Sara Zimmerman Art, Illustration & Design » Tips

Best WordPress Web Host

Sara — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:11:55 +0000

Choosing a host for your new website can be a daunting task since there are hundreds, if not thousands. I have worked with many and though I love to support local, small businesses, this is one area where the national brand is the better way to go. When you have a national company competing with others, you end up getting easy customer service 24/6, a great control panel, easy to understand tutorials, and usually money back guarantees. One of my favorite companies to work with is GoDaddy.com. They are great for general html sites and WordPress sites, as well as other options.

In building new sites and redesigning sites with hosts that clients currently work with, I have come across numerous different host and domain providers. The reason I prefer GoDaddy.com over many of the other large (and small hosts) is the following:

Their control panels are very easy to navigate and work with, for both developer and client.
They have a wide variety of tutorials for all of their products that are easy to access and understand
I have had the least amount of problems with their hosting and transfers with them than any other host I have worked with.
They have expedited transfers for me, allowing client websites to have minimal down times.
Though I have seen some slower service for their Economy WordPress hosting, their Deluxe and Ultimate packages have produced faster load times for client websites.
Customer service. I have had some problems with them with a couple clients (but less than with other hosts) and when that happened, they refunded the full amount.

All hosts boast that they do not have problems, even though all hosts have a problem here and there. That said, GoDaddy has provided more consistent service than any other host that I have used.

How to Purchase the Top wordpress website hosting

Go to GoDaddy.com and go to the menu HOSTING If you are getting a WordPress site, go to WORDPRESS hosting
If you will only have a few images and don't care about loading speeds, choose the Economy Plan. If you are going to have more than a handful of images and want faster loading times, choose Deluxe Plan (12 months is recommended for both). If you are going to have an eCommerce site with onsite payment processing, then choose the Ultimate Plan and you will get a SSL certificate for free for one year.
Don't add anything else on the next page and proceed to checkout.*
*If you do not have a domain name, go to DOMAINS and select a domain name. The .com and .net are preferred.

GoDaddy is my favorite website host because they take great care of you, have exceptional services and integrative options, as well as numerous tutorials that stay up to date. If you are planning on getting a website, I recommend GoDaddy for your hosting. However, be sure to talk to your web designer first to make sure that you are purchasing the correct plan for your site.

Tips on Greening Your Business

Sara — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:55:01 +0000

As a tribute to Earth Day, here are a few tips and resources for making your business a green business:

Use a high recycled content paper in your fax and printer. When one side is printed on, use the other side for scrap paper, notes, etc.
Have a recycling container next to each trash can and desk.
Turn off your work station lights when gone for longer than 5 minutes.
Replace work station light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescents.
Carpool, take public transit, walk or work from home.
If you eat take out lunches from nearby restaurants, either eat there or bring your own recyclable take out containers.
Bring a reusable water bottle versus using one-time water cups or plastic water bottles from vending machines.
Look at any products you offer and investigate ways you can use recycled/reclaimed content in the packaging or in the product itself.

These are just some ways that you can make a small impact in your everyday business life. For more ideas, here are some resources:

Facebook competition rules

Sara — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:39:06 +0000

Facebook is a great way to market your business. However, Facebook has cracked down on how people are using it to run competitions. Belly Beyond's blog has a quick run down of the do's and don'ts of running such promotions, with the main rule being: You cannot make the entry of a competition dependent on an action on Facebook. That means that Facebook Promotion rules cannot have people enter a competition by:

becoming a 'liker' (or fan)*
tagging themselves in a photo
commenting on your wallpage or post
putting a comment or @ tag in their status
uploading a photo or video

Read more on their blog or go to "help" on Facebook.

Sell your art through Facebook

Sara — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:30:14 +0000

As an artist with other jobs, it's challenging for me to keep a plentiful inventory of art prints, let alone keep that stock in numerous locations. That's when I found Fine Art America, an online retailer and printer of artist reproductions. Fine Art America has a venue for you to upload your high quality images so that art lovers can buy these as prints on rag paper, photo paper, giclee's on canvas, on greeting cards, with frames... you name it. You set it up, you do some promo, they print it, sell it, take a percentage, and give you the money. However, as good as it sounds, it takes some time to get people to find your page and make a purchase. Knowing this, Fine Art America has created a handful of ways you can promote your work. One of my favorites is their Facebook Shopping Cart. After you create an artist profile AND a Facebook account, viewers can access and buy your art reproductions all from a tab called "Shop" on your Facebook page without even leaving Facebook.

Website tips for non-profits

Sara — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:23:36 +0000

I came across a wonderful blog post about web design tips for non-profit organizations at Vandelay Design Blog. Since non-profits are generally on a slim budget, this is a great resource in helping you determine which features and information to include. Once you have a defined scope of work, it is then easier to get estimates and quotes. If you are a non-profit on a budget, take a look at the link above to help you figure out your next steps. In the meantime, take a look at this simple website I made for BAEDN, non-profit on a very tight budget. It will provide ideas of what else you can include.

