Nuts and Bolts: Don’t Mean to Deceive
So by now, every artist should be including a product description in their Artist’s Notes field to help maximize their chances of attracting customers and making sales. If you aren’t doing this or don’t know how, check out previous Nuts & Bolts articles on these same topics.
Today we’re going to focus on descriptions (and card titles and keywords) that don’t mean to deceive customers, but are accidentally giving the wrong impression, and how to correct this problem.
As many of you are aware, customers return purchased cards to GCU all the time and for many reasons, some of which can’t be helped (such as a technical printing issue). However, one of the causes of returns can be caught by artists before it becomes a reason to take revenue out of our pockets. I’ll show you what causes accidentally deceptive descriptions, and then I’ll teach you how to word your description to avoid customer misunderstandings.
Please note that the examples I’ll be giving you are only examples. I’m not criticizing or singling them out. I did a search on GCU for certain words and phrases, and randomly chose examples from the results.
Why do customers think that GCU sells cards ornamented with genuine special embellishments? Because they don’t know the business. Because they’re used to seeing handmade cards with all of these things and more, some for sale at places like Etsy or even at the grocery and drug stores in the racks. Because they go by card titles, keywords, and yes, product descriptions to tell them what they’re buying.
Why should you bother helping customers understand exactly what they’re getting? Here’s what we learned in the long-ago days when I was given marketing training: if a shopper is dissatisfied with their purchase, they will typically do one of two things. The minority will return the product for a refund. The majority of dissatisfied customers don’t return the product, but instead try not to shop at the store again, and tell at least 10 friends about their bad experience.
Here’s an example of a description that doesn’t mean to deceive, but does:
“Purple background with silver glitter and white feathers features a 3D image of an angel with gold halo, pearls, and diamonds.”
Now you and I know the artist is using digital effects, but customers don’t necessarily understand. When they order this card, they expect to get actual silver glitter, real feathers, 3D images, etc. And when the card comes, what do they find? A flat printed card with none of the special elements they were expecting.
Just be careful how you phrase your titles, what keywords you use, and how your product descriptions are stated to avoid causing the wrong impression with customers. Problematic words and phrases may need additional explanation to be clear.
PROBLEMATIC WORDS AND PHRASES
- Metallic, Gold, Silver, Copper, Brass, Bronze – Any Metal including Gold or Silver Leaf
- Embossed
- Satin, Silk, Gingham, Check, Lace – Any Fabric
- Ribbon, Bow
- Thread, Twine, String, Rope, Knot
- Gemstone, Pearl, Crystal, Jewel, Rhinestone, Mother of Pearl – Any Gem
- 3D, Three Dimensional, Pop Up, Cut Out
- Embellishment
- Feather
- Embroidery, Stitching, Quilted, Knitted, Crocheted – Any Stitch
- Glitter, Sparkles
- Button
- Bead
- Shiny, Sparkling, Glowing, Shimmer, Pearlized
This isn’t a definitive list. I’m sure you can think of other words and phrases which might cause customers to become muddled. The point is, be careful what you say since you could be taken at your literal word. The picture – even now that we have these lovely 3D images – doesn’t always tell the whole story. Here’s an example:
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an explanation to shoppers that the “gems” visible on the image aren’t real but digitally rendered.
HOW TO AVOID PROBLEMATIC WORDS AND PHRASES
1) A blanket statement at the beginning or end of a description such as: “All embellishments digitally rendered” or “All embellishments digital, not tangible” will work as long as you exercise care with your keywords or title.
For example, if the card title is “Shiny Metal Surprise Birthday with 3D Text” it’s likely potential buyers might not see your caveat in the description and buy the card thinking it’s been printed with metallic inks and has actual three dimensional text on the front. Be cautious of using blanket statements. A one size fits all approach may not fit every situation.
2) You can also clarify what you mean by adding modifiers to your problematic words and phrases.
MODIFIERS
- Look (as in, silver look)
- Render (as in, digitally rendered glitter)
- Like (as in, diamond-like)
- Effect (as in, rhinestone effect)
- Digital (as in, digital embellishment)
- Style (as in, scrapbook style)
- Texture (as in, pearlized texture)
Bottom line? Use your common sense. Read your title, keywords, and product description. Ask yourself, “Is my meaning clear? Does the shopper know exactly what they’re buying when they purchase my card?” And if you need to make it clearer, do so. Below is an example of a very effective use of a description that gives a clear, concise explanation of what the shopper will receive, and leaves no room for misunderstandings.
Artist’s Notes reads: “This is a lovely card, perfect for framing! An Easter card for a grandson, soft lace textures, scrapbook style papers, looking like a real cut-out egg with floral embellishments. Pretty background, too, textured with paisley and eggs. Original digital art by Cherie.”
