News from Two Trees Media

Copywriting is much more than sitting at a computer and pounding out a few pithy lines of advertising material. Any copywriter will probably tell you that research is an integral part of his/her job.

No two companies are alike. Writing copy for a small pizza parlor is quite different than writing copy for a large industrial manufacturing company. Yet freelance copywriters take on such diverse jobs all the time. So what's the key to writing quality copy that is personalized to your specific needs?

The answer is research.

Whenever I take on a new client, I spend a large chunk of the quoted time involved in research. Here are a few areas you should be concerned about before writing any copy:

• The client's overall business
• Products/services
• Competitors
• Previous advertising/marketing material
• Industry-specific information

Unless you specialize in a specific industry, one needs to be familiar enough with the client's business to write like an "insider". This is even more important when writing detailed product descriptions, white papers, brochures, newsletters and even press releases.

All the copywriting tricks we use to grab attention and impress clients is worthless if we don't know what the heck we're talking about. Even if you're an in-house copywriter, doing a little extra research won't hurt. Just knowing what your competition is up to and the latest industry news will make you a more valuable asset to your team and give you the upper hand.

I hear this a lot: "We need to be more like Apple." This is understandable since the computer maker has been wildly successful with their products and their brand. Everything from Apple's easy-to-use computers, iPhone, and iPods to their packaging of their products is very simple and clean - yet it evokes Apple's own style and unique identity.

A big part of Apple's branding success comes from their being different. Imagine how Apple might be today if they had tried to imitate Microsoft. A big marketing disaster.

There is nothing wrong with a business or freelancer wanting a clean and simple branding philosophy. But when they say "I want to be more like Apple," they begin to enter the 'danger zone' of being a copier, not an innovator.

When a business begins a conscious effort to be more like Apple, they start looking fake and their branding becomes forced. The public will see right through this and your business will suffer as a result.

So how do you create a unique brand for your company? This involves looking at your company, what it does and how you want to project that to the public. For example, let's pretend you run a gift basket company. Customers order custom-made gift baskets that can be sent to a loved, friend or anyone else they choose.

Gift baskets are usually filled with all types of candy, cheeses, meats, jellies, jams, maybe even a bottle of wine. You want to reflect that in your marketing. You don't want your brand to mirror an accounting business, for example. Your logo might be a gift basket with your name on it. Or maybe a horn of plenty with your different selections spilling out.

Your website might feature photos of gift baskets with lists of all the different products that can fill a basket as well as the different styles of the baskets themselves. Maybe you even offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount - that's something to definitely promote on your site.

You get the idea.

The brand of a gift basket company should be one of joy and cheer and the virtues of gift giving. So if your website is designed like an accountant's site, business-like and formal, you will probably confuse and turn customers off to your business.

The same goes for your print marketing material. Your brochures, newsletters, advertisements should all project a common theme and compliment one another so that customers can instantly recognize your brand. And more importantly, your print materials should also compliment your website.

Therefore if your brand is unique, personalized and reflects what your business does, then customers will remember you better and will be more likely to give you their business. Be yourself.

Pantone, the uber authority on all things color, has announced its Color of the Year for 2010: Turquoise 15-5519.

Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise inspires thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a comforting escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.

Expect to see this shade of Turquoise pop up in everything from clothing to home interiors to cosmetics to web design. Though let's hope blue lipstick doesn't become the spring's hot fashion.

Previous colors of the year include colors with fun names such as Mimosa, Fuchsia Rose, and Tiger Lilly.

2000 - Cerulean	2001 - Fuchsia Rose	2002 - True Red
2003 - Aqua Sky	2004 - Tiger Lily	2005 - Blue Turquoise
2006 - Sand Dollar	2007 - Chili Pepper	2008 - Blue Iris
2009 - Mimosa

(Images courtesy of Pantone and the New York Times.)

More and more people are becoming a "hobbypreneurs" - taking their hobby (product and idea based) and making it into their career. This can be done with crafts, blogging, cooking and just about any other hobby people pursue. An advantage for hobbypreneurs is making money doing something you love, and not working at some corporate job you hate just to bring home a paycheck.

