I’m a little embarrassed to say that I’ve never checked out Pinterest until a few weeks ago when I saw a post on Facebook about it from a friend and then heard it mentioned by three other people over the next week (all women by the way).

What is it? According to Wiki “Pinterest (pronounced to rhyme with “interest”) is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections”.

I found out quickly that it was far more popular than I suspected. In December of 2011, the site landed in the top 10 social networking websites with over 11 million visits per week (according to Hitwise).

So, I checked it out. It looked really cool. I immediately signed up and found myself put on a waiting list. Clever marketing?  It did make me want it more. It was like I was a kid, waiting for my super-decoder ring to arrive in my mail box.

Within a few days, I did received my official invite via email and presto, I was up and running.  With a click or two I was able to follow the pin boards of all of my friends who were using it on Facebook, and within a few minutes more I began following other people’s boards that I found interesting.

Interesting is an understatement. For the last few days, I’ve been fascinated by the incredible and diverse content. Photographs, recipes, fashion, art, humor, history, science, crafts, etc, etc, etc, etc  That’s just scratching the surface even using etc four times . Pretty much everything on the net that you can think of (adult content excluded) is on the site somewhere.

Here are ten reasons why Pinterest is the coolest social networking site.

1: It’s visual!  Photos and video content by the thousands can be scrolled through in seconds.  Very eye-catching.
2: Unexpected surprises captivate interest immediately
3: It reflects personal style: Creating your own custom boards and adding content is so easy an, 80-year old could do it with the help of a 6-year old.
4: Interactive. It’s easy to make comments and follow people or the re-pin the pins you’d like for your boards
5: It’s free
6: It’s not just for women, although users seem skewed in that direction.
7: Fantastic way to sell products and even include price simply by adding a dollar sign ($) in the description! I’ve had more success with people sharing my product content in a few days on Pinterest than months promoting items via Twitter. Perhaps because it’s visual media?
8: You can add a Pin-It tab to your browser bar and pin from any site on the web, fast.
9: Follow friends or strangers
10: It’s educational and fun.

There are a couple negative things to be aware of.  I think I gained 5 pounds just gazing at all of the incredible food. Funny thing is, I’m still hungry for more.

Secondly, It’s highly addicting. I posted almost 500 pins on 15 or so boards in a few days.  In the process, I’ve been entertained, educated, amazed and inspired.

I plan on sticking around for a while and see if the spell wears off.

Have you ever noticed that your mood might change when you are surrounded by a certain color?  Well your body subconsciously absorbs and reacts to the colors around you. Find out below exactly what colors you should be surrounding yourself with, the ones to avoid, and what color your next logo should be.

Green: Workers in green environments have fewer stomach aches.

• Health

• Tranquility

• Money

• Nature

Pink: “Drunk tank pink” is a color used in prisons to initially calm inmates.

• Calming

• Love

• Romance

White: Great for creating the illusion of space.

• Purity

• Innocence

• Empty

• Spacious

Purple: Many Kings wore purple robes.

• Royalty

• Wealth

• Success

• Wisdom

Orange: Used to draw attention: Signage

• Excitement

• Enthusiasm

• Warmth

• Caution

Brown: Brings you to earth and the environment.

• Reliability

• Boredom

• Practicality

• Earth

Black: Ancient Egyptians believed that is symbolized life and rebirth.

• Evil

• Death

• Mourning

• Slimming

QR codes? If you haven’t heard of them, seen the image to the left or scanned via a reader application (usually on your smart phone) they will usually take you to a video or web page.

They have been used in Japan for over a decade (invented by a Toyota subsidiary, Densu Wave), and now the rest of the world is catching up.

Why not just have the URL and let people hand key it in on their cell phones? WHAT? Madness!

Seriously, you can’t fight technology so make the best of it.

QR codes are two-dimensional matrix barcodes that can hold thousands of alphanumeric characters of information. Their ability to hold more information and

their ease of use makes them practical for small businesses,  individuals, or any sized company.

When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, IM and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser.

So don’t be afraid of these harmless squares, they’re usually quite fun. Next time you see one, weather it be on a menu, poster or in the mail use your barcode reader app on your smart phone and scan away!

For centuries, man has searched for the meaning of life, the fountain of youth and of course, the Silver Bullet to Marketing.

The first two are easy.  The fountain of youth is available to everyone who adopts a lifestyle of good diet and exercise, and the meaning of life can be boiled down into one word. Love.

But sometimes a healthy lifestyle and love can be overrated, so man turns toward the burning question that haunts him at night:

What is the Silver Bullet to Marketing?

Even companies that have the world’s largest marketing budgets, hire the sharpest creative minds, and develop the most sophisticated distribution channels cannot sustain success if their products are poor, customer service is lacking, or pricing strategies miss their mark.

