You find yourself at a website that looks interesting, but just not completely trustworthy.

But you’re worried about handing over your email address in order to get the download link. If you sign up for the freebie, by default you also end up subscribing to their mailing list. You already get enough spam, and who knows how much junk will flood your inbox if you enter your email address and click that shiny ‘Subscribe’ button?

The answer is to use a free throw-away email address from 10 Minute Mail. It’s your email inbox’s new best friend. The email address lasts only just long enough for you to get your download link. If you like the special report enough, you can would then feel safe enough to subscribe to the site’s eZine or RSS feed. If it’s a load of doggy poop, at least you haven’t sacrificed your inbox to the spam gods.

BUT…

What if you’re one of those website owners who use a downloadable freebie as an enticement to subscribe to your eZine? Isn’t the disposable email address your bitterest enemy? Are you hating me for recommending a service like 10 Minute Mail? Please don’t. I have some tips for you (and for myself, as I plan on doing exactly this).

1. Make sure your website projects a polished and professional image. Avoid the common web design mistakes. I’m thinking along the lines of multi-colored text, yellow highlighting, and lots of exclamation marks and gratuitous emphasis!!! But simple things like not using enough ‘white space’ in your layout – especially around the margins, choosing hard-to-read fonts, and cramping up the elements on your page also hurts. Look as professional and trustworthy online as you are in ‘real life’.
2. Under-promise and over-deliver. Avoid sounding too hyped-up and ‘too-good-to-be-true’ in your content. Be specific and truthful about what you have to offer.
3. Convince your visitors that your eZine is also a fantastic resource, not just a sacrifice they have to make to get your freebie. Your visitor should believe that signing up for the freebie plus the eZine is a double blessing (rather than dreading that the eZine is the ugly old chaperone that puts a real damper on your date with the drop-dead gorgeous super-model).
4. Include links to your website and to your eZine subscription form in your freebie. It should be a ‘standalone’ marketing tool in its own right. Not only could your visitors use a service like 10 Minute Mail to avoid getting your eZine, but subscribers who really enjoyed the freebie might pass it around to their friends (that would be a great thing – it’s called ‘viral marketing’), and bypass the subscription process. You want to make it easy for them to get on your subscriber list now that they feel safe enough to do so.

I know of a success coach who tried to stop people from passing around his free eBooks because he wanted everyone to subscribe to his eZine first. He made a point of saying that if you shared the free eBooks with your friends, you were engaging in copyright violation and piracy.

I reckon he shot himself in the foot. Who wants to email their friends a link to a subscription form instead of just sending the PDF file? I’d feel embarrassed.

Encourage people to spread your freebies around – just make sure your freebie brings people to your site and persuade them that your eZine will be genuinely useful and interesting to them.

What do you think?

Do you use the Comic Sans font in your professional marketing materials? I don’t mean on your child’s birthday invitation. I’m talking about your business card, your flyers, brochures, posters and, of course, your website.

This is the font I’m talking about (though I know you’re just acting innocent…)

If you do, within the next forty-three seconds there will be two tall men in dark suits ringing your door bell.

Um, would you believe one angry graphic designer and her rare Chinese fighting poodle?

photo credit: Living in Monrovia

Well, maybe not. But why do designers hate Comic Sans so much even though Aunt Mary loves it?

There are two main reasons:

1. Graphic designers are normally hired by professionals and businesses, so their job is to help the business to project a professional image.

2. Aunt Mary and her friends use Comic Sans way too much.

Let’s look at reason number 1, first. Does Comic Sans give a professional feel to a business card or a website?

No, it doesn’t. It is a ‘friendly’ and ‘fun’ type of font, and I understand the attraction Aunt Mary has to using it. I used to use it myself – about ten years ago. But it’s not necessary to use it in your marketing materials. If you want to look friendly and approachable yet credible and professional, there are lots of other ways to achieve that appearance.

Even if you have a ‘fun’ business or one aimed at ‘kids’, you should still steer well clear of Comic Sans for reason number 2. Aunt Mary and all her friends have used Comic Sans so much that it just screams ‘Amateur!’

Now, you wouldn’t attend a business meeting in a clown suit in order to look friendly – that would be ridiculous. You would dress in a suit but you would smile, make eye contact, and reach out in a friendly way to the other people there.

The Ban Comic Sans Facebook group page explains it further:

Like the tone of a spoken voice, the characteristics of a typeface convey meaning. The design of the typeface is, in itself, its voice. Often this voice speaks louder than the text itself. Thus when designing a “Do Not Enter” sign the use of a heavy-stroked, attention-commanding font such as Impact or Arial Black is appropriate. Typesetting such a message in Comic Sans would be ludicrous. Though this is sort of misuse is frequent, it is unjustified. Clearly, Comic Sans as a voice conveys silliness, childish naivete, irreverence, and is far too casual for such a purpose. It is analogous to showing up for a black tie event in a clown costume.

There is another reason why Comic Sans should never be used for large amounts of text, like the body text on a website or as the main font in an entire book. It’s just not readable enough. Nor is any other ‘decorative’ or ‘fancy’ font. Readability always trumps ‘looking friendly/personal’. Every time.

Imagine if Google used Comic Sans…

It just looks stupid. In fact, one design firm used Comic Sans as the main font on their website as an April’s Fools Joke (I must remember that one…)

Now I have two videos for you about Comic Sans and why it should be banned – or at least avoided. The first is kind of serious and a little long, and the second is just plain hilarious and pretty short. Your choice.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Language Warning: Just so you know, the F word is used – in subtitles – in this one. Maybe not one for your little kiddie to read over your shoulder…

Click here to view the embedded video.

And yes, Papyrus is certainly another extremely overused font to avoid.

So, please make another choice next time you pick a font. Use one that looks as professional and reliable as you are. Don’t choose Comic Sans. But if you do… is that the sound of a bunny screaming?

Just kidding. Maybe.

What do you think of Comic Sans? Friend or Foe? Please leave a comment. I always reply.

PS. No animals were actually hurt in the posting of this article. I’m a vegetarian and an animal lover. Bunnies included.

Mo Serious brings us a seriously cool video about website design, coding and SEO principles, all set to rap music. Who would have thought? I’m in love with this guy – he’s a genius.

Click here to view the embedded video.

When you make spelling/grammar mistakes on your website, you risk annoying your visitors (at least the ones like me who actually care about spelling and grammar). You lose credibility. And that results in lost sales when your prospects click away and go elsewhere.

Here is a great set of tips from Copyblogger…

Do You Make These Mistakes When You Write? | Copyblogger

And just for fun, here is a paragraph that makes all those mistakes. Can you spot them?

You and myself both don’t want to loose credibility online. Your website should of been different than other peoples. If I could of, I would of written my copy, two new posts and hired an editor, e.g. someone who proofread’s, last weekend.

photo credit: davitydave

Smashing Magazine has a list of 10 Usability Nightmares you should be aware of with examples from real sites. There is also a list of 8 usability checkpoints:

1. Don’t use pop-ups.
2. Don’t change users’ window size.
3. Don’t use too-small font sizes.
4. Don’t have unclear link text.
5. Don’t have dead links.
6. Have at most one animation per page.
7. Make it easy to contact you.
8. Make links open in the same window.

Do you agree with the article? Do you know of any other usability nightmares that they missed?

10 Usability Nightmares You Should Be Aware Of ~ Smashing Magazine

On a side note, comment #142 for this article was very amusing:

“I think that every designer should design for their grandma. If she can get around the site, only then can you pat yourself on the back. I have had customers that when I said click on the link, they actually picked up the mouse, put it on the screen and then clicked.”

Oh, dear.

(And unfortunately this site was designed by fellow Aussies, and their own site is pretty bad, too. I hate naming names, but these are classic examples of what NOT to do with your own website.

You may as well flush your business down the toilet…

photo credit: elisfanclub

Until the dust settles and I start posting again, please subscribe to this blog so that you’ll find out immediately when I’m back. You can also add me as a Facebook friend, and watch me on Twitter (see the sidebar).

I’m hoping I’ll have a chance to schedule some future-dated posts to keep things alive here.

Please leave comments on this post about questions you’d like me to answer or topics you’re interested in.

photo credit: Ben Brown

photo credit: Gaetan Lee

So what does that have to do with space men and gorillas? Take a look and see. Let me know what you think.

Visit Area 404

Want to know more about how to create a 404 error page in WordPress?

See Are You Losing Readers From Your 404 Page?

Click here to view the embedded video.