You have a wonderful, targeted marketing message. It’s well crafted, every word is considered carefully, and it’s written with impeccable spelling and grammar.
And yet, you’re not making the sales numbers you want. You don’t get the traffic your web site needs. What’s missing?
Grab Them by the Eyeballs
Every time you communicate, you have the chance to make a good impression. If your message looks amateur, you lose sales because you never have the chance to start a conversation with your prospective customer.
With so many competing messages out there, yours has to stand out. You may not have the budget to pay a designer or advertising agency to create marketing materials for you. What can you do?
Make Your Brand Big
Mastering the basic rules of design is an investment that sets your business apart from your competition. Your materials look more professional, they make you proud, and because they communicate clearly, they produce profit. Your business grows!
Design can be Learned (and it’s Fun)
Once you understand the basic rules of good design, everything you do – from setting up a letter on a piece of paper, to putting together a blog or web site – will look better. Design is about communicating clearly, so when you harness its power, your marketing materials will work better.
You don’t have to be “artistic” to learn how to master design. There are rules, and there’s practice. Learn the rules, put them into practice, and you’ll see results.
Design 101
This is the introduction to a series of ten lessons called “Design 101.”
The next lesson will be about getting to know your audience so that you can reliably reach them with targeted messages that get response.
Want to find the other lessons? Here they are:
1] Design 101: Marketing Begins with the Eyes
2] Design 101: How to Daydream Your Way to Marketing Success
3] Design 101: Storyselling for Fun and Profit
4] Design 101: 7 Typographic Resources, and 1 Type Joke
5] Design 101: Harness the Power of Color in Your Marketing
6] Design 101: Make it Easy to Consume Your Information with White Space
7] Design 101: Toe the Line: The Lazy Way to Design
8] Design 101: Successful Design: Who’s In Charge Here?
9] Design 101: Don’t Write a Thousand Words, Use an Image
10] Design 101: A Cheat Sheet That Will Keep Your Honest
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Brilliant.
A poorly designed website makes me click away in a heartbeat, but it still amazes me how many people don’t understand the importance of design in their marketing and communications materials.
Very nicely done, Pamela. Looking forward to seeing more!
Bravo! Well done, Pamela.
You clearly practice what you teach.
Can’t wait to see more.
Kudos to you Pamela! First post on your new blog. Yay!!!!
You’ve opened my eyes to the necessity of great design. Thanks. I’m looking forward to reading more.
Pamela,
Two things:
1. Great use of thesis for your blog design – super sharp and to the point! Luv it!
2. I was inspired from your questionnaire last fall. After 5 years as a web developer and marketing coach I *finally* took the leap to get my own professionally designed logo – no kidding! I had a wonderful experience with a contest site. If you want to share the deets with your list let me know.
Love and abundance, dp
Stacey, Marsha and Carole: thanks for the great feedback! I can’t wait to share lots of great information and get to know everyone here. I’m looking forward to the conversation!
Donna, I’d love to hear about your experience. I’ll be talking about logos in one of the upcoming “Design 101″ lessons, so please send me a message (you can find a contact form on the About page) and I’ll include your experience in that post!
This is super-timely, Pamela.
I’m building my own website and revamping generally, so your newsletters and now this blog are a great, stable guide. Presented with easy-bites, valuable content and a lower frequency than many, your messages stand out. I have time to read, apply and retain them.
Thank you!
That’s music to my ears, Heidi, and is exactly what I’m aiming for: quality, not quantity. Thanks!
Looking forward to your next tip!
Well done! Concise, well written and presented. It will certainly be a good spot for information. Good luck with it!
I absolutely love the heading : “Grab them by the eyeballs”! You’re not only communicating clearly with clever, attractive graphics, but with wit and a wonderful use of language!
This is very nice! This site is amazing- I found it over facebook and was very impressed! It truly did “grab my eyeballs”- I cannot wait to use the valueable information in my life!
Sincerely,
Becca
Hi Pamela,
I love this series! It’s simple and it’s effective and I know what to do. Perfect.
Catherine
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