Tone of voice thought piece | barnabybenson.co.uk What’s all the fuss about tone of voice? By Barnaby Benson May 2007 Every now and then in business, something we’d all been taking a bit for granted suddenly becomes a hot topic. As a professional copywriter, working for many large companies across a wide range of industries, I am sent these tone of voice sections all the time as part of the briefing process. This article aims to identify these main factors and make some suggestions as to how we might harness them to serve a brand and even help differentiate it. 1: Written language isn’t like visual language Tone of voice guidelines tend to be part of an overall brand book explaining what you can and cannot do when preparing communications for a brand. Words have meanings you can look up in dictionaries and this limits your choices. 2: Everybody writes but few people write well Design is done by designers but writing is done by everybody. This is not good news for the company wishing to use language to differentiate their brand. No!
The Logo Evolution of 15 Corporate Brands Nov 21, 2010 / Category : Misc / 4 Comments As we already know that Logo is the identities that are fundamental to building a brand and communicating with the target audience. Probably you have seen most of these logos everywhere, but have you ever wondered about their evolution, their background? Did you know that Apple original logo was Isaac Newton under an apple tree or have you ever wonder where the Mercedes-Benz Brand And The Three-Pointed Star logo came from? Apple It is one of the biggest consumer electronics and Software Company, best known for products like Macintosh, iPod and iphone. The road to success wasn't easy for Apple, and Wayne liquidated his share in the company for a mere $ 800. Apple II was successful mainly because it had colored graphics. However, Steve Jobs hired Rob Janoff to simplify the logo, which turned out to be a great idea. Audi Audi is a German brand which produces cars and is a part of the Volkswagen Group. Canon Ford In 1956, before Thomas J. Kodak Nike
Multivariate Testing in Action: Five Simple Steps to Increase Conversion Rates - Smashing Magazine Advertisement The attention span on the Web has been decreasing ever since Google had arrived and changed the rules of the game. Now with millions of results available on any topic imaginable, the window to grab a visitor’s attention has decreased significantly (in 2002, the BBC reported it is about 9 seconds1). Picture yourself browsing the Web: do you go out of your way to read the text, look at all the graphics, and try to thoroughly understand what the page is about? The answer is most likely to be a straight “no.” We make snap decisions on whether to engage with a website based on whatever we can make out in the first few (milli)seconds2. In this post we will talk about how to tweak a website for generating more sales, downloads, membership (or any other business goal) in a scientific manner, using A/B split and multivariate testing. Step 1. How to have website visitors notice your offering, then get them to act on it? Quick overview: A/B Testing. Step 2. 1) You: Yes, you! Step 3.
Common Mishaps in Copywriting Revision is absolutely a part of the writing process, and thanks to spell and grammar check, we seem to have a better grasp of the written language, at least. The only problem is that tools to check spelling and grammar are frequently wrong or not observant enough, making us look silly. If you’re writing for potential customers, your job is to bring your visitors into the fold and make them click, fill out a form or “buy now!” While you can get away with a few grammar and spelling mistakes with the average reader, blatant errors in your copy can turn off your more educated and well-read visitors. That being said, it’s often a challenge to know exactly which version of a word or phrase to use in a piece of copy. But if we’re hungry, we can eat dinner now. Common Copywriting Mishaps With a constantly evolving language and different rules for copywriting and formal writing, it’s not surprising that so many of us struggle with the written language. Except and Accept Advice and Advise Conclusion
We Can Do Better: The Overlooked Importance of Professional Journalism - Smashing Magazine Advertisement The Web is a galaxy of information that is rapidly expanding. Blogs and online magazines are helping shape the future of this Information Age that we live in. Those of us who read, write and design blogs and online magazines possess extraordinary power and potential. If you use your website to publish news, events, opinions or interviews, you should familiarize yourself with the basics of journalism. This article is accompanied by examples of photojournalism, which is the practice of communicating news through photographs. We, designers, go on all day about the usability of our WordPress layouts and the readability of our typography, but all of those things have been considered in vain if our writing is poorly spelled, riddled with inaccuracies, or based on second-hand assumptions that will leave our audience misled, confused, or worse. Whether or not you strive to produce writing that you consider journalism is not all that important. What is Journalism? Verification
Make Your Content Make a Difference - Smashing Magazine Advertisement Content, content, content. It’s an obvious part of any interactive experience. In fact, you’ve probably heard content is king, or queen, or some sort of royalty. Yet, content is elusive. Delayed projects.Broken designs.Uneven voice.Low-performing landing pages.Dead social media channels.Customer confusion and service calls. These problems and more are documented extensively,[1] so I won’t dwell on them. Beware Of False Solutions Just because someone articulates a problem well does not mean someone knows the solution. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Snake Oil Oh, poor JC Penney. Now, besides avoiding embarrassment, I suggest that you avoid SEO snake oil because it will not bring you results. And, now, a big caveat: I don’t think all SEO is bad. Andy Budd recently discussed a closely related point of view in his recent article. Overpromised Technology What else is not a magic pill? Sounds awful, right? The Real Solution Get Strategic 1. Goal Users / Audience Processes / Ecosystem
Spelling mistakes 'cost millions' in lost online sales An online entrepreneur says that poor spelling is costing the UK millions of pounds in lost revenue for internet businesses. Charles Duncombe says an analysis of website figures shows a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half. Mr Duncombe says when recruiting staff he has been "shocked at the poor quality of written English". Sales figures suggest misspellings put off consumers who could have concerns about a website's credibility, he says. The concerns were echoed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), whose head of education and skills warned that too many employers were having to invest in remedial literacy lessons for their staff. Mr Duncombe, who runs travel, mobile phones and clothing websites, says that poor spelling is a serious problem for the online economy. "Often these cutting-edge companies depend upon old-fashioned skills," says Mr Duncombe. "This is because when you sell or communicate on the internet, 99% of the time it is done by the written word."