Including an alpha when designing your digital scrapbook kits is a great way to add value and desirability to your products. This quick article will show you how to make versatile alphas from a somewhat unusual starting point: button actions and premade bling. This is a great way to make alphas that exactly match your kits and they can be used again for different kits in different colors with different fonts. These are the tools from CUDigitals that we will be starting with today.
From Eirene’s button actions and one of her background papers, select just the buttons without holes after running the action.
Next choose a font and create a text layer above the button with a capital A. When you are doing this for an alpha set, trim your button first so you won’t have to keep doing it later.
Then simply apply one of the Imprint Styles that best matches your button background. This sample shows the versatility of this combo of actions and imprints. You can choose ANY color or paper for the buttons and then just tweak the styles to match. (If there is a highlight on the button that is in the way, use your healing brush, clone stamp etc to remove it)
Save each button letter as a .png. Simply edit the text layer to display the next letter in the alphabet, adjust the centering if needed, and save as the new .png. Extra tip: I save the master .psd file first in my “alpha” folder and then every time I use file > save as, I will be going to the correct folder. I don’t save the .psd for every individual letter, just the “master” and the .pngs of all the individual letters)
Here are more samples. The button bases this time are Boop’s brad’s (using a solid fill and the imprint styles)
And her are some bonus ideas, using premade embellishments and style sets.
There are many more items available that you could use for alpha bases in these categories at CUDigitals Buttons, Beads, Brads and Bling Actions-Buttons
It’s fun to get creative with bling, brads and buttons to create unique items for your customers!
Did you find this useful? Subscribe to the CUDigitals weekly newsletter and never miss another tip, new release, store event or freebie!
Are you in a midweek slump? How about some interesting reading to support your digital scrapbook design business? We know you are very busy creating and marketing your products and have little extra time for scouring the web for resources. That’s why we have this round-up of hand-picked links of special interest to digi designers. Leave us a comment if there was something you really loved! PHOTOSHOP Add Custom Keyboard Shortcuts To Photoshop - Lifehacker Australia Photoshop Help- Get Your Layers & Layer Masks Working Flawlessly (useful for recoloring elements!)
We know you love a good deal so here is a quick run down of the designer sales currently live at CUDigitals – your best source for high quality, unique CU/Commercial digital scrapbooking tools and supplies. Please check the ad dates and note the store runs on US Central Time.
Thanks for shopping with us – we love being a part of your design business!
Other shopping links
Love sales and deals? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get an email with store specials, blog updates and more – every Friday.
Have you seen the Hello Bar?
On this blog, it's the green offer bar at the top of this page. Nope, it's not blinking or popping up all over the place but I have found it to be a really easy way to add a static offer bar that is not intrusive but keeps our sales message alive at the top of the viewer's browser window. It also gives me stats on views and click throughs. And it's free!
There are a lot of different options for adding pop ups and menu bars that bring attention to your newsletter and products but I have found 2 problems with many of them.
Coding them can be difficult. You're in the digital scrapbook design business, not the web development business!
Many people find them annoying. I am one of those people - are you?
The deliver timing can be tricky - why pop up in front of someone within the first 2 seconds of their visit? Maybe someone would like to look around a bit before they sign up or buy!
It is my personal opinion that a good blog with valuable content does not need a lot of "tricks" to capture readers or sales. If a blog is not interesting or a product does not have value, a blinking pop-up offer is probably not going to get a reader's attention, right?
However, I do think it is important to display a way to find your products or sign up for your newsletter in a prominent area of your site. To me, prominent does not have to be annoying - just easy to find! And that's why I like the Hello Bar. It stays at the top when readers scroll down, quietly and reliably delivering your message to those who are interested.
Sign up is easy and it's a free service! Just get started at hellobar.com
You start by entering the URL to the target you want your readers to hit - usually your store or newsletter.
After that, you will have a choice to drive traffic, collect emails or bring people to your social media pages.
The choices you make past that are super simple to implement and the site even guides you through how to install the code that is generated.
I love that it works really easily with Blogger, too. I think a lot more time and attention is given to plugins and widgets for WordPress than Blogger so I am excited to see this is available on more than one platform. The installation instructions are provided as you go through the process. You will have to dig into your Blogger template but it's a VERY easy code insertion. You don't have to mess with the actual coding, just paste it into your template.
Unlike other menu bars I have seen and tested, it's incredibly easy to change colors and fonts.
And one of my favorite features is the fact that one the code is inserted into your blog, you can make changes in the bar on the site and then your bar will automatically update on your own site! This includes changing the wording of the offer, the target URL, the type of goal and all the colors and fonts! This is so much easier than recoding your offer bar every time you want to make a change.
I encourage you to give it a try and...even turn off your pop up offers. Tricks and gimmicks aside, your BEST way to attract customers and readers is offering solid designs and valuable content.
I hope you find this useful - I'd love to hear from you if you try it or install it. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
Want more news and articles like this? Subscribe to the CUDigitals weekly newsletter and never miss another tip, new release, store event or freebie!
There are a lot of opportunities to save in the store at CUDigitals this week and beyond!
Don’t miss these exciting deals. CUDigitals is your home for high quality, unique CU digital scrapbooking tools and supplies.
image credit: free digital photos.net
Blog hops and blog trains remain a popular way to give away digital scrapbooking freebies while sharing traffic with other designers in your stores or through other websites that host them. Whether you are a regular or occasional participant, you want to do more than just give away the freebie. This is a critical time to capture new email subscribers and customers. It may be the ONLY time some visitors come to your blog, so it’s important to present a way to connect with your designs in the future.
The biggest thing I want you to take away from this article is this:
Put something ELSE on your blog post besides your freebie!
