Important Notice | The Images Group Blog

Our e-newsletter software is about to get a huge update

Posted by Gavin in Hints and Tips, Important Notice, Internet Marketing on July 7, 2011

The first thing you will probably notice is the new vertical split window. I’ve been using this version for a couple of weeks now, and it’s a huge improvement on the old horizontal split. Now you can see most or all of your email as you add content to it.

On top of the new layout, here are some of the exciting bits.

Put anything in a repeater

By far the biggest request for the editor was more flexible repeaters, and it was the first thing we built into this update. Now you can have a repeater with 6 images, no images, 5 titles, whatever you like. We can also add our own labels for each of these elements so you know what you’re updating.

What this really means for you is total design flexibility. We can now throw any template design at the new editor, and you can still easily add your content to it.

Design multiple layouts within the same repeater

This is probably my favorite new feature for the editor. Let’s say you want a repeater where an image is sitting on the right for the first item, but on the left for the second, then back on the right again. If we create a new template using the <layout> tag, you can easily have this feature in your email.

Add alt text to any images

Another shortcoming of the old editor meant you couldn’t add alternate text to any images added to their email content. Image blocking in many email clients makes alt text a valuable fallback when an image isn’t loaded and it’s now super easy for you to add or edit the alt text for any images they insert in their email.

About Gavin Cole

Creative designer at the Images Group. I spend a great deal of my day in Photoshop, Dreamweaver and the Webmaster Tools. Wing Chun Practitioner, part-time PC Gamer, Horror movie lover and a fan of technology & science fiction.

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378No Comments2011-07-07+10%3A58%3A44Gavin

Why Small is the New Big – Here at The Images Group, Anyway!

Posted by James in Google, Important Notice, Internet Marketing, QR Codes, Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media Marketing, Thoughts, Uncategorized on July 5, 2011

Why Small is the New Big – Here at The Images Group, Anyway!

The Images Group are delighted to announce that they are officially shrinking.

Pretty drastic, you might say. Pretty essential we say.

Let me clarify.

Since 1994 we have been at the cutting edge of web development and technological implementation for websites.

I used to sell my photographs over the internet to a Japanese company in 1993; in 1994 I set up my first ecommerce site using PayPal, we have used autoresponders since 1994, and since 2009 we have been designing and using QR codes.

Our internet marketing techniques and SEO skills have been learned at the feet of the masters of the craft, and we continually search for and test new technologies and methodologies.

We have called this technological implementation and continuous improvement model Tekaizen; a blend of Kaizen, Tekzen and a healthy dose of technology to make it all work.

We were the first, yes the very first, company to introduce on-site audio and video in the North East; we were also the first design company to work with Digital cameras in the region with our £10,000, one-megapixel Kodak DCS camera. (I sold it two years ago on ebay for a whopping £90.00).

I was also the first to deliver business seminars on Social Media long before it grew into the ‘latest’ thing.

We have been so much at the cutting edge, we have almost bled ourselves to death trying to keep up with the technology.

The countless hours and thousands of pounds spent on acquiring the knowledge, buying and testing the technology, flying around the world attending seminars, the early morning (I’m talking 3 a.m. here) webinars has given us a superb in-depth knowledge of all things ebusiness and internet related.

And so we are shrinking.

Not the staff side – on the contrary we are looking to take on more staff; not the business side, not even on the office side as we are in discussions on a new, larger office, but on the physical web side.

Always aware that the mobile revolution was getting closer and closer, we have waited until the time is ripe for our website to go smaller; small enough to fit on the rising number of mobile devices now used to surf the web.

Mcommerce is on a huge upswing and if your website doesn’t fit and operate comfortably on a mobile device, then believe me you are going to lose an awful lot of business.

We are busy redesigning our sites so that they can be easily accessed via mobile devices and also implementing, where appropriate, full mcommerce facilities so that you can carry out ecommerce transactions using your mobile device.

I would strongly suggest that you all do the same; if you don’t have a mobile version of your website or you haven’t taken steps to review your current website with the mobile test tools available, you need to do it.

Now.

In fact, if your website is over a year old, it needs to be reviewed to see how secure its components are, how fast it loads, and just how usable and user-friendly it is to your potential clients and existing clients.

As the world of technology ramps up for another major change with iPv6 (don’t ask – it’s to do with the availability of ‘addresses’ on the internet), we urge you to review all of your assets, including your electronic marketing systems.

Your website is your shop window for the world to browse; but for them to browse in the way that you want them to, you must offer a great Unique Selling Point (USP) to sell your products or services to them.

And before they can even browse, you have to be found among the millions of competing voices.

That is where we can help. We can help you shout louder on the internet; help you stand out from the crowd and once you have the eyes and ears of the customers, we can show you how to convert these browsers into buyers, then into advocates for your company, ensuring your company’s growth and prosperity in these volatile times.

We have even opened a division that has been set up to specifically connect local businesses with Google, using some little known systems that are pre-approved and actively encouraged by the team at Google.

If you aren’t using the techniques that we have adopted, you could be missing out on attracting hundreds, if not thousands of customers to your business

We can only work with a limited number of companies at any given time, so if you are really serious about your company’s growth and profitability, contact us on 0191 519 7278, email us on info@theimagesgroup.co.uk for a no-obligation discussion of your needs.

Get in touch with us in July 2011 and we will provide you with your own url QR code for you to use wherever you want, as many times as you want.

If you need to know more about QR Codes and how they can revolutionise the way you do business, visit our website (www.theimagesgroup.co.uk) or our blog (www.theimagesgroup.co.uk/blog) and search for QR codes – the article contained in both areas will show just how these amazing codes work and how you can apply them in your own business.

In summary, I would suggest that you