How to use Widgets

WordPress Widgets added a whole new dimension to our websites and blogs once they became available. In a way, they allowed us as website owners to commercialize our websites and blogs by adding our own advertising content – for instance Google Ads, Affiliate Ads, Videos or, of course, our own Digital Advertising for the products and/or services we promote – to these small applications that contributed largely to the functionality and content of our pages.

The important difference here: these ads are not pushed by the publishers and/or online marketers, but pulled by consumers, meaning the readers and followers of a certain blog. As business owners realized this advantage quite quickly, website publishers could monetize their sites by offering advertising space. As Blogs are defined by dynamic content, meaning consistent publishing of articles and posts over time, this gave rise to “Widget Advertising” which typically followed current trends, meaning that the ads appeared at the right place at the right time – and ideally within the right context!

Normally, WordPress widgets are integrated into the sidebars, header or footer sections. The website owner would direct this himself from the Dashboard (under “Appearance”) within the WordPress Blog, by punching in some code. Below is an example of my Consultant Blog – look at the right sidebar, under “Connect Here”. These are all little ads I created for various products and services I offer – leading to the corresponding websites if interested parties click on them.

That’s the principle.

It means, that a graphical link (in other words the image URL) and a website URL (i.e. the place it should link to) are combined in a little html code. If you just want to display Google Ads, you get the complete Code from AdSense.

What can be a little annoying though is that the same widgets would then appear on all our pages… and as this can potentially trigger conflicts, it may not always be ideal.  This is why Semiomantics has come up with a new, elegant solution allowing us many more possibilities on how to use Widgets with Semiomantics Web Design!

How to use XO Widgets with Semiomantics Web Design

So how do we use XO Widgets with Semiomantics Web Design?

First, you need to download, instal and activate the new XO Widget set from Semiomantics – available soon in the Brain Time Shop… for the moment it’s still restricted to Ycademy Pro’s.

As a next step, go to “Add New” and decide on what you wish to show in your sidebar – if you have installed one via the Semiomantics XO 3.1 layout options. You can do it now – it’s what I had to do as well as my posts where over the whole page, no sidebars, no widgets, no ads. You can position these XO Widgets on various other places, but let’s start with the easiest and most common: the sidebar (provided you have activated one, as I said above).

Imagine that you can add these XO Widgets to any article of your choice… Say you are writing about a hike in the mountains as I did the other day, with a focus on adding some Landscape Photography – then you could create a XO Widget called “Photos” and add more value to this post. I did this HERE yesterday.

Imagine you can do this with any category… all you do before publishing your post is select, top right of your post editor from the drop-down menu displaying all the various widgets you have created – say for Web Design, Photos, your Golden Products, your favorite Food or Drink you’re always writing about .. whatever…. You basically add targeted and contextual content. You can link this to wherever you wish to send your readers and/or potential customers.

Brilliant!

This is brand-new from Semiomantics and allows us to go beyond what we can achieve when using WordPress Widgets: it gives us much more flexibility and punch… and we’re only starting! Yes – it’s definitely more work and needs some planning ahead, but once it becomes normal to always add the corresponding widgets, it certainly makes our individual posts much more complete and interesting. And it gives us more Advertising power.

As I focus on Semiomantics Web Design, I will now add a few screenshots of work I have done here in the sidebar, using the XO Widget. Time-permitting, I will give the footer section a shot as well, now or later!

Your comments are appreciated!

Best Affordable Advertising

What’s the best affordable Advertising when starting out on the Internet?

Good question! it depends on how fast you want to go!

Best Affordable Advertising

To illustrate some of my thoughts about Best Affordable Advertising let’s look at Global Sports from London.

Global Sports offer one of the hottest products in our era of  fast mobility and people on the go: kicks, sneakers and blings.

However, despite a certain popularity in the normal world, Global Sports was literally non-existent on the Internet. . . until they got a Semiomantics Business setup…  which was soon upgraded to Semiomantics Ecommerce with the smashing Best Shopping module as featured in WP Best eShop. As their sales generated from their presence on the Internet continued to climb, they realized the need to even accelerate their rise to fame namely to:

• stay ahead of the competition,
• capture more Google Top 10 positions and keep them… and most importantly,
• double and triple their sales volume.

Ezine Advertsing

Today, you find Global Sports on most relevant keywords – and they are continuously building their Brand.

At the time, I created a series of ads to provide some affordable advertising for the Internet. To test our new Action Scripts as discussed in this week’s Photoshop Ycademy Workshops, I decided to go a step further and point out another interesting way of advertising: Ezine Advertising.

Global Sports Ezine Double Stack by Bianca Gubalke Design

Ezine Advertising is a smart strategy to keep people ‘in the loop’ and above you see what my initial preparation for the cover (first picture) turns into… once rendered in Step 2.

Again, it is important to follow the instructions regarding the Action Script, keep the layers in good order in Step 1, and not to forget to save the results in clearly marked folders – especially the ‘rendered’ ones – to be found again at a mouseclick when a new client wants “something similar…”.

Ezine Advertising for Global Sports by Bianca Gubalke Design

Web Design Consulting

Any form of Digital Advertising consists of some spiffy copywriting and captivating Web Graphics that talk. Get in touch with us at Web Design Consulting to discuss your needs and from there get a fair quote for what exactly you need in terms of Web Graphics Design and/or Text and targeted Slogans. Prices differ as usual according to complexity.

