Issue #16
January 12, 2006

Welcome to Inside Freelance Design (IFD), your free, bi-weekly e-letter from American Writers & Artists Inc. Every other week, you can receive this special alert with secrets, tips, and insights from AWAI's graphic design pros to help you improve your skills and reach your goal of becoming a professional graphic designer in the fastest time possible.

IN THIS ISSUE:
  • Using “Points of Entry” to Capture the Prospect's Attention ... and the Sale, by Kammy Thurman
  • Quick Tip: Secure Your PDF
  • The IFD Mailbag
  • EXTRA! EXTRA! News and Job Opportunities
Using “Points of Entry” to Capture the Prospect's Attention … and the Sale
by Kammy Thurman

When you read a direct-mail package, notice how the designer guides you through the copy ... exactly where he wants you to go. Like an invisible yellow brick road, you follow a specific path that leads you from page to page and element to element, until you arrive at the final destination – filling out the order device and signing the check.

One of the ways a designer creates this path is by using “points of entry.” These are graphic and text treatments that show you where to start reading. Let's take a look at points of entry that can be used in a variety of projects, including sales packages, brochures, newsletters, magalogs, magazines, websites, and more.

  • White space – Entering a crowded room of strangers can be intimidating ... and so can looking at a page filled with too much text. While it's tempting to get as much information on a page as possible, it's important to give the reader's eyes some relief.

    White space offers this relief, and it also helps hold the reader's attention. A good way to judge whether you have enough white space is to hold the page at arm's length and squint. If the page seems gray and cramped, you'll want to add some breathing room with white space.

  • Color – Color sets the mood of your publication – from fun-loving to formal. It also attracts readers. Readership increases as much as three times when a second ink color is used. And one excellent way to use it is to set off points of entry such as pull quotes, headlines, subheads, drop caps (capitalized letters at the beginning of paragraphs that are two or more lines tall), and graphics.

  • Kickers – A kicker is a line of copy in smaller type that's placed above the headline. Kickers are generally used for regular features in newspapers, newsletters, and magazines. They help readers quickly find editorials, news briefs, updates, etc., while allowing the writer to create a new headline each time. But you'll also find a type of kicker in direct-mail pieces. In DM, kickers (also called pre-heads) are used to add credibility or an additional benefit to what's included in the headline.

  • Decks – Sometimes called large subheads, decks are lines of copy that go under the headline to provide more information or to attract attention. An effective deck guides readers into the body copy before they even realize it.

  • Headlines and subheads – These are some of the strongest points of entry – especially when you put them in a second color. You can also center them on the page to make them stand out from the text even more.

  • Captions & pull quotes – Any time you use a photograph, include a caption. Captions help explain the photo ... and they should also help move the sale along. A photo of a book with a caption that says “Yours Free!” can't help but get attention. In addition, a pull quote every page or two can redirect wandering interest.

  • Text treatments – The copy itself can be designed to guide readers through the message. You can start the letter or article text with a drop cap. You might put the first line of the first paragraph in italics or bolding. You can also add indents at the beginning of each paragraph, and extra leading between paragraphs. Remember to use text treatments sparingly and purposefully. Long underlined or italic chunks of text are very hard to read.

These are just a few ways you can use points of entry to pull readers into the copy ... and keep them on the path you've paved for them.

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QUICK TIP: Secure Your PDF

PDF files are a great tool to use for proofing your layouts with your clients. While you want to make sure that the samples you send to your clients are of high quality, you don't want them to “borrow” your layouts without paying for them. The Adobe Acrobat program lets you secure your documents to prevent others from printing them or copying text or images.

With the PDF file open, choose Document>Security>Show Security Settings for This Document. Then choose Password Security from the Security Method pop-up menu. In the Password Security settings dialog, you can specify a password required to open the document and/or to restrict printing and copying capabilities.

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FROM THE IFD MAILBAG ...
by Kristin Schwarz

Happy New Year, everyone! We wish you a creative, productive, and prosperous 2006.

Today, we have two great questions. One is about how to control underlining problems when converting to PDF. The other is about when to use color in your design.

Dear AWAI,

One of the comments on my second assignment was that the underlining was too thick. The thickness of my underlining increased when I converted the Word file to the PDF file. So I have a software question. How do I keep the underlines from changing when converting to the PDF file? I'm not an expert PDF user, so even pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated. Thank you!

Kay

Dear Kay,

Adobe Acrobat is a great program – but, as with any software, it has some minor flaws. Here are some suggestions:

  1. Try saving your file under a new name in your word processor or layout program. Close the document ... open it again ... and convert it to a PDF. This sometimes helps with other software glitches as well.
  2. Instead of using the underlining option in your word processor or layout software, draw very thin lines and place them under the copy. Make sure all the lines are consistent in spacing and thickness. And remember: Always use underlining with great care. Long stretches of underlined text are hard to read.

  3. You could also try using a different PDF converter. Here is a link to a free converter that you can download:
    www.pdf995.com, or PDF4FREE www.pdfpdf.com/pdf4free.html.

I'm sure that at least one of these possibilities will solve your problem.

Hi there! I have a quick question.

I'm in the process of doing my first assignment, and am wondering if using colors is recommended when designing sales letters (assuming the client has no preference).

The first installment of the Graphic Design program touches on colors and their effect on readers. However, in your professional opinion, what would you recommend?

Melody

Dear Melody,

The Graphic Design Success program deals in detail with color in Installment 8. But this will get you started ...

In general, there are two important points to consider when it comes to color:

  1. The first consideration is the product or service and the target prospects you're designing for.

    Let's assume you're designing for a financial publication. You would want to choose colors that reflect wealth. Dark greens, muted blues, maroons, and rich burgundies are great for this.

    When you are designing for a health product, you would choose colors that convey well being, like brighter blues and greens. You would also use positive colors, such as soft yellows – not for headlines, but for screens and as design accents.

    It's also important to consider your target prospect. If you are designing for a younger female prospect, you might choose pink and purple accents for a softer “feminine” touch. If you are designing for a male prospect, however, you would probably stay away from these colors. If your prospects are male and female, you would choose colors that appeal to both.

  2. The second consideration is your client's budget.

    In your first assignment, you are not limited to a client's budget – but in the real world, this often, this restricts your color choices. Full-color printing is more expensive than 2-color printing – so many direct mailers use only two colors. In this case, the copy is black (stay away from any light colors for the body copy) and the graphic elements (such as bullet points, the certificate edge around the guarantee, and even subheads) are in the second color.

    A good place to find inspiration for colors is your file of samples (the promotions you receive in the mail every day). Keep collecting them, and they'll give you a good idea of what colors are working in DM. (Those that you see in your mailbox again and again are the big winners.)

    I hope this helps. As always, p-lease feel free to contact us at any time if you have additional questions. And good luck with your first assignment!

That's it for this issue. We look forward to seeing you again in two weeks.

Until next time ...

Kristin

[Ed. Note: If you have a question or comment for Kristin, please send it to:
insidefreelancedesign@awaionline.com, Attn: Kristin Schwarz.]

EXTRA! EXTRA! News and Job Opportunities
  • GRAPHIC DESIGNER - Nircos, Inc. along with Vertical Endeavors Indoor Rock Climbing Facility in St. Paul, Minnesota, seek a fulltime graphic designer with a marketing background. You'll create ads, calendars, flyers, web sites, and more. You should know the Adobe Creative Suite, along with Dreamweaver. Designers with rock climbing experience will be given preference. Send your resume and samples to Jason Noble at Jason@verticalendeavors.com.
  • GRAPHIC DESIGNER - MW Manufacturers in Rocky Mount, VA seeks a graphic designer to design and illustrate collateral materials, presentations, and web sites. You'll need to know InDesign or Quark and Illustrator, Photoshop, and MS Office. Degreed candidates will be given preference. Candidates who can speak Spanish as well as English will have an advantage. Send your resume and samples to Jim Horn at jhorn@mwwindows.com.
  • GRAPHIC DESIGNER - Seven Gables Real Estate, in Orange County California, needs a graphic designer to design direct mail, templates for in-touch marketing materials, creative ads, and more. You should have two years of design experience, a solid understanding of marketing, and knowledge of InDesign, PhotoShop, Illustrator, and MS Office. You also must be comfortable in a fast-paced environment, and be able to present and conduct yourself professionally at all times. Send your resume to hr@sevengables.com.
COMING NEXT ISSUE:
  • Mastering the Secrets of Magalog Success (Part 1 of 3) by Lori Haller
  • Quick Tip: Learning Photoshop Elements the Fun Way
* ABOUT INSIDE FREELANCE DESIGN *

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