Thursday, 21 December 2017

What Is a Website Backup and Why You Need One



Most businesses now have a website and in order for that website to be live it must be hosted on a server. The IP address of the server combined with your business URL is what delivers the stuff you've been looking for. It might sound complex, but it is simple fit the people who set it up, configure or maintain it!

What could go wrong?

The server where your website files sit, whether that be 'in the cloud' or in a freelancers spare bedroom, is a physical piece of hardware, and that makes it vulnerable to failure. This failure could be down to a number of things:

Security breach

Everyone that has heard the word 'website' has also heard the word 'hacked'. Hacking is a major issue that you have to face. There are many 'types' of hack, from a brute force attack - which is an automated 'bot' guessing thousands of passwords a minute - to more sophisticated breaches. For example those that get into the root files through something like a plugin, and install malware on the website itself. Whatever the hack is, they cost a lot of time and money, not to mention the loss of credibility with customers. Doing all you can to minimise the chances of a hack occurring, or reducing the impact when it does, is only a good thing.

Accidental deletion


To clarify, the site files and the database sit on the server and power the whole website. You won't (or shouldn't) ever need to concern yourself with these, only your web developer or hosting company will ever touch them. It is possible, because humans are involved that there may possibly human error and someone deletes your site off the server. Think about that - someone just simply deletes your whole, entire, website with a couple of errant clicks. A reputable company hosting your site with really good infrastructure, will take a copy of the entire server every night and transfer that to another completely separate server. However if it is a small company or a friend hosting your site, it is highly likely you now have no site at all and no way of retrieving it.

Malicious deletion

One thing that is less common, but something to consider is malicious deletion. You may have a disgruntle employee with access to the content management system (CMS), the facility that allows you to make all the content updates. They may not even work for you anymore, but if their access credentials haven't been changed, they can log in and cause all kinds of damage. While they might not be able to delete the core site files (the actual site architecture), they would be able to delete all the content that is on the site, or perhaps worse, write all manner of 'inappropriate things'. With content deletion you would notice, with new content slipped in, you may not. If they have access to the server and the site files, you may have an even bigger problem on your hands.

Server Failure


A server is a piece of physical hardware, and therefore it can break, no different from your laptop or your phone. If the site isn't backed up, then the inability to get the server working will mean that your website cannot be restored.

How can I avoid these things happening?

Ensure you have a good policy in place that allows you to monitor who has access to what, and as soon as an employee ceases to work with you, or there are employee relationship issues you can restrict, or remove access to avoid any issues.

There is a step that you can take however which means that you're covered for every eventuality, and that is having a robust backup schedule in place. So how do you get this?

01 - Find out who hosts your site and their backup regime. What is the disaster recovery plan? Just in case the worst happens

02 - Ask if you can get a physical copy of your website site files and database sent over to you as a zip file, so if the absolute worst happens, and your site is completely deleted, you have a copy of your site on your hard drive

03 - If a backup schedule is available, ask what it is and establish whether it is enough. For instance if the site is backed up every three months but you add and amend content three times a week, you stand to lose a fair bit of content. Ideally you want it backed up every night

04 - Make sure that you check your site regularly for any issues and that backups from longer periods are saved. If your site is backed up every night and you have been hacked, each new backup will overwrite the old one - effectively a bad copy replacing your existing good copy. Unless you establish you've been hacked immediately, your restore copy (from the night before) may not be the clean version. This is why you need a series of backups taken so you can go back to various points in time with a 'clean copy'.

05 - When you write content for your website, make sure it is saved elsewhere as opposed to just being added to the website directly. That way if the worst happens and your content is wiped, you still have a copy of it to paste back in the CMS - for example as I write this blog, I'm writing it and saving it as a Word document so I can retrieve it if needed in the future.

06 - Make sure you keep your website and plugins up to date, and ensure you have as few people as possible with access to the server and the CMS, and those that do have really solid passwords so there is less chance of a security breach. 



How Square Daisy can help with website development and website back up hosting
Having a good hosting package with a decent backup regime is like insurance, it feels like a pain paying for it... until you need it and wish that you had made the investment. We make the process pain free, deliver a great service and help you to understand how it all works, because after all, you only know what you know, and why on earth would you know about hosting infrastructure.

If you've recently lost your site through unfortunate circumstances, we can help you get back up and running with a temporary site while we build a bespoke, new one for you. Never waste a good crisis as Churchill said!

