#i spent a big part of my day looking at the ethics code for lawyers

[mimimilu]

it's 1:47 am and i'm thinking very deeply about how kristoph was a member of the bar association and like. this is such an interesting little fact that the game casually throws at us and i can't believe people don't talk about this a lot more??? i'm so full of thoughts rn perhaps tomorrow i'll throw some of them at the tumblr people in my phone

[paradisefovnd]

what is something everyone should know about your muses before interacting?

multimuse ask meme accepting

i told vicky to send this to me again bc i’m a dumb and didn’t understand it the first time

ruth balakov  - she is SUPER high energy. if you interact with ruth, expect her to be just short of bouncing off the walls. also, she’s super random, so don’t be surprised if she just rambles on and on about all kinds of random shit

samir chaudhry - this guy may seem immature, but he’s actually very thoughtful and considerate

tutankhamun “tut” mcmullen  - he’s emotional. look up “emo” and there will be a pic of tut. however, he’ll try and hide it if he thinks that his emotions will hurt the other person (well, that’s if he cares about them. if he doesn’t, then he’ll let it all out) 

jughead jones - he’s a little shit. he’s also not the dark and brooding jughead from riverdale. i cannot stress that enough. my jughead is asexual, loves burgers more than life, and doesn’t say shit that sounds like a young chuck palahniuk. instead, he’s more like roald dahl minus a dash of the whimsy

melody valentine - again, she is NOT riverdale based. that’s honestly the most important thing about her and jughead. my melody is sunshine in a person and sings everything she says with the occasional bit of cryptic wisdom

mark darcy - basically, he’s a modern mr. darcy. something to know about him and my portrayal is that i’m probably not going to write him with a lot of people. most of the muse i have for him is when i’m writing him against bridget, and i can’t really change that. he’s deeply in love with her, and ??

choi han-kyul - this kid is the grandson of the chairwoman of a company so like he’s hella rich, and he takes it for granted at first. but then, he’s put in charge of running a coffee shop, and he matures a lot through the process. however, he doesn’t lose his playfulness. he’s honestly one of my favorites, and if anyone ever wanted to write with him, i would be beyond happy. 

dr. noelle akopian - she’s a psychiatrist who’s done with ur shit

greg serrano - self-sabotaging but currently working on improving his life. in business school, used to be a bartender. recovering alcoholic. 

maya - she’s the most pure and pls don’t hurt her

valencia perez - used to be a yoga instructor, but is now an event coordinator. hella gay even tho the show doesn’t admit it. deserves to be appreciated. is working on improving her “mean girl” tendencies. the “mean girl” tendencies tho are partially bc she’s never really had female friends and she just...doesn’t know what to do? she’s actually an awkward bean, but her beauty prevents a lot of ppl from realizing it

johnny castle - soft. again, don’t hurt him. he’s a dance instructor at a resort, but he can work in a lot of different verses. you need a dancer? he’s there. he’s very serious about his craft, and is a genuine human being. he appreciates honesty. 

blair warner - she’s rich af and can be super conceited, but she knows how to have a good time and has a little bit of a devious streak. depending on the verse - is either in law school or a lawyer. intelligent altho ppl don’t expect it. 

jo polniaczek - looks tough, is a soft. don’t let her leather jacket and motorcycle fool you. jo polniaczek just wants a simple life and she wants people to be happy and respected. respect is big with her. 

emily gilmore - a socialite altho she prefers the term “philanthropist.” emily might seem “evil” to some people, but she has good intentions (in her mind). she only does things when she thinks they’re the “right” thing to do (at least, before the revival), but she also has a bit of a mischievous streak that’ll come along every now and then. her upbringing instilled certain lessons in her that she’s unlearning little by little. 

meredith quill - she loves classic rock, motown, her son, and the world. she’s one of those people who’s in love with life, and her enthusiasm is genuine. 

alice longbottom - she’s kind and altruistic. however, she’s not a pushover. my alice isn’t “soft” alice. she’s “u said something super ignorant and im gonna tell you why youre wrong” alice. gryffindor. 