Those who make a living from their hobby are at the forefront of changing the way the world does business. A blog post from the Small Business United Blog entitled New Intuit Future of Small Business Report - Hobbypreneurs says:

Hobbypreneurs will continue to grow in numbers and influence, creating new niche products and markets in the U.S. and abroad. These frugal, techsavvy, green-oriented, out-of-the-box thinkers are creating new business methods, models and processes. And along the way, they are spurring growth and innovation.

Furthermore, the start-up money needed for this kind of business is minimal. Most start working from their home with no employees. And while hobbypreneurs might not have the million-dollar advertising budget large corporations have, they can still make a sizable income by focusing on a niche. The internet has become 'the great equalizer' for hobbypreneurs, giving them a platform to do business and reach people all over the world.

But to do business online, you must have a web presence that draws visitors to your website and makes it easy for them to find out about you, about your business and buying your products. This requires a well-designed, functional website, which includes everything from e-commerce, blogging functionality and good SEO. A site with those features allows a hobbypreneur to sell their crafts and keep customers updated on new products/offerings.

Marketing is another important part of being a hobbypreneur. While search engines can bring traffic to your website, you still need to reach out to others through advertising campaigns (i.e. Adwords), direct advertising and social networking. Vary your approach to marketing to see what works best for you. Be patient, and before you know it, your hobby will become your career.

In working through our 2009 holiday card and promotion, I had to create a 2010 calendar in vector format. Since the holidays are a time of sharing and I am in a festive spirit, below is a zip containing a 2010 calendar in Illustrator, EPS, and PDF format for anybody to use in anything they wish.

Weeks go from Sunday to Saturday, and everything is fully editable. Enjoy!

Two Trees Media is now offering an Etsy Store design and marketing service. Etsy is a site where crafters can sell their creations online to make a few extra bucks or even earn a living.

Whether you knit, make handmade jewlery, crochet, design and make purses, or any number of other crafts that started as a hobby and turned into a passion, Two Trees Media can get your Etsy store up and going with a personalized and professional look that complements your crafting creativity.

Here's how we can help:

• Banners - Let us design you a custom banner to go at the top of your Etsy shop. Your banner will be 100% original and designed to fit your style.
• Custom content for your shop - Are you crafty but don't have a way with words? We can customize your shop content to make it professional and give you that edge you need to sell more products.
• Avatars - Your avatar is a direct reflection of you and your online brand. Don't just use a face shot (everyone does that), Two Trees Media will design a unique avatar for you that projects your image and will help people remember you.
• Blog ads - Expand your Etsy marketing efforts that goes beyond the Etsy community. If you have a blog or other personal website, advertise your shop with a custom banner ad. We'll make your attention-grabbing banner stand above all the rest (without being annoying). If you don't have a website but are serious about making a living on Etsy, you can also use a customized banner ad to place on other sites.

If you're interested in any of the above service then contact us today and tell us about yourself and how you want to expand your Etsy business. We'll provide you with a price quote and help you take your crafting business to a higher level.

Imagine a website that has tens of millions of users that you can access for free. This is the idea behind the social networking site Facebook. The site isn't just for giddy teens and college students looking for a good time either. Facebook is also a great way for small businesses to reach out to their customers and potential customers.

Chris Anderson says in his new book Free: The future of a radical price (page 163) says:

Most of the value of Facebook is in the fact that it has created perhaps the world's largest clost market of reputational currency, which is the foundation of its estimated multibillion-dollar valuation.

Chris is talking about how Facebook has managed to become a business worth billions of dollars despite a very low stream of income. Why? Because the "reputational currency" that Facebook offers, the idea that Facebook allows one to build a reputation among a large group of followers, is very lucrative. Add the millions of users to Facebook's closed market system and you have a virtual community worth billions.

Online reputation is everything. If you have no reputation, or worse, a bad reputation, no one will take you seriously and you probably won't be getting many customers in the online world. If you have a stellar reputation, you have a lot of 'virtual currency' you can use to your advantage in terms of marketing, advertising and bringing in more business.