Design and marketing for the budget-minded

Sara — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:51:27 +0000

A lot of small businesses and non-profit organizations approach me for graphic design and illustration work. Many of them have seen better days in terms of business, and therefore are very budget minded. However, being aware of your budget and having tight purse strings doesn't mean you have to fore go having a clean business image. Yet it doesn't mean that you are going to be able to put everything in the hands of a professional, snap your fingers, and have the perfect image and marketing package created for you without lifting a finger. If you are willing to put time and effort into the decisions behind the design, your business too can have a distinct look that reiterates your reputable brand for less than a standard bid. I'm broke, but want/need a design. What can I do? If you are on a budget but seriously want to improve your image, then you need to be committed in helping to create this change. What that means is that you need to spend the time to research your own vision for your design and make notes of things you like and don't like. Your willingness to get your hands dirty will ultimately help you get the end product you want.

How picky are you/ your organization or can you trust the professionals? Furthermore, how picky can you afford to be? I have come across numerous sole proprietors who don't know what they want yet have a very small budget. Understanding that time=money, they either decide to trust me to create something that will fit their needs OR they are very precise and ask me what they can do to reduce my time spent. The non-picky clients tell me general themes they like with a general direction, knowing they can trust me to create something that keeps their interests and directions in mind. The picky ones need to really do their homework (as listed below) so that all the details they want are clearly conveyed to me, or any designer, prior to starting.
Second, decide who is your market, what you want to do, and why you want to do it. Be sure that your reasoning stands behind making the investment. For instance, if you are an event coordinator for an event that is trying to attract a Gen-Y, party crowd and sell fundraiser t-shirts to this market, then you need to have a t-shirt design and marketing program that appeals to them. A good option in attracting this crowd is through social networking and having a basic website that people can go to from there. You know that this is the market who is regularly spending $30 or so at events and know that if you have a design that speaks to them, they will come to the event, bring a friend, and most likely buy a t-shirt. On the contrary, if you are trying to attract this same crowd, the last thing you want to do to market to them is take an ad out in the economic or real estate section of the daily newspaper and have a committee of retirees decide on the logo.
Do your homework. What styles/ themes do you like (i.e clean and corporate, grungy, artsy and hand-drawn, modern, Asian, etc.), what logos do you like, and what attributes speak to you and your target market (i.e. colors, shapes, symbols)? Find some fonts, come colors, and components that mean something to you (and your business) and make a list (please include URLs). Include some words that summarize your business direction and add those to the list as well. A good designer will know how to tie all of these characteristics into a sweet logo/ identity/ branding that really reflects your business. Without providing this information, you may become victim to a very common logo dilemma where logos and their businesses do not reflect one another.
Decide how you want to relay this information. Do you want an email campaign, a flyer, a website, advertisements, and a social networking plan to relay the information? Decide on what you want and what is realistic in terms of your time and budget, knowing that many marketing efforts are ongoing versus a one-time project. And keep in mind that once you decide on how you will market you need to decide if you want to have products with this image to sell and/or maintain during the event or afterwards. If so, how will you market during those times and do you need to include another marketing option?
Decide on your selling points and your message. These are the items that will be added to whatever marketing venue you choose to use, from websites, to flyers, to postcards and email blasts. Once you take the time to decide on your concise message, it's easy to have other people help spread the word (and relay the correct information).
Find a designer that you can relate to, work with, and who understands your budget. Visit their online portfolio, contact them, and see if they are a good match for you. For instance, I specialize in hand-drawn, artsy, grungy themes and have a background in marketing for small businesses and artists. Though I may fit the budget of a start-up firm looking for a very clean, corporate design, we are not necessarily a good match. Just as a designer who specializes in large, corporate clients may not be able to work with a local artisan looking to create a funky and fresh marketing campaign for their upcoming open studio event. Additionally, if you are willing to do the dirty work, you will want to find a designer that rewards you with either a sliding scale or an hourly fee versus a firm project by project bid.
Be realistic with what you are asking for. Once you receive an estimate or two and you notice that all of your requests can't be met for the budget you have, you need to reassess. What can you cut out? Or is it worth it to spend more and increase your budget so you can sell cute, fitted t-shirts knowing you will get more people buying those than the traditional, boxy tee? Should you try to gain sponsors so you can get a larger crowd to your event knowing once they are there, they will spend more? Or should you cut out one of the modes of marketing, such as advertising, and solicit volunteer efforts instead?

There are so many things that go into design and effective marketing campaigns. This is what you pay for when you hire a good designer with a pulse on marketing. And whether or not you can pay the fees for such a designer, doing your homework will ultimately help you and your business/ event /organization in the long run. And if you are too busy to do the work, then increase your budget and invest your trust into a designer who can get your tasks and materials created in both a beautiful and effective way.