arthur weasley - arthur wants to learn everything he can about the world around him. a bit of an absent-minded professor, even tho his mind is always turning. he just has so many thoughts happening all at once, he can tend to jump from subject to subject without connecting them sometimes. gryffindor (altho he was almost a ravenclaw)

victoire weasley - read this here

helga g. pataki - helga is someone who came from a bad situation and pretty much raised herself. most of her interactions will be after high school. my headcanon is that she finished school and got a scholarship to ivy league and after that, she went to law school at another ivy. she hopes to be the first female president one day. she’s aggressive, but deep down, she cares a lot. 

effie trinket - seems like an airhead, but effie is smarter than you think. she grew up in a society where certain things were expected so she fulfilled them. her upbringing was also extremely different in the sense that she was fed propaganda from a young age and never knew differently, but her experiences in district 12 (or other verse equivalents) have shown her that the world isn’t what she thought it was, and she’s learning what life actually is little by little 

katniss everdeen - i won’t write katniss a lot just bc it takes me into a place that’s harder to get out of, but my katniss is a sacrifice of her circumstances. she never wanted to be a revolutionary figure and never felt comfortable with her position in it even after the war was over. her “toughness” that people seem to see is just katniss trying to survive. survival is her driving aspect. 

jane villanueva - jane is a mama who is also an incredible writer whose first book is in the process of being published. she writes romance novels so essentially she’s just like us! she likes having a plan for everything, and her family is number ONE in her life

michael cordero a detective. is also a major nerd. thinks he could be a comedian, but he’s not actually that funny. like maybe if you have a certain sense of humor. he lives with a certain code of ethics, however, they might get bent at points if he thinks it’s for the best of the situation. 

rogelio de la vega - telenovela actor. if your character met him on the street, they might not know him if they haven’t watched telenovelas, but he will assume that they know who he is and that he’s famous. SUPER dramatic. don’t be alarmed.  

elle woods - amazing lawyer, loves the color pink, member of delta nu. in my version, i take pieces from the movie and musical. for my elle, vivienne was the one who told her to come back to the case (like in the musical), but at the end, elle doesn’t propose to emmett. instead, she and vivienne start dating and fall in love and get married 

ryan atwood - he came from not a great family, and then he got adopted by this uber rich fam in the oc (orange county, california). he’s navigating his new life, and grappling with who exactly he is and what his place is in the world. just know that he’s deeply loyal and cares a lot about people

pam beesly - receptionist at dunder-mifflin paper company. insecure, but is slowly coming out of her shell. is an artist and outlawed at chili’s. is a huge dork, but also adorable. 

fitzwilliam darcy - super rich bc he inherited everything from his parents after they died. they died when he was young, so he was thrust into responsibility at an early age which is part of why he is the way he is. seems stuck-up (and kind of is), but he just doesn’t care of societal expectations of friendliness even though he gets caught in what society expects when it pertains to manners, etc. is his sister’s guardian, and she means more to him than anything else in the world

jane bennet - pure, the sweetest. the oldest sister of five. in modern verses, i have her as a preschool teacher

queen clarisse renaldi - queen of genovia. a literal queen. tries to be diplomatic. expects people to do as she tells them bc she’s a queen. has dealt with some shit in her life - her husband died, her SON died. tries to stay optimistic. 

sabrina fairchild - suicide attempt tw: her father is a chauffeur for a super rich fam. suffered from depression. attempted suicide, but thankfully, was found before it was too late. after that, she was sent to paris and attended cooking school. fell in love with paris, and also healed. developed a love for life. became a fashion designer. 

capheus onyango - son of a local leader who was murdered when capehus was young. was raised by his mother who he loves more than this earth. spent awhile driving a bus called the “van damme.” is a sensate, meaning he is connected to seven other people. idealistic, kind, and too good for this world. 

princess fiona - i’ll mostly be playing her with a real life fc. she’s a princess, an actual princess, and her parents had her in a tower for years bc there was a spell on her that turned her into an ogre at night. so kinda like the swan princess but instead of a swan, she’s an ogre. black belt. enjoys burping. 

shrek - an ogre, however, if i keep him, ill be playing him mostly with a real life fc. isolated from a young age, had to take care of himself. is insecure because of how he looks and who he is. enjoys burping as well. has layers. 

charles brooks - in charge of a publishing company. divorced. has two daughters. is cautious when entering new relationships because of his position and his family. respectful. intelligent. is finally starting to live life in a way that aligns with what he likes. 

josh - tattoo artist. human golden retriever except more funky. is just trying to enjoy life while he can. definitely a millennial. spontaneous. knows how to have a good time. is super duper loyal and kind. 