• Perfect your product first.
• Stand behind your products with outstanding service.
• Price products effectively in the market.

I don’t have the bandwidth or mental energy today to get into a dissertation about the benefits of customer service or pricing strategies.  And you know better than anyone if your products outshine your competitors’.  What I will tell you is that if you fail at any of the first three bullets, every dollar you spend on marketing will be wasted.

Let’s assume that your products are superior and your service is outstanding.  You’ve positioned yourself perfectly in the market regarding pricing.  You’ve even created a branding strategy that clearly defines who you are.  You are ready to invite the free world to buy from you.  You are ready to load your sales gun with the Marketing Silver Bullet!

Before I reveal this magical marketing secret, let me first provide a disclaimer.  Every product and service has different target audiences.  Each strategic marketing plan is unlike any other.

Although tactics of many marketing plans may be similar, there are many variables to consider:

* Target Demographics
* Competitive Environment
* Brand Awareness
* Type of Product
* Economy
* Budget
* And others

For example, radio may be a perfect medium for a car dealer to reach prospective consumers, yet radio has little value for a supplier of plastic materials that markets to the manufacturing community.

Every marketer must use unique ammunition to hit the mark. Before loading the gun, the savvy marketer will have first invested time analyzing market conditions.  Understanding competitors, suppliers, customers, and local market conditions are prerequisites to developing an effective plan. Secondly, every business has budget constraints that require marketing planners to evaluate opportunities and allocate financial resources with the idea of maximizing long term Return on Investment (ROI).

• Competitive Analysis
• Realistic Budget
• Strategic Marketing Plan

You may think that I’m eluding my promise to reveal the Silver Bullet.  In fact, I’m leading up to it.  But I must first warn you that no matter what the plan is, it’s people that implement the plan.  In the world of marketing, I challenge you to seek out and recruit talented people that have the right mix of characteristics:  vision, passion, and creativity.

I run the risk of disappointing you when I share a simple secret:  There is no one single activity or marketing campaign, that when implemented, will propel your company to stardom.  The fact is that successful marketing consists of implementing a multichannel marketing initiative that may be sophisticated and complex.

But here lies the beauty:

A marketing program can enjoy great success when it takes advantage of a variety of opportunities available on the “marketing spectrum”. The synergy created from a multichannel approach can be very powerful.

Aristotle said it best: “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

Your strategic marketing plan dictates what colors of the marketing spectrum will be the brightest in your portfolio of marketing initiatives.  How colorful is your marketing plan?  How many of these opportunities are you taking advantage of?

* Branding
* Website Development
* Web Marketing including SEO and PPC
* Mass Media Advertising: TV, Radio, Print
* Direct Mail
* Tele-Prospecting
* Email Marketing
* Social Media Marketing
* Conferences
* Personal Selling
* Referrals
* Cooperative Marketing
* Affiliate Programs
* Sponsorships
* Promotions
* Events

Finding the right mix from the list above will enable you to create your Marketing Masterpiece. When your plan is finally set, it’s time to put the brightest people to work on the most critical pieces of your plan. (BTW…every piece is critical)

And thus the Silver Bullet:

Hard work (creating and implementing strategic marketing plans) that is performed by exceptional people and  sustained over a long period of time.

(Note:  The best get rich quick schemes take about 10 – 20 years.)

You were afraid I was going to say something like that!  Hard Work?  UGH!  But the truth is that successful businesses have superior products and service.  They recruit bright people with energy, passion and creativity.  They take the time to analyze the market and work hard to improve their business.  Successful businesses invest in marketing to create and communicate value to their target audience.  They achieve this by creating and implementing a strategic marketing plan is comprehensive and measurable.

It may take a Herculean effort to achieve marketing nirvana.  But if it were easy, the market would be flooded with many more competitors… and then it wouldn’t be that easy after all.

John Urogdy writes for the Ink-Spot and owns and operates a Website Development and Marketing firm in Michigan called Black Ink!

One important resource for designers are Photoshop brushes. Brushes not only contribute in sparkling your designs, but they also save a lot of time to come up with some of our desired effects as opposed to having to recreate these effects from scratch. I’ve created 16 Spatters Brushes for the readers of the Ink Spot. This is actually the first brush set I’ve created so watch out for more brush set in the future!

Download the Hi-Resolution Paint Strokes & Spatters Brush Set

You’ve done it all!  You’ve created excellent products and services, have launched a fully optimized website that competitors drool over, created successful ads, brochures and armed your team with dazzling sales collateral.  You are a star in your local community and have even become a social media wizard.

The phones are ringing and prospects are inquiring.  You have a substantial investment in developing your business and marketing it well.

Warning:  It’s important once you’ve expended all of this entrepreneurial energy to drive down the field to the goal line, that you SCORE!

Many companies come up short just when it matters the most. How an organization handles customer inquiries is paramount to it’s overall success.  The game just begins when the phone rings.