Talk to Bianca

If you need Captivating Web Graphics for your principal Ad, get in touch with me via the Contact Form on this site and let’s get that unique visual hook out there ASAP!

Go directly to our brand-new SHOP HERE.

Targeted Ad Delivery

If you promote your Business on the Internet, it’s all about Advertising and being visible on Google Top 10 as that’s where most of the free Traffic is.

Traffic means people and visitors searching something on Google. They punch in a keyword or a key phrase – and if you offer what they need, you want your website or blog to come up like magic on the very first Google page that opens. There may be 10, 1000′s or many millions of search returns – what counts is the first page… and perhaps page 2. That’s the truth. Noone actually looks any further.

Based on this fact you realize that there is just one place where your Ad has to absolutely show up – and that’s on Google Top 10.

Targeted Ad Delivery

Targeted Ad Delivery is exactly what Best YORGOO Booster does for you – fast and at a surprisingly affordable price as you can see in our SHOP HERE.

Best YORGOO Booster is the most aggressive and efficient Internet Marketing Tool when it comes to bringing your Product or Service right under peoples’ noses; they are so attractive and irresistible that one simply has to click on them!

Best YORGOO Booster

With YORGOO Booster you have no worries: the technical setup and configuration based on your choice of keywords will be done by an experienced professional.

Besides, you have peace of mind as your new advertising arm will only be delivered to you once properly indexed on Google.

And lastly, this is a highly automated process designed to support and push your main blog to the top – as part of a mini network.

Digital Advertising

As you will see, what stands out is a huge, eye-catching ad right at the top of the page, so what counts is a real good image or graphic design that’s so tempting that people have a natural reflex to click on it.

Best YORGOO Booster offers lots of additional advertising space in form of widgets in the side bars as well as above, inbetween and below posts. Feature your Amazon Shop, run Google Ads etc – and most importantly: get your own Ad quickly up to Google Top 10 and pull your main blog with you.

Digital Advertising with YORGOO Booster becomes an interesting game – a smart strategy that brings fast results.

Talk to Bianca

If you need Captivating Web Graphics for your principal Ad, get in touch with me via the Contact Form on this site and let’s get that unique visual hook out there ASAP!

How to Create Web Graphics 7

Graphic Design Services

Voila!

The new Graphic Design Services Blog on YORGOO Booster has been created and is awaiting indexing by Google.

Coolpix P90 Advertising by Bianca Gubalke

Digital Advertising with YORGOO Booster

YORGOO Booster is here to turn Webmasters into Digital Advertising virtuosos!

Obviously, we’re looking at yet another Script in the Google Top 10 efficient Semiomantics Line, meanwhile available in a very easy to navigate and operate Shop.

Digital Advertising with YORGOO Booster allows us to load header images in any size and to associate a link to each image – be it your home page (as in my case as my shop is still “in incubation mode”… but who ever is interested in getting targeted high-quality web graphics can simply contact me…) – or obviously it can be used for commercial purposes leading to salespages, shops, optins or any other target.

How to Create Web Graphics for the Header Ad

In YORGOO Booster it’s a huge header that conveys the commercial message – one cannot not see it! The goal is to make Digital Advertising with YORGOO Booster so attractive that visitors cannot but click on the header ad the moment they see it.

Learn how to Create Web Graphics for the Header Ad and much more in our weekly YCADEMY Trainings.

Alternatively, and as high quality professional Web Graphics gain considerably in importance on the worldwide web, invest in outsourcing to a professional graphic designer.  We will be glad to be of service to YOU!

. . .

Creating Web Graphics for Nutrinsider 2

Criteria for Selecting a Graphic Artist for a Website

Ideally, you may personally know and admire an Artist and his style, which however doesn’t mean this style fits the purpose of your Web site or Blog, its theme and what you have in mind, the way YOU see and visualize  it. As not every artist can sense and adapt to someone else’s ideas – or wants to do so.

Unless you want THAT artist’s particular style and you can pay for it. Possibly quite heavily. . .

Here’s an example:

Picasso for Nutrinsider

Say you know Picasso as a friend and he is still alive. Although Picasso is a unique and prodigious artist of various styles and without any doubt able to produce just anything HE puts his mind to . . . upwards from a signature on a blanc canvass as  quote… “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary” LOL – you need to know one thing:

Picasso only works for Picasso.

Pablo Picasso

For him  “… Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we don’t start measuring her limbs.”

WOW! Now how does this correspond to today’s Advertising & Marketing Industry and, more precisely, our Online Publishing endeavours with “Nutrinsider”?

Before losing myself in this most captivating and in my view ultra visionary line of thoughts, let’s just be clear on the fact that IF you choose some famous Artwork as it fits YOUR Purpose, you will have to pay the price the Gallery or whatever Marketing mechanism that controls all the productions and publications of your chosen artist, stipulate. At the end of the day you want to profit from the Name – in this case Picasso – and its Branding, meaning recognition value.

And of course your request can be strictly refused.

