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Adobe CS5: To Upgrade or not to Upgrade
July 26, 2010No commentsAre you planning to get the latest treasure trove called Adobe Creative Suite 5 (CS5)? If you are still hesitating, maybe this article will help you decide.
Adobe CS5, released last April 2010, consists of applications for graphic design, web development, and video editing. For this blog, we shall be reviewing only two of its applications, the ones closest to the graphic artist’s heart: Illustrator CS5 and Photoshop CS5.
The shiny new features of Illustrator CS5 include refined drawing tools, lifelike brushes, and multiple artboards that can be viewed and organized easily. Adobe has hit the right note in combining productivity enhancements and powerful drawing tools for Illustrator CS5. These new features have made it easier for graphic artists to deliver high-impact designs. What’s more, artists can now transform Illustrator designs into interactive components without even writing a code, CS5 being integrated with the newly-launched Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5.
Photoshop CS5, on the other hand, boasts its new features: Content Aware Fill, Refine Edge Selection, and Puppet Warp. Content Aware Fill is awesome for quick fixes involving backgrounds and low-complexity areas. Refine Edge Selection enables graphic artists to produce professional-quality masks and selections, while Puppet Warp allows for tremendous control over pre-clipped objects. These new features are causing a buzz among graphic artists more than any other CS5 component.
What else is there? While the shiny new features are generating louder noise, the devil is still in the details. As far as I’m concerned, the biggest selling point (graphics-wise) is that CS5 retains Adobe’s uncomplicated interface and introduces numerous tweaks and timesavers that enhance workflow and performance. Simply put, the enhanced features of Illustrator CS5 and Photoshop CS5 are helping artists to produce significantly better output at a quicker pace. Adobe has certainly done its homework as I’ve noticed minimal bugs in Photoshop and Illustrator CS5. And of course, it goes without saying that CS5 loads faster than CS4.
On the other hand, there are some issues. One is that some of CS5’s applications such as Aftereffects and Premier Pro require larger memory. There is also the issue of compatibility, often CS5 files cannot be opened in older versions.
Overall, with the system requirements in place, CS5’s enhancements are impressive. It’s another step up in the continuing revolution of digital graphics creation.
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How to write an email ad that works
July 22, 2010No commentsDespite the popularity of instant messengers and social networks, email remains an effective marketing communications tool for various industries. In a marketing survey done by a digital marketing company, it is revealed that email marketing is the advertising channel that performed best for many companies in the last year. In another study, email marketing outperformed all the other direct marketing channels examined in terms of return of investment (ROI).
Email provides an opportunity to reach out to as many people at minimal cost and with less effort. However, considering that most people get a lot of email daily, you have to state your message in the most concise way. Remember that there’s a delicate line between writing an effective email ad and one that will be marked off as spam. So how do we write email ads that attract and lead recipients to open and respond to it?
Let’s examine the parts and attributes of a good email ad.
The sender. Most of us can immediately recognize spam sources. Sender names that sound too “commercial” are promptly trashed, as well as names that don’t sound as if they belong to a real person or company. For example, emails that come from a company or at least corporate-sounding name is more credible and likely to be opened rather than obscure names of persons.
The subject line. An effective subject line is catchy. It captures the recipient’s attention and makes him or her sense the benefit of opening the email at first glance. But don’t use phrases like “make money fast” and “$$$” on your subject line or else the spam filters will block your email. Perhaps it would do you well to open your inbox and study the spam that actually escaped the email filters. Most filters today are too strong, even legitimate email could end up in the Spam inbox.
The hook. This is the most important part of your email. It is normally placed in the first sentence or the lead and involves a persuasive call to action. It states what benefits the recipient will get if he or she responds to the ad positively. Make sure to state it clearly and with conviction, preferably in active voice. Exercise: try your hook on yourself and see if it convinces you to buy the product yourself.
The length. It goes without saying that recipients will have short attention span because there are many emails and sites for them to look at daily. Write the email in the fewest but most effective words possible. This is done by using bulleted lists and powerful one-liner hooks.
The links and contact info. Email signatures look highly credible, especially if they have the complete contact information that the recipient needs. Provide links to your website for details not included in the email. Perhaps you can provide an alternative page through popular social networks like Facebook or MySpace.
The unsubscribe option. It’s unbelievable for some, but yes, this feature adds more credibility. Recipients appreciate being given options. Even if it means not availing the product or service offered for you, they might recommend your site to other potential customers. Conversely, an annoyed recipient may just email another potential customer about your emails and thus tarnish your reputation.
As a last note, remember that there are many digital marketing tools and strategies that a company could study and use. It all depends on who the target market is. As copywriters, this should be at the top of our daily to-do list—studying the market. Only then can our marketing copy be effective.
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