How do you use Facebook to your company's advantage? Here are a few tips:

• Set up a Facebook account devoted to your business only. DO NOT use your personal account. You want your Facebook presence to be professional and business-oriented.
• Promote your Facebook profile on your company website and urge visitors to follow you on Facebook. Also urge existing customers to follow you so they can receive updates and exclusive information about your business.
• Offer something of value. Facebook lets you make postings, much like a blog, so use those postings to educate people about your business without overtly advertising your company.
• Engage with people who follow you. This is how you build a community and build trust. Trust will increase your reputation and will likely lead to more business.
• Follow other like-minded people/companies on Facebook. This is an excellent way to network and build relationships that can be very valuable to you.

Keep in mind that building any type of community online takes time and patience. For example, I've been building my personal blog for almost 3 years now and I'm just starting to see the fruits of my labor in the form of advertising revenue. Don't get frustrated if you have a hard time getting followers right away. But as long as you're consistent in your efforts and work to keep a positive reputation, your Facebook community will grow and your company will reap the benefits.

I'm always the first to admit when I make a mistake. And hoo boy, did I ever make one here. I recently created a website for a friend using Drupal. This friend didn't use the site for a few weeks, and when she went to make a blog posting, we discovered that the site had been overrun with comments advertising Viagra, Paxil, Tamiful, "h5n1" masks, and kamagra jelly gel (whatever that is). Overrun to the tune of 48,495 comments in the span of 1 month, to be exact. Yikes!

Rather than have her website become a perpetual illicit online drug store, I quickly fixed my mistakes to deter the comment spammers. Since I feel strongly that one should always learn from his/her mistakes, here's what I did to stop the flood of comment spam so you don't have to learn the hard way like I did.

Step 1: Lock Down Commenting

The biggest mistake I made with this site was to allow anonymous users the ability to post comments without moderation. The first step I took in fixing this problem was to take away that privilege. Anonymous commentators will still be able to leave comments, but you will have to approve them before they can be posted to the website (see our earlier post on how to be notified when new comments are posted).

Do this by going to Administer > User Management > Access Control. Scroll down to the Comment Module, and uncheck the box next to "post comments without approval." Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click Save Permissions.

Step 2: Prevent Bots from Posting Comments

This is the meat-and-potatoes of this fix: you'll want to make it as hard as possible for bot or other automated scripts from posting comments. The best way I've found of doing this is requiring a CAPTCHA before visitors can submit their comment. Here's how to enable CAPTCHAs with Drupal:

1. Get the modules: Download the following modules and FTP them to your site in the /modules folder: CAPTCHA, reCAPTCHA.
2. Enable the modules: Go to Administer > Site Building > Modules, and enable the CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA modules. Click Save Configuration to save your changes.
3. Apply for a reCAPTCHA key: Since reCAPTCHA is administered through a 3rd party service, you'll need to register with them to be able to access the CAPTCHAs. Once you have a reCAPTCHA account, go to My Account > My Sites > Add a New Site. Enter the site's address, and click Create Key. You're be presented with a public and private key. Somehow note these keys, you'll need them in the next step.
   
4. Configure the CAPTCHA module: Back on your site, go to Administer > User Management > CAPTCHA, and click on the reCAPTCHA link in your tabs. Copy the public and private keys into the appropriate text boxes, and click Save Configuration.
   
5. Specify where to put CAPTCHAs: Go back to the CAPTCHA home at Administer > User Management > CAPTCHA, and scroll down to the Challenge type per form area. On the dropdown next to comment_form, select reCAPTCHA (recaptcha). I also like to further lock down my site by adding CAPTCHAs to the contact page and password reset process. Click the Submit button at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
   
6. Test your CAPTCHA: Log out of your site and go back to a blog posting. Scroll down to the comment form, and you should see a nice shiny CAPTCHA there. Go ahead and post a test comment (it won't show up on the site because you disabled anonymous commenting in step 1 above).
   
