Sandy’s Great Graphic Tips: Why Use Graphics?

Filed Under Design, Successful Blog, Tips | 8 Comments

What Does Learning Style Have To Do With Graphics?

We each have a different learning style. The three basic styles are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (VAK). Approximately 60-70% (depending on the source) of the general population are predominantly visual learners. They need visual aids to fully grasp a concept or idea.

Graphics are a huge reason people flock to the web. Humans are generally more receptive to things we see compared to things we hear. That means a well-placed graphic on your post can make a world of difference to their experience.

The term ‘graphic’ describes visual elements like photographs, drawings, illustrations, diagrams, charts, maps, symbols, fonts, etc. Graphics can be a very effective method to express a concept. Remember the proverb, “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Sometimes you can use a graphic to express an idea that may otherwise take pages.

Graphics:

add color and depth
tell a story
catch the eye
retain reader interest
express a concept

What’s Your Learning Style?

What type of learning style do you have? Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic? Find out with the Learning Style Survey.

Here’s my results. The graphic says it all…

Stay tuned… in upcoming weeks we’ll talk more about graphics. Let me know what you think. If there are specific things you want to discuss, feel free to leave a comment and we’ll start there.

Here’s some ideas I thought of:

Using graphics effectively
Selecting graphic file types (.gif, .jpg)
Sizing and optimizing graphics
Editing image tags in html
Using white space
Cropping photos
File naming conventions
Placing images in text
Using a scanner to create graphics
Finding graphics
Using special effects
Locating books and resources
Using color, grayscale, or duotone

See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

Business Rule 5: Never Underestimate the Power of a Voice on the Telephone

Filed Under Business Book, Strategy, Successful Blog, Tips | 27 Comments

What I Learned from the Black Box

I was working for a company just outside of Boston. I was living just outside of Laguna Beach. The job was a great fit. At 13.5 hours door-to-door when the weather gods were on my side, the commute was not.

I was part of a team hell-bent on turning around a company in crisis. They had lost 10% for three years before I got there. About six months earlier, the staff had been cut from 200 people to 40. The culture was hurt. Everyone had ideas about what went wrong, but no one was sure about what to do right. The process models had fallen apart.

Itâ€™s so easy to talk about negatives in a situation like that.

Because of my circumstances, I attended two executive meetings each month via telephone — a black box on the table. Iâ€™d say hello to the group. Theyâ€™d place the food of the day near the phone, and the meeting would start. They would forget I was there. I got to be the proverbial fly on the wall.

Three important things happened over that telephone.

Attending the meetings via telephone raised my concentration level. It was almost like eavesdropping. I was less inclined to speak. It required crossing a barrier. I had to feel strongly to add my opinion. Instead, I listened more intently, just to imagine what was happening.
When I did speak, Iâ€™m told, all eyes went to the forgotten box on the tableâ€“my voice got the complete attention of the room. I wasn’t freely spouting information. So when I spoke, they listened.
Like me at the other end, they had to â€œworkâ€ to hear the message. They had to rely on interpretting data through only one of their senses and so, it was information they had earned.

It was the absence of the visual that made our words so powerful. We actually heard each other better and valued each other’s words more.

The difference was that we had to listen.

The common wisdom is that we lose more when we lose the visual. In this case we gained. Learning to listen wasn’t the only lesson that I learned that day.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help with your PRM, check out the Perfect Virtual Manager on the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Bloggers Fighting? Oh, If You Must . . . Do It Right

Filed Under Business Life, Great Finds, Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog, Tips | 23 Comments

I saw and article called How to fight with other bloggers, on Paul Boutin’s blog Sunday. It’s advice he offers to bloggers about arguing, “if you need fight, do it right.” Doing it right means following three rules.

Rule 1: Fight only with bloggers bigger than you.

Rule 2: Stick to the arguments you know

Rule 3: Don’t talk about the fight.

If I might add a few of my own,

Liz’s Rule 1: Make sure it’s worth fighting about.

Liz’s Rule 2: Keep personal talk out.

Liz’s Rule 3: Don’t kick a guy who’s down or a horse that’s already dead.

Liz’s Rule 4: Always leave the other guy a place to stand.

Liz’s Rule 5: Remember your future boss and your heirs will be reading whatever you write a long time after your feelings have cooled off.

If a cause is worth supporting, it gets more traction from positive interaction.

The blogosphere doesn’t need any of us to make it work.

Liz's Signature

SOB Business Cafe 11-17-06

Filed Under Basics, Business Life, Great Finds, Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog, Tech/Stats, Tips, Trends | 2 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the title shots to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Steve Farber wrote the handbook on being extreme.

SuccessCREEations has something fresh to say about business blogging. Don’t let the title fool you . . .

Make It Great! has a question for you about Raj Setty’s book.

Howard Lindzon explains how brave and shameless work in the world of Web2.0

Borat and Paris Hilton have something in common

Innovation Zen starts the year end with the first list of cool stuff.

Related ala carte selections include

Blog Chalk Talk demonstrates how to get through an in-box like a surgeon.

The Zero Boss serves the tip of the day with attitude. Be sure to capture the URL for Ice Rocket, if you’ve never been there.

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like.
No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

If You Want Me to Care, Tell Me Who You Are

Filed Under Basics, Branding, Customer Think, Marketing, Successful Blog, Tips | 32 Comments

Identity, Credibility, Humanity

It happened twice last night. I was reading a new blog and got interested. I went to the About page and there was none. . . .

Most blogging templates come with an About page — a page ready for the blogger add a bio and background. Here at Successful-Blog the About Liz page is so often visited, the page itself has a Google Page Rank of 5!

Why is that?

It’s not because I am so particularly fascinating. It’s because people want to know who’s talking to them.

When I study my referral logs, I check the visitor paths. New readers come. They read a while, and then, go to the About page. It’s not unusual for visitors who read several posts,to return to the About page more than once in a visit. I see that happen daily.

A well-written About page offers asset value and provides a service to readers. It begins a relationship on three levels.

Identity. An About page welcomes visitors who come to your blog by telling them something about you.
Credibility. It lets your readers see your personal stake in the blog and how only you could write it.
Humanity. The About page lets readers know there’s a person behind the blog. Without it, you’ve left an anonymous letter.

Write an About page that introduces you. It’s sets up your brand and starts our relationship. It makes that first connect between us as writer and reader. We’re all so busy and anonymous sources are unreliable at best.

I want to care about what you write. Please tell me who you are.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

« go back — keep looking »

Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You're only a stranger once.

What Does Learning Style Have To Do With Graphics?

What’s Your Learning Style?

What I Learned from the Black Box

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

The Specials this Week are

Related ala carte selections include

Identity, Credibility, Humanity

Search

SOBCon 2012 - Register NOW!!

Chicago Time

Guest Post Guidelines

Ask Liz About:

Blog Syndication

Sign up for a weekly digest via email.

Find Liz AT:

Liz Writes For

What Liz Does

Find books and products by Liz and friends

Library

SOB Pages

Liz Links

The Liz Manifesto

Category