I recently found a video that sums up the title of the post.

I found this video to be very humorous and bang on. Why is working in the service industry any different than in a retail setting? One wouldn’t go into a grocery store and negotiate the price of bananas with the produce manager. Yes, bananas are about $1.50, a little bit less expensive than a $2000 website.  However, skilled trade is priced on well, one’s skill and time to execute. Outsourcing, overhead costs, changes, revisions, back and forth, telephone calls, emails and meetings are all factored in.

A service man recently charged me $90 just to take a look at our broken fridge. That was just to look at it. We would have to pay extra for him to fix it. I found this cost to be a little disturbing. Then I re-watched this video, and bit my tongue.

When you set out to have your website designed by the experts, you usually think of the graphic designer and the web designer…but what about the copywriter?

Everyone can throw some words together…right? But can you throw those words together in a way that will capture your audience and have them wanting more? Do you understand the basics of SEO? Chances are your answers are NO! The following are some points that may come to mind when you are faced with the decision of whether or not to write your own web copy or to leave it to an expert.

I can write, so I will do it myself! Of course, you can write, but if you hire a reputable and trained copywriter, they will have had some sort of writing background and training. We’re not saying that you need to have a formal English or Journalism Degree to know how to write the content for your website, but your copywriter will. This is a definite advantage when it comes to writing those words that will ultimately make your product or service shine.

A copywriter can never write about my business the way I can! It is a definite fact that you know your business best. A copywriter however, is trained to interview you to find out everything they need to know about your service and/or product and the tone in which you want your website to be written in. The copywriter will work closely with you at all stages to be sure that what they are producing is what you have envisioned. The same way you are an expert at your business, the copywriter is an expert at theirs.

I can just have someone within my company to write for me! Another point to consider is that it is a great benefit to have someone outside of your business do your writing. Since the writer is on the outside looking in, they will see your business the same way your potential customers do and can give you valuable new perspective and fresh ideas.

I want to save money! You many think that by not hiring a professional writer that you are saving yourself time and money. In the end, this decision may cost you. Why?

• A copywriter will have some sort of SEO knowledge and they will write your web copy so it brings much wanted traffic to your website
• The copywriter is familiar with working within time lines so they will finish your project requirements in a fraction of the time it will take you to do it.
• The copywriter has one focus and one focus only: to write dynamic copy for your website. You on the other hand as a business owner are probably wearing many hats. Why add another one when you can have a professional focused solely on this important task?

In closing, it may seem tempting to just write your copy, but please consider the preceding points. Nothing beats a well-written website when it comes to the competition and impressing prospective customers.

QK Collective offers a variety of copy writing services and we’d love to help you out with your next project. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you with your copy writing needs.

Every business owner is aware that connecting with clientele/customers on a regular basis is a very important thing. Many businesses however, simply don’t have the time or the skills necessary to develop essential written communications that are crucial for their success. So what’s a business owner to do? Hiring a ghostwriter may be the ideal solution.

So what is a ghost writer? A ghost writer is a trained writer that will work closely with you to custom write important communications on your behalf. The ghost writer will do any additional research to learn all they need to know in order to complete the project properly.  Depending on the ghost writer’s specialty, they can write a wide range of documents for you such as blog posts, newsletters, brochures, website content and much more.

How can your business benefit from a ghost writer? Once the project is complete and handed over to you, it becomes your property. You are not obligated to credit the work to the ghost writer (unless alternate arrangements were made up front). This in turn will portray your business as well spoken, professional and organized which will be a huge advantage to your company.

QK Collective offers ghost writing services and we’d love to help you out with your next project! Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you with your ghost writing and/or copy writing needs.

Gone are the days where a company simply had a website that displayed their services. These stagnant websites would have some consider them “dead”. Business owners and corporations must update their information weekly, daily, or even hourly to keep their business “up to date”. The sign of Social Media on any site will spark an an immediate “oooh they are alive” signal to any reader.

Social media is not a new thing to most business marketing plans – it is marketing in the world we live in today. Social media should not be the only marketing you do, but does need to be integrated into your current marketing strategy. There are thousands of social media sites with the obvious ones below. The following are some we at QK Collective recommend as giving the best return on investment for the time and money you will spend.

