Adobe Illustrator is my go-to software for anything and everything design-related. It's the one program I truly couldn't work without.
And while it's easy to assume that the program's primary focus is illustration based on the name, there is so much more to this design software.
With tools for type, color, photo cropping, image tracing, drawing, and much more, it has innumerable benefits for bloggers and business owners, alike.
To get your creative gears turning, here's a look at 40 ways Adobe Illustrator can take your blog and/or business to the next level.
First impressions are crucial, especially in business.
Potential customers and clients make judgments about your business within the first few seconds of coming into contact with it, whether it’s through your website, your social media accounts, or a simple blog post graphic.
And those initial thoughts - whether they’re spot on or far off from what you want them to be - are within your control. You have the opportunity to make a killer first impression through high-quality, branded visuals.
If your blog is a large part of your business or you’re hoping to drive more traffic back to your site through your blog, you have to have eye-catching blog graphics to not only generate a positive first impression, but to encourage readers to share your posts on sites like Pinterest and be seen by an even wider audience.
So how do you create eye-catching blog post graphics? And better yet, how can you set them apart so they’ll stand out from the rest and be recognized time and time again?
“When I discovered YouTube, I didn’t work for 5 days.” - Michael Scott
Video platforms like YouTube (and more recently, Periscope) are easily the world’s greatest time-wasters. We’ve all been guilty of losing track of time on YouTube at least once, because videos are easily consumable, very addicting, and highly entertaining.
As a matter of fact, studies show that a whopping 78% of us watch videos online every week and 55% watch videos online every day.
Which is why Youtube is also the world’s greatest overnight-success-maker. If you’re on the production-side of a video and you’ve come up with a clever idea, you might just have a viral hit on your hands.
Video holds a lot of potential for interaction, engagement, and shares for creative businesses. And for that reason, it’s one of the best visual marketing tools you can use.
But it producing videos can be a little overwhelming, can’t it? Even with helpful video tools out there like Animoto, many of us struggle to come up with simple ideas for video content that would appeal to our audience.
And that’s where this post comes in. I’ve rounded up 40 easy, engaging video content ideas to help get your creative gears turning. My hope is that you’ll find a few ideas to implement and as a result, bring your business more exposure.
If you’re looking for a good way to kill at least an hour of your time, type in the word “infographic” in the Pinterest search bar.
Thousands of clever graphics will pop up on everything from “how to make a salad taste awesome” to a baby’s first year in a review. There’s even an infographic that answers the pressing question, “Is your dog sleeping a little too much?”
Then, after you’ve admired the genius creativity behind them, take a gander at how many repins and likes each of those infographics receives. Thousands upon thousands.
In fact, infographic volumes have increased by over 800% in 2 years. Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t.
What is it about infographics that makes them so appealing? And better yet, how can you come up with some clever infographics for your business so it gains more exposure through likes and shares?
I have all the answers for you in this post.
Is your headline the first thing you consider when you sit down to write a post?
Probably not, but creating a catchy blog post title is one of the most important aspects of each blog post. It's the gateway to your content; it convinces people to click or scroll right past your latest post'.
In fact, studies show that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline but only 2 out of 10 will read your entire post.
Here are a few pointers for drawing in potential readers and a couple "templates" to help you create a catchy headline for your upcoming posts.
While there's definitely creativity and a basic design knowledge involved in creating a one-of-a-kind logo, there's also a system behind it all.
I've always been curious about how other designers go about their creative process, so today I’m taking you behind the scenes to give you a peek at what my logo design process looks like from start to finish.
A brand is like a person; it has a distinct style and character that's all it's own. It has a unique tone of voice, it uses certain words more often than others, and it has its own unique way of "dressing itself" to make a great first impression.
My job is to help with that last part - "clothing" a business through its visual identity.
If you've been following along with the Elle & Company newsletter, you've probably noticed the large role that website statistics have played in our business.
Although numbers aren't everything, analytics help us set and track goals for this blog by seeing which sites our traffic comes from, which posts receive the greatest amount of interaction, and how long visitors are staying on our site.
While Squarespace provides a great overview of site statistics through their metrics, Google Analytics provides a more in-depth look. Thankfully, Squarespace easily syncs up with Google Analytics, and today Jake's walking you through the set up.
We’re all visual people to some extent, so it’s no wonder that Instagram is all the hype these days. The social media platform is addictive, free, and fun to use, which has great implications for creative businesses; it allows you to showcase your work/products in an unobtrusive, attractive, and personable way.
As a designer, Instagram has been especially helpful for my business. Several of my past, present, and upcoming design clients have found me through Instagram, and the larger my following becomes on the platform, the greater chance I have of drawing in clientele and blog readers.
This time last year I was close to reaching 1,000 followers, and today I’m somewhere around 11k. I’ve received several inquiries from readers lately who’ve asked me how I’ve grown my Instagram following, and although I’ve shared a couple posts in the past about Instagram landing pages and how to create the quintessential Instagram feed, I’m going in a little more detail today to share 6 things that I attribute to my organic increase in followers.
If you’ve been following Elle & Company for any length of time, this won’t be the first time you’ve heard me talk about high quality content. I use that term often around here for one primary reason: it has the potential to revolutionize your blog and business.
I’m living proof of this. A year ago I was struggling to find my niche and my voice on the Elle & Company blog. It wasn’t until I had a few revolutionary breakthroughs and started to focus on high quality content that things began to pick up.
