Archive for April, 2009
7 Brand Spanking New Royalty Free Stock Music & Sound Effects
Posted on 29. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
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These are 7 new Stock Music packs to customize any kind of animation or media- everything is royalty free and reusable – each music pack is either divided into topics or arranged as collections of various tracks – plus there is also a Mega Pack and you can easily import the files right into Flash by choosing Import to Library from the File menu or you may open them with any sound editor.
The Stock Music Mega Pack includes several kinds of music files – everything from Full Tracks, Loops, Jingles and Sound Effects, you name it it’s on there!
Learn more about using Sound in Flash
http://www.utexas.edu/learn/flash/sound.html
TV Themes Stock Music Collection
Ambient Stock Music Collection
Thats just two but you can check’m all out right here”
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I’m So Totally Getting This (The Goof Board)
Posted on 27. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
That looks awesome – can’t wait to get mine – you can buy it here http://www.goofboards.com/
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Marlene
Posted on 22. Apr, 2009 by Aegir Hallmundur.
Marlene is an elegant, high contrast Egyptian face with a distinctive and contemporary calligraphic flourish. When I first saw it I was impressed at how incredibly crisp it was, as if drawn with a pen so sharp it could just as easily cut the paper as l...Continue Reading
Archer
Posted on 22. Apr, 2009 by David John Earls.
A slew of slab serifs were released in 2008. Most of them continuing last year’s trend of following the cute and chunky approach, often to delicious effect. But as marvelous as so many of those slab serifs were, sadly they were let down when it came...Continue Reading
Turning the Page
Posted on 22. Apr, 2009 by Stephen Coles.
“How do you know you should start a blog? Because people keep telling you to shut up. You just won’t shut up about a subject.” — Merlin Mann, SXSW Interactive 2009 “Obsession times voice” is what luminary bloggers Merlin Mann and John Grub...Continue Reading
FontBook, 4th Edition
Posted on 21. Apr, 2009 by Tiffany Wardle de Sousa.
Long before there were hi-res laser printers in every design firm and PDF specimens on every foundry website, typographers discovered, compared, and selected type using specimen books. There is too much separation from the display to the printed page ...Continue Reading
Future Proof Your Flash For Google And Enhance Your SWF File’s Potential
Posted on 21. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
So, how’s that going?
In fact, if memory serves, Google later also confirmed that claim stating that they’ve already launched a “Flash indexing algorithm,” which would result in better search results.
Has it?
Has Google now discovered and indexed text content in SWF files of all kinds? The answer has to be a wishy-washy, “somewhat.” While the issue is ongoing, Google says they’re continually working to improve their indexing of Flash files, but there are some limitations. For instance, Googlebot does not execute some types of JavaScript.
Hence, if your web page uses JavaScript to load a Flash file, Google will not be able to discover and index the contents of that file.
Hmmm…. Well that’s not good.
Likewise, Google does not attach content from external resources that are loaded by your Flash files. If your Flash file loads another file – such as an HTML file, an XML file, or another SWF file, they don’t consider that content to be part of the content in your Flash files.
Wait Wait…. Correct me if I’m wrong. I thought that to incorporate Flash into a website, you typically embed the SWF file in an HTML, PHP, Adobe® ColdFusion®, or other type of web page. And that page that embeds the SWF file is known as the wrapper.
Subsequently a wrapper consists of an
So my question is what’s the purpose of indexing only the SWF (without the wrapper)? In other words, if you embed the SWF file and you add just two basic parameter height and width and then Google just bypasses that to index only the SWF file, chances are it’s not going to display properly or load the way you’d like it to. You fallow me?
So that’s certainly bound to cause problems, my advice, simplify, don’t embed the SWF file. Design your movies to be more independent and self-sufficient and, whenever possible, define dimensions in percentages instead of pixel, let it load separately and do its thing.
Besides, we mustn’t forget that while Google does say it can index the content of Flash files, other search engines do not. So, it’s probably still a good idea to make text equivalents of these files as well.
We’d like to hear from you. Have you had any experience dealing with this? What advice would you give?
David Collado
Foamers.net
You source for web templates, designs and web-based services.
