Clue Design

When you purchase something, whether it be a new piece of clothing or a simple gadget, what is the main reason you have chosen to buy that particular product?

For most of us, even if you had to spend a little more you would have to know or trust the brand and its reliability. So if you’re expecting your customers to buy from your website, you have to think exactly the same way as your customer.

Why should they buy from you? What appeals to them? How do you differ from competitors?

Most web searches/visitors to your site will be thinking the same thoughts:

• How can I trust you if I don’t know who you are?
• What is going to happen to my personal information/credit card details?
• How can I contact you in case something goes wrong?
• Why should I buy from you and not another site?
• Is your business a serious business?

So how do you ensure you are fulfilling their requests?

Informative copy-You have to be absolutely precise when it comes to writing copy about a product or service on your site.
Site Security Information- Provide information about the company in About Us and allow the visitor to view company details, who are the team behind the business and provide information on how the shoppers information will remain secure.
Product Reviews- Laying out honest reviews (even negative) from past customers gives the visitor a valuable insight into the company. It also creates a sense of honesty, trust and integrity.
Risk Free Guarantees- Offering risk-free guarantees will help to ease your customer’s worries. This way they know what happens if the product they chose isn’t what they wanted, doesn’t work or just the regular “What ifs” arise.

If you are able to provide your customers with everything they wish to know and convince them that you are trustworthy, reliable and credible company, you will leave your visitors feeling comfortable and confident within not only your website, but also your product.

Who would have thought that the good old Post-it would be reinvented to a digital E-note. Designers, Sequoia Studios have created an electrical paper technology just like the Post-it.
Write, stick, erase or re-use the tiny pieces of e-paper that require only one minute of solar power per day to work.

The E-notes which come in a pack of 25 can be used and re-used to write, draw or erase anything you want, digitally with the stylus- its own style of pen.
Times, colours, dates and alarms are all a part of the special E-note experience.

To find out how to use the E-note, follow the link. http://www.sequoia-studio.com/fr/etude_enote.html

If you have seen The Terminator then you will know exactly what this is all about.
The Military are hoping to create an online, self-teaching artificial intelligence which uses the internet to train its mind.

The Military Commissioned National Research Council believe that with so much information being constantly updated online it could mean there is no limit to augmenting its capabilities. Creepy? Just a bit.

If you thought that was enough to hear about, Cycorb is a company which was founded in 1994 and aims to research, develop and commercialise artificial intelligence.
A quote stated on Cycorp’s website states: “People have silly reasons why computers don’t really think. The answer is we haven’t programmed them right; they just don’t have much common sense. There’s only one large project to do something about that, that’s the famous Cycorp project.”- Marvin Minsky, MIT, May 2001.

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/08/military-ai-cou.html
or www.cyc.com

If you are interested in sending out Christmas Cards to your clients, friends and family, then this year you can order personalised Chrissie cards through the Breast Cancer Foundation of Western Australia.

By purchasing your cards from this not-for-profit organisation, you are helping to raise much needed funds with 40 cents per card being donated to the BCFWA.

The BCFWA also sells other great gift ideas which would be perfect for that special someone at Christmas time.

•    Number Plates- Make your car breast aware with a set of BCFWA number plates. $55 from every set gets donated to the foundation.
•    Office Wristbands- Buy a box of wristbands for your office with $2 of every band going straight to the organisation.
•    Steel Cap Boots- A pair of Steel blue purple boots for the main man in your life donates $30 of every pair purchased to BCFWA. http://www.purpleboots.com.au/
•    Purple Pal memberships- For $55 a year, being a Purple Pal gets you invitations to all BCFWA events, prize packs, updates and free newsletters and the chance to win prizes worth over $200.
Clue Design are proud sponsors of the Breast Cancer Foundation of Western Australia and have been fortunate enough to develop their website. If you too want to find out how you can give the most precious gift of all this Christmas by supporting this incredible organisation, simply follow the link: www.breastcancer.org.au

Mintox.com has gone LIVE!

The website for Mintox Adaptive Content Management System clearly demonstrates how the advanced Content management System is unlike anything you have seen before.

The easy-to-read website introduces Mintox and its purposes, illustrates the mini applications and integrated Components which work to create and embody a combination of features, and explains in thorough detail just how simple Mintox is to operate, implement and manage.

The skilled web developers and designers at Clue Design have spent decades developing Mintox and have been utilising the Content Management System to build websites from five pages through to a thousand pages, all simply and efficiently.

The team at Clue Design have been anticipating the launch of the Mintox website and have been eagerly waiting to prove to you just how adaptive and easy-to-use Mintox really is! www.mintox.com

Bored? Want to waste tons of time? Click on these links and view the coolest and latest websites.
•    Dear God -A startling new concept of spirituality where people from all over the world confess their darkest and most innermost secrets, hopes and dreams.
www.dear-god.net
•    Groove Shark- Listen to any song in the world for free. Discover, share and listen to music online and access your tunes from anywhere.
www.grooveshark.com
•    Choose Your Own Tube- An online sitcom where you can choose what happens in the next episode. Just like those choose your own adventure books we had when we were kids.
www.chooseyourowntube.com

•   Boxed Up- Create your own lengthy ‘want’ list this Christmas. When you see something you like online, add it to your boxed up list to make life easy on your family come Christmas or birthday time.         http://www.boxedup.com/

Did you know that around 80,000 people each year go to hospital following injuries at Christmas? These are not the usual injuries such as car accidents but also simple injuries such as getting electrocuted whilst installing Christmas lights and falling when putting up decorations.