[webbygraphic001]

How You Can Compete Against DIY Site Builders

How does the little guy compete? How do you win against these giant companies? It’s inevitable right? The big guy always wins. Walmart decimated the Mom & Pops. Home Depot killed the local hardware stores.

And now, it’s your turn. Squarespace, and Wix, and Webydo, and a dozen others are winning and putting you out of business.

At least, if you and I are honest, sometimes late at night, lying in bed, it sure seems that way, right? Well, it sure did for me. I almost gave up.

I know there is a small part of you, maybe a big part, that is concerned with the struggle we have in front of us. Big or small, competition always presents a threat. And DIY sure looks like a big one!

Site Builders Are Taking the Internet by Storm

Their ads are everywhere. They have Jeff Bridges, John Malkovich, Jason Statham and a host of other celebrities selling for them. They have multi-million dollar campaigns spread across TV, YouTube, and even radio.

I don’t think I can get through 5 minutes online without seeing one of their ads.

I know you’re seeing the same thing.

On YouTube alone, it seems like every content creator is being sponsored by Squarespace, or every other video is bumpered with a Wix commercial.

Create your stunning website today. It’s easy and free! ~Wix

FREE!

And worse, it’s not like they’re selling the GeoCities of yesteryear. Their sites are “stunning.”

They do look good. Don’t hate, and don’t be a snob. There are good looking sites on all these platforms.

On top of that, their codebase is no joke. Think I’m wrong? Try running one of their sites through Google PageSpeed Insights or YSlow. They’re pretty hard to beat.

So, How Do You Compete?

Want the simple answer?

You can’t. At least, not directly.

But that’s okay. These DIY solutions are doing you, and your business a favor.

When the Writing is on The Wall, it’s Time to Make a Change

I struggled with this “problem” for quite some time. For years actually. Even before these DIY site builders arrived, I struggled with how to stay competitive against all the web design marketplaces that were popping up.

I had a healthy amount of work at the time, but I could see the writing on the wall.

The industry was changing and my place in it was being threatened.

So, I thought, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” So, I started to research theme shops. I could start building themes to sell wholesale too.

But, just as quickly as I came up with that idea, it was beaten out of me. There were far too many agencies, teams of people, dedicated to cranking out professional themes.

I couldn’t compete with that. And, even if I thought I could, it wouldn’t solve anything. I would have the same problem. Bigger swifter shops doing more for less.

So, I struggled with this for years. Hoping that someday I’d figure it out. In the meantime I continued to serve my clients as before. I kept trying to do better and better. All the while, web design was getting cheaper and more accessible.

Then, one day, I hit “the” wall. I delivered a redesign and it flopped…hard.

I launched a redesigned website for a company. It was a significant overhaul from the previous version. We changed everything. It took months, but when finished, the site looked great. I was proud of it. The company was thrilled. Their sales staff were getting compliments on the phone for weeks. I mean everyone loved it!

After a few months, I peeked at the website’s analytics to see how great of a job I had done, and I was shocked.

Nothing had changed.

Bounce rate, page views, average time on site, and even worse, conversions, they were the same as they’d always been. After months of a redesign, the performance of the website had largely been unaffected.

This made no sense!

A better looking website was supposed to do better. But it hadn’t done better. It had done nothing at all.

So, what was happening? I was lost.

So, now, on top of the market threatening my livelihood, I now had an ethical problem on top of it all.

How could I continue to sell my design services when I was no longer confident it was going to make a difference? How could I continue to market against all those “soulless” pre-built themes.

Maybe, Cheaper DIY is Just as Good

I’m sure you’ve been there, or you’re there right now. It’s the problem any honest web designer is bound to face at some point.

If you know what I’m talking about, If you’re feeling lost, like the market has made you obsolete, do not lose hope.