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Rainbow Connection: Spring 2013
I’m sure artists are winding up with their holiday card designs and are looking ahead to spring. Here’s Pantone’s 2013 Spring Color Report – click in the graphic to visit the Pantone site and get the full scoop on the hottest, up and coming color schemes around.
You can save the image below to your own computer, import it into your graphics editor program, and use it to make your own palettes to use in your new designs.
These spring colors are fresh and fun! I’m particularly attracted to the lemon zest/grayed jade combo. Add a touch of tender shoots, and I reckon that’s a winner. All the colors go very well together, don’t you think? Just lovely.
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Dash of Inspiration: You’ve Got Style
A Dash of Inspiration, A Cup of Creativity by Doreen
You’ve Got Style!
A great question was posted on the GCU forum this past week; “How do you get the metallic text, such as the Gold Text Effect?” It made for a good discussion for anyone else who is not familiar with using Layer Styles in Photoshop, GIMP and Paint Shop Pro.
What are Layer Styles? These are wonderful non-destructive additions to an individual layer which allow editing at anytime without making any ‘effect’ permanent or un-editable. When working in layers, any blending options which are applied and combined to a given layer are considered layer styles. These programs have made it easy for you to save styles when you come up with something you like and would use again. Styles can be applied to text and other elements, though using them for greeting cards does require a light hand so as to not create an over-done look. Many have heavy beveling and shadow effects which won’t render well on a greeting card, so you’ll need to tone those effects down while maintaining the overall ‘look’ of the style.
One more thing to keep in mind when using a layer style you’ve downloaded; styles don’t look the same on all fonts and/or elements, and they change their appearance based on the resolution difference between what they were created in and what resolution you are working in. What you need to do when you find a style you like is to install it, create a test layer, apply the Style and then make adjustments to each of the blends until you like the results. Once you do, save the Style as a new one so you can use it again.
Below I’ve offered tutorials on how to create and install layer styles, then also some nice links to download styles for your upcoming projects. As always, when you follow a link be sure to read the TOU!
See you next week!
Tutorials:
How To Install Photoshop Layer Styles
Creating Layer Styles in Photoshop by Irene Alexeeva
How to Convert Photoshop Plug-ins to Paint Shop Plug-ins By Kyle Cavnett
Using Layer Styles in Free Image Editor Gimp
Mastering Photoshop Techniques: Layer Styles By Tom Giannattasio
Downloads:
Ultimate Roundup of 750+ Free Photoshop Layer Styles from Web Designer
Ultimate Collection of Free Photoshop Styles from Vandelay Design
The gold ‘filigree border’ around the snake and the ‘black laquer’ text were created with layer styles for this card
The ‘candy cane’ text used on this card was done using a layer style
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Critique Clinic – September 14-16, 2012
How does it work? For three days a week (Friday-Sunday midnight), I will open the clinic to any artist who wants an honest peer review and critique of a card which gets plenty of clicks but no sales, so something’s probably not quite right, or you’ve got a new design you want to test drive, or you’re unsure about the marketability of a card. Or perhaps you’re a newbie who isn’t sure if a recently submitted card is up to a marketable standard. Anyone is welcome to participate. In fact, I encourage everyone to at least look at the cards in question and read the critique comments – you may learn something. The purpose of the clinic is to help artists improve the commercial appeal and marketability of their cards.
THE RULES
- ONE card per artist only.
- Card must be for sale at Greeting Card Universe.
- We will take an unlimited number of artists, including those who have submitted recently, HOWEVER I reserve the right to close a clinic for the day if the submissions become overwhelming. If the clinic has been closed, and you submit a card, your comment will be deleted.
- To submit a card for critique, post a link to the card at GCU in the comments section of this clinic post. Allowances will be made if you’ve had a card declined, or made a new design you’d like advice on. Give us the link where we can see the card, such as your private gallery, Flickr, Tinypic, etc.
- Any artist is free to comment and/or give a critique of a submitted card. HOWEVER, post-and-run comments like “great card” or “you suck” will not be tolerated, nor will abuse. Criticism should be constructive, not destructive. Play nice or you will be banned.
- I also won’t tolerate temper tantrums if you decide your “artistic integrity” is being stepped on because you asked for a critique, and someone told you the photo you’re using isn’t in focus. If you can’t take honest criticism, don’t submit. Once gets you a warning; twice and you’re banned from submitting in the future.
- Artists who critique may do so by giving their opinion, posting an example of another card, or pointing the submitter to a video, on-line article, or other helpful suggestion.
- Don’t forget that artists who are giving you tips and helpful advice are volunteering their time and trouble. Be nice. A link back to their store on your website or blog is appreciated (but not mandatory).