"Square Daisy specialise in building quality websites using WordPress as the content management system. We have a great process and use really clean code. We deliver bespoke designs and provide training, and support, pre and post launch, so you know how to use your spanking new site. We also work with you to develop optimised content, enhance your organic search ranking, set up and manage paid search campaigns and social media channels, and also implement automated marketing systems for your digital world. https://web.squaredaisy.com/

Friday, 15 December 2017

Make Money Online Sharing Tips



Have you ever imagined a situation in which to make extra money, you do not need to wake up, start thinking of how to get to work each day? Rather than working when you need to work, you only work when you want to. Through the internet, you can make a lot of money and live the kind of life you always dreams of. In this article, we will be discussing some of the ways you can make money online.

Here are 5 tips which I would like to share and help you to explore making money online. Go through each tip and choose the best one which will work for you. I believe with your perseverance, results will show gradually and turn into a long term passive income source for you.

CB Passive Income

The idea of CB Passive Income is teaching individual various methods of generating quick traffic which is then sent to a squeeze page. With this, you can build a money-making email list. After then, various Click Bank products are then sent to every email on the list. Once a sale is made through a link, a certain commission will be received by the owner of the list.

Freelancing
Freelancing is another simple approach in which you can make money on the internet. As a freelancer, you work online by offering little services. You can offer totally anything varying from writing, playing tricks, interpreting, making music, short video clips, voice overs, and lots more. Freelancing gives you the opportunity to make money online while doing what you love most.

Email Marketing
Email marketing stands at the heart of each effective activity on the internet. If you are really serious about making money on the internet, email marketing is unquestionably a great avenue in doing this. If those email subscribers are effectively and acutely inspired by what you need to say, and they joined directly through your web page or blog, your rate of success will be much higher.

Websites that pay

Another way to make extra money while you work from home is by performing various tasks on some website. The task may range from shopping to taking surveys to testing products. Some of the websites include Swagbucks, InboxDollars, Project Payday, User testing, and so forth. However, do not dream of earning millions. Just an opportunity to save extra money.

Work-at-Home Companies
Furthermore, certain companies are ready to hire your expertise, even if it requires that you work from home. You will be assigned specific tasks to handle. Once you complete the task, you will be get paid. Some of these work-at-home companies include CrowdSource, Liveops, Leap Force, and Demand Studios.

Source

Tuesday, 12 December 2017

Google Cached Pages: How To View Tips And Tricks



A cached link or a page is a temporarily stored HTML web documents and data such as images, pages, and content in order to lower the bandwidth usage and the server's loading time to fetch the requested web page. The web cache system saves millions of copies of documents that pass through it on a daily basis. Once a user requests a particular page, which would normally be previously stored in the cache, it would be loaded way much faster than the first time. A cache system can be either a server such as Google cache system or a computer program.

When we surf the web, our browsers usually save a copy of those visited web pages in a cache system in order to speed up the process of retrieving data, from the browser's cache where it was stored, rather than fetching it from its original source.

What Do Google Cached Pages Mean?

Running a search on Google would often come up with "Cached" pages. Google cached pages are page snapshots taken by Google and saved when the bots actually last crawled a particular web page and indexed it. Users are informed that they are seeing a cached page snapshot followed by the day it was captured.

How Do I Check Cached Pages On Google?


Google cached pages can be easily reached by clicking on that green arrow, as shown in the screenshot below, next to the page URL. Once you click on "Cached," you will be redirected to a different version of a page which Google usually saves it as a backup when it visited the site and crawled its content the last time.

How Do I Find Google Cached Pages?


When you visit a particular website but the request returns a page error or an inaccessible page, you would normally be suggested to view a "saved copy" of the web page you landed on. Chrome would display an option of "Show Saved Copy" button when the browser fails to load the page.

If you want to remove a cached content like snippets or pictures that still be found in search results and you do no longer want people to see it, then all you have to do is to submit your request by using Google's Webmaster Tools.
Despite the fact that the titles and the URL of the cached page will still be seen, Google will delete the snippet and the cached page from the search results.

However, if you want to restrict a specific page from being cached by Google, you may want to place the tag below into the<Head>
section of your page's code.



meta name="ROBOTS" content="NOARCHIVE,NOODP,NOYDIR"

Why Do I Need To View A Cached Page?


Due to the fact that several websites change quite often, their cached versions might be much different from the existent page you have visited from the search results. In fact, it probably is useless to view an out-of-date web page, but there are specific situations where both of website visitors and developers find viewing cached pages advantageous and useful such as:

When a website does not load or no longer available, you can still view the cached copy stored in Google archives.