There is a bright future for web designers. We’re not going anywhere, we’re not being run out of business, and we’re more needed now than ever before.

But, as I’ve discovered, to get there, you have to change your perspective on the market we exist in.

To Win, You Must Know Thyself

The marketplace has evolved. Not just for web designers, but for our clients and their customers as well. Meaning, showing up and looking good is no longer good enough.

If you are only selling clients on getting a beautiful website with a modern code base, you are going to lose for two big reasons.

One, Web “Design” has Become Commoditized

Between marketplaces like Envato, hosted e-commerce solutions like Shopify, and now site builders like Squarespace and Wix, you can get good design anywhere. And, you can get it dirt cheap.

Most of it is quality work. Built by teams of talented professionals mastering their product for the masses.

Today, if you want to get online with a good looking website, you can do it for the price of a Happy Meal.

And you can’t dispute that. At least, not honestly.

And besides, your client’s customers, they don’t care about design. Not in the way we’ve conditioned our clients to think they do.

Two, Having a Website is no Longer a Novelty

And here’s the beginning of why being a web designer today can be so profitable.

If you’ve been around for awhile, you probably remember having to sell clients on the importance of being online. Do you remember those times?

If not, try to imagine having to sell your client on the “vision” of why their business needed to go “digital.”

It wasn’t a gimmick, it was the nature of the market. If you were online, you were cutting edge. You were the company that customer’s wanted to do business with.

Then a few years later, BOOM! CSS came onto the stage and erupted into “Web 2.0”

And the market changed again. Everyone was getting online. It was no longer the differentiator, it was expected. Now, you had to LOOK like you knew what you were doing. Your client’s website had to look good if it was going to succeed.

And this idea stuck.

It stuck because it worked. And it has stuck so well, it’s given birth to the enormous DIY market.

It’s the premise behind the business model of these DIY builders. To give everyone cheap and affordable access to good looking websites.

And our clients are flocking to them. It’s our own fault. We’ve spent the last decade selling them that all they need to do is look good online. That, all they needed, was a good looking website.

Except, we were wrong.

The market has changed again and the web design community has missed it…

THIS is How You Can Compete…

The market is no longer impressed into making conversions. They’re far too savvy for it. Today, the web is a tool to get things done. To find a solution to our problems as quickly as possible.

To succeed online we need to focus on more than design and code.

We must focus on the end user.

This isn’t just so you can stay in business. It’s so you can TRULY be valuable to your clients. You can give them a website that will sell.

You know design and code. That means you know more than the average joe trying to save a few bucks by doing it themselves. Teach them it’s more than cramming sales copy into pre-defined blocks of content inside a pretty theme.

Help your clients form a strategy that answers their customers problems. Give your clients a website that focuses on their customers first, not their own business. Ask, “Why is a prospect on their website?”, “How did they get there?”, “What are they hoping to find?”

Take that strategy and craft engaging content that is customer-focused. If you’re not comfortable writing, then try to deepen your skill set. Learn how to write conversion optimized content. Or, partner with a professional copywriter.

Then, design your client’s website for their customer, around your newly crafted strategic content. Combine their messaging with your knowledge of user-behavior patterns. Use design to elicit pre-defined interactions with the content. Guide the customer to their primary goal.

Stop delivering digital brochures as websites. Give your clients a 24/7 salesman that listens and responds to their customer’s needs.

And That’s Your Golden Opportunity Against DIY Site Builders

They require the DIY’er to be a marketer, professional copywriter, UX expert, and more. But a roofer, chef, banker, lawyer, doctor, they’re not web professionals. They’re not familiar with how the web works and the psychology of the end user. You are!

The DIY site builders are targeting those who don’t know better, those who think just being online with a good looking website is good enough. And again: It’s not!

It’s categorically not good enough!

You know this.

Start Doing More! Make More Wins!

If you help your clients understand it’s about their customers first, then you can build their website around the customer’s end goal. You’ll unlock a gold-mine of opportunity that they could never achieve with any DIY solution.

No matter what John Malkovich says.

EASYTHREE Website UX Flowchart (Sketch Version) – only $14!

Source from Webdesigner Depot http://ift.tt/2rpjZOW from Blogger http://ift.tt/2qrBg4R