- You are free not to take any advice offered. There’s no guarantee any card will be a bestseller, so don’t come into the clinic with unrealistic expectations.
- Rules may change as we go along and we see how things turn out, okay?
So without any further ado, I declare this week’s Critique Clinic open!
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Font Frenzy: Canoe
Canoe is in the spotlight today. These kind of thinner, handwriting fonts are becoming more popular. It’s an all caps font, meaning that what you see in the example below is what you get (but the font does have diacritical marks for foreign language in addition to the usual alphabet and punctuation). However, for creating front of card text, or mixing with another font, Canoe works well for casual designs. At $10, it’s a steal from MyFonts.com.
Have fun!
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Rainbow Connection: Wedding Edition, September 2012
If you’re an artist designing greeting cards at Greeting Card Universe, you probably already know that wedding related cards – bridal party invitations in particular- are very hot sellers. It’s also a competitive category. If you’re ready to throw your hat in the ring, or if you’re already designing wedding related cards, you should be aware that brides are actively seeking the most fashionable, trendy color schemes and trends to incorporate into their weddings.
What does this mean to you? You need to stay on top of growing trends in wedding design and themes if you’re serious about competing for the attention of choosy brides. And you should be making color/theme coordinated sets (announcement, save the date, invitation, bridal party invites, thank you, etc) and telling customers how to find them on GCU to give yourself as many sales opportunities as possible.
Keeping up with trends will give you a definite edge. In this special Wedding edition of the Rainbow Connection, we’ll talk about current wedding trends.
For example, some of the up and coming themes for weddings are rustic/farm, Bohemian, and vintage. Don’t know what this means? Don’t know where to find the trendiest wedding colors? Pinterest is a great resource for inspiration and information that’s up-to-date and relevant to your design needs. The links below will give you a start.
And here are three popular wedding palettes for you to consider. Don’t forget to include the colors you use in your card titles, keywords, and Artist Notes.
Lavender, Honey, and Peach
Woodland Browns and Greens
Watermelon and Spearmint
As always, these are RGB colors. I’ve given you the hex numbers to make it easy to use these colors in your favorite graphics editing program. Have fun!
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Nuts and Bolts: Making the Most of Wedding Trends
We’re talking Design Trends once again, but this time, we’re not focusing on elements of design that have become trendy and fashionable, but how to make the most of your efforts when uploading your new cards.
The focus will be on wedding cards in this article, but the advice goes for any card in any category for any occasion, when you’ve taken the time to incorporate trends into your design, such as the latest color combinations, elements, or styles. Actually creating the greeting card is only half the battle.
The other half, and the key to success, is DESCRIBING your card in the Artist’s Notes, keywords, and/or titles.
We’ve covered the importance of card titles, keywords, and product descriptions in previous Nuts & Bolts articles. If you thought, “oh, it’s not that important,” let me assure you… it is. To ignore these important steps will hamper your card’s chances at the very beginning. If you’re putting in the sweat equity to create cards for the purpose of enticing shoppers to buy, it makes no sense not to follow through and give your card the best chance to sell.
Take wedding cards, for example. Wedding cards but are some of GCU’s hottest sellers. Brides can be very fussy about choosing color combinations, favorite flowers, and other details, and will often shop for cards using search terms like “mint and coral wedding attendant invitation.” Or “pink roses wedding invitation.”
However, doing a search on GCU for specific trendy color combinations or for flowers and/or styles (like bohemian or rustic) nets surprisingly few results considering the sheer amount of cards in the wedding categories. Either artists aren’t bothering to study wedding design trends and create cards catering to trendy brides, or artists aren’t including this information in their titles, keywords, or descriptions.
So what should you do?
I hope she doesn’t mind, but I’m going to use one of Penny Cork‘s cards as an example of what you SHOULD be doing with all your cards (and if you’ve entered the competitive wedding card field with your designs, you should not only be doing this now, but go back and fix your older cards, too). She does an A+ job putting the title and description together and getting them right.
Here’s the card, a bridal party invitation for a musician:
Card title: Musician Music Aqua Coral Flowers Greeting Card
Product Description: Fun, tropical colors of coral and aqua for your wedding. Works well for beach themes, also Spring and Summer weddings. To see more cards with this design, please type “aqua and coral trend” into the search box.
You see how Penny’s not only told potential buyers about the color combination, but also what type of wedding this card would suit, and that there are more cards in the series that can be easily found with a site search. Very convenient, and if there’s one thing brides love, it’s something that saves them time and energy. By making it easy and straightforward to find matching cards, Penny has created a prime sales opportunity for herself.