When a website made has dramatically changed, a cached copy would be useful to quickly find your pertinent and familiar content.

Although the cached web page is not frequently updated, it would load way too much faster than the usual page, which is an advantage for slow internet users.
For SEO purposes, seeing a cached page in text-only version permits you as a developer to find out the way Google bots crawl and index the pages, which would act as an advantage to enhance the content for targeted keywords as well as other elements.

Expiring promos and special discount offers might still exist in cached pages and hence you still can catch up and benefit.

Eventually, Google's cache is such a useful feature which can assist not only the visitors but also the developers in finding, viewing and/or removing a particular web page content.

Source

Thursday, 7 December 2017

How Much Longer Can You Try And Do Everything?



When you initially get started with your own online business, you think you can do everything by yourself. But time is money and in due course you'll have to outsource some elements of your online business. When you outsource your online business, you save yourself time and money.

Outsourcing allows you to free up your own time for essential tasks that demand your full attention. Also, enables you to hire people who are more experienced and proficient at certain jobs than you. What could take you hours to do, could take them half the time.

But before you start using others to do jobs for you, take into account these 5 outsourcing tips.

1. Get Referrals

Outsourcing to inappropriate people can push everything back and give your business a poor reputation. Get referrals from people you know. It's not always the cheapest price you want to find, but rather the best deal. If you go with the first person you find, you may end up using the wrong person.

2. Start Off With Smaller Jobs

The attraction of outsourcing everything can be strong when you think about how much money you could save and how much extra time you'd get if you someone else did all your work. Begin by outsourcing small projects with each new person you use as a way to find out how well they work and if they're suitable for you and your business.

3. Communicate Effectively

Pick freelancers who communicate well and also make sure you're communicating effectively with them. They need to know exactly what you need and you need to know where they're up to and if there are any important updates. Go over terms of working before of giving them tasks.

4. Safeguard Your Money


If you're outsourcing lots of work or lots of money, take the time to get an agreement which is legally binding in order to safeguard both parties. When somebody provides you their prices, don't feel like you can't negotiate. The worst-case situation is that they say no, whilst they could compromise and give you a discount off the final price.

5. Keep In Mind You're Not An Employer

When you outsource to freelancers, you're not employing them. You're using their services and they generally work on a freelance or self-employed basis. Therefore, while you can ask for certain things and tell them how you'd like things to be completed, you don't have a right to order them on how to manage their own business.


Outsourcing is one of the most cost-efficient ways to grow your business. It's how the biggest and most profitable businesses in the world generate the wealth and freedom their owners enjoy.

Source

Friday, 1 December 2017

Increase Your Leveraged Sales Through Word of Mouth



If you want to decrease advertising expenditures, you will need to find other avenues to explore and exploit without the cash investment. Your leverages sales are only as good as the conversions that you receive. It doesn't matter what you're offering, if it doesn't move, then it's not worth anything to the visitors. You could be giving it away for free and it could sit there forever. However, we want to prevent that, while helping you increase your visibility to online and offline marketing channels. Word of mouth is the oldest and best way to attract and convert prospects. While the internet provides the means to quickly disburse your marketing material. You still need reviews and positivity surrounding your offerings.


Decreasing cash spent on Google and Bing by focusing on Owned channels

While your leveraged sales are important for the long run, without traffic you won't get it with bad marketing content. So how do you decrease advertising spending without effecting your visits from a specific audience? One possible answer is getting out there and meeting people face to face, bring your tablet along and have a presentation. Create a vibe on social media channels with a live stream event. Open your marketing to different content formats that focus on providing real answers and not just positivity. Focus on finding questions and answering them on the forums. Create a buzz by sharing your links in your social media updates and generate a buzz for your team with specialized curated content.


These are some ways to increase your visibility for you and your leveraged sales. If you're not able to have a party or an event. You can still host an online event, but you will have to promote extensively and try not to use paid ads. You can leverage your friends and team to host your links, blog about your event or mention you in a video. This can and has created a stronger word of mouth pull than just the traditional handing out cards as you go.

The biggest deal is creating a positive spend around your name, not a negative one. So, monitor your name and business carefully and address any concern that arises from the internet. Always focus on the primary mission, whatever you decide it was, make sure that it is meaningful. Keep your hands busy creating new material that will wow people and get them to talk about it. Online "word of mouth" is quickly becoming a strong channel for all types of businesses. It is easy to manage your reputation and be engaged with prospects if you know what to look for.