To learn about how you can make your office a safe workplace for yourself and your colleagues, follow these critical steps;

•    Electrical equipment should be turned off. All electrical equipment such as Christmas lights should be upgraded each year, installed appropriately and should be turned off during the holiday period. 350 people get hurt a year putting up or installing Christmas lights due to faulty or worn lights.
•    Alarms on. Don’t forget to turn your alarms on when you close the doors for the last time that year. This prevents typical Christmas break-ins and theft.
•    Climb the ladder carefully. Remind employees to use ladders instead of wobbly or rotating office chairs when hanging tinsel on the walls. During Christmas 1,000 people a year are injured falling while hanging decorations.
•    Designated drivers. Always either book taxis in advance when going out for office drinks or designate a driver. NEVER EVER drink and drive or drive tired. A quarter of all road accidents are sleep-related.
•    Check smoke alarms. You have just spent and arm and a leg on Christmas presents and bonuses, so you don’t want to come back to a burnt down office and have to spend hundreds of thousands fixing it up. Check and re-check fire alarms, blow out Christmas candles around the office, Turn off electrical equipment at the switch and pull the plug to prevent office fires.
•    Lifting the tree. When someone offers to help lift the tree from the car boot, take up that offer. 1,000 people have a Christmas tree accident each year by either putting their back out lifting or dragging Christmas trees.

Contact your local fire or police department for more facts and tips on preventing accidents from occurring around the festive season and we can all have a safe and prosperous Christmas and New Year.

When it comes to writing the content for your website, many people just simply cannot find the right words to explain their product, service or business.

You may also have come across a website which is full of punctuation, spelling and grammar issues and wondered how on earth they could have misspelt “analyse” with “analyze” or “business” with “buisness”. It is due to people not having enough time to edit their website or not enough patience to re-read their work.

This is when hiring a copywriter/content writer comes in handy!  Here are a few tips from our in-house copywriter explaining how professionally written content can truly benefit your online business.

Whether the purpose of your website is to inform, persuade, or entertain, the quality of its written content is important. Because websites are full of colour and images, we tend to forget that they involve a lot of reading. Words communicate ideas, sell products, help your customers find their way around, and more. These three practical tips will help you avoid some common mistakes.

Tip No. 1 – Allocate plenty of time
•    Good website writing is concise and easy to read. When something is easy to read, it is natural to think it was easy to write. The opposite is true. The fewer words you use, the longer it takes.
•    If you underestimate the time it takes to organise and write your content, you could delay the completion of your website.
•    Plan well ahead and allow at least twice the time you think you need.
Tip No. 2 – Avoid a content dump
•    It is tempting to fill your website with all sorts of information that you think is important. The risk is that you will create clutter that gets in the way. Here are just two reasons why that matters
•    Website visitors are impatient. If you make them work to find what they want, they will leave.
•    Many people have difficulty understanding written communication. Websites are harder to read than printed material. Unnecessary content just makes the problem worse.
•    Identify what is relevant for the people who will visit your site. Omit the rest.
Tip No. 3 – Maintain your content
•    A sure way to lose credibility is to have outdated or inaccurate information on your website.
•    A good practice is to schedule regular content reviews. Of course, if you know something needs replacing, don’t wait for the next review. Fix it now before a potential customer sees it.

As your business grows and changes, so should your website content. The best sites are always works in progress. Clue Design provides professional advice about planning and writing effective website content. Contact us now to find out how we can help you info@cluedesign.com.au

Just another tip when it comes to the holiday season… Try to refrain from sending drunken emails after Christmas parties, New Years gatherings and holiday fiestas.

But it you simply can’t stop yourself from pressing send on that horrible email to your ex boss, partner or friend, then Google will stop it for you.

Mail Googles is a software application created by Google which asks five simple math problems which require the correct answer in less than a minute before sending.

This is perfectly suited for those hot summer nights when after a few drinks, your brain finds it difficult to register.

If being bad at math is your excuse, well it’s too bad… Google just saved you from a horrible reply.

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-in-labs-stop-sending-mail-you-later.html

This is a perfect gift for a stressed-out boss, relative or friend.

The StressEraser is a hand held biofeedback medical device designed to calm your mind and relax your body in just 15 minutes.

Clinically tested, the StressEraser uses a sensor to detect your pulse rate and instructs the user to slow their breathing and deepen each breath.

The more you use it, the better you feel and you can enjoy a relaxed, stress free day at work or a good night’s sleep!

To find out how you can purchase the StressEraser, follow the link.

http://www.brookstone.com/shop/product.asp?product_code=STRESS_ERASER&cm_ven=Compare&cm_cat=ChannelAdvisor&cm_pla=Gifts&cm_ite=datafeed