If you are involved in design or editorial projects related to content marketing or public relations, then you are well aware that infographics have quickly become a wildly popular form of communications. According to Google, searches for infographics have increased 800 percent in the last two years. Infographics give marketers a way to increase brand recognition, create buzz, and improve SEO.
Justin Beegel, CEO of Infographic World and the author of the new book “Infographics For Dummies,” offers five tips for creating an infographic that will go viral and global.
1. Identify Ideas That Have Legs
To create an infographic campaign that has mass appeal, be timely and innovative. If there is a hot topic in the news, capitalize on it. Take it to the next step or give it a new angle. Avoid ideas that are too niche and, if possible, walk a fine line between what is controversial and what is acceptable. That will help it go viral, as controversy sells.
2. Be Able to Mobilize Quickly
Another important component is the ability to mobilize your team quickly. A few years ago I saw a map of the U.S. that listed stereotypes of the people from that state. The infographic was called “How Europeans View America.” We saw this as an opportunity, so our team quickly put together a map of Europe and called it “How Americans View Europe.” We went country by country and made our own stereotypes. The graphic spread like wildfire, and actually crashed our server for an hour from too much web traffic. We received some angry emails from people in Europe, but the graphic served its purpose, was all in good fun, and was a living example of viral content. Another example of a successful and timely campaigns featured a look into the life of Steve Jobs shortly following his death. We also did one on the business of running for president around the 2012 presidential elections.
3. Use the Appropriate Tone
B2B marketers should consider their industry and use the tone appropriate for the audience. We have done campaigns across the spectrum from major hospitals such as Mount Sanai to entertainment properties such as ESPN. Topics have ranged from Breast Cancer Awareness Month to the Super Bowl. For a serious topic, you may not want silly cartoon-like characters, but for the light-hearted topics you can have a little more fun.
4. Sync-up Distribution Tactics
Once the infographic is completed, coordinate promotional efforts with all stakeholders. The graphic should go live on all parties’ websites and across all their social media platforms to give it the widest possible launching pad for exposure. My company has a promotional and PR division with extensive media contacts so we can maximize coverage by distributing the infographic to relevant media.
5. Consider Going Interactive
Adults are grown children and enjoy playing with things. By making your infographic interactive, readers can click on various parts of the infographic to get more information. For example, we recently did a great interactive infographic on crime in America. If you click on each state, you can see where that state ranks in various categories such as theft, violent crimes, murder, etc. By going interactive, you are likely to get more shares and backlinks, which will drive your business.
About Justin Beegel
Justin is the 28-year-old founder of Infographic World, a leading information graphics company based in New York City. The company, which launched in 2009, is projected to make $2 million in revenue in 2014. Infographic World’s clients include Google, Intel, ESPN, P&G, Discovery, McGraw Hill, Pepsi, Intuit, and McCann.
About “Infographics for Dummies”
“Infographics For Dummies” is a comprehensive guide to creating data visualization with viral appeal. The book walks you through the different types of infographics and explains why they’re so effective and when they’re appropriate. The guide also includes step-by-step instruction for creating eye-catching graphics with programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.“Infographics For Dummies” is available nationwide in Barnes and Nobles, Amazon and Wiley.com in both a paperback and e-book formats. The MSRP is $29.99.
The variety of on online courses available to self-motivated creative professionals continues to expand.
The New York Institute of Art and Design has added three of their most popular courses to their online learning center: The Complete Course in Interior Design, The Complete Course in Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design: Beading and Wire Working.
Each course is available entirely online to students all over the world. The NYIAD online learning center is accessible via desktop or laptop computer, smartphone or tablet, wherever students have an internet connection. Students can now access everything they need for their online course in one place – lessons, audio clips, video training and tests.
The Interior Design Course is approved by Certified Interior Decorators (CID) International. Students learn design trends, color theory, concepts of scale and proportion, furniture styles, lighting, and fabrics. Alongside their NYIAD mentor, students complete a variety of room designs and develop a portfolio of professional- quality work. By the time they graduate, students have the artistic and the business skills needed to work as an interior designer.