Here are some things to think about that may help you recognize opportunities to close more deals.

Price is important, but only to a small extend.  If you lose a potential client due to price, you have done a poor job differentiating your products and services from competitors.  At least in the mind of the buyer.

A client wants more than a product or service.  Of course they want the best product for their dollar.  But they also want the intangible aspects that come with the product.

Clients want the finest products and exceptional customer service. They want and demand:

* Responsiveness
* Friendly Service
* Expertise

They want to work with and buy from people who they can trust.

Fast: Yes, you’d better get back to your prospect fast before others do.
One of the biggest turn offs in business is slow response.  In the mind of the customer, you have sent a clear message that their inquiry is just not that important.

Friendly: You are selling yourself.  If a client likes you, she’ll do business with you.  Smile when you talk!  Let your personality shine through.  If you have no personality, go back with the guys in R&D and hire a salesperson.

Educational: People want to do business with experts.  If you take the time to educate, you may be earning a client for life.

If you stand behind your work and can convey this to your prospects, they will trust you and do business with you.

The good news is that, most people are willing to pay a premium for better service.  If you invest a little time in understanding and enhancing the customer experience at each touch-point, your return on this investment will be handsome.

A couple more things to think about:

How can you add value to the services you provide?
How can you over-deliver and exceed customer expectations?
How can you better train your business partners and employees to become customer service superstars?

As a final thought:

Your best salespeople are your current clients.  Incorporate the use of references and testimonials as part of your sales plan.  And if you create a customer loyalty initiative or a referral rewards program, you are one step closer to Winning clients for life.

For more information on improving customer service or sales, please contact Black Ink for a responsive, friendly, and educational consultation.

www.Think-Black-Ink.com

In the brutally competitive environment of the World Wide Web, it all boils down to  SERPS (Search Engine Results Placements).

Simply stated, when a random person surfing the net, types in a specific key word or phrase (that relates to your website) into a major search engine such as Google, Yahoo or Bing, you would love for the search engine to place your site on the first page of their results, preferably near the top of the page.

SERPS Up! Ride the SEO wave to page #1

Getting there isn’t easy, unless you shell out big bucks to surpass the organic search results and compete in the Pay Per Click world.

SEO, commonly know as Search Engine Optimization is an art and a science.  But now is not the time to write a  a dissertation about SEO.  This post is for readers who may be new to SEO and are looking for a few tips to get their sites on the right track.

Keep in mind that SEO is not a one time thing.  The SEO landscape is forever changing and savvy web masters work on SEO every week.   But you need not despair.  Once you handle the basics, you are well on your way to getting your site noticed by more people.

If you have been ignoring SEO, you may have been ignoring thousands of potential site visitors who have been trying to find you.  This may be the time for you to begin riding the wave to the top of page #1 on Google.  Serps UP!

Here are 15 tips to get you started:

1:  Don’t guess at the keywords and phrases you wish to target.  There are tools available and strategies for selecting keywords that will be most effective for you.  For starters, check out keywords targeted by your competitors in the top Google spots by looking at their Meta Tags.

2: Complete the Meta-Tags for every page on your site, treating each page as a unique site.  A well-optimized site will attract visitors to land on many of your internal pages as well as your home page.

3: Keep the Title Tag under 60 characters and include your targeted keywords.  Note:  Your title tag shows up in your placement.

4:  Use your keywords twice in your description, but make sure writing flows naturally. Note: Your description also shows up in your placement, following the title.

5: Robot tags:  Make sure your robot tags = ALL   This encourages those search engine spiders to crawl through all of your pages and index each one.

6: If possible, include keywords in your URL.

7: Content is King!  Include keywords and phrases within your  content.  Use them twice per page, in the first and last 30 words.

8: Use Bold and Italics formatting on your keywords.

9:  Place keywords on the footer of every page

10:  Use internal links throughout your site.  Use your pages to promote other pages on your site.

11: Implement a strategy for acquiring backlinks to your site.  The higher the quality of the sites that are linking to yours, the better. Quality sites are those with high Google Page Ranks, have many backlinks of their own and have related content and similar Meta Tags as your own.

12: Create an XML site map.  Spiders love these.

13: Complete ALT tags for every graphic and photo and include your keywords along with the image description.  Adding captions is a plus too.

14: Use Press Releases, Blogs and Social Media as an ongoing strategy of keeping content fresh and driving site traffic.

15: SEO is meaningless if your website is weak.  If necessary, create a fresh new site that has clean navigation and is content rich.  No point in driving people to a site that does not engage them.

There is a lot more to it than that but handling the SEO basics will keep you busy for a little while.

Surf in Peace!

John Urogdy

For more information about SEO or if your need a new website, feel free to contact me at Black Ink for a free Think Tank Consultation.