Here are some ideas for the other items you could include with your freebie. I personally think these items should go above the freebie in the post. People can take a minute to scroll down. You are not inconveniencing them by asking them to take a quick look at your paid offerings as well.
• Link to sign up for your newsletter. You could also add an additional coordinating freebie exclusively for newsletter customers. If you don’t have a newsletter, at least set up Feedburner so people can follow your blog posts.
• Link to a coordinated paid item in your store. In my experience, this needs to be a really great deal – something along the lines of a full kit for $1.99 or less. Many designers are hesitant to offer a deal like this but if used ONLY occasionally, it can kick up your sales because you are able to capture some of the people who simply never buy unless there is a very deep discount. This tactic is best for short run blog hops (a week or less)
• A coupon to use for a discount in your store. This could be a general percent off or dollar off coupon. It could also be used to discount the special offer above. If you do that, then only your blog visitors get the extreme deal and your special product shows as regular price in your stores.
• A graphic ad – sales announcement for your store
• Previews of a few of your recent releases
• Links to connect with you on social media – Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
Bookmark or pin this page so you can refer to it the next time you are getting prepared for a blog event. Maximize your work and blog traffic for your next event!
Are you ready for some more reading material? Save time combing through RSS feeds and grab the links to these hand-chosen items to help you in your digital scrapbook design business.
These are the current designer sales going on at CUDigitals. Click the ads to visit the store for the purchase of high quality commercial use digital scrapbooking tools.
Thanks to everyone who visited the store during the National Scrapbook Sale event – we appreciate your comments and purchases!
Please note sale ending dates. The store runs on US Central Time.
Are you in an excitement rut? Are the opening sentences on most of your new release and sales posts about your digital scrapbooking kits about how excited you are about your news? Are your product descriptions and blog posts heavily focused on your creative process to create a product or your desire to bring it to market?
This is a very easy rut to fall into because it IS exciting and fun to release new products and announce big sales. Some of the projects you all are doing are massive and getting to a successful release date on them feels like a reason to celebrate a significant accomplishment!
However, our marketing really shouldn't be about us. It should be about what our customers can gain by buying our products, reading our posts, participating in our challenges, entering our contests, downloading our freebies, etc.
This is an idea of I somewhat recently became aware of and it has sort of become a little challenge to myself as I compose marketing messages. It takes a little bit of stepping outside my mental box to change my point of view toward YOU and how YOU benefit from exposure to CUDigitals' marketing tips, tutorials and product purchases. Because at the end of the day, if I did not feel our store and blog has something of value to offer you, why would I be doing it?
I am certainly excited to show off the jaw-droppingly awesome things the designers have brought to the store to help your digital scrapbook design business. I am honestly squealy excited every week when I send out the newsletter!!
But is that what YOU want to know about the products? Likely not.
You probably want to know that our newest items are some or all of the following:
high quality
versatile
time-savers
unique
a great value
something you don't know how to make yourself
the exact theme you were looking for
These items are some of the same things your customers need to know about your products, too. I challenge you to try and make shift toward the content of your offerings and how it fills a want or need for your customers. It takes some mental effort but I believe it is worthwhile to connect with your audience in a different way and to adjust your focus off yourself and on to the value and service you are providing to others.
Here is an example of a common marketing message among digital designers.
I am excited to announce the release of my Ultimate Amazing Product Line. I have been wanting to create this as a personal pet project of mine since last year and I have finally gotten the time to finish it. I have filled this collection with all the things I love and I am fairly convinced that since I love these things, you will also and feel an irresistible urge to buy them as a massive bundle right now before I even get to the end of the post. My work here is done, thanks for your purchase. Don't forget to open my next email because I know you are simply sitting around waiting for me to make something new that you will feel compelled to buy immediately.
OK. That's a little over the top, but if you have a look at the ideas I've exposed, you may see some of yourself in it: the message you are sending and the underlying ideas behind it.
Now an example of a customer-focused message.
The Ultimate Amazing Product Line is now available at XYZ Store. This collection can be your go-to source any time you want to record every day memories, create a large themed photo book or project or simply to round out the embellishing on a page. With this collection, you have the choice to select just the items that suit your needs or collect the entire bundle in one convenient purchase.
or
Spring is here and that often means a focus on refreshing, new growth and possibilities. What a great time to record your thoughts and memories on this lovely time of year, whether it is your annual spring cleaning party or the first bloom in your garden. Refresh your stash with a breath of digital fresh air that you will delight in working with when you gather the items you want from this fresh new collection.
See the difference? The second and third examples talk about what the kits could be use for, why they fill a want or need and explain some of the perks (versatility, fresh fun, certain theme, etc)
These are just some ideas on how to shift your mindset into your customers' seats. If you give this a shot or have some feedback on this idea, I would love to hear from you in the comments!
Did you find this useful? Subscribe to the CUDigitals weekly newsletter and never miss another tip, new release, store event or freebie!
These are the current designer sales going on at CUDigitals. Click the ads to visit the store for the purchase of high quality commercial use digital scrapbooking tools.
Thanks to everyone who visited the store during the National Scrapbook Sale event – we appreciate your comments and purchases!
Please note sale ending dates. The store runs on US Central Time.
![CU-140509 copy[3]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OBWbnS5sRCo/U2zTLqpPg6I/AAAAAAAAAZk/pC_KBm5Q_6I/CU-140509%252520copy%25255B3%25255D%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800 "CU-140509 copy[3]")
![peekaboo[3]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/--ALmpHrI2nA/U2zTN7QKO6I/AAAAAAAAAaE/09wpqfCvW7Q/peekaboo%25255B3%25255D%25255B2%25255D.gif?imgmax=800 "peekaboo[3]")
