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Assist your end-users first: technical writing, copywriting, HTML Help, usability, and multimedia - by Epic Trends
Connect with your customers-and fuel your sales-through user assistance: technical writing, multimedia, web content, copywriting, usability, user interfaces, demos, tutorials, html help, and online Help.
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Tuesday, July 26, 2005
At the Shareware Industry Conference, Sharon Housley of www.feedforall.com mentioned listing your web site on Wikipedia to get more qualified traffic. I checked out that suggestion last week and it is easy to do. You can edit articles if you want to highlight your expertise. You can also add a link to the end of the Wikipedia article: this link can guide visitors to a relevant article on your web site. If you do not see an article for your subject, you can ask that an article be added to Wikipedia.
Wikipedia provides great guidelines on editing their articles and adding links. You can find the guidelines at the following link:
How to edit a Wikipedia page
Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
This is my third time to attend the Shareware Industry Conference--and, as always, I come away with renewed energy and an overwhelming gratitude to the many folks who organize this event. If you develop or market software, this conference is a great way to learn basic and advanced online marketing. The conference is a reflection of the industry: a laid-back, dress-in-jeans event, where folks bring their partners and families and chat with old friends and business associates.
My favorite part of most of the sessions are the question and answer periods. I've compiled notes for the points that caught my attention: these notes are not a comprehensive compilation of the presentations. The presentations will be posted online at a later date, I believe. I will post the link in my blog when it is available.
Software Localization
Claude Ostfeld of Pentaware.com, Phil Schnyder of Anvanquest.com, and Jean-Guy Ducreaux of BCDS Software
Store strings in an INI or RES file.
RES tables load faster and the translator works directly in the .EXE file.
INI files load more slowly and the translator works in their own file, not directly in the .EXE file.
You should test both types of approaches to see which works best for your situation.
Consider the type of character set you want to use: Unicode has 65,000 heads and works with most alphabets. Double-byte uses ANSI PChar and supports Chinese, Japanese, and Korean alphabets.
Asian languages need larger font sizes for the interface font. These languages can adopt a ShellDlg font without a problem. ShellDlg is available in Delphi packages.
In localization scenarios, you should also consider dates and decimal points. Ensure that these translate in a manner that customers from that country can use.
Sales and Marketing Strategies
Phil Schnyder, Lisa Cramer, and Sharon Housley of NotePage.com
Use bloggers to publicize and review your software for exposure.
Upsell in the buying process, especially with regards to selling support to your product.
Next Up at www.textaloud.com has some of the most well-designed order pages for their Text Aloud product.
Two great sites for submitting your RSS feeds:
www.dummysoftware.com/rsssubmit.html
www.rss-specifications.com/rss-submission.htm
For lots of qualified traffic, try to get listed in Wikipedia.com.
Note: I am not sure at this point how you would get listed in Wikipedia.com. I will look into that and post my experience at a later date in this blog.
Design Web Sites to Sell
Dave Sampson of mixmeister.com, Dave Collins of Sharewarepromotions.com, and Matt Bleicher of Tucows.com
Use pictures that evoke a feeling people get when they use your product. Sony.com and Mixmeister.com contain good examples of this.
For a general look, look happier than your competition---not more technical.
Simple online statistics from your web site are not enough to analyze results of different things you try on your web site; you must download your raw logs and run them through good web log analyzer software. Dave Collins recommended these three products:
WebLogStorming from Datalandsoftware.com
123LogAnalyzer.com
ClickTracks.com
On the main page, list three to five main features, not a long list.
Pay-Per-Click
Dave Collins of Sharewarepromotions.com
Dave Collins recommended these three products:
WebLogStorming from Datalandsoftware.com $129.00
123LogAnalyzer.com $149.00
ClickTracks.com $495.00 or get the Pro version for $2,995.00
Note: ClickTracks is the best package. The higher priced version is worth it.
Keep track of what you change and when.
For keywords, don't forget plural versions, regional variations, and synonyms.
For your pay-per-click ad, include benefits, unique selling points, and price.
Managing your ad words is an ongoing, weekly task.
Use a landing page that contains web copy that carries on the message of your pay-per-click ad.
An exact match for your keyword usually brings the best results.
User Interfaces
I participated in this panel with Sue Pichotta of AceIcons.com and AISIP.com and Gregg Weir of Tucows.com
Gregg related information based on the research of Jared Spool, a well-known user interface guru:
- Avoid horizontal rules on your web sites. Visitors will stop scrolling.