Source

Friday, 24 November 2017

Ingredients of a Successful And Effective Mobile App



Simply put, success in the digital marketplace depends on how well a business can satisfy its customers' needs for online solutions. Being a crucial online marketing tool, mobile apps have been playing a critical role in helping businesses with their advertising goals. The success of a mobile app relies heavily on its ability to stand out as there are millions of apps in the marketplace struggling to be the best. Regardless of the industry and business model, your mobile app should have the following qualities in order to be highly effective and successful:

Simplicity


Cluttered, impractical, and complicated elements can spoil user experience. In an environment where people prefer to receive relevant and simple solutions, your mobile app needs to deliver solutions in a simple way. Simplicity being an important ingredient of a user-friendly app, it demands a convenient user interface and clear navigation. It is one of the essential qualities that help mobile apps attract and retain a loyal following.

Optimization

As we are well-aware of the diversity and significance of handheld devices, your mobile app should be optimized for all kind of mobile phones and tablets. IOS and Android are two essential platforms that should be covered. Make sure your app runs smooth across all brands and devices.

High performance

What do we do when an app takes too much time to open? Your mobile app must launch quickly without keeping users waiting. The performance of an app is also verified by quality assurance and you need to keep this in mind.

Updates and user engagement


Most of the apps are downloaded and used just once. In order to avoid this, you have to add the element of fun so that users stay engaged and enjoy the experience. Regular updates are also important to provide an app with lasting popularity. Remember, only regularly updated apps can survive the fierce competition.

Appealing design

Appealing visuals do matter when it comes to online marketing. Taking into account the intensity of competition, app developers and designers have to make their product visually attractive. Branding an app in a unique and recognizable way is critical.

Purposeful and adaptive

Successful apps help users with something. Many businesses create mobile apps with nothing but just a display of their products and services. Your app should be able to solve a problem and offer something valuable. So far as adaptivity is concerned, effective apps adjust with users' preferences and necessities.

Source

Monday, 20 November 2017

Top Best Channels For Digital Marketing You Need To Know About



Digital Marketing raises the curtain out of your brand and brings it in front of a wide audience. It's simple that if nobody knows about your company, so, how you will get the business. It is important for a marketer to understand it, before things get messed up and you have left nothing to regret on. Incorporating yourself in digital marketing is not enough, you have to do it correctly and there are many platforms available for the same. You have to decide among the available platforms before starting your journey to become a brand from the beginning. In case, you don't have enough knowledge about these platforms, take a look at top 3 channels that are the way too perfect for serving the same purpose.



Website Marketing: Your website is one of the best digital marketing channels that open up the door of opportunities, but in an order to generate outcomes, it is important for you to execute each and every strategy properly. Make sure your website has all the bells and whistles like Proper Links, Unique Content, Quality Images, Meta Tag, Title, Description and all the elements which are necessary for the SEO and for driving traffic to it.
Email Marketing: Another Digital Marketing Channel that helps you hit the goal is email marketing. It is again a great platform to reach the targeted audience the right way. Create catchy headlines or CTAs and deliver your new offers and special discounts directly to the customer's inbox as it increases their chances to come back to your website, which automatically increases the conversion.
Social Media Marketing: Social Media is the talk of the town. Nowadays, if you want to build your presence, so, it is crucial for you to make yourself available on these platforms. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. all these platforms work as a bridge that helps to cover the distance between the customer and the brand. It helps you make a strong business relationship that benefits your business long way.These are top 3 digital marketing channels that drive in great results if you implement your strategy on them in a proper manner. It's high time to jump on the bandwagon and you shouldn't hesitate to take this step. In case of lack of knowledge consult an expert that leads you the right path and take your brand to the high position where it deserves to be.

Source

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

How To Build Your Business With The Best Digital Marketing Agencies



Digital Marketing is something that's becoming increasingly necessary as the years go by. The method of marketing has far reaches and you could reach your target market a lot faster with the help of a professional digital marketing agency. Sure, there are apps that you could use but none of those apps will provide you with the precision and quality of work that is achieved by hiring a professional, digital marketing service. Digital Marketing is about achieving things quickly, in a fast paced environment. There are many digital marketing companies that could help you. Here are a few tips to consider, before hiring professional help.

Do Lots of Research

Familiarize yourself with the topic. There are many aspects that are related to digital marketing. You should start by doing an in-depth research on these aspects to know exactly what it is that the digital marketing agency is doing for your company.

Choose the Best Agency

As marketing is a growing field, it is filled with many companies that are devoted to digital marketing. To be honest, a lot of them are less than adequate. Some of these companies are not cost effective. They cost a lot but their services are unsatisfactory. Always look for an experienced company when hiring. An experienced company is a company with expertise in the field.