Do you find yourself trying to save time when it comes to your projects, or in general when you are on the computer. Well have no fear, shortcuts are here!

Have you ever watched a designer or a tech savvy person on the computer, you might notice that they try and avoid the mouse as much as possible. Here are just some of the sort cuts that work great.

Photoshop:
ctrl + T = Free Transform
ctrl + E = Merge Layers
ctrl + G = Group
ctrl + Z = undo
ctrl + ALT + Shift + S = Save for Web
ctrl + S = Save*
*Hit ctrl+S often to save your work.

Illustrator:
ctrl + Spacebar = zoom in
ctrl + Spacebar + ALT = zoom out
ctrl + 7 = Clipping Mask
ctrl + ALT = Clone
Spacebar + Click and Drag = Directional Screen Movement
ctrl + z = undo
ctrl + 2 = Lock Selected work

Dreamweaver:
ALT + F11 = Live View
Shift + F7 = Check Spelling
F12 = Preview in Primary Browser
Shift + F12 = Preview in Secondary Browser
ctrl + ALT + Shift + N = New Folder

FireFox:
ALT + Left Arrow + Backspace = Back Page
ctrl + shift + R = Reload (override cache)
ALT + home = Home Page
ctrl + A = Select All
ctrl + T = New Tab

Windows 7:
Windows key + M = Minimize all windows
Windows key + R = Open RUN dialog
Windows key + Spacebar = Make windows transparent to see desktop
ALT + Tab = Switch between open windows**(My personal fav)
Windows key + Plus/Minus = Zoom in & Out

If you haven’t discovered the power of Twitter for driving traffic to your websites and blogs, maybe now is the time to take the plunge.  And even if you are a Twittering Fool (that’s a compliment), there may a trick or two here for you, too.

For this blog post, I want to keep it simple. There are four tools that I use anytime the Twitter bug strikes me.  Now, I’m not one of those Twitter Fools that spends the entire day Tweeting my little heart out, but I do use Twitter for three important things:

A:  I visit Twitter to get breaking news about any subject or event happening on the planet.  Sometimes it takes a little nosing around to separate fact from fiction, but for the most part Twitter is a powerful source for real time news.

B:  I visit Twitter when I need answers or advice about business topics or just about anything else. It’s a fantastic networking site filled with a gazillion interesting people. For me its pretty simple: Facebook is for friends and people I know personally, while Twitter is comprised of millions strangers .  I personally know very few people that I follow or that follow me on Twitter.

C:  I visit Twitter to share interesting content that I stumble upon and to promote my blogs and webpages.  Twitter is the quintessential site for sharing information via links.

If you want to make Twitter an effective tool, you really just need three things:  Qualified followers, interesting content and the ability to deliver content easily.

Gathering Followers: The best way to get people to follow you is to first follow them.  You can accomplish this by adding people one at a time or by using tools to manage followers.

Twitter Tool #1:  Twitter Adder: http://tweetadder.com
I use this tool to follow people based on specific keywords listed on their profiles.  Better yet, I can unfollow people who don’t follow me back.  It saves me a ton of time and I can build strong Twitter bases for myself and my clients relatively quickly.

Content is King: Face it, except for your mother, the only reason that people will click on your tweets or subscribe to your blog is because of content.  You need to either provide news, entertainment or information that is relevant.

If you have been writing content and saving it up or have a roomful of writers slaving away on your behalf, you’re set; but if you are like everyone else, you you must seek interesting content to share.

Retweeting great tweets of other people is a good start, but the best way find content is to subscribe to blogs, news feeds, and Google Alerts that are relevant to your business or blog.  When you find great content, compose a tweet and share the link.

Twitter  Tool #2:  Feedly: http://www.feedly.com
Feedly is web application that turns Google Reader into a web magazine. Content from your RSS feeds, alerts and Twitter streams are presented beautifully in a graphical layout. Navigation is a breeze. Kick back and let that  killer content come streaming in.

Twitter  Tool #3:  Tiny URL:   http://tinyurl.com
Tiny URL takes big long URLS and makes them…well, tiny.  If you use Twitter, you’ll need a tool like this to save space.  On Twitter, 160 characters is all ya get.

Delivering the goods: Let’s wrap this up with a tool that will help you manage all of your social networking accounts in one place.

Twitter  Tool #4:  The TweetDeck: http://www.tweetdeck.com
TweetDeck is a real-time browser that lets you read content from a variety of social networks including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz and others.  You can send a post from one or all at once.  It’s a great tool if are managing several Twitter accounts. Perfect addition to your desktop and smart phone.

Note: I receive no compensation  for any of the tools I mentioned.  I just like them.

It’s your turn, fool.  What Twitter tools do you love?  Post a comment and let us know or become a guest blogger on the Ink Spot!

Think Black Ink!  Follow our Tweets!

Visit Black Ink!

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