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Change your address books and check the map because we’ve moved!

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Costa Mesa, CA 92626

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Here’s a 30 second office tour, and ignore the moving boxes as we’re in the aftermath of the move.

This one will be short & sweet.

Are you the CEO /CFO / Director of Some Department?  Then read on.

Last night, I talked with some bigwigs who had questions about “The Google” and “twittering”.  It occurred to me that these were people that were bigshots in business, but absolute Luddites in the world of tech.  These individuals are often responsible for making the final call on the web strategy for their corporations.  Why?  Because nobody dares tell them the truth:  (sir) you don’t understand this.

The best advice I had for these guys, especially in dicey economic times, was to stand the *bleep* back.  It takes a big man to realize that his opinion, though tremendously powerful in certain scenarios, is damaging in areas in which he is ignorant.  Yeah, your dumb ego could put you out of business — hence the picture.

I think I shocked one guy when I told him (a little too enthusiastically) “You don’t HAVE to have an opinion!”  Sometimes you just need to put the trust in the developers and marketing people.  Hell, you’re paying them to do the job.  They live & breathe this stuff.  Trust your experts.  These are the people that really know how to get the job done and they will.

When project milestones are delivered to your desk, feel free to give direction, but don’t let your opinion be mistaken as an order.  LISTEN to the WHY certain decisions were made on the project.  If the presenter is too wary to offer you the WHY, then maybe you’ve fostered an environment that is more of an dictatorship than a presidency.  So guess what, big man?  You need to ask these people WHY they made the decisions they did on the project.  Asking questions can even make you seem smarter than delivering orders.  Analyze, consider, and then offer your opinion if you think it will help.  Otherwise, nod quietly.

The stand back and be amazed at some of these people’s innovative genius.

Aviary has an impressive suite of web-based software that is free to use.  They have built scaled-down versions of Photoshop, ImageReady, and Illustrator that run within a web browser in Flash (not Air, for the techies).  In addition, they have a multi-track sound editor that has the same core functionality as Apple’s Garage Band.  Although Aviary is pushing the limits of what Flash is capable of, their execution is outstanding.  This software suite works and works WELL!

Although these apps are lighter in features than their desktop counterparts, they are some of the most advanced web apps I’ve yet used.  All are incredible models of how web-based software should work.  These are the prefect tools if you have to do a little photo editing on an underpowered laptop or netbook.  If you’ve ever had to edit some photos when you’ve been on vacation with your old junky laptop, I’ve got the solution to your pain.  Photoshop on a crappy laptop just grinds your productivity to asnail’s pace.  But these apps fire up in about 30 seconds and you’re ready to go.  Working with large graphics files is nearly instantaneous because all the heavy lifting is being done on Aviary’s servers.

I highly, highly recommended Aviary as both a top-notch tool and an example of how to build web-based software.  Check it out here.

It’s no longer cool to have a brown box on your Twitter profile.

Way back in March just HAVING a Twitter account said “savvy”.  Now the marketing  mavens  are branding the holy lights out of all things “Tweet” and Twitter’s gone main stream.

Here’s some examples of what I’m talking about:

Executives, and the publications that target them, are talking non-stop about how Twitter should be leveraged in the enterprise - as in  this video of CIO’s from Home Depot, Baxter, and Yahoo, and this  CIO Magazine article “Twitter’s Potential for Business Users“, and in newly coined vernacular like  “Real Time Monitoring” used by Lenny Mendonca in this Think Big video.

For a great example of how one brand is leveraging Twitter to extend its brand reach, increase goodwill, and improve customer service, check out Whole Foods. (Thanks Denise, @denisess for tweeting this).

How to leverage Twitter for your enterprise is a fundamental strategy question that should be carefully studied by your organization’s executive team.

The take away message is this: Ignoring Twitter is a way to get noticed - only not the way you want.

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P.S.  Your mid to large size organization may qualify for a free 60 minute executive workshop customized to your brand.  Contact topLingo

It’s April 2009 and most websites don’t support phone browsing very well. So you ask, “should mine”?

For now the answer is still “depends”. The first question you need to ask is who’s your audience?

To clarify what I’m talking about, here are two versions of the Facebook landing page. The one designed for the phone (left) lets you log in with no scrolling and is sans heavy images. The one on the right is being shown on a phone but was designed to display on a PC monitor which is why the user is forced to scroll around just to log in.

If you’re Facebook, where the age demographic skews well below the national average and the balance sheet bling screems louder than three schoolgirls on a roller coaster, designing for the phone is an obvious choice.

But maybe you’re an ecommerce site selling Jitterbug cell phones to the AARP crowd. Then the correct anyswer would be - - - that’s right, “no”. The jitterbug doesn’t support a browser and even if it did, the over 55 crowd isn’t hanging out at the mall updating their LinkedIn profiles on their cells.