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Glosa
Posted on 21. Apr, 2009 by Nick Sherman.
Contrasting sharp serifs with rotund ball terminals, Portuguese designer Dino dos Santos evokes the vibrant work of 18th-century punchcutter Johann Fleischman with his 2008 release of Glosa. Dos Santos is clearly aiming for something beyond a revival t...Continue Reading
Baskerville 10
Posted on 21. Apr, 2009 by Adam Twardoch.
When it comes to the number of type designers per capita, the Netherlands can be challenged by only a few countries — but the Czech Republic is a close runner-up. One of the country’s most prolific digital typefounders is František Štorm. Through...Continue Reading
What is Twitter?
Posted on 20. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
Have you heard of Twitter? Twitter is a free social networking microblogging service. Basically, what it does is, it lets you connect not just with people who share a similar interest (like every other social network) but also other companies, marketing experts and unique individuals from around the world. From a small business perspective, Twitter is new medias version of your local chamber of commerce (on steroids). It is really the best new way to start making valuable contacts online.
Although Twitter hasn’t, at least in our experience, generated a constant stream of sales and revenue, it can indirectly, and in many ways, help bring you closer and make you seem more palpable to your community. Consequently, as people start to get to know you better, they’re more likely to dislike you less, and with any luck – next time, next tweet, next year – you’ll give them a reason to feel better about spending their money with you. Similarly, as you start to build a rapport with your peers they may start to recommend your services to some of their friend, acquaintances, and the like.
If your new to Twitter, start by following people in the same niche or interest as you, just to see what they’re doing or start by following anyone that piques your interest. You can Tweet about anything, but you don’t want your every tweet to be a sales ad – you want to share stuff that’s helpful, useful and educational. In fact, you only have 140 characters to say what it is you want to say, so try to be brief, concise and hopefully interesting.
I, personally, enjoy swapping ideas with other people in the same niche as myself and learning from their success. When you do decide to tweet look me up at: http://twitter.com/foamersdotnet
David Collado
Foamers.net
You source for web templates, designs and web-based services.
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Secrets Behind Advertising Headlines That Sell (Step By Step)
Posted on 17. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
Not 1 in 10 business owners understand the power of a headline. If you doubt me, just Flick through your local paper and notice how many company names you see at the top of ads. Or weak headings which don’t grab your attention.
And yet, most people don’t spend anywhere near enough time creating one.
And when you consider the fact many copywriting experts recommend you invest at least 80% of your time on the headline… you’ll understand exactly why it’s so important.
Because if the headline doesn’t grab the attention of your reader… then you can be guaranteed – nothing else will.
So how many headlines should you write?
I always recommend generating at least 30-50 headlines to grab your customer’s attention. Then choose the best of the bunch.
And how do you get ideas for headlines? The method I use is to base your headlines on proven and tested formulas.
You’ll find a bundle of these formulas in
How To Write a Good Advertisement by Victor O. Schwab (available from Amazon.com)
Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples (available from Amazon.com)
Or my own 180+ page home study course: Cash-Flow Advertising (email me for details)
But here’s a few examples to get you started:
WARNING:
Announcing…
Who else wants…
How to…
7 good reasons why…
Let’s make this practical with an example of how a mechanic could apply this to his business:
WARNING: Don’t call any other mechanic until you read this
Announcing: The mechanic that guarantees he’ll fix your car on time… or your money back
Who else wants a mechanic that specializes in fixing BMW’s (perhaps this could be used in a BMW Magazine!)
How to instantly make your car as safe as possible
7 good reasons why you should call Scott’s Mechanic’s right now…
Remember, come up with 30-50 of your own… circle the 5 you like the best and then nut it all down to your one ultimate headline.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is well known for getting results as a professional direct mail copywriter. And also the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To get access to his highly prized complimentary copy of ‘7 Ways To Boost Your Turnover… No Matter What The Economy’ (valued at $29.95) and a free subscription to his “Copywriting Selling Secrets” newsletter where you’ll discover the truth about why most ads and sales letters don’t work (And how to make yours different) scamper over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au
Copyright: Copyright © 2006-2008 Scott Bywater
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Why You Don’t Want Michelangelo Working On Your Website
Posted on 16. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
Everyone wants to live surrounded by beauty. Beauty soothes the soul, and lifts the spirit. It inspires us and keeps us healthy. We all want beauty.