Research Marketing Methods

Hire a marketing company that keeps updated with the changes in the market's conditions. A professional company will want to better their services by being updated. They would use the latest tools and methods to research and formulate strategies.

For No Surprises, Get a Quote

Before hiring any digital marketing company, it is wise to request a quotation. In fact, ask for quotations from more than one agency. Ask for full disclosure about their services so there aren't any hidden details or surprises that could later come up.Compare the services provided vs. the cost for each company. This way, you can now make an informed enough choice.

Why Hire a Marketing Company at All?


Identify Your Target Audience and Reach them With Ease

A professional agency has tools to reach your target audience faster. They know what they're doing and therefore have the best approaches to it than you do. They are specialists in this type of work so they can handle pressure and should a problem arise, chances are they've seen it before and would, therefore, know how to handle it. Hiring a professional company will also improve your search ranks and increase your visibility online.

Customized Service for Different Companies

Every company is different. A professional company should know this and offer you customized services, depending on your specific needs. Not only does a good company get things done, it should also make the clients happy.

No Cutting Costs

It comes as no surprise that hiring a company rather than one person is more cost-effective. A company has a team that works together to formulate strategies and does damage control when needed. They're a synchronised system that is transparent when it comes to pricing. They provide you with a list of expenses so there won't be any surprises for you later.

As you can see, hiring a company is more effective than doing it yourself. Your business needs the best services available to prosper in today's world. Don't hesitate to bring in professional help in order to better succeed.


Ajals is a leading Digital Marketing Company in Delhi, offers complete Digital Marketing Services such as SEO, SMO, PPC, Web design and development.

Source

Thursday, 9 November 2017

Building An Online Business, Where Do You Start?



So you have decided you want your own online business. You want the freedom to work from home (or wherever you feel) and you want to be your own boss.

Great!

But what next?

What kind of online business do you want to run?

Where do you start?

What service can you offer?

What can you sell?

Let me start by pointing out a very important fact. Just like making money in the physical world, there are an almost infinite amount of ways to make money online.

You could do anything from filling in online surveys, buying products at auction and selling them on eBay, being an affiliate and selling products for a cut of the profits or developing your own information products and selling them through your website.


The choices available to you can be very overwhelming at times and because of this a lot of people never get past this point.

Having said that unless you take action and act on your dreams you will never earn a penny.

Deciding on what kind of online business you want to run, what kind of products you wish to sell or what kind of service you will offer is something you should settle on before you take any further action.

If you don't mind building your online business over the long term, then you should be able to get results with very little startup capital.

The advantage of building slowly is if you decide that the road you chose to go down is either not very profitable or simply doesn't work at all then changing direction won't represent too much of a financial loss.

Having said that, the purpose of this article is to point out some of the possible pros and cons of each route as a result minimise any risk you take when you make your initial decision.

Probably one of the quickest ways to start an internet business is by selling information products. Information products can be anything that provides your potential customer with detailed and helpful information on any one particular subject.

Millions of people are searching the internet everyday to find more detailed information on subjects they have an interest in. Providing this information to them packaged in a detailed and easy to understand product can be a great way to make a substantial amount of money.

But, I don't have a product...

Where will I find a product to sell? I here you cry!

Don't panic, I'm going to give you a couple of ideas...

Affiliate products

Selling a ready made product that someone else has already taken the time to create can be a very easy and incredibly profitable way to make money.

This is called being an affiliate.

You are simply acting as a salesperson for the product creator. You do this by using your own website and sales material to put the product in front of a targeted list of customers.

The creator of the product then pays you a percentage of the products selling price for each sale you make. The advantage of selling this way is that

You have a quality ready made product to sell from the start.

You have not got the hassle of product creation, overheads or delivery of the product.

All your efforts can be focused on marketing and selling the product you have to offer.

Once you make the sales you just sit back and watch the cash flow.

How Do I Find Affiliate Products For My Online Business?

Probably the easiest and most well known place on the internet to find all of the affiliate products you could ever need is ClickBank.com.

Click bank gives you the facility to sign up for a free account and become an affiliate. There are literally thousands of different products in every niche you could possibly think of. You just simply choose one of these products. You then use your website and start marketing the product to a targeted audience.

Click bank is a great place for the beginner to start. It offers great tutorials on how to get started as well as a fairly in depth 'knowledge base' that covers most of the problems you may need help with. The creators of the product are often on hand to offer help too.