The Wedding Planning Course is accredited by the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC). Students learn how to turn their passion for weddings and events into a career. From pre-planning to execution, the course teaches students how to work with clients and vendors to plan any event. All students who complete the course have a solid foundation in the business of wedding planning; they are ready to work in the field that they love.
The Jewelry Design Course teaches students to create and sell their own unique line of jewelry. Students learn the basics of color theory and composition, patterns, beading, jump rings, spirals, right-angle weaves, and a wide array of other techniques. The course also teaches basic photography and marketing skills so that students can go on to sell their jewelry online and at trunk shows.
“The New York Institute of Art and Design’s mission has always been to provide the highest quality training to anyone interested in advancing their skills,” said NYIAD Education Director Jay Johnson. “And offering our most popular courses online means that students will have access to the best creative education anywhere they go.”
Other courses offered through the online learning center include:
The blogging course covers everything from blog design, post length and frequency, to finding and attracting new readers, and earning money with your blog both online and off. The Fiction and Memoir Writing course is enables aspiring writers to improve their skills and get feedback from published authors. Attendees learn how to develop intriguing characters and storylines and publish their work.
About the New York Institute of Art and Design
Founded in 1985, The New York Institute of Art and Design provides online education for creative professionals all over the world. Through a unique combination of personal mentoring and online education, NYIAD students can learn how to master a skill and turn it into a career. The New York Institute of Art and Design is owned and operated by Distance Education Co., LLC, along with sister school, New York Institute of Photography.
ARTISTS. If you would like to be better organized in managing your art, art sales, and art-world contacts, check out Artwork Archive. It’s a password-protected web-based platform through which you can track all the art you have created, what pieces have been consigned to galleries or entered in competitions, and what works have been sold.
Artwork Archive was the brainchild of John Feustel, the son of a painter who had reached a point in her career where she really needed help keeping track of her gallery and client contacts and when each piece of art was sold.
“The clunky database or large applications she had to install on her computer had more of what she didn’t need than what she did,” recalls John. When his mother asked him to use his computer programming/web app development experience to devise a better approach, he was happy to help. Together, they created the initial version of Artwork Archive.
In the private section of Artwork Archive, you can keep track of which pieces you have created and which ones have been sold.John Feustel, Artwork Archive
Over the past year, the Artwork Archive team has grown and the service has been continually improved with feedback from enthusiastic users. The latest release is a mobile-friendly site that can be accessed via your PC, tablet, or smartphone. It is simple enough for first-time users, but powerful enough to meet the needs of more established artists.
The latest version also includes tools that allow galleries and collectors to track their inventories of art. They can track works by multiple artists, record their appraisal values and other insurance information, and even display their collections to the public
John Feustel recently answered a few questions about how Artwork Archive can help you solve some of the problems you may have experienced with other forms of art-inventory software.
Q. To what extent has Artwork Archive benefitted from your expertise in the latest trends in website development and cloud-based software?
A. Being a modern, cloud-based solution is critical to what we are doing at Artwork Archive. As computers give way to tablets and mobile phones, people’s expectations of what a piece of software can do are changing. Downloading and installing software on your computer, paying for updates, and having the information reside on your own personal computer are becoming things of the past.
What happens when your computer gets a virus or crashes? What happens when you get a new computer — how do you transfer over all your work? With the growth of web-based applications that can be accessed anywhere from any device, we can provide things like daily backups, data security, and instant updates.
The single greatest thing that it gives us is the ability to respond instantly to feedback from artists. If we hear that something is confusing or a certain feature would be useful, we can sometimes get that change live on the site the very same day. It has really allowed us to respond and grow based on user feedback and helped us create the product that we have today.
Q. Do artists appreciate the simplicity of your solution?
A. Based on all the feedback we’ve gotten, they certainly do. While some artists are very tech savvy, many would rather be working in the studio than learning a new software system or dealing with complex database programs. From the beginning we wanted the site to be incredibly easy to use. Instead of extensive documentation, we built the site to walk you through the process of uploading your first piece, filling out your bio, and setting up locations and galleries.
Everything has a very consistent and elegant way of doing things so once you upload your first piece, you basically know how to upload gallery information, add contacts, and create sales. We wanted everything to be self-explanatory and our artists have really recognized how fun and easy the site is to use.