- Visitors don't read banner ads.
- If you have links that contain seven to ten words, visitors are more likely to click these links.
- Bullets next to links should be clickable.
- Your web page should fill the entire screen.
Sue gave an extensive talk on the differences between the graphics formats, what makes a good icon, and more:
- .GIF has limited transparency and is more subject to the "jaggies" that you see around edges of pictures.
- .PNG supports a wider range of colors and better transparency. However, .PNG does not work in every browser.
- .ICO supports different sizes of graphics within the same file. However, this format does not work in any browser.
Sue emphasized the importance of reading the license when you buy icons. And, of course, you should never just download icons you like from a web site, unless the web site explicitly states these icons are free. You should never assume icons are free for use in any situation, either personal or commercial.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
At the Shareware Industry Convention, I visited Nick Longo's farewell party after attending the great dessert buffet hosted by Sharon Housely of NotePage.com and FeedForAll.com and Doc Callahan of Dr. FileFinder. Nick was giving out free copies of a self-published book. For a free book, free booze, and pretty good canned music, I believe in giving back as much I receive. I gave a few pages of Nick's book a Level I edit in the bar at his party. I found more than five capitalization errors, several incorrect references to a non-existent antecedent, and three weak beginnings to several sentences within the first five pages of the book. I haven't finished reading the first chapter. Hoh, well. This book could be an amusing read. For being a brilliant marketer, Mr. Longo might consider making his writing stronger and more professional.
The advice from the Holy Tabernacle of Becky's Opinion is that perhaps Nick might consider getting a proofreader who will give him honest, constructive feedback, such as his wife or one of his employees. A typo-free, grammatically correct, well-written book is particularly important if an author, such as Nick, is going to address himself as an academic doctor, write a book, pen an emotional dedication to his wife in the beginning of the tome, pay a publisher to print it, and then publicize the book by giving it away at a great party. My husband, a great guy who is known for being laid back and tolerant, would demand, at the very least, that my book be free of typos if his name is going to go in the dedication. Heck, I hope this blog entry is free of typos the way my head is hurting this morning.
Mr. Longo, get thyself a grammarian . . . and then party on. Farewell and best wishes.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
I am in Denver, Colorado this week for the Shareware Industry Conference. I will be documenting insights I gain from friends here, old and new. This conference has a laid back, warm atmosphere. I always feel right at home with the regular folks who attend. The organizers of this activity, the Shareware Industry Awards Foundation, always do an exceptional job, especially as they are volunteers.
Blogs
I attended a session on Blogs and RSS presented by Sharon Housley, Sunil Manucha, and Bill Flitter. Some quick tips on blogs:
Use PHP or ASP to display your feed.
Include a link to your web site in your feed description in your XML file.
Internet Explorer will soon be supporting an RSS reader with the release of Longhorn.
Add subscribe buttons to your blog so visitors can quickly add your blog to their favorite news reader.
Use Pheedo or SyndicateIQ to track visitors to your RSS feed. This is difficult, but these services offer the best options.
Closing the Sale
I also attended a session called "Closing the Sale" presented by Ben Weintraub and Chris Thornton.
Both presentations were excellent. Chris uses a "Naughty Pirate" web page to persuade software piraters to buy a legal version of his software. He has a 1.5 percent conversion success rate: 10-100 times better than Google ads, print ads, and so forth.
I also attended an excellent presentation on localization given by Claude Ostfeld of Vendorware, Phil Schnyder of Avanquest, and Jean-Guy Ducreaux of BCDS Software. Most of the notes I took will be available from their online presentations. Those presentations will be available online at a later date, so I will not repeat the information here. I will post the link to the online presentations after the conference.
Monday, July 11, 2005
I have neglected my blog and do apologize for not giving you a heads up about taking several trips. My family took a short vacation and another trip to Florida to help roof houses demolished by Hurricane Ivan.
I hope those roofs are still standing after Hurricane Dennis.
Tomorrow, I hit the road again to attend the Shareware Industry Conference (SIC).
Shareware Industry Conference
I will be posting daily updates on what I learn at the SIC. After the SIC, I'll post a daily series on writing effective online copy for web sites, emails, and newsletters. Perhaps this will make up for my neglecting my blog. Stay tuned! :)
Monday, June 20, 2005
I have not posted in awhile because I have had an ear infection, but I'm feeling better now.
The newest security update from Microsoft (896358) interferes with Help topics:
MS05-026: A vulnerability in HTML Help could allow remote code execution
After you install security update 896358, downloaded Compiled Help Module files cannot be opened
1. One problem appears in a .chm that is accessed across a network share or mapped drive. The HTML Help viewer opens and displays the table of contents and index tabs. However, instead of displaying a topic, the viewer displays the error message:
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-026
2. Another problem appears in Web-based applications that use the HTML Help ActiveX control (HHCTRL) for cross-frame
navigation. The content that should appear in a different frame may appear in the same frame that contains the ActiveX control. Cross-frame navigation is often used for hyperlinks to other topics within the Help, text popups and image maps, and Related Topics buttons.
You cannot use certain Web applications that use the InfoTech protocol after you install Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, MS05-026, or MS04-023
You cannot specify a security zone when you compile the .chm. Setup programs must check to see if the HTML Help file is installed to a UNC path. If that is the case, the Setup must tweak the registry of the client computer.
In other cases, such as distributed applications, you might want to provide a utility script that tweaks the registry of the client computer.
Monday, June 13, 2005
This article by a well-known accessibility expert gives statistics about the percentage of web surfers with handicaps.
Simple facts about accessibility by Joe Clark
Monday, June 13, 2005
And that's what you intended, isn't it? This article outlines navigation habits of folks who read news feeds. The study points to one fact: You should pay more attention to your web site content and words these days. Users are using blogs to control their navigation and using the navigation on your web site less frequently.
More on navigation habits within feed readers
Friday, June 10, 2005
I enjoyed reading this comparison of Google and Yahoo! The conclusion is that Yahoo! does a better job in selling their services online from their front door, their main page. I would have to agree. I hear about new services that Google offers through blogs and newsletters, such as the following web sites:
Software Marketing Resource
Shareware Promotions
However when I visit Google's main page, getting information and finding that new service can be a real challenge. Read the comparison of the Google and Yahoo! interfaces at:
http://www.lukew.com
Monday, June 06, 2005
Good user interface design can be learned. Look no further . . . the following articles from IBM will keep you busy . . .
Design series
Monday, May 30, 2005
FAR, the inexpensive, and therefore popular, online Help authoring tool, has really grown up. I had not looked at FAR in about two years and was pleasantly surprised. Heck, no, more like ecstatic. More like tap dancing around my office. This latest version provides a complete solution to a more expensive tool that I recently found I can no longer use.*
FAR's latest release on May 5, 2005 packs more than a fistful of features into a modest bundle for an even more humble price of 49.00 USD. I was amazed at such a reasonable price for so many features. And that statement comes from a bona fide, card-carrying, self-employed cheapskate.
FAR HTML release notes
Better still, the features that I tested worked just the way I had hoped they would. Please take a short break while I tap dance just a little more. :) My favorite features:
• Javascript index and table of contents. These run on the client or server, without delivering extra applets or ActiveX controls.
• Form buttons for the table of contents, index, and full-text search tabs. You can edit these buttons or use your own .Gif files. FAR provides all the code for you. I believe this feature has been in FAR for a couple of versions.
• Full-text search features that work anywhere: web site, intranet, CD, DVD, or hard drive.
*If you want the sordid details about the tool I can no longer use, check out the previous entry in my blog for today.
One of my favorite online Help tools broke
Monday, May 30, 2005
Until recently, one of my favorite Help authoring tools, a Dreamweaver plug-in called DevaTools, gave me great navigation for my web sites and web-based Help. I used it for indexes and tables of contents--until I upgraded to Dreamweaver MX 2004 and the associated version of the DevaTools plug-in.
Suddenly, I could not generate an index with DevaTools. After several weeks of my testing and contacting DevaTools support, I concluded the plug-in was just not going to run on my computer. And DevaTools support could reproduce my problem, intermittently. However, neither of us could pinpoint the problem. DevaTools support suggested that I find another tool. I decided on FAR, from HelpWare. For my review, click the following link:
A fab makeover for an online Help authoring tool
Important note
I do not know if my experience with DevaTools is typical. I posted questions to the HATT and Microsoft.public.helpauthoring online communities. However, no one has replied to indicate that they also shared my experience with this product. My only advice is that, if you decide to purchase DevaTools for Dreamweaver MX 2004, test the product thoroughly on your files for several days before purchasing it. My experience does not apply to earlier versions of DevaTools. DevaSearch for all versions of Dreamweaver seems to run fine on my computer. I will continue to use DevaSearch in my authoring, where appropriate.
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