If you don't find the answers you need there you can always head over to the warrior forum. This is a great resource for anyone starting out. The forum is full of hundreds of experienced people willing to pass on their wealth of knowledge.


Once you become an affiliate for your chosen product you then have access to a multitude of graphics and advertising materials to help you with your product marketing.

Crowd Fire is not the only place to look either. Another site worth a look is JVZoo this is also a great place to find affiliate products. When you start to search you will find countless marketers and creators of information products crying out for affiliates to market their products for them.

Information products are incredibly popular on the Internet. As a result of this the potential profits that you can generate are huge. And if you start small, select quality products and choose your niche wisely your customer list will soon grow.

Its not just individuals that do affiliate programs either.

Many of the large, well known companies have affiliate programs you can sign up to. Companies such as eBay, HostGator, Getresponse and Amazon to name but a few.

Although you may not get as higher commission rates they will still pay you a percentage of the sales made from the visitors you send to their site.

Becoming an affiliate and making money without your own product is a great way to get your online business started. Especially when you take into account how quickly you can be up and running. Also with some product developers offering 80% or more commission on each sale it can be a very attractive proposition.

However wouldn't earning 100% of every sale be even more attractive.

Yes, of course it would!

If you seriously want your own online business, you need to consider creating your own product...

Creating your own product

Now at first the prospect of this may scare the living daylights out of you, I know it did me...

After all, What did I know about product creation?

Even if I did know, Who would want to buy a product I'd developed?

What knowledge do I have that people would want to purchase?

But when I actually stopped to think about it for a while, I realised, I had been giving information away free for years.

I was a photographer who was also into health and fitness. Friends and family would often pick my brains on both subjects. They would ask for help and advice and of course I passed on my knowledge freely.

I bet if you stop and think you will also realise that you have a wealth of knowledge inside your head on one subject or another just waiting to be turned into a saleable product.

Maybe it's a hobby that you pursue or a certain subject that you know a lot about. Maybe you do a job where you could pass on your knowledge, tricks of the trade or inside information etc.

The fact is, everything you do, all of your hobbies, your experiences, your job, talents and skills are all potential material for developing your own products.


If you get what you know down in the proper format, this alone could very well be marketed as a useful information product to someone who doesn't have your knowledge or know how.

You start by making a list of your hobbies, your talents, your job or subjects you know a lot about.

Next get on the internet, use Google AdWords or some other keyword tool to see how many people are doing searchers for what you know.

If there is a big enough interest in your particular niche then start to consider creating a product to market to your target audience.

Don't talk yourself out of it by thinking you are not an expert, or that there are far more knowledgeable people on the subject than you.

If you can provide specific information to help someone solve a problem or improve in a particular area then you are in a great position to pass on what you know and help people. In the process they will quite happily pay you for your help and advice

But, how do you create a product?

Don't panic because creating your own products can be as simple as getting your knowledge down on paper and writing your own eBook. If you don't fancy writing then maybe consider recording what you know in audio format. You can even consider breaking it down into short more manageable lessons.

If you are feeling really adventurous then how about creating a series of video lessons. This can be particularly good if your subject matter lends itself to a more visual format such as how to complete a video game etc.

Maybe even consider a combination of all three.

If you don't fancy doing all the work yourself or you would like something a little more professional looking then there are many places online you can use to outsource the work.

My first stop is always fiverr, here you will find thousands of people from all around the world offering all kinds of services for as little as $5.

All you need to do is type out what you need or record your audio. You can then pay someone to transcribe the material. You can even find people who will do the whole thing for you and turn your rough copy into a professional looking eBook, audio lessons or a video.

The point is if you have the knowledge to pass on, even if you don't have the skills to develop a product, you can always outsource that job to someone who does.

All you have to do then is use your online business to target your audience, sell your product and keep 100% of the profits for yourself.

Source

Friday, 3 November 2017

When You Should Change Your Digital Marketing Strategy



Digital Marketing is continually evolving and this may seem unsettling at times. Strategies that were working in past, might not be effective in the present. Do you know why many businesses fail to get ahead of their competitors? It's simply because they are not willing to adapt to the ever-changing world of digital media. But, the great thing about a digital marketing strategy is that you can change them on the fly in response to real-time results and analytics data. While this may seem tricky as if you change things too quickly, you may not be able to find if your strategy worked for long-term. But if you wait for a long time, you are likely to waste your two valuable resources: time and money.

With that said, how do you know when its the right time to change your Digital Marketing strategy? To help you keep up with the fast-paced industry, I've created this post to help you know when to change your digital marketing strategy.

