Inbound Marketing Blog

Mobile is convenient. Mobile is there with us, no matter where we are or what we do. We don't have to be sitting at home or in the office or in a coffee shop where our laptops are plugged in. Our world is outlet-less, whether we're in a meeting or on the bus or walking downtown. In the past, mobile was the future. It is now the present. So what does your mobile content look like? Is it easily navigational? Is content clear and distinct, or does it get jumbled or lost? Jumbly content is not fun for anyone. So how can you ensure your content is up-to-snuff?more

I read recently that nearly 78% of all users check email on their mobile device. That got me thinking about email marketing and mobile devices…how can we improve deliverability? And how can we make emails easier to read for subscribers? Are you registered with different organizations and businesses who send you regular email messages? How many do you read on your phone? What do you see when you read messages on your mobile device? Those that are mostly text are a lot easier to read, aren’t they!?more

MINDSCAPE is pleased to be a part of the City of Grand Rapids Mayor's 50 program. This program is designed to give 50 local high school students an opportunity to intern for local businesses. As part of the program, the student receives a paid internship with up to ten hours a week for six months. These students apply to be part of the program and are selected by the business based on interest, talent and skills. In addition, the students receive comprehensive training to prepare them for the business world prior to beginning their internship. Devin Rittenhouse, the first of our Mayor's 50 interns, wanted to share his thoughts on his experience at MINDSCAPE for 6 months. Devin is a junior at Rockford High School and recently turned 16 years old. He wrote a blog so we could share with you- click "read more" to check out what he wrote!more

Through some random surfing over at Smashing Magazine, I came across a site devoted to Dark Patterns. I was unfamiliar with the phrase, so spent a little time reading about it. What I found was that the phrase “Dark Patterns” is a catch all that applies to a variety of deceptive design patterns in web design. I watched a 30 minute lecture on Dark Patterns to become more familiar. Here are a few of the different Dark Pattern techniques I learned about.more

If you’re a web developer, all the HTML5 talk of the past year or so most likely gets you pretty excited. I won’t go into the details and specs of HTML5 because chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re familiar with what HTML5 has to offer and all the great things that are coming with it. I sat in on a couple HTML5 sessions at the Future of Web Design Conference in New York a couple months back and while it’s all really cool and exciting, I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated thinking that the technology is at our disposal, but it could be a few years before we can really utilize this for our clients due to the legacy Internet Explorer browsers out there that are incapable of handling modern technology on the web. Then I started thinking about HTML5 and the mobile web and got excited again.........more

Even though mainstream adoption of the mobile web as an commerce tool may be a couple years off, people are using their mobile devices to make purchasing decisions right now.more

Google is once again trying to improve search with the release of their latest feature named Google Instant Preview. Basically you'll be able to roll over a magnifying glass icon and get a screenshot view of the website you'd be visiting if you click. This isn't a new concept, but new from Google. There are browser add-ons you can get such as CoolPreviews that give you this same functionality.more

Chances are if you’re in any kind of sales or marketing related position, the company’s website has come up. You’ve likely been part of a team considering updating the website, redesigning the site or looking at ways to better market the site. Website costs vary. So what do you do? Ask around for referrals, likely engaged in a Google search and even checked out competitor sites to see if there was a link to “website developed by XYZ Company” at the bottom of the site.more

A very common statement made by clients to their design firm is, "Make my logo bigger." In some instances this might be a good thing, like on a billboard where your target audience is doing 70 MPH (on a slow day). But I'm here to help you understand why "make my logo bigger" regarding your website is actually, believe it or not, a pretty bad idea. Let's face it. You love your company. With the logo being your staple, why wouldn't it be BIG on your website? The answer actually has two parts: Your logo doesn't sell and visitors really don't care. Now, let me explain.more

It's interesting to look at the process people go through when starting a new website ... Once they decide they need a site they begin to plan what content they'd like to have on the site. The majority of the companies decide they need a page that talks about them so they add an "About Us" page to their site. Secondly they would like to talk about their products or services so they add a "Products" or "Services" page to their site. The most important part to the new website is giving it's visitors the ability to contact them to do business or ask questions which is where the infamous "Contact Us" page comes from. I could go on and on but I am guessing you've seen these types of pages on almost every website you've ever been to, so I won't bore you. I am sure when you decided to get your first website online you had the intention of increasing your business and tapping into the "gold mine" the Internet makes available to us all. Heck, this was my initial motivation as well and I'm sure this is no earth shattering revelation. Well the problem with this process of developing a website is unfortunately absolutely wrong. No, I'm not saying you won't make any sales or receive any phone calls by structuring your website this way. I am just saying you are limiting the potential revenue by doing it and you could do MUCH better.more

I figured since we are in the early stages and focusing on developing the proper mindset for your online success, I'd bring up a couple things I like to focus on that get me extremely motivated. When you are first beginning to focus your attention on your Internet initiative it is exciting, and at times can seem a bit overwhelming. There are so many ways you can attack your share of the market online, it's easy to stall out trying to decide the best way to do it.more

Alright! Now you have taken the time to determine exactly what you want with no boundaries and you've also taken the time to figure out what results you'll need to produce to attain this goal. Personally I believe you should feel more excited than ever since these two foundational steps are typically skipped right over by most companies which leads to their next experience in the process...FAILURE!more

I am hopeful you've recognized the value in brainstorming and coming up with a "no holds barred" version of what you want to accomplish on the Internet. Over the years we all become conditioned to settle on our goals due to the obstacles which appear in our path. After numerous failures and rough spots we begin to arrive at the point where we think, "If I could just make enough to get by I'd be happy." Arriving at this point isn't a bad thing as long as you don't reside there for long. You would never tell your kids to make sure their expectations and hopes aren't too high, so why should you think that way about your future? Why shouldn't you be allowed to accomplish everything you dream of? The only way you won't is if YOU stop yourself from doing it.more