   Did you get a message saying your comment has been queued for moderation?Then you're good!

Step 3: Delete the Already-Posted Spam Comments

Warning: the information posted in this step has the potential to completely hose up your website. Please backup your database before trying and proceed with caution!

Now that you've prevented new comment spam from being posted, you'll want to remove the existing spam messages. Log into your website's web control panel, and get to the MySQL admin section (my host uses phpMyAdmin). Find the table named "comments", and browse it. Do you have about a bajillion spam comment records? Good, then you're in the right place.

We're going to run a SQL query to delete all those comment records from the database, so this means you will lose your non-spam comments too. I'd suggest wiping the comment table clean then manually inputting any good comments you have.

1. Delete the published comments: Click on the SQL tab. Copy and past the following code into Run SQL& queries...text box.

   delete from comments where status = '0'

   

   Click the Go button on the lower right of the screen. The page will refresh, and you'll get a message saying how many rows were deleted. All my comments were unpublished, so none were deleted.
   

2. Delete the unpublished comments: repeat the same process, only change the status to 1. Cope and paste this code into the text box, and run the query.

   delete from comments where status = '1'

   This time there should be significantly more records deleted.
   
    

3. Confirm deletion: Log back into your Drupal admin interface, and go to Admin > Comments > Approval Queue. Do you have 0 comments awaiting approval? Then you're done and you've successfully wrestled control of your site back from the evil comment spammers.

One of my favorite eye candy blogs, Design*Sponge, is running a great series of posts on various aspects of running a small business "to connect and create local support systems" for women. Every Tuesday a new expert chimes in on various ways to start, grow, and run your small business.

Grace Bonney has pulled together some great guest authors and experts for her posts, but some of them stand out as being an absolute must-read for any small business owner (man or woman) in these hard times. Here's some of my favorites:

• Marketing Ideas from Ivie Parker - Basic rundown of simple and inexpensive ways to promote your business.
• Fresh from the oven media kits - How to get a media kit ready just in case you need it.
• Maximum visual impact for your business - Great tips on visual merchandising for those of us that sell physical products.
• Top 10 Biz Tips for Indie Online Newbies - List of basics for getting your own Etsy-type store off the ground.
• Advertising 101 for small business owners - Online advertising basics including terminology and tips for increasing conversion rate.
• The nuts & bolts of getting your biz online - Checklist for those of us who have a great product but no idea where to start with getting the word out.

Keep up the great writing Design*Sponge, I for one have benefited greatly from this series!

(Image courtesy of bancomicsans.com/Jeph Jacques)

As we've previously discussed using the font Papyrus as an example, choosing the right font for a project can be tricky. Far too many people take the easy way out an stick with a narrow palette of default fonts that come with their computer, not aware that there are many thousands of other options out there.

Comic Sans is a font produced by Microsoft that has shipped with every version of Windows since Windows 95. It is a casual face, meant to imitate informal comic book lettering. It has been used in everything from Beanie Baby tags, scientific PowerPoint presentations, passive-aggressive notes, outdoors signage, and municipal signage.

Why all the Comic Sans Hate?

It has been said that the best typeface is one that is never noticed; good fonts match the message they are conveying. By itself, Comic Sans conveys childishness, fun, bubbly, and an overall feeling of lightheartedness. Very inappropriate uses include setting the Qur'an in Comic Sans, college exams, or reports on hazardous nuclear waste. This documentary video sums it up pretty well.

Great Free Alternatives to Comic Sans

But alas, there is hope for all the Comic Sans haters! There are many fonts out there, and some really great free alternatives to Comic Sans. Below are some of the best I've found. But please, don't use any of these for serious communications. If you do, I might really have to punch this bunny.

Anime Ace

Bicho Plumon

(Ok this one isn't a totally great Comic Sans alternative, but I just really like the little monster digbats that come with the font.)

Bottle Rocket

Chubby Cheeks

Digital Strip

Gemelli

John's Font

Primer Print

Timotheos

Mighty Zeo