire Space Chimp Media .

Did we forget something? We want to hear from you.

Space Chimp Media | Defining Appropriate Goals for Your Marketing Campaign