Twitter.com

If you have been living under a rock, chances are you have still heard of Twitter. Twitter connects like-minded people and develops relationships, all within 140 characters. It is becoming a major way to drive traffic to small business websites. Twitter also works very well with your blog by allowing you to share links to your blog posts with your Twitter followers. But beware, within the Twitterworld, there are even more “unspoken” rules. A quick google search pulled this up:

With that said, there is also nothing more annoying that posting every 5 minutes about a 50% sale that you are holding.  Once or twice is enough. Also, get a little personal, tell your followers what you are doing, and not just what your business is doing (but please, do we really need to know if you are waiting for a bus or stuck in traffic?)  Bottom Line, don’t be a faceless business on Twitter, but don’t overly advertise every 10 minutes.

Follow us

www.twitter.com/kayzoe
www.twitter.com/marinaduque

Facebook.com
We find it a little weird that large corporations ban their employees from facebook. Although yes, it can be a time waster 80% of the time,  but advertising on facebook  does have it’s advantages whether it be advertising through someone’s status, a note, a fanpage, etc. It is essentially FREE advertising. Take for example the Susan Boyle phenomenon, the facebook fan pages for her had an average  of 50 comments PER SECOND! I know this because I sat there for 5 minutes and hit refresh every 2 seconds. Just imagine those stats on your business (and if it ever went viral!).  Facebook is where your target market is networking and spending their free time. A business/fan page can allow your small business to build a community and build a brand. Update your fan page regularly.

Become our fan:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kayzoe-Designs/156083674500

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Q-graphique/130601412903

LinkedIn.com
LinkedIn is also another avenue and allows professionals to display their credentials, and allows you to set up LinkedIn Groups around your business.

YouTube.com
YouTube is a great means to display videos that relate to your business, such as product demonstrations. It’s as simple as uploading your video and posting it your website.

Watch one of our wacky videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZED_Jph6Y8k

Don’t be scared and hold off the social media. Many clients tell us that they still need to learn the technology, or don’t have time to upkeep.  But really, every second you procrastinate, you are losing vital audience. Our best advice for you is to just do it. If you have a keyboard and a monitor and 15 minutes of your time per day, there is little else to know.

To set up your website with social media, contact us at info@qkcollective.com

Can you update your site yourself? If you can’t, or you don’t – you need to and you should! The fact is that search engines like Google absolutely adore fresh, valuable content on websites – so the more content you add and the fresher your site is, the higher the chance that you’ll rank highly in search results – meaning more customers and more profits.

Now, the next question is – what to write?  This is the hardest bit, so we’ve prepared three strategies to help you figure out what to write about.

• Think about what’s been happening in the last month in your business. Did you make any milestones in terms of customers, profit numbers, product releases or new staff hires? Write about them! Customers love to read positive things about your business – it shows you’re authentic and successful, which are good signs for any business.
• Did something special or interesting happen to you that taught you a positive lesson you could share? Maybe you went to the coffee shop and were really “wowed” by their customer service. Perhaps they even inspired you to improve your own service. Share these stories with your customers on a blog post! They’re fun, interesting and they say a lot about the things your business values.
• Think about what’s going to happen in the next month – is there anything interesting? Are you going to receive your 1000th order? Are you about to receive a huge shipment or discount frisbees? Tell your customers and build up some excitement!

There’s always something to write, just remember the golden rules of content and you’ll be fine:

• Is the content relevant to your customers or your business?
• Does the content add value to your customers?

Want to start putting these suggestions into action today?  Check out our new product, www.zebrabuilder.com, to find out how easy it can be.

Does all this sound hard? Well, once upon it time it was hard to update and manage your own website. But with our online business platform, Zebra Builder,  it’s simple and intuitive. You can use a range of simple tools to add content. Here’s just a few:

Blogs
You can build a blog – which is like an online diary – quickly and easily under Website -> Blogs. With a blog, you can post thoughts, ideas and observations and share them with your visitors.

Announcements
Sharing news is easy with Announcements. You can use the announcements modules for news and interesting upcoming events.