If you’re not watching wedding trends, you should be. Many brides and wedding planners choose hot new color combinations for their weddings, or choose a popular theme. To create great selling opportunities for yourself, don’t get stuck in a rut – design wedding cards in the trendiest colors with the trendiest themes, and add to your collection as needed. And don’t forget to add these fashionable elements to your card titles, keywords, and product descriptions.
Don’t miss the boat! Or as we say in Holland, “don’t be a thief of your own pocket.”
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GCU News: Forum Access
If you’ve had problems accessing the GCU FORUM, the issue should be fixed now – this goes for new artists as well.
However, if you’ve never had Forum access at all, you should send an email to support@greetingcarduniverse.com, give your name and artist ID# (which can be found in your Manage Store section), and ask for your account to be fixed.
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Dash of Inspiration: Clean Up Those Photographs
A Dash of Inspiration, A Cup of Creativity by Doreen
Clean Up Those Photographs
We’ve chatted in the past about background removal, but some … in fact most photographs … need a bit of cleanup to make them worthy of the professional marketplace. Sunspots, unwanted hot spots, background bits which are distracting and even unclean lens can leave marks on your finished photograph.
Remember the basic rule of thumb for photography: “If it doesn’t ADD to the overall image, it is distracting.”
So, I thought I’d offer some tutorial links today for Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint Shop Pro users which may inspire those of you who may not have already mastered these techniques, the tools to expand your knowledge base. As with nearly all digital techniques, cloning takes practice, practice, practice, and even some experimentation to refine the techniques into a method which works best for you.
You can use the cloning tool to cleanup backgrounds by removing distracting branches and other bits which just couldn’t be avoided when taking the image. Use it to repair areas in the image which are not visually appealing such as damaged petals or bugs on flowers, patches of dead grass, hot spots, or lens flare to name a few. Once you’ve become a master at using the cloning tools, add your own imagination and use it to create additional elements within your photograph.
Lastly, those who wish to become ‘experts’ at digital composition where you create imagery from the use of many different elements; becoming a ‘master’ of the cloning tools is an absolute necessity.
See you next week!
Great Photoshop cloning tips you probably don’t know
Gimp Tips Part 6: Using The Clone Tool
Removing Backgrounds with Paint Shop Pro 6
Paint Shop Pro Basics 25) Tools – Clone Brush
The cloning tool was used extensively in this image to clone petals and leaves over the ‘fence’ line, to add greenery in areas which needed filling, and to remove bad spots on petals.
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Critique Clinic – September 7-9, 2012
How does it work? For three days a week (Friday-Sunday midnight), I will open the clinic to any artist who wants an honest peer review and critique of a card which gets plenty of clicks but no sales, so something’s probably not quite right, or you’ve got a new design you want to test drive, or you’re unsure about the marketability of a card. Or perhaps you’re a newbie who isn’t sure if a recently submitted card is up to a marketable standard. Anyone is welcome to participate. In fact, I encourage everyone to at least look at the cards in question and read the critique comments – you may learn something. The purpose of the clinic is to help artists improve the commercial appeal and marketability of their cards.
THE RULES
- ONE card per artist only.
- Card must be for sale at Greeting Card Universe.
- We will take an unlimited number of artists, including those who have submitted recently, HOWEVER I reserve the right to close a clinic for the day if the submissions become overwhelming. If the clinic has been closed, and you submit a card, your comment will be deleted.
- To submit a card for critique, post a link to the card at GCU in the comments section of this clinic post. Allowances will be made if you’ve had a card declined, or made a new design you’d like advice on. Give us the link where we can see the card, such as your private gallery, Flickr, Tinypic, etc.
- Any artist is free to comment and/or give a critique of a submitted card. HOWEVER, post-and-run comments like “great card” or “you suck” will not be tolerated, nor will abuse. Criticism should be constructive, not destructive. Play nice or you will be banned.
- I also won’t tolerate temper tantrums if you decide your “artistic integrity” is being stepped on because you asked for a critique, and someone told you the photo you’re using isn’t in focus. If you can’t take honest criticism, don’t submit. Once gets you a warning; twice and you’re banned from submitting in the future.
- Artists who critique may do so by giving their opinion, posting an example of another card, or pointing the submitter to a video, on-line article, or other helpful suggestion.
- Don’t forget that artists who are giving you tips and helpful advice are volunteering their time and trouble. Be nice. A link back to their store on your website or blog is appreciated (but not mandatory).
- You are free not to take any advice offered. There’s no guarantee any card will be a bestseller, so don’t come into the clinic with unrealistic expectations.
- Rules may change as we go along and we see how things turn out, okay?
So without any further ado, I declare this week’s Critique Clinic open!
GCU Community 