Archive for February, 2007

This tutorial features illustrated tips and tricks for business card design using Xara Xtreme, and a link to download a predesigned template that I created to save you time and money. You may try a free 30-day trial of Xara Xtreme from their site to get started.

The first illustration (not actual size) shows the entire template with two landscape views of a standard (US) 3.5″ x 2.0″ business card for the front and back, and an alternate vertical portrait view which may be used for either the front or advertising on the card back.

The colored blocks in the upper right set a basic CMYK palette in Xara that I set up to help you get started. The 3 template views with guide lines show the “safe area” in green and the outer “bleed area” in yellow. Both areas may contain background color or photographs, but text must only be used inside the safe area otherwise it could be blurry when printed.

Next is a full size illustration of one landscape view of the business card template. The guide lines are shown in more detail. The artwork dimensions will actually be 3.625″ x 2.125″ because printers may want some extra bleed area for trimming each side of the card. The outer border is .187″ wide on all 4 sides.

The next illustration shows the sequence of menu commands in Xara Xtreme for changing views from screen colors as normally shown on your illuminated computer monitor to simulated print colors as the design will actually appear once printed on card stock. From the menu select window/show print colors/simulate print colors.

The final illustration shows the menu sequence to change to printed view, and if you compare the shade of green here to the screen view above, you can see a significant difference. Keep in mind that printed colors will almost always appear slightly duller and darker than what you see on your monitor.

Dowload the free business card template for Xara Xtreme by right clicking here. Visit my main site to view full color business cards designed with Xara Xtreme. You are welcome to comment or email me if you have any questions, also.

Press releases for small business owners in print or online are another method for promoting your company on a limited budget. Learn how to feature your business in press releases and announce newsworthy events that will benefit the readers. Here’s a sample format and some suggested sources to promote your business online.

Advice and tips are given within the press release form.

= = = Beginning of Format for Your Press Release = = =

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:
The Contact Person
Your Company Name
Telephone: (insert phone number)
Fax: (insert fax number)
Email: (contact’s email eddress)
Website: (company website address)

Headline (Use keywords about this “news”)

City, State, Date — (First Paragraph, Use keywords in first sentence, also) Include the 5 W’s for news reports: who, what, where, when and why.

(Additional paragraphs)
Focus on facts and the benefits of your unique product or service, and not the features, plus quantify your information with numbers, statistics, or percentages. Examples or testimonials of how your company provided benefits to end users may be appropriate, also.

= = = Ending of Format for Your Press Release = = =

Here are links to 5 sites that distribute press releases on the internet at no charge. View actual releases for ideas as you visit these websites.

www.24-7pressrelease.com/
www.free-press-release.com/
www.i-newswire.com/
www.pr.com/press-releases
www.prfree.com/
www.prleap.com/

With experience, you may want to investigate paid services, also. Let me know how this works for you.

It’s time for some feedback based on small business client comments about Google, and search engines in general. After 10 years designing custom websites, I realize that most customers still wonder about getting noticed by Google.

Here are 4 things that can make a difference:

1. Aging: Any new site must endure a probationary period before being taken seriously by search engines. Do not expect your new website to achieve instant fame in days, or weeks. It usually takes months because many sites are here and gone quickly, so only time proves your website is online for the long haul.

2. Domain Term: Having a www domain registration for one year is less than ideal considering today’s pricing at less than $10 a year for a domain name. My recommendation is 2-5 years, or 10 years if it fits your budget. Long term registration confirms your intentions to be online well into the future and taken seriously.

3. Content: Sites should be designed for visitors, not search engines. Yes, there are techniques to improve ranking, but over optimizing a site may ruin the visitor’s experience. In most cases, sites less than 5 pages may not be considered adequate coverage for any given subject.

4. Fresh content – Adding new content, and often, gives search engines a reason to return to your site more often. Your value in the internet community will be graded by your ongoing development of information or products for the benefit of your visitors.

Are there more? Certainly more can be done to optimize a site for your prospects which in turn improves your chances for getting noticed by Google.

I am releasing a how-to ebook soon on small business website self-promotion. The guide provides free resources and advice for promoting your website in just 30 minutes a day. Email me from my main site if you have any questions, or want to reserve a free preview copy of the book.

A photo collage for your website is an ideal method for creating a positive first impression, and rearranging elements may improve the composition. In the following sample website photo edit the 6 jpg photos illustrate before and after with the elements separated and then assembled to create an improved layout.

Before view (above) of 6 separate photos with background cropped

Tip: The trick using vector graphics software is to zoom in up to 25,000 times actual size to outline and clip out the background. My choice is Xara Xtreme for advanced photo edits.

Finished layout (above) using cropped photos combined to create a new look

Perhaps you want to try this advanced technique. You may download Xara Xtreme (affiliate link) for a free 30 day trial. This sample edit may be viewed on the home page of the custom website I designed for Commercial Door and Access, Inc., a security products company in Palm Bay, Florida.