Web Pages
Updating your websites pages is simple with our easy to use content editor that looks just like your familiar word processor. This means you can quickly and easily make small additions to your site, yourself.

ZEBRA BUILDER

How would you feel if you could update your website yourself? We’re not talking about big design changes or anything, just news and announcements, maybe some articles you’ve written, or a monthly blog post or two. Wouldn’t it be great to save some money and NOT pay a designer for every little change such as an address/phone number change, inserting a new image, or updating a page?

Look no further. We have launched our very own product called Zebra Builder which does all that.

• Build your online business from anywhere in the world
• Update your website, blog and forums
• Sell your products with our integrated ecommerce solutions
• Create email marketing campaigns. Manage your customer relations, analytics and reporting
• Prices start at $39/month and includes email and hosting

It is a very simple process. Purchase one of our monthly packages at Zebra Builder. We will then design your website and integrate it with Zebra Builder’s Content Management System. You then maintain your website from then on through any web browser from around the world! If you want to build the site yourself, pick from a pre-designed template. We offer a 30 day free trial. You only pay when you want to activate your site.

Or, if you are a web designer, you can simply do this all yourself or for your clients. Contact us at Zebra Builder to sign up.

If you have noticed, there isn’t much programming on Graphic Design. Infact, there is none at all. So last night, I was browsing through the channel line up on TV and saw a program on PBS called “Helvetica“. I was really excited, but thought how are earth can someone talk for an hour about a font? Believe me, you will be surprised.

Helvetica is a Sans Serif Typeface (Font) developed in 1957 by by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. In the example above, you will notice the difference between Sans Serif and Serif Typefaces. Serif Typefaces has little feet at the ends of the strokes.

The Power of Helvetica

“Helvetica is among the most widely used sans-serif typefaces. Helvetica is also a popular choice for commercial wordmarks, including those for 3M, American Airlines, American Apparel, AT&T, BMW, Jeep, JCPenney, Lufthansa, Microsoft, Orange, and Verizon Wireless. Apple Inc. has used Helvetica widely in Mac OS X, the iPhone OS, and the iPod. Helvetica is widely used by the U.S. government; for example, federal income tax forms are set in Helvetica. New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) uses Helvetica for many of its subway signs.”
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvetica

Below is a clip from the independent film, stressing the importance of Typography in ads and branding. I couldn’t agree with him more! Now if only everyone can share in his passion for type!

The Importance of Typography

Come to think of it, talking about a font for an hour is nothing. In University, my professor talked about it an entire year. The class was simply called Typography I (there was Typography II  and then Typography III – another 2 years of that!). We learned the history of typography; from Johannes Gutenberg (who created the first Printing Press) to making paper to operating a printing press.

Digging Up Some Old Treasures

I was rummaging through the basement again, and came across another project I did in University. This design was created using an actual printing press. Each member of the class was given a letter. Mine happened to be the letter “E”. We each designed the base of our design on a computer and then applied the assigned character through a printing press (below shown in colour). We then had duplicate this 30 times for each member of the class, to be added in a bound book we all created individually.

Duplicating a couple of letters 30 times through a printing press was not a walk in the park. You had to line it up perfectly, roll on the ink hoping it won’t smudge, (and if you did, you would have to redo it) and then pass a heavy roller to transfer that onto paper. Now imagine doing that in the year 1436 for a newspaper. Each letter had to be placed on the printing press, lined up and transferred.

Now

It’s hard to imagine that something as a little as a font can be so important in the world of design. But as history shows, it’s fundamental in the creation of your brand! If you are interested in Typography, you can google it and spend days if not weeks/months reading up on it.

Way Back When

I’m not thaaaaat old…. but I was recently reminiscing about how far graphic design has come in the last 10-15 years.  Back in 1994, I applied for the opportunity to work as a co-op student with a large bank in their graphics department. For a whole year, I was shown the in’s and out’s of graphic design, “mechanical paste-up” and introduced to the world of designing on a computer. Back then, Corel 3.0 was the program of the “leading edge” graphic design companies. I have never even heard of Adobe.

Last week, I was rummaging through some stuff in the basement and found my “portfolio”. Yes, a physical, tangible item. With strings on all 3 sides that you can tie up. Here’s an example of a project I did back in 1994.