Therefore, when choosing a Graphic Designer it is crucial that he works for YOUR Purpose, converts YOUR ideas and whatever YOU want to bring over… with his specific talent and skill. Which also means that you know what you want and that you can define and express it well enough to be understood for the Graphic Interpretation and from there its artistic expression. We will come back to this most important yet complex point.

As “Nutrinsider” is just starting off and has its own vision, I only used Pablo Picasso as an example to make a point… although this enthusiast of life and production well into his late years (1881-1973) would be a perfect example of Vitality and Wellbeing!

How a Graphic Artist Presents himself traditionally

Besides following his passion in creating his own original Graphic Art that will be shown in exhibitions in Art Galleries and Museums to grow his Name and Reputation as an Artist, what does a young free-lancer in Graphic Design do in the ‘normal’ world to get butter on the bread and feed his family (we’ll look at the Internet in a moment) ?

He puts together a presentation map with his best Artwork to show …

~ his Skills
~ his Personality
~ his Style and Versatility
~ his favorite topics (say People, or Cars or Landscapes or Fantasy or Medical Drawings…)
~ the methods and tools he uses (traditionally paints, pencil, airbrush… now Adobe Photoshop, 3D Max etc…)
~ the Experience he has gathered so far
~ the Customers he has worked for so far…

and he’d try to get appointments to present himself with Advertising Agencies, Magazines, Publishing Houses etc with the goal to get ‘jobs’.

Professional Representatives for Graphic Designers

He may be lucky to find a representative right away who does this ‘job’ for him and connects him with the right people, however, at a price.  In clear terms: for each ‘job’ this intermediary and link between the artist-creator and the advertising (or any other) agency will cash in a percentage, which in my case at the time went up to 25%.

It means that after the initial successful introduction – in other words the first job and its successful execution – each phone call has the potential of bringing in 25 %. Just not into your account.

Just a call!

In fact, once an Agency (the Client) works happily with an Artist, it’s almost automatic. And as Advertising Agencies have Client Contracts over many years it can mean a fantastic income year after year.

Imagine being chosen for doing the ads for Coca Cola!

Or look at the current Louis Vuitton Campaigns with star photographers and Celebrities like Sean Connery and Madonna … and stars everything everywhere?

Well… first one’s got to get there, right!

From the representative’s side this is where the reaping starts after the labour of introducing the unknown artist.

Most artists hate to divert their busy minds to monetary things; they prefer to focus on their work and nothing but their work…  instead of ‘selling themselves’. Given the fact that especially young artists are strongly attached to their Artwork – almost like a mother to her child – selling ‘it’ feels like prostituting oneself. It’s human and it may change over time, especially when they become known and are contacted directly – meaning the tables turn and the artist now is in demand.

Picasso – and others like Dali or Uecker today – know very well how to sell themselves. So it differs from individual to individual and if you are a budding graphic artist, you just have to find your way depending on your personality. Just start somewhere. The rest follows. I know. . . :)

"Seagulls" - Charcoal Drawing by Bianca Gubalke (120 cm)

Here’s is an example of how one of my Artworks – “Seagulls”, a large charcoal drawing on paper (Private Collection) – was bought by a well-known Publishing House to be used on a book cover (“Wohin geht der Mensch?” by Hugo M. Enomiya-Lassalle, AURUM Verlag)… I permitted the inversion to match the sense and direction of the title.

Bookcover by Bianca Gubalke

From what we’ve said above it becomes clear that once a Graphic Artist has established himself and is being recognized and commended through his Artwork, he will get very busy.

However, today we have the Internet and today’s graphic artists do not need to be represented by someone else; they can represent themselves – online!

Present your Graphic Artwork Online

The web abounds with Websites, Blogs and Galleries where illustrators and graphic designers showcase their Artwork and of course there are many places online where artists can ‘exhibit’ in the hope of being ‘discovered’ – sometimes free, sometimes for a fee.

This is a vast and fascinating topic, however not the theme of this post.

The point is that as a graphic professional YOU can and you should be in control of your Name and build your own Authority and Web presence – for which you have to give yourself the means.

TIP: Just follow this series of articles – one side by Yorgo Nestoridis and the other by Bianca Gubalke – and you know exactly what to do. I mean EXACTLY, step-by-step, penny-by-penny.

Do your maths against the 25% in commissions over time… The choice is your’s.

What makes some Graphic Artists more successful than others?

We’ve gone into how Graphic Designers and Illustrators present themselves offline and online, however, there are some other factors that are just as important and determine whether or not an Artist will be contracted on an ongoing basis – let’s look at the most important ones:

1. The Ability to Translate the Client’s Ideas

When approaching a graphic design or illustration  ‘job’ for a Client, it’s all about him and what HE wants.

Whether the client is “Nutrinsider” directly or an Advertising Agency handling the “Nutrinsider” portfolio, what counts is that the Graphic Designer develops a fine intuition to understand what exactly the client wants. Which also means that the Client visualizes what he wants and expresses the context and outlines in a precise Briefing.

From experience I know that this is by far not always the case.

Very often the client has a rather vague and  abstract idea. He may have seen something he liked and show you what he means – which already helps. After all he knows your style and ability to project HIS ideas onto a screen… and that’s one of the main reasons he contracted you – but not the only one as you will see in a minute.