But things aren’t always so obvious. Another tech savvy daddy chose not to create an iPhone version of their site. They’re that iconic company in Cupertino, California who owns apple.com. One thing’s for sure - it’s not due to lack of bling or any technical niavity that they skipped a customized phone version.

There’s a lot to consider when weighing the options. Do you need a phony website? Ask us.  We’ll help you determine what’s right for your situation.

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Collective Soul fans will recognize the lyric from December. In that song, lead singer Ed Roland kinda spits this out: “Don’t scream about, Don’t think aloud, Turn your head now baby, Just spit me out”.

That’s how I feel about site searches. Don’t make me think, don’t make me scream. Just spit it out.

Want a “spit me out” search? Just check out the search functions on cool sites like Academic Earth and Apple.

For example, on Academic Earth, if you type in “Stanford” the search results look like this:

Cool how it’s organized into 3 logical categories without my having to ask. Categories are completely contextual to the search, so different search terms return different numbers of categories. Simple, understated, spit-me-out elegance.

Want to see another example?  Check out www.apple.com and type in “OS”, as in “Operating System”. You should get results grouped by 1. Products, 2. The Apple Store, and 3. Support.  If there are many links in each category, then the function can be coded to just show the top N in each category.

So the next time a web developer asks you how you want your search box, just smile, look her in the eye, and sing: Don’t Scream About, Don’t think Aloud, Baby… just Spit Me Out.

Rather then obscure, those word clouds actually clarify and speed the communication of the underlying messages.  For example, check out the topLingo About Us page as a cloud:

If you’re a visual learner who’s also into language, this is the big nirvana. In another example, below’s a word cloud from the music page of MilesDavis.com:

Want to create your own clouds? Ask us how.

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[Cont'd from Friday's post]

10. Ten tips on the actual task of ­copywriting

1. Clearly answer the visitor’s first question, “Am I in the right place?”

Visitors should get this answer in the first couple of seconds.

2.   Clearly answer the visitor’s second question, “Am I in the best place?”

This is where copy and design come together to hook the first time visitor.

3.    Create an obvious Call to Action

Make the merely obvious completely unmistakable. This was stated earlier and is intentionally redundant because, well, it bares repeating.

4.    Hook them with headings.

People only skim web pages. Make the headings concise and enticing to lure the reader deeper.

5.    Be personal.

Talk to your visitors not at them.

6.    Relentlessly proof read.

Then go away for a while. Then proof read again.

7.    Share with fresh sets of eyes.

If you’ve never been embarrassed by an obvious typo in your lifetime, you can skip this tip (and take any stuffed animal of your choice off the top shelf).

8.    Talk benefits not features

Features are about you, benefits are about them.

9.    NUAAWTIF (Never use an acronym without translating it first)

OMG. Nuff said.

10.  Follow the 3 P’s:  Preview > Proof > Post

Preview your copy as it will look on the web page, proof the preview, then - if error free - post. 

In summary, this three post series covers both strategic and tactical aspects of web copywriting. It’s meant as a primer or jumping off point for a serious analysis of your project’s copywriting needs. 

There you have it.  The final segment of “10 Tips for Writing Great Web Copy” and another topLingo blog post with web news you can use.

[Cont'd from yesterday's post]

4.   Nail the site map before you start writing

In the kitchen of web design, cookin’ and eatin’ are usually simultaneous processes. Ideally the cookin’ part - the site map, architecture, design mockups, and seo (search engine optimization) keyword lists - are completed before the copywriting starts. Of course life is messy, and rules are meant to be broken, so your process may vary. Just remember, great copy usually happens around a good plan and a logical development flow.

5.   Set a budget

Great copy requires a financial commitment.  To help you connect ROI to cost, try comparing the copy quality of top websites in your industry with less successful sites. Then get your checkbook out.

6.   Determine your style

Whether you intend to outsource or not, you’ll want to think about what style would be most effective for your site. Define your audience. Know what special needs they have - maybe they’re highly technical (law, medicine, technology) or multilingual, or youthful and edgy or all of the above. Speak in their voice.

7.    Develop your Keywords and Phrases

The copywriter should understand the fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and write copy that is not only clear, interesting, concise, and persuasive, but that indexes well in Google, Yahoo, MSN, and the other search tools.  One caveat here - resist the over-zealous SEO types who think listing all the zip codes in American on your landing page constitutes good copy. In other words, SEO is important but providing clear, relevant, compelling copy to your target audience is your first priority.

8.  Sanity check your copy

If you’re reading this and you’re the copywriter, note that this step should definitely get delegated to others. This could be as simple as getting a fresh set of eyeballs to proof the copy, or as complex as a branding consultant can imagine, including executive reviews, department heads, proof readers, compliance departments, and composite focus groups. If budget is an issue, find the “Mary in accounting” in your life - who was a language major in college and writes screenplays on the side- to proof your stuff.

9.  Put a call to action (CTA) on every page

Ecommerce sites want you to buy, blogs want you to comment and click on their ads, brochure sites want you to subscribe to newsletters and tell your friends. But the call to action doesn’t stop there. Make sure every page on your site moves the visitor towards the ideal CTA for that page. If a page contains a white paper, the CTA might be, subscribe for “complete access to all white papers”, or “critique this paper”. If it’s a contact us page, the CTA might be the submit button and the resulting thank you page might have a CTA to view the products page.

[Check back Monday, Feb. 16 for the 3rd and final post on this topic - "10 Tips for Writing Great Web Copy"]

Bad website copy can be great – only not for you.  Sure, bad copy has entertainment value:  “…the LCD TV VJ3212 brings you a finely detailed visual enjoyment and won’t let your tasteful eyes miss any fine details.”  Unfortunately, the call to action here might be “laugh and leave”.

Don’t underestimate the challenge of developing good web copy – or the payoff. While the focus of website development is often on technical and design issues, the real payoff is in the words.

How does killer copy get created, you ask?

Just assign the copywriting task to a team of web savvy, SEO knowledgeable people with great writing skills and a great understanding of your company’s products and services, and a great understanding of your corporate branding strategy, and an insanely great understanding of your target audiences, partners and competitors. Then have them write copy during their lunch breaks and email their document – or hand deliver their scribbled bar napkins - to the new intern over in I.T. for uploading to the website.

OK, so that may not work for you.  Maybe your company has a no-bar-napkin policy or maybe the intern just says no (they can be snits sometimes). No worries. We’ve put together  10 Tips for Writing Great Web Copy 

1.    Add copywriting to your project plan

May not seem like an obvious tip, but your Project Manager will love you for it. And putting copywriting in the plan says “es importante”.

2.   Decide whether to go it alone or hire experts

All successful enterprises are good at something - probably lots of things - but not always the “writing” thing. Unless your project has ready access to internal resources that excel in writing web copy, work with an outside professional.

3.    Pick a copywriter with the right skills and experience

Your list will be unique to your needs.  Here’s a jumpstart:

Should have at least 2 years experience as a web copywriter/editor

Should have complete fluency in the target language and an understanding of cultural nuance

Should have a professional portfolio of completed web projects

Should have the right chemistry (like the writer/love the copy)

Should have SEO (Search Engine Optimization) chops

[this is ending up being longer than a single post - check back here tomorrow for the next installment]

Tom Petty wrote that lyric for “Big Weekend”, but he might as well’ve been talking about the web. Lookin’ back, that 2005 website don’t look the same and like Tom said, “If you don’t run you rust.”  

Well, actually, not everything ages, like, instantly. Classic styles keep their cool - like this music player we built for MilesDavis.com a few years back:

Got a cool brand? Want one?

Get cool, stay cool, with topLingo.

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With millions of people on the Mall today, some of you might have missed the inaugural launch of the new White House website.  From a pure design and architecture standpoint, it’s a study in how to do it right.

A few things we picked out right off: incredibly well organized content, rich media, fast loading pages, a simple email opt-in, easy site search, understated elegance.

Of course we’d expect nothing less, now that we have our first National CTO (Chief Technology Officer).

topLingo has designed over 400 custom websites. Why not yours?

Free, insanely valuable stuff should be exploited. Google’s Website Optimizer is just such a thing.  Essentially, Website Optimizer enables you to figure out what works and what doesn’t on your site.

For example, using Website Optimizer you can easily launch multiple versions of your Call to Action and see hard statistics about which one’s most effective in converting visitors to action.

Visit the Google link above or check out this 37Signals post for examples of how Website Optimizer works.

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Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Try developing a custom website and you’ll see what we’re talking about. No matter what the process or methodology, somewhere in the project plan is an unwritten task that - if it were written - would say, “micacle occurs here”. That task is usually contained in the prototyping phase.

The key benefits of prototyping are: better designs, faster realization, for less money.

Prototyping takes on a lot of different forms, depending on project requirements. You’ll hear terms like wireframing, grayscale, high definition and the like. Below’s an example of a “high definition prototype” topLingo did recently for the David Textiles ecommerce site. This prototype is dynamic in the sense that it’s navigatable, that forms can be filled in, that error handling behaviors can be simulated, etc.

Many prototyping efforts don’t lend themselves to this high degree of visual definition, but in this project the artwork was already available and using it provided the team with clearer communication without slowing the development down. In the next image we jump to the live site for a quick comparison. Not apparent from these two static images, is that the rotating banner images of the live site were simulated in the prototype as well.

There’s often a tendency to skip the prototyping step - to skip, in effect,  the process where the magic occurs. Do this at your own risk.  And only if cost and time are not important elements of your project and high quality isn’t an intented outcome.

Want to know more about how prototyping can benefit your project? Contact topLingo.