You are probably wondering “WHAT IS THAT?”

Basically, this is a part of a branding campaign that you would show your client. This sample was a brochure that was camera ready. Those red area’s aren’t ink. It’s ruby film which was hand cut with an exacto knife. In different layers for colour separation. Is that not insane?

Let’s rewind for a second: Now there were 2 ways of developing your artwork before you get to this stage:
1) On a computer (on a 256 colour 13 inch monitor)
2) Mechanical Paste Up – where you would literally sit there on your drafting table and paste each and every letter/word onto your artboard (by hand). Of course, there was the Letraset Transfer, where you would rub the letters onto the paper to do your layout. You would also physically cut any graphics you have and paste it with rubber cement, and roll it on! (Did I just say that!?) What will really knock your socks off, is the use of Letraset Markers, where you colour your art in!! And this was a skill because anyone who has used Letraset markers will know that the effects are almost like watercolour. You can only colour in single strokes or you will get different opacity shades all over!

Then once all your design is done, you would paste it on some expensive board, almost cut your thumb with the exacto in the process, put some onion paper over it so it doesn’t get dirty, plop it in a black portfolio, drive it over, have a meeting with everybody and their brother and present it on an easel hoping they will like it. And if there was a change? Go back and do the whole thing all over again.

Colour Separation:

When the artwork was finally approved, you would have to do your colour separation. This involved using Ruby Film (shown above) and an exacto knife and cutting the art pieces in different layers of CMYK. Can you imagine how long this would have taken? When I Google “Ruby Graphic Design”, all I get is “Ruby on Rails” (a current web application framework). See? Google doesn’t even recognize this ancient practice!

Typsetting:

I even learned typesetting which would rival today’s HTML. It wasn’t just typing words in a design program such as illustrator and adjusting your text, you had to code the leading (space between the lines) and kerning (space between the letters) by picas (measurements of typography). There was no such thing as rotating text, putting your text to a path, making a letter red or blue. It was straight on typing.

Stock Photos:

Stock Photos now are available for download in a split second. I also found an old stock photo book of mine in the basement. Yes BOOK. If you wanted to order stock photos, you would need to flip through the pages, call up the company, place your order, and pay for it. They would then it to you. In the mail.

Camera Ready Art:

Then once everything was approved, you had to put your artwork into an envelope, get a courier guy to come pick it up, have it couriered to a place where they will PHOTOGRAPH the artwork and make a plate ready for printing!

Fast forward to 2010:

Changes don’t need to be couriered or faxed or snail mailed. Artwork is approved through email. Payment is made through the web. Meetings are no longer required. Heck, phone conversations are no longer required. I’m sure that these facts can spin this into a whole argument about the aspects of the impersonal business relationship. However lets not go there. The web has opened up many new avenues of creativity and income to the graphic designer. Web Design, Social Media Design, E-newsletter Campaigns, Animation, Mobile Applications, the list is endless!

See? I even had to use Google to aid in some of this historic research. I couldn’t remember.

Before I start any project, I decide on a colour palette. We generally ask the client in our questionnaire to select a colour palette that they really like. A couple of really neat websites does it all for you. They have an array of different choices, all offering complimentary colours to any chosen group.

This method can be compared to choosing paint colours for your house. I normally select a few complimentary colours and apply that to a bunch of existing rooms so I don’t end up with a fun house of mismashed colours.

When decorating a house, it’s easier to select a neutral base colour and add bold accent colours to accessorize the pillows/throws and window coverings. This allows you to swap out your accessories when you get bored. Same thing applies to a website. We suggest to stay with neutrals for the base colour of your website and add those punches of colours for accessories, like titles, buttons, banners and headers.

Here are a couple of websites that will help in deciding a colour palette for your logo/website.

• http://kuler.adobe.com
• http://www.colorschemer.com/

Over the summer, I decided to do a fun little project involving my hubby and son. I just took some facts of life, my video camera and came up with this. It’s a story about the Graphic Designer vs. Client. Disclaimer: This isn’t meant to offend any clients!

Funnest part of this creation: threatening him with no chips if he didn’t pick his nose.

Watch this video!