It also allows you to ask questions in order to exclude certain things and bring the focus more and more to the point. You too want to know who the target audience is… you will have to adapt your form of expression accordingly. Drill it down until you can see and feel what the client wants.

Be open for some creative brainstorming and scribble-sketch-searching; all this works perfectly if the Client and the Artist are in synch and the elaboration of the Artwork becomes a Dialogue sans Ego or even a Dance. . .

It will reflect in the Product.

Of course, this doesn’t apply if the Client selects some of your Artwork for a specific application – like my example above. In this case the Client has made his choice based on what you expressed in your Artwork – now it’s just a matter of Permission on your side and… Price.

2. Reliability and Speed

There’s war out there … everybody competes in terms of Price, Service  and Speed – and so do you. There’s no escape. When accepting a ‘job’ there’s a clear understanding and contract about the dead-line – and you better hold it come hell or high water as if you don’t you may be out of business faster than you got in.

Unless you’re Picasso :)

While PCs and the Internet allow us to work so much faster, they are always a risk factor as connections can be cut for hours as was my case yesterday, your PC can have a bug or the program simply strikes.

If you want to have a reputation of always delivering on time and keep it up, then prepare for it, equip yourself with what it needs. Certain accidents can be accepted and forgiven, but not if it becomes the norm.

I was tempted to say again… “Unless you’re Picasso” – however may I tell you this:

I’ve worked with some of the world’s leading artists – be it on books, catalogues, portraits, documentaries, photos, exhibitions and posters – and I’ve always been amazed by their discipline and reliability. No questions asked. If I needed the pictures on that date, I’d have them – guaranteed. It struck me why most of the comparatively ‘unknown’ artists let me wait for weeks if not months?

This so much revealed to me an important aspect of certain artists’ fame and financially speaking overwhelming success  – and what was to be learned and equally applied from there. It certainly taught me a lot.

3. Price

Quality has its Price and your Name, Position and Experience as a Graphic Designer = your Market Value count.

At the time there were clear hourly and daily rates that applied to each project, sometimes depending on the value of the Client and what he was apparently prepared to pay… unless it was a pretext of the Agency to squeeze more profit out for themselves.  Payment can be in stages if a project takes several months to be completed.

Each situation is different. You’ve got to start with your own setup and from there do your OWN maths taking into account all overheads plus a minimum of 10% profit to come to an hourly rate – say $75.

Today we all work more or less via the Internet and this beyond the boundaries of where we live. While the client may present you with a “what’s in it for you” scenario, you want to honor your own work, you need to know what your bottomline is so you can get into profit, and you want to be informed about the “going rates” for whatever you do and where and for whom – so you neither sell yourself out of the market by being too low, nor price yourself out of the market by demanding too much. Never ever guess what a Client is willing to pay and charge that; it’s totally unprofessional and detrimental to your reputation.

I suggest you do some research on the Internet to see what exactly applies to your current situation and what the competition calculates. If working in or for clients in the US, it’s wise to have a copy of the ‘Graphic Artist Guild’s Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines’ (PEG).

This is a wide field and not the focus of this article… which is to explain what counts when a Graphic Designer or Illustrator is chosen for a specific project… and lastly this includes that you are…

4. Available

and

5. Simply Fun to Work with

As simple as that!

Which finally brings us to applying what we learned above to the Internet environment and our project at hand:

Creating Web Graphics for Nutrinsider

Meanwhile you will have noticed that whatever principles apply to the normal traditional offline environment also apply to your work via the Internet. The Internet offers us a fantastic way to expand beyond our normal boundaries – in my case right now Cape Town, South Africa – and work with partners far away – in the case of “Nutrinsider” with Yorgo Nestoridis in Greece.

Amazing!

What has definitely changed when comparing my creative work then… when living in Europe and without really using the PC at the time… to now when working entirely via the PC and the Internet, is the Speed of Communication and Delivery! WOW – these are worlds apart… !

Also the tools and programs  to create our Artwork have simply opened up a whole new dimension alltogether! I don’t think this needs any explanation… but it deserves mentioning as this is a tremendous leap in many ways, it’s a constant breathtaking evolution and daily challenge and constant learning and adapting and and…  and who knows where it will take us within the next years!?!

Simply amazing and an exciting time to live in!

In that sense our answer to Picasso’s statement:  “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers ” should indicate that it’s all a matter of asking the right questions!

So what did it take to create my first Web Graphics for “Nutrinsider” ? What was needed for which Purpose and Target Audience?

This I will reveal in my next post, “Creating Web Graphics for Nutrinsider 3″

. . .

Graphic Tools for Digital Art

Once we’ve come to terms with our ‘inner self’ and decide on what exactly it is we want to do on the Internet following our Purpose and Passion, part of our Business Plan is to equip ourselves properly to at least give ourselves the means to become as good as possible – even an expert – in our specific field of knowledge.

Which doesn’t mean that buying the best equipment makes us an instant expert, however, just as we cannot win the Formula 1 with a rusty beetle, we cannot expect to do wonders without the right professional tools.