Q. What feature do they seem to like best?
A. It’s really different for each artist. I think the fact that you can generate consignment reports, invoices, and gallery labels at the click of a button has really helped many of our artists advance their careers and approach things in a much more professional manner.
We’ve gotten feedback from gallery owners who love that their artists are using Artwork Archive. Getting consistent and proper documentation and reports helps everyone.
You can keep track of which pieces have been sold, entered in competitions, or published as limited edition prints.
We also have a section called “Insights” that our Artists love. This allows them to see their progress of creation and sales over time, get a heat-map of where all their artwork is located, and helps them visualize their inventory value and location in a number of ways. It’s like business insights for artists and can really help you make data driven decisions about your career.
Recently, a number of artists have started embracing our new Public Profile Page. This allows artists to choose which pieces and info to share publicly and gives them their own public page on Artwork Archive to share and show their work. I think it was best described as a professional looking electronic “calling card”. Some artists are even using this in place of their own website and the feedback has been very positive.
Public Profile Page on Artwork Archive
Q. How long does it take to get an inventory of art uploaded? Is it time-consuming to keep it updated?
A. The time it takes really depends on the artist and the body of work. You can have a piece uploaded in only a few seconds. But we often recommend that artists take the time to fill out as much information as possible and write a nice description for each piece. We are also working on a “bulk upload” feature that will allow artists to quickly get a lot of their work in the system, which they can go back and update over time.
It often surprises me how well our artists (my Mom included) keep their inventory, sales, and gallery data updated. They genuinely love tracking their inventory on the site and don’t feel like a piece is complete until it’s been uploaded to Artwork Archive.
Some artists log in very often just to browse around and look at their inventory. I’ve heard that it can be an inspiring process to get that visual overview of your entire body of work and see how you are progressing and adding to it over time.
Q. Has the feedback you have received from other artists reflected the same types of issues that your Mom was struggling with?
A. The initial experience that my Mom had while trying to find an inventory program was very frustrating. The software was outdated, confusing, and didn’t fit into this modern, multi-device world.
From what I’ve seen this is a near universal experience with artists. We have often been described as a “breath of fresh air” after trying out other systems. Artwork Archive seems to “just work” no matter what you are trying to do.
Q. As a new generation of collectors begins to get established, do they recognize the benefits of keeping track of their collections online?
A. I think so. So much of our lives are becoming data driven. We want to track what we eat, how we exercise, how we work, etc. Collectors are no different. Whether it’s a hobby or your life’s passion, being able to record and track your collection for insurance or home inventory purposes is a benefit that both old and new collectors universally agree on.
Recent natural disasters have caused people to think about how they are protecting their art assets and what kind of inventory and documentation they are keeping.
Q. Does the Collector side of Artwork Archive have tools for recording the story behind the art?
A. We have the ability to track the “stories behind the art” through visual and textual means and have really noticed that being a big part of the collector experience. At the time we don’t have support for video or audio but the Collector version of the product is still very new. As we did with the artists, we will adapt and grow the site based on feedback and suggestions from collectors. I can certainly see this being something we add in the future.
Q. What’s next for Artwork Archive? Will you focus on expanding the artist community first or the collector side?
A. It’s really all the same approach to us. We certainly started with the artists and will always have a passion for them. But there is so much intersection between artist, collector and gallery. It really makes sense to work with everyone.
The tools we provide to artists help the collectors and galleries, and vice-versa for the collectors. As they see who and what they are collecting, and keep accurate record of all their contacts, they might be more likely to reach out and acquire more work from the individual artists. We really feel like we can help on both sides of the transaction.
Q. Do artists appreciate the fact that you will be reaching out to aspiring and established collectors and building a community of collectors?
A. It’s still early but I think everyone will start seeing the benefits of having both collectors and artists as part of the Artwork Archive community. At the moment we’re really focused on making the best product for artists and the best product for collectors. Over time we will start to see more and more overlap.
The public profile page is just the first step of that. We have Artists sharing their public page with collectors, galleries and potential clients and seeing very positive feedback from that. This whole world starts with the Artist and the Artwork, but without Collectors, Buyers and Galleries, none of it would be possible.