Can you have beauty in your website? Sure you can, and it’s important to have your website be pleasing to the folks you want to help. Unfortunately, this desire to have beauty and to please folks means that you can spend a great deal of time creating a ‘unique and beautiful’ web design that people actually avoid. How can you spend so much time on beauty, sacrifice so much money with a designer, and still end up with a mess?
Do you do Frescoes?
No one would complain about the beauty of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
Michelangelo spent four years, from July, 1508 through October, 1512, painting over 5,000 square feet of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.
Unfortunately, Michelangelo was a sculptor, and loved working in marble. Prior to the Sistine Chapel, he had only painted briefly as a student of Domenico Ghirlandaio in Florence. Which means that he got off to a slow start as he learned how to paint frescoes.
Luckily for him, Michelangelo was already an accomplished artist. He wasn’t exactly doing the Sistine Chapel as a free promotional effort. Pope Julius II commissioned him for those four years, and didn’t seem to mind that it took Michelangelo a while to get in a groove.
History reports that one of the Pope’s motivations was to outdo Pope Alexander VI. So, the whole idea was to create an amazingly glorious ceiling that would stun everyone who saw it.
Are you trying to stun your visitors? Remember the purpose of your website: to create a relationship with the right people, connect with their hearts and needs, and to help them take the next step in relationship to what you offer. If you aren’t being commissioned to paint the ceiling of your website by a fabulously wealthy Pope, and if you aren’t trying to stun your visitors with beauty, I suggest you relax, just a little bit, any attachment you might have to beauty and uniqueness around your website.
Your visitor is waiting for dinner.
Imagine showing up at a friend’s house to eat. You’ve worked all day, you’re hungry and you’ve been looking forward to dinner. Yet, once you arrive, they keep you waiting for three hours while they pull out family home movies, or their wedding album.
It’s not that you wouldn’t eventually like to see those things. But first, can we have dinner, please?
The Two Functions of Your Design
Absolutely prepare and present the food with love and beauty. But just remember that your visitor is looking for food, not frescoes. It’s been shown that when a visitor comes to a website, design plays two primary functions:
(1) to show that the website is solid and professional-looking enough that the business can be trusted, and
(2) to make sure that the visitor can find what she needs really easily without having to guess or hunt.
As long as you are meeting those two needs, your design is going to work.
So, where is it safe to bring forth beauty and inspiration on your site, and where will it keep you stuck to the ceiling for four years?
Keys to Website Design
Things to avoid.
Avoid putting a pattern behind your text, or using a text color that isn’t very dark. In fact, I recommend that you stick with black text on a white background. Millions of novels of great variety, beauty and talent are written, all printed black text on a white background.
As a general rule, avoid animation and oversized photos and illustrations- anything that distracts from the food you want your visitor to eat.
Avoid unique design layouts. Many websites look the same structurally- and so do human beings. You don’t have to look at the back of someone’s knees to find their eyes. People know how to connect with each other more easily in part because of structural similarities.
Your visitor has been trained to expect certain conventions in web design, so they can find what they are looking for. Don’t play a guessing game with them by creating some outlandishly creative and confusing design.
Things to do.
Keep your text front and center. Keep your navigation either across the top, or down one side, with clear labels. Don’t use more than two columns- one for the navigation or side text, and one for the main content of the page.
Have a clear banner across the top with a simple message about your business.
Things of beauty and inspiration
Make your banner beautiful and inspiring, without being cluttered. Use colors you love.
Use creative bullets rather than just the usual round variety.
Use color highlights around navigation buttons, and in the frame around your page.
Above all, don’t agonize over it.
If you don’t have a website yet, or your website isn’t effective and you are upgrading it, bring in what creativity you have, but don’t agonize over the beauty aspects. Your visitors are waiting to be fed! Once you start having a lot of visitors coming to your website, and your business is humming, you can take the time and space to bring out the fine china for them.