Digital Tablets and Digital Pens

Although “. . .  it all began with a mouse. . .” as Walt Disney said, and we all use it in various versions … and this with more or less ease. . . , when it comes to the digital manipulation of images, pictures or photos – like in Photo Retouche for instance, a huge market as no picture in any glossy magazine gets around the magic retouche mill – and from here to professional Digital Advertising and Digital Art etc – this is when a mouse is not enough and you need a tool that’s much closer to how we as artists used to work: holding a crayon, pen, brush, airbrush or the like between our fingers and working on a drawing table (let’s excluse painters standing in front of their easles).

This is the way we optimally control the creation to appear on paper or – applying this to the Graphic Computer – : on the screen. . .  our sensibility directing its inner flow… that finds it’s instant expression without any material obstructions.

"Troll" for TrigoPlus by Bianca Gubalke

Digital Image of a “Troll”

Although I’ve developed quite some skill with the mouse (. . . just surpassed by MadMax, my cat) – I’ve been working with an Intuos WACOM tablet a while ago when I designed a “Troll” for our TrigoPlus Project . . . and since then I know the difference!

If you intend to build a career creating digital pictures, there is no way around a digital tablet and digital pens – starting with one, but that won’t be the only one you use… just as we had different forms of crayons, brushes, pencils, pens, aurbrushes etc – it’s just part of your toolbox to create your own ‘cuisine’ as I used to call it… and I really went to work with all sorts of tools, materials and colours. From here you may find and then develop your own style, something that defines and differentiates you – or just simply do proper, clean, professional work.

Now, a big WACOM tablet – ideally Intuos – is of course the best and nothing beats it – but you may not have the space, or you want to be mobil with your laptop, or you have some financial constraints.

However, WACOM has come up with a sort of ‘simplified’ yet highly sophisticated small tablet that provides you with all you need – and this at a very fair price.

Do you believe in ‘coincidences’?

Well, I think we ’cause them to happen’ if we just focus our intent and/or desire long enough on the matter – and in my case it was definitely a WACOM tablet (and none other…) and of course the NIKON Coolpix P90 :)

The question was: while both are essential, which one first?
While I can easily get a digital camera here in the land of endless beauty when it comes to motives… there’s not even an official agent for WACOM here, at least I could not dig him out.

However, when going to my PC shop to get a new headset, something made me ask anyway – and, totally unexpectedly… I was shown the BAMBOO – brand-new and stunningly beautiful… a WACOM tablet and pen.

Irresistible!

Preciousness, Precision and Personalization

Needless to say where it is now… but I must applaud the producer for the precious packaging appealing directly to the senses! What a delight to literally peel the contents from an elegant, black, precious looking box with equally elegantly printed layers of papers and sachets… until the BAMBOO appears in almost lacquered black with a pen that lies ergonomically perfectly in one’s hand and those incomparable blue little lights like from out-of-space….

Quote WACOM:

“Bamboo is uniquely intuitive

Bamboo is a new way of working. It will let you use all your usual applications as well as do things on your computer that have never before been possible. The pen makes it easy and intuitive, and your experience as natural as using an ordinary pen. The ergonomics help say goodbye to sore hands. Try it. You′ll be amazed at what Bamboo can do – and by what you can do with Bamboo.
Express yourself. Make it personal.

The documents you create don′t have to be like all the rest. With Bamboo, it′s personal. You can add your own distinctive touches with handwritten notes, sketches, signatures and doodles. Bamboo sets you apart. Make it personal.

Want to know more about what you can do with Bamboo?
What you can do?
Free your imagination
Unleash your creativity with Bamboo, at work and at home. Paint, draw, retouch and create, making your work uniquely your own. Free your imagination, discover what you can do… ”

Smart Educational Tutorials

All this is accompanied by a CD with a well-designed Tutorial taking you through the main features… but only allowing you to proceed if you accomplished the tasks correctly. Educational and simply Fun!

Of course, it takes some time to get used and adapt to working with a pen again, but ideally you work with both. I’ve just started discovering or in a way ‘re-discovering’ how it feels… sort of getting on a racing horse when being used to a pony!

Not that a mouse is a pony… and I really will not separate from it, however… a new era starts and a faster and more professional one for sure!

It’s BAMBOO Time now!

. . .

Kick Art with Photofun

As Photofun seems to be the trend and the web graphics can be expressive, funny and straight down to the point, here’s a Glam & Joli version for the Nike Air Max Swarovski Custom Sneakers – ideal for a Pitt-Stop!

Kick Art with "Cool Kicks Angel"

Hey Gene… you were on my mind. . .  :)

Cool Kicks with Kick Art

While anything ‘cool’… or even ‘cold’ is not very much my cup of tea these days as down here in South Africa we are held in the icy grip of real winter – meaning torrential rains with serious floods everywhere, icy temperatures, snow… and thousands of people without a roof and freezing. Besides: shaky lines and connections… if at all.