WRITERS. With the opening of BookShop, BookBaby is writing a whole new chapter in self publishing. BookBaby authors can now sell their e-books directly to readers through their own free BookShop e-commerce webpage. As an author, you can earn more money per sale and get paid faster than ever before.
If you are a BookBaby author, you can now sell ePub and .mobi versions of your e-books directly to readers and earn 85% of the gross selling price. You can still link fans to your e-book on popular retail sites such as iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and others.
Plus, instead of holding onto e-book revenues for weeks or months, BookBaby pays its authors within one week of the sale.
“It’s very simple. BookShop pays more and pays fast. Faster than anyone else,” said BookBaby’s Chief Marketing Officer Steven Spatz, “That’s what every author is looking for. For example if you sell an e-book for ten bucks on a Friday, you’ll see $8.50 show up in your account the following Monday. No other company gets money back to its authors like BookBaby.”
BookShop is free to every BookBaby author, including writers who are now taking advantage of the company’s new free eBook publishing package. Authors can upload ePub files directly to BookBaby for worldwide eBook distribution without any upfront costs.
BookShop is the latest addition to BookBaby’s fast-growing list of products and services to help authors find success in the marketplace. “It used to be that writers were thrilled just to have their manuscripts turned into an eBook and listed for sale on Amazon,” said Spatz. “But for today’s independent author, literary success requires a lot more than just great file conversion and retail distribution.”
“BookBaby’s new motto is ‘publish, promote and sell.’ While we’ll always help our authors publish books, they also need the opportunity to promote and sell their books. We’ve given our BookBaby authors exactly that with BookPromoTM and now BookShop.”
BookPromo Services
Last year, BookBaby introduced BookPromo, a free promotional service for all BookBaby authors, Users of BookBaby’s BookPromo services receive:
E-book discovery placements with Goodreads and Noise Trade
Exclusive guide: “Ultimate Social Media Marketing for Authors”
BookBaby and CD Baby
BookBaby is the sister company to CD Baby, the world’s largest online distributor of independent music. Founded as a garage start-up in 1998, CD Baby has grown to become a trusted name in the independent music business, paying over a quarter billion dollars to over 300,000 artists worldwide. BookBaby is following in the footsteps of its corporate sibling by helping independent authors realize their literary dreams. “With CD Baby we’ve brought musicians and fans directly together,” said Spatz. “BookBaby and BookShop are going to do exactly the same for authors and readers.”
BookBaby distributes e-books in more than 185 countries through 11+ online retail stores, including Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble, BookBaby’s full array of services includes e-book formatting, cover design, and short-run book printing.
Kelby Training and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) have joined forces to create a singular hub for creative people to find high-quality online education in photography, Photoshop and Lightroom. The name of the new website is KelbyOne.
“For years Kelby Training members and NAPP members have wanted access to the benefits and courses offered by both organizations,” said Scott Kelby, President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and CEO of Kelby Media Group. “The message was clear — members of both communities wanted to have it all. Now all members of both organizations will have access to the best of both worlds with some exciting new added benefits under the new KelbyOne.”
KelbyOne now offers members access to more than 10,000 online training videos in photography, Photoshop and Lightroom. The clear and concise videos are taught by a team of the finest and highly respected instructors in the industry.
Whether you are a beginner or experienced pro, you can broaden your skills and learn at your own pace. A free app lets you access the training through your iPhone or iPad.
Courses cover different types of photography (concert, fashion, food, landscapes, portraits, sports, travel, wedding, and wildlife) and software such as Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, and Aperture. Business topics include WordPress basics for photographers, legal paperwork for photographers, Flickr use, and online image protection. Design-related courses included Photoshop Basics for Designers.
All Kelby Training and NAPP members have been grandfathered in to KelbyOne memberships at the exact same retail value of their previous memberships.
The price for brand-new KelbyOne members will be $25/month or $249/year.
PHOTOGRAPHERS. If you want to take a more focused, methodical approach to upgrading your photography business in 2014, download a free new workbook from PhotoShelter, a leading provider of photography portfolio websites and marketing tools for photographers. The 2014 Photo Business Plan Workbook is a hands-on resource designed to help photographers strategically grow their businesses in 2014.