Below are the 5 signs to help you decide when to quit your existing strategy.

1. Focusing on low-value metrics

If you're concentrating on low-value metrics like impressions and clicks, you may be missing out because impressions and clicks only let you know about your marketing visibility. And not the real accuracy of your strategies.

2. Only focusing on your brand not on audience needs

Every marketer wants to spread their brand name but you should not overdo by pasting your brand name all over everything. In fact, make your content educational that focus on your audience problems and needs. This would really help you in targeting buyers in initial stages of the buyer's journey.

3. Over usage of keywords

Although, it's required to place keywords in your content, Google's priority always lies in providing reach user experience and relevancy of content. Google has nothing to do with how many times your site shows the keyword like "Digital Marketing Strategy."

4. Don't rely on your instinct

Your prior experience is certainly precious. But your decision-making process should not be only based on what worked in the past. It's a really bad idea as what worked tomorrow may be completely irrelevant today. Therefore guiding your marketing strategy through objective data will only get you better results.

5. Not integrated

Whether it's about veteran digital marketer, sitting in IT or a start-up company, it's too common for digital marketing strategies to be finished in silos. It is an easier way but of course, it's not effective. It's true that digital approach works best when it's integrated with traditional channels.

Now you know that if you need to change your digital marketing strategy or not, here is a complete guide to help you build a new, powerful marketing strategy to achieve your online goals.

What are the essential steps for creating an effective digital marketing strategy?

When creating a marketing strategy for your business, always keep your audience first. Set goals, plan your strategy, implement it, and finally measure your success.


Research on your target market and competitors

Know your audience because if you don't them, how can you help them
Integrate different marketing strategies and use only the correct tools
If you don't have the required skills set, don't hesitate to purchase special services
Identify your online value proposition and apply it across all digital marketing channels
Last but definitely not the least, prepare yourselfBut before you do something ask yourself few questions. Asking yourself right questions and having their answers in place will certainly help you make the right decisions. I've given some Q's & A's below to help you out.



Which digital channels are most effective for you and why?

With so many digital channels around, it gets difficult to choose the best one. So you can identify it with these simple basics:


Identify the channel where most of your potential customers like to hang out
Analyze your target audience behavior
Build awareness with Twitter
Attend industry events and conferences
Social media and newsletters to reach out to your potential customers
SEO or combination of SEO and PPC to help you attract more visitorsHow to evaluate your digital marketing activities?



Unfortunately, some companies don't know how to answer this question correctly. If you're also one of them, don't feel embarrassed! Just hop on and find out how can you determine the right metrics and evaluate your current digital marketing activities.


Identify your target KPI (Key Performance Indicator) to help you understand what's working
Monitor your website traffic and sales to know the necessary statistics about your customers
Track and measure your metrics through Google Analytics
Survey your site visitors to find if they're satisfied with your solutions
Track ROI, conversions, market share, and salesHow to make your business stand out from the crowd?



In today's competitive digital market it's really difficult to make your business stand out from your competitors. But an effective strategy can help you stay ahead of them. Let's see how.


Effectively communicate and educate your customers
Stay honest and transparent to build customer's loyalty
Talk less, listen more
Be authoritative and helpful in what you do
Know your competitors and learn from them
Be creative, open-minded, and try new technologies
Speak in your audience language
Use proof points and testimonials to show you're the bestFinal Thoughts



As the world of online landscape changes, so should your digital marketing strategy. So it's essential to stay aware of the changing market and the new advancements in technology to help you grow furthermore.

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Tuesday, 31 October 2017

Different Kinds of Digital Marketing



Digital marketing is advertising that is well delivered using digital channels like mobile apps, email, social media, and websites and search engines. There is a very wide range of marketing activities that are covered by the term and all are actually acceptable. There are different kinds of digital marketing available presently and they include:

Paid search:

This is a kind of advertising which is usually sponsored thus the term sponsored result. It appears at the top side of the SERP and you pay once people click on the ad. There are different ways in which you can tailor the paid search so as to be visible whenever some terms are entered therefore reaching the audience that you are targeting. This kind of marketing is visible, flexible and totally effective for different organizations. The advertisements are contextual too.

SEO


Search engine optimization or SEO is where there is optimization of your website reach, technical set up and content, making pages that you are associated with appear at the very top of the search engine for specific keywords. This is aimed at the attraction of visitors to the website whenever they are searching for services, products and even information that closely relates to the business. SEO requires a website that is constructed well and one that is very easy to use so as to be valuable and offer the most engaging content. It should also have credibility so that individuals and other websites can recommend your services by simply linking to the site or even mentioning on social media posts.

Content marketing


Great content always drives digital marketing and so should be taken seriously. This is a very important pillar of the modern SEO and it allows you to get noticed even on the social media platforms. With great content, you have something that you an offer your customers with paid search ads and even emails.

You need to create content that is not really promotional but one that inspires and educate. This may be tough, but worth your effort. Create content which has relevance to your target audience so that they can relate to it. When the content is resourceful, the customers tend to stick around more.

Social media


There is more to social media than just posting videos and selfies. Many people are now relying on the different social networks to educate research and discover more regarding brands and organizations before they start engaging with them. From a marketer's point of view, it isn't just about posting on social accounts, but also to weave social elements in each and every aspect of marketing to create great sharing chances. When your audience engages with the content given, they will most likely share it with others. This leads to their becoming a customer and sometimes they can bring others along as well.

Email marketing


Emailing has been around for quite some time now and there is no end in sight since people still use it for purposes of communication. This is the best way to reach customers, especially when the information is critical. Such emails need to be relevant, trustworthy and conversational if they are to give the desired impact.


If you need more information on how to make it in digital marketing, then you can access internet marketing tutorials that will help you have a deeper understanding on the topic. When you apply the right elements, you will be on your way to great things.

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Friday, 20 October 2017

Local Marketing Expert



Many people wonder why internet marketing is such an important thing. In today's world, you have to be sure that you are getting your name and business in front of people. If you aren't doing this online, you aren't even coming close to your potential.

Internet Marketing Basics

You have to know a portion of the essentials of web promoting before you can simply bounce directly into it. Getting a few books regarding the matter or counseling with an expert is dependably a smart thought. You have to comprehend the advantages you can pick up in the event that you need to comprehend why web promoting can be so compelling for boosting all that really matters for any business venture.

Learn Where You Can


There are a great many books and magazines on the subject that you can delve into. Set aside time to do this on a weekly if not daily basis. If you are planning on making a living online, then the more time you devote to studying it, the more likely you are to succeed in your pursuit.

If you want more in-depth learning on the subject, you may be able to find some courses that will help you. Colleges often host classes on why internet marketing is an important aspect of a business. These may be found through the college, or through a local small business association.

One of the very best places to learn about internet marketing is from someone who works with it every day. If you know anyone in the marketing industry, or can make contacts somehow, do so.

On the off chance that you can pick up learning from somebody who has hands on involvement, you might have the capacity to stay away from a significant number of the entanglements that a few people confront when they are quite recently beginning in advertising. Converse with them at whatever point you can, and ask them questions in regards to for what good reason web advertising is so powerful for them and how you may make an interpretation of those strategies to your own business.

Look at the Competition


Take some time to study your competition's marketing campaigns. Try to find the marketing of as many businesses that are similar to yours as you can. This will give you a good idea of how they are using online marketing.

A few people ask why the web showcasing of the opposition is essential, however the response to this is straightforward. On the off chance that they are getting a ton of business and developing, they should be accomplishing something right. On the off chance that they are coming up short, you might have the capacity to get a few thoughts on what not to do.

As you can see, there are many different ways in which you can learn a lot about internet marketing. Once you know something about it, you will be able to start applying it to your website and your business. Before too long, you should start seeing increased traffic and sales. Then you may just find yourself happily ahead of the competition.

It is anything but difficult to perceive any reason why web promoting ought to be considered important. On the off chance that you need to make due in the online group, you must have the capacity to demonstrate your determination. Without web promoting, you will be lost among the a huge number of different organizations out there. So locate some great assets and get to learning.

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Tuesday, 17 October 2017

Digital Marketing Training



Hearing a lot of buzz about Digital Marketing? Wondering what's all the hype about? Read on!

As the digital marketing field continues to grow at a rapid pace, marketers are springing with new opportunities. A Digital Marketing Training Course has been created keeping in mind current industry standards. It is an initiative designed to educate students and professors in the field of Digital Marketing. A certification from Google is the best way to make your CV stand out. It will portray you've got genuine digital skills, and that you are motivated to work in today's business world.

Digital marketing promotes both products and services using digital technologies, like Internet, mobile phones and many other digital mediums. Students that complete the course and get certified will have skills learned that help them shape their strategy for the competition.

Here are few kinds of marketing techniques by which promoting takes place - Your website, Blog posts, eBooks and white papers, Social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), Earned online coverage (PR, social media, and reviews), Online brochures, Branding