The good news is that the sun seems to be back tomorrow… so we can defreeze our fingers and neurons for the next online parade. Until then: anything HOT is just right… which means let’s kick it right away…

Kick Art on Google

To warm up a little…  I had to check how our recent posts on ‘Kicks’ and ‘Kick Art’ are performing and WOW – as usual, Semiomantics Scripts do their job if the author-publisher does his… I mean  her’s :)… and while you may not be too impressed by all the top positions our YORGOO Business Network covers on “Cool Kicks with Kick Art” as there are just 410,000 search returns… do take note how the Social Networks (Twitter, MyBlogLog) sneak in to steal some of those Google Top 10 positions with our work… (hint… hint… wouldn’t it be better if you could see  YOUR post here…?) and see how news.bbc.co.uk sort of follows it all in style…

'Cool Kicks and Kick Art' on Google

The Power of the YORGOO Business Network

Our results may take a while… but they rarely disappoint… so the next shot I tried was a bigger one: “KICK ART” with almost 46 million search returns. Now lo and behold. . . what can I say but… “results speak for themselves”… look:

'Kick Art' on Google

Incredible:  Bianca Gubalke, Auctiontalklive and Brenda Baker on Google Top 10 – show me what beats that!

Join the next YCADEMY Business Building Seminar – Focus Social Networks and their Integration into our Marketing Strategies … on 25 and 26 July 2009 (weekend, online, limited tickets available).

Diarize… and watch this space to get your ticket in time.

HOT STUFF. . . !

Global Sports Advertising

KICK ART starts becoming the absolute insider buzz: once spotted on Google Top 10… it went straight into the galleries and museums of the world… and from there right back onto the streets…

Great fun. . . lots of i-motion… and with Semiomantics simply unstoppable!

Kick Art by Bianca Gubalke

Cool Kicks with ‘Kick Art’

It all started with a Kick. . .
I’ve been following the evolution of “Global Sports US” on the unique Semiomantics Press Scripts with great interest and admiration.

Global Kicks on Google Top 10

On one hand, I observed with awe how the ingenious finetuning between what a Search Engine essentially picks up… and what a visitor to the site itself actually sees and reads… by none other than Internet wizzard Yorgo Nestoridis… ‘kicked out’ and very rapidly occupied Google Top 10 positions on so many keywords imagineable and of great relevance for the client (Global Sports, London UK).

On the other hand, I truly wish to see the valued friends and first online business  customers of my long-term online business partner and friend  Felisa Ryan from London (ex Philippines…)  succeed!

‘Global Sports London’ have a sexy product for a vibrant, fast and i-motional market on the go - a product with a potential to reach out for the luxury level with the right Branding and Advertising.

Digital Advertising

Offline as online… in Advertising it’s the Visuals that count, the Artwork, the Creation… in other words the transportation of the Message via excellent Pictures, Images, Graphics… Art – and of course all this in combination with a good and memorable Slogan.  Their quality, expression and meaningfulness as regards the target audience make or break an advertising campaign. . . which is nothing but a powerful way to show with vigour and continued intensity what is being offered, what wants to find lovers, addicts, collectors – i.e. buyers. Ideally, tons of them! It’s a wise investment; otherwise large companies wouldn’t allocate the immense annual advertising budgets they do, year after year.

Here, ‘KICKS’ and ‘SNEAKERS’ are our product – so Ads are crucial! Clearly, they should be on the constant move just as the ‘sneaker runners’, ‘cool-kicksters’ and potential customers are: on-line and on-ipod… anything that enhances fast reactions… spontaneous, irrational behaviour… in a wild world where ‘Today’ is the Trend – from London to New York, from Shanghai to Dubai, from Cool to Glam, from Kick to. . .  Kick!

Digital Artwork in Development

The Nike Air Max Swarovski Custom Sneakers are fun and there are certain aspects that inspired my creative muscle to develop a series of ads starting off with nothing but a . . . kick!

Well, when receiving the ‘best picture’ of a kick on Saturday I wasn’t too impressed as with its tinted background it meant additional work… tedious work… to cut the kick out with precision… and doing that with a mouse is not easy (. . . and here I have News … something exciting for my next post, wait for it!!! Nothing beats professional equipment – online as offline… hint! hint!)…

Besides, I had no proper logo to use – meaning on a transparent background… MORE work! I took all this as part of my “…technical fulfillment learning curve…”  LOL…. and after a while, I had something to start off with and that looked acceptable on black or white or any background for that matter… as was published HERE.

Now I had material to work with and play on my digital instruments and imagination… from Art to Psychedelic to Glam to… Cool and the Beast :)

Some excerpts of the Artwork in development. . .

Global Kick Artwork

The above excerpt of  ‘ad stages’  shows an evolution until the version below. It’s one particular direction – and each picture contains a world of others and it may grab me and I just continue… especially as there was a special request and I ‘saw’ the next one immediately in my mind… so for me that’s pretty ‘irresistible’ :)

Global Art by Bianca Gubalke

As you see… I am getting my personal Kick out of Cool Kicks… and “Kick Art” is my artistic expression!!!

To be continued. . .

PS: Yes. . . the original are much bigger than on this display… and pretty sharp :)))

Best Buy Nikon Coolpix P90

Are you thinking of buying a Nikon P90?

In my view Amazon is the most trusted online shopping source these days offering:

~ Best price,
~ Free Shipping,
~ No sale taxes and a
~ Reasonable return policy.

They really make sure things are delivered to the buyer – so far that due to a lot of theft Amazon no longer ships to South Africa, which is a huge pity – but we have found a practical way to get it anyway :)

However, you can also consult with expert and user reviews before you make your decision.

Coolpix P90 Advertising

Get fast to my dedicated “Coolpix P90″ site HERE .

Please note the slightly changed background of the digital advertising image below and comment if you consider it to be an improvement!

"Coolpix P90" Ad designed by Bianca Gubalke

NIKON Coolpix P90 on Google

As you see below, my “Semiomantics Author” Script has so far carried me to spot 12 of 1,440,000 search returns on Google on “Coolpix P90″ – a search term many digital photography lovers would type in – interestingly, more than they would add “NIKON” before it.

"Coolpix P90" - today's Spot 12 of 1,440,000 on Google

Best Buy Coolpix P90

I invite you to go to my dedicated new Coolpix Blog HERE.

. . .

NIKON Coolpix P90

At last, our “Coolpix P90″ YORGOO Booster site has been indexed by Google and now we can focus on adding content and offer photographers who are also passionate about taking high-quality pictures with this light-weight camera with great features,  good orientation for the best deals online.

NIKON Coolpix P90 Advertising

When choosing a digital camera it is important to know what the main purpose is.

As I have a quick eye and need to be equally quick and flexible when shooting original material for preparing my Digital Artwork and Web Graphics in Photoshop, and I hate to be schlepping heavy camera equipment around – I have an impressive history of that in the past and enough is enough!!!! – the P90 seems to optimally meet my requirements – and this at a fair price.

"Coolpix P90" by Bianca Gubalke Advertising

If you enjoy my digital pictures, I invite you to click on the brand-new COOLPIX-P90 HERE and you will see some examples of my work when dreaming the NIKON P90 into my possession… (hey! it seems to work!)… and perhaps it helps you make an informed decision as to your own priorities as well.

NIKON Coolpix P90 on Google

When checking this morning to see where I was today after this rather longish waiting period… and bearing in mind that we had immediately occupied Spot 18 with our first posts on the search term “Nikon Coolpix P90″ – largely due to the great Semiomantics Scripts – I noticed that we were actually still positioned quite well… and now we got more steam to climb the ranks! It all starts with being indexed. . .

"NIKON Coolpix P90" indexed by Google

My Cool Pix are on the way . . . where are yours’ ???

. . .

Online Communication

NewsCast 12 Hour Promotion

Congratulations to all proud owners of a brand-new Semiomantics Script “NewsCast” !

On the Internet, it’s all about speed and visibility and never before  “…being at the right place at the right time” had more significance.

Digital Advertising

While Scripts that perform extremely well in terms of  Google Top 10 rankings depend largely on their technical ‘fine-tuning’ by the Web Designer – in my view rather a Web Coder…  or Web Decoder as the case may be – as well as the smart Editing and Publishing of keyword-oriented original Content, visitors are attracted by the visual aspect – the digital photos, digital web graphics or even digital art.

A Picture tells 1000 Stories

If the picture presented resonates with the viewer he or she may be inclined to stay and discover more. . .

"Touch Vision Talk" Online Newspaper by Bianca Gubalke

Online Newspapers

YORGOO Press Blogs – like TouchVisionTalk allow us as Editors and Publishers to really enhance our posts and articles with delightful pictures, photos and all kinds of digital images in various sizes and shapes – including a Photo Gallery and Video.

While the brand-new Semiomantics Line called “NewsCast” is even more versatile and flexible, I am very fond of this first Online Newspaper Blog that taught us all an aweful lot and that starts showing impressive results not only on Google (that’s getting rather ‘normal’ for Semiomantics Bloggers…) – but initiating the desired Online Sales that so many work for and rarely see happening:

Swarowski Crystal

For the ultimate KICK and Superstar BLING have a look at Swarowski Crystal on Global Sports US  HERE !

. . .

Digital Advertising

Finally our second YORGOO Booster was indexed by Google – and this after almost 3 weeks.

I hope this encourages those who set up their Blog with just as much care and enthusiasm as I did and then waited with nothing happening day after day, week after week. It is very disheartening and literally stops the production flow – or forces to focus one’s activities into another direction… but great to see things happening suddenly after all.

GOOGLE Top 10 ranking

Great results based on a great Semiomantics Script: once we did see our Blog, we saw it at the top and this reconciled us :)

Online Advertising

As Social Networks are exploding and increasingly determining developments and trends on the Internet, we will have to adapt our Communication Skills and Advertising Methods accordingly.

With the proven Semiomantics Line we are well equipped - provided Google finds us… my next Booster is still waiting. . .

. . .

Post Free Ads

Finally, our first YORGOO Booster has been indexed by Google! WOW! We’ve been waiting for this with quite some anticipation. Why this is taking longer at times than normally remains a mystery to me and I put it down to “Apartheid in Space”. . . the ‘civilized’ virtual world (HA!) simply ignoring us down here “in the sticks”. But it’s done and that’s what counts and drives us forward again. And besides… look at the great results:

GOOGLE Top 10 ranking

As can be verified on thet screenshot below it has immediately reached a brilliant GOOGLE Top 10 position!

Digital Advertising

Well it’s just a small niche in the making… but many small keywords have grown into major search returns over time … and who’s not interested in Posting Ads for Free? From Private People to Social Networks – everybody!

As we’ve seen: Digital Advertising is on the rise - no wonder with the way the Internet is evolving as THE market place where people buy and sell.

Lastly, it’s a matter of being found – and that’s where Semiomantics Scripts are Simply the Best!

. . .

Digital Advertising

When it comes to looking for a Blogging or Website Script the first step for any normal Internet user may be a free WordPress Script. Perfect starting point!

However, once the basics are learnt and one wants to go the extra mile that makes all the difference when it comes to visibility and authority building – and last but not least professional customer acquisition and sales – , it’s not only the visual aspect that counts – in other words what people coming to your Blog or Website see and read – but more importantly,  what’s behind the website scenes, the  spiffy web designer’s realm of REAL magic: Code.

The Art here is to make it aggressively efficient when it comes to making a serious Google Top 10 sprint – while at the same time offering a user-friendly back-office where normal people like you and me can take good care of what we may be good at: original content, good images, good digital advertising.

Once the goal and target audience are clear and the idea and concept for the new Blog or Website takes a mental shape,  meaning you know more or less what you want… the question is: where to look and what to choose from?

Yorgo Nestoridis launches new Semiomantics Line “NewsCast”

There are good News. . . as within his elegant and highly search engine efficient ‘Semiomantics Line’ following the Motto:  “Publishing for Excellence”, Internet wizzard Yorgo Nestoridis has just created a new version, NewsCast.

Semiomantics NewsCast is quite close to the meanwhile well established Semiomantics Press Script (example HERE) – yet much more versatile and adaptable and with a better placement for a top video, a bigger photo gallery on the home page, integration of the Flickr photo stream and possibly a Social Media Portal to attract attention in short messaging style.

"NewsCast" - New Script in the Semiomantics Line

The Semiomantics Line provides the perfect platform an ambitious Blogger, Internet Marketer or Online Business Builder needs – namely to reach top rankings on Google  Top 10 with an attractive and sophisticated look.

And besides. . . it’s a lot of Fun! Click HERE and have a look!

Digital Communication

One thing we can certainly say about our era of explosive and uncontrollable distribution of information and knowledge through modern high-tech communication technologies and channels via the Internet -  is that it’s gone ‘digital’.
And this is only the beginning.

Digital Advertising Online to grow by 8,6%

Not surprisingly, the only real highlight at the renowned Cannes Lions 2009 Advertising Festival in France… besides the significance of China as an emerging market and the promotion of “green” technologies… was without any question Digital Advertising Online.

In a year that is expected to be problematic and financially critical by many experts – with the global advertising market to fall by 6.9 % -, the prognosis for Digital Advertising is brilliant:  a whopping 8.6%  growth… depending to a large extent on developments in China.

YORGOO Booster Ad by Bianca Gubalke

Digital Spending to ‘stay strong’

When questioned about the impact of the recession in the US,  Google CEO Eric Schmidt said he was optimistic for 2010 and that digital spending would stay strong.

If we think that an industry giant like McDonald’s spends on average 7% on digital advertising – and this with a rising tendency – this reflects on the opportunity for online marketers and business entrepreneurs to grab a piece of the advertising market share to earn a living from in the future.

Digital Advertising and Semiomantics

Advertising – offline and online – always had to be ahead of trends if not setting them. Here time and a fine sensor and feeling for what the people, the audience, the potential customer wanted and how they wanted it have always been of the essence – often born from grassroots and original artistic expression, be it in music, movies, dance  or fashion etc.

Watching the Cannes Lions Festival advertising reels was always an exciting and psychologically interesting and instructive journey through the year covered, while casting ahead a shadow of what was to – possibly – come.

As such, Digital Advertising is a process of continued research to find the right pulse of the time, the hot spot where people are reachable and touchable… and most importantly, Ads need to reach their target audience, jumping into their eyes and creating the desired CLICK HERE NOW impulse – before being hijacked by the next distraction and virtual destination.

This means that attractive onlinel ads need to be visible on Google Top 10 positions – and this does not really depend on excellent ads nor on good content – but on other factors, skills, strategies, techniques and. . . an aggressively tuned Script, genre Semiomantics as well as the brand-new and soon to be launched Booster.

Ceguna.com on YORGOO Booster

YCADEMY Online Business Building Seminars

The good news is that while this is no easy path… it can be learned – as the past Ycademy Seminars have shown and “. . . as seen on Google” – in other words the simple yet undisputable proof.

“YORGOO Booster is a Great Tool for generating Income” ~ Ceguna.com, NY, USA

“Now I am able setting up my own shopping mall on the Internet” ~ hannocoetzee.com, South Africa

“YORGOO Booster ist einzigartig ! Es ist alles enthalten was man braucht. SUPER !!!”
uteschaedler.com, Germany

“Great for business, great product, customer satisfaction!” taxmart.com, Alabama, USA

“YORGOO Booster is amazing, astonishing, easy and fun ! TOUS DERRIERE !”
photozcool.com, France

YCADEMY Online Business Building Seminars

The good news is that while this is no easy path… it can be learned – as the past Ycademy Seminars have shown and “. . . as seen on Google” – the proof.

And the other good news is that the Internet has levelled out the playing fields – meaning that in the Google Top 10 challenge the Davids get a chance to win the Formula 1 of the virtual highway… and that’s what the whole game is all about – isn’t it?!

TIME FOR CHANGE. . .

Bianca Gubalke