My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver
About The Author:
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online: http://www.heartofbusiness.com
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The Sure-Fire Way To Test Your Headlines Before You Spend A Dime On Advertising
Posted on 13. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
Previously, you heard me tell you about my new custom Craigslist ad design service. This is the process of spicing up those dreary looking text ads into a more alluring piece of advertising with a little help from Photoshop. As great as that sounds, what we really want to focus on first is your headline.
Specifically, with Craigslist your headline is the first thing your potential customer sees. It just takes them one second to scan through a bunch of adds and once they’ve skipped yours, that’s it. It doesn’t matter if your product (service) is better, lasts longer or enables them to do more things – if you can’t get them to come and read about it, you lose!
So, in a nutshell the three basic things that people will want to see in your headline are as follows
1. What are you selling?
2. Why is it beneficial?
3. And what is the guarantee?
Number one, you really need to be specific. You need that headline to really be focused and say something meaningful about your services. That’s because Craigslist, and the whole Internet in general, is much less targeted than other types of publications, such as the yellow pages and the like. So, you really want to narrow it down.
Rather than throwing out a wide net, so-to-speak, you want to be clear – always sending out specific signals, something that maybe highlights your unique business process and benefits. Hence weeding out those less unwanted advertisements and attracting your more ideal prospects.
At the same time, although you already have all the basic components of the ideal headline, you’ll still have to add room for some trial and error. Likewise, you’ll need to give your headline a reasonable amount of time to see if it can perform. Typically a good rule of thumb is 48 hour, if your not seeing results by then, change it.
Besides that, what is also really great about Craigslist in particular, sinse it is all relatively free, it gives you an opportunity to tryout a lot of different headlines until you really start to see what does work and what doesn’t before you actually spend your money on other mainstream forms of advertising that’ll typically want your money.
Over the next few weeks I’ll post some more tips for coming up with some awesome ides for a headline, right now I want hear from you. What other methods do you use to test your headlines or how do you find inspiration to write your own headlines? Do you write the headline before you write the article or after? Do you find it difficult coming up with a headline?
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9 Reasons For Having A Website
Posted on 09. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
While promoting my website design business I contact many small and medium size enterprises who don’t have a website. Sometimes it is the perceived cost of a website that puts them off, but more often it is the belief that no one will want to contact them via the internet. The same companies would be horrified at the thought of not being in the telephone directory, but they don’t appreciate how pervasive the internet has become and how important it is to have a presence.
Here are my 9 compelling reasons for having a website.
Customer Expectations
Customers expect to see you on the Internet. Many people (that’s customers and potential customers) prefer to search for a company on the Internet rather than search their local Yellow Pages or newspaper.
To many, a business that is not on the Internet, for all intents and purposes, simply doesn’t exist.
If you cannot meet this expectation then they will go to someone else. If you have no web site you have no chance to compete.
Open 24 hours a day
Anytime a customer wants to know about your company, it’s products, opening hours or location they can get it with ease.
You business or organisation will be promoted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the whole world. Nothing else offers this flexibility. Your web site won’t take holidays, have time off sick or ask for a pay rise.
You can even save on your time or your employees time by adding a “Frequently Asked Questions” page. This way customers can get answers before calling you.
Improve Communications
A Web site is an highly available, high-quality, interactive, full-color brochure listing all the goods and services you offer. It is a very effective and efficient way to communicate not only with potential customers, but also with employees and suppliers.
It can be easily updated, keeping your product listings and prices always accurate. Changes take effect as soon as they’re posted online and everyone can see updated information without having to wait .
Improve your Businesses’ Profile
You can build reputation, credibility and trust with potential customers. Web sites offer an ideal way of showcasing your previous work and accomplishments to potential customers.
There is also a large amount of prestige to having a website. It gives people the impression that you are savvy and smart enough to take your business up a level. Since a website is such a major convenience it also tells people that you are interested in sharing information with them.
Expand Your Business
The Internet takes away traditional business boundaries. When you go online people from all over the country, or even from around the world, will show up.