The 2014 Photo Business Plan Workbook coaches you to critically think through key areas of your business and check off action items as you go. There are tips and concrete examples on how to:
Define products and services
Determine an audience and addressable market
Create a marketing plan
Fix finances
Tune-up a website
Build Search Engine Optimization
Optimize social media
Create an advisory group
Follow up with old clients to generate new business
“If you want to be smart about your photo business and reach more clients in 2014, you need a plan,” said PhotoShelter CEO Andrew Fingerman. “This workbook will help photographers define tactics to elevate their presence online, fine tune their marketing efforts, and approach photography from a focused business perspective.”
The 2014 Photo Business Plan Workbook is the latest in PhotoShelter’s ongoing series of free business guides for photographers and marketing professionals. PhotoShelter’s library includes 30+ educational guides including topics such as creating a successful photography portfolio, email marketing, and starting a photography business.
About PhotoShelter
PhotoShelter helps people and organizations who are passionate about their photos do more with them. From creating beautiful websites and securely backing up their best images to building an audience and selling photos online, PhotoShelter is trusted by over 80,000 enthusiasts, freelancers, and established pros worldwide.
If you have gone back to work after the New Year feeling unsettled about the daily grind, you’re not alone. Many creative pros know deep down that they are capable of contributing much more to the world than the mundane tasks that seem to fill their work days. If you have given up trying to do the type of excellent work you know you have in you, then perhaps you should check out Todd Henry’s inspiring new book.
In “Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day,” Henry suggests ways to cultivate a mindset and methods that will help you increase the odds that at the end of your life, you won’t regret how you spent your days.
“The marketplace is filled with (often simplistic and unhelpful) platitudes about living a life of fulfillment, landing your dream job, and discovering your purpose, but when you are in the midst of the fray, it can feel futile to think about anything other than hitting your deadlines and chasing the next promotion,” writes Henry.
The title “Die Empty” refers to the goal of completing your best work before you die. Henry says that if he doesn’t wake up tomorrow, he wants to know that “I have emptied myself of whatever creativity is lingering inside,with minimal regrets about how I spent my focus, time and energy.” He acknowledges that the “Die Empty” title isn’t exactly a feel-good slogan, but says it challenges readers to approach their work with greater urgency.
Henry believes each of us has a one-of-kind combination of passions, skills, and experiences that we can contribute to make meaningful change. But as he travels across the country giving motivational speeches at corporate events, he meets people every day who have abandoned their contribution and forfeited their best work: “They’re stuck or deceived into believing that the path they are one will eventually become more bearable.”
While unleashing your best work requires sustained effort, Henry says the term “Die Empty” doesn’t mean getting everything done today, following your whims, or living like there’s no tomorrow. Rather, it’s about embracing work with the mindset that will help you make steady progress every day on the projects that matter to you most. It’s about aligning your work around your values, devoting yourself to developing your skills and intuition, and not allowing comfort, fear, familiarity, and ego to keep you from acting on your ambitions.
The book is divided into three sections. The first three chapters discuss why work matters and why so many people end up settling for less than what they are capable of. The next seven chapters share methods and principles for achieving your best work. The final two chapters offer strategies for adopting the principles in your daily life.
To get a better sense of what’s covered in the book, you can download a sample of the book from Amazon. Or, you can watch this 49-minute “Creative Mornings” presentation that Henry gave in Cincinnati. (It’s an uplifting way to start the New Year!)
Todd Henry is also the author of “The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice.” He promotes his company, Accidental Creative, as “an arms dealer for the creative revolution.” The firm’s mission is to teach people and teams to be prolific, brilliant, and healthy. Henry regularly speaks and consults with companies about how to develop practices and systems that lead to everyday brilliance.
If you are involved in design or editorial projects related to content marketing or public relations, then you are well aware that infographics have quickly become a wildly popular form of communications. According to Google, searches for infographics have increased 800 percent in the last two years. Infographics give marketers a way to increase brand recognition, create buzz, and improve SEO.
l service for all BookBaby authors, Users of BookBaby’s BookPromo services receive:
