The Surefire Way To Get Creative

admin · Creativity · April 4, 2013

creative-block
I am a firm believer that creativity fuels our lives. No matter what job you have, no matter what you do in your personal life, creativity is the key to doing all of it better.

Unfortunately, sometimes I get stuck. Maybe you know what I mean?

It seems like everything we do in our lives at some point gets so monotonous that we hit a wall. Writers feel it, web designers feel it, programmers, lovers, parents and students. The fact is, the more we do the same thing, the less and less creative we get with it.

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Are People Actually Reading Your Content?

Andrew Gay · Design, Headlines, Visual Marketing · March 25, 2013

medium-typography
Ever since the 2008 study by Harald Weinreich, online marketing folk have come to accept that people typically just scan your web page. Visitors don’t read every word like they do in print.

Many producers focus on attention grabbing headlines or hiring Dr. Seuss like wordsmiths to solve this problem. But is it enough?

My answer. No!

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When Is The Right Time To Launch A New Website?

Andrew Gay · Design, Launch, Social Media · March 20, 2013

launch
Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t wait for it to be perfect, just get something up”?

I have heard countless advisers, coaches and guru’s say this over and over. I’m still not sure if they are right. I struggle with this concept physically, mentally and emotionally.

Here’s why:

I started doing freelance web design, marketing consulting and social media management back in 2007 when my mortgage business was sinking like the coast of California in the movie 2012. I, like many others was almost completely caught off guard by the abrupt collapse of the industry.

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Are You Asking for Support or Forcing Them to Buy?

Andrew Gay · Call to Action, Conversion, Nurturing · March 14, 2013

amanda-palmer
What an artist with a milk crate, a superhero ability to “connect” and an incredible understanding of people can teach us about selling.

How do you ask for the sale?

One of the biggest challenges for would be entrepreneurs is knowing how to ask for the sale. Many that I talk to are deathly afraid of asking for the sale, and amazingly enough, they don’t get any. What they fear is customers saying no, or worse, not being liked. They want, we all want our customers to love us. We need them to pay us.

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How-to: Conversions Without Copy

Andrew Gay · Design · January 21, 2013

lincoln-concept

The sophistication in this design is meant to WOW and mesmerize those that look upon it. The interior is understated and simple, but unbelievably different and impressive. The detail that went into this “conceptual” design is impressive, even adding (or in this case removing) super neat features like no door handles!

Why this wouldn’t work on your website.

This type of futuristic, modern design is used on occasion by web designers to blow away viewers. Making things so pretty and different that they hypnotize the reader is a powerful idea. Here’s the rub. A little friend we call an “affordance” or a “perceived affordance”. You see them all the time, in everything you do throughout the day.

Light switches, the icons on your DVD player, a faucet handle, your navigation menu on your website, even your web forms, these are all examples of a perceived affordance.

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