Somebody always wants your product or service. Promoting through the internet and drawing them in will help you expand.
If you are a not-for-profit organisation then a website will raise awareness and attract more donors. You can replace the distribution of costly printed materials and cold calling for support. You can attract a willing audience to your website and impress them with your message once they arrive.
Improve you Competitive Advantage
On a computer screen all companies play by the same rules. No matter what your size, a website offers your business the same advantage as your biggest competitors. A well designed website for even a one man operation can have the same presence as a multi-national corporation.
Cost Effective
A web site is very cost effective. While it cannot replace your existing sales, advertising, retailing, customer support and public relations efforts, it makes all these business functions more effective. And though web site development is not without cost, the cost is limited. However the reach of your web site is worldwide and 24 hours per day. Publishing on the web is very inexpensive. Changing the information on your web site is also fast and efficient, whereas changing printed material can be costly and time consuming.
Compare the cost of a small ad in a magazine (which is only available for a limited time) or the cost of printing and mailing catalogues versus the cost of having a Web site, which is available 24 hours a day. Your customers can have the current information or price list for your goods or services at any time, just by looking at the relevant page on your website.
In addition your site can include features that no printed brochure or newspaper ad can offer, such as video and sound.
Sell
An interactive online catalogue makes your company’s products accessible everywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Selling online is a cost-effective ways to sell anything. It comes without the customary overhead of a physical store, like building leases, employees who need to get paid whether or not the register is ringing, and the myriad of costs associated with keeping the store running (utilities, supplies, maintenance, etc.).
While there are certainly costs for hosting your site, keeping it secure, sales transactions, hiring a Web developer, and more, the costs of running an online store are predictably lower than having a physical store.
Specialised Markets
If you have a specialty product or service and working within a limited geographic area then you may be wasting a lot of money promoting your business to an audience that is largely uninterested. Move to online advertising and promoting and, apart from removing those geographic boundaries, you have access to the special interest groups that are on the Internet for virtually any subject.
By advertising exactly where your audience is, every penny you spend immediately becomes more valuable. So when an enthusiast sees your advertisement or reads about you on a message board, they go straight to your website. Never before has attracting a specialised audience been so direct and efficient.
Should you wish to acquire more information about our template customization services simply get in touch (Hablamos español) and tell us what you think.
Author Bio
Chris Johnson – cj@c-itoi.co.uk . Chris runs C.Itoi Ltd., a web site design and development business. Visit his site www.c-itoi.co.uk for more information.
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Top 5 Housekeeping and Cleaning Service Templates
Posted on 02. Apr, 2009 by Dave.
Does your cleaning business need a website? Maybe you’ve thought about doing a website but your not really sure where to start. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you want to grow your business and reach a lot of people quickly, then you need to build your own website.
To help you, we’ve put together 5 of the best cleaning service templates we could find. And if after your still not sure what you want, don’t worry, we’ll show you how to use anyone of these housekeeping templates to explode your cleaning business online, just get in touch (Hablamos Español), a template customization specialist will work with you, one on one, to answer all of your question.
Template No. 10470 is an original design by author Delta
Pretty nifty combination of Flash and HTML… the whole look feels really fresh and inviting perfect if you are just starting to establish your housekeeping and cleaning business…
Template No. 10146 is an original design by author Hugo
If you need to start generating new leads and your ready to take your office cleaning business to the next level, this is it! Nice style very simple, very clean, looks totally professional…
Template No. 9861 is an original design by author Maxwell
This would make a really nice landing page, it immediately just pops out at you and says, “You can trust us to clean your home”… Really fresh
Template No. 9883 is an original design by author Delta
Remember we can customize your very own website off anyone of these templates at an insane price…. Also, we are always here to answer all of your question, we can help you find the right look and feel for your house cleaning business and the consultation is always free.
Template No. 11097 is an original design by author Solus
Saved the best for last, how cool is that? What a great way to start your cleaning business off right, its honest, upfront, organized and presentable….
Make the call (408 661-4699) or write to us via email, the consultation is free, the quote is free, no pressure, no hype, none of that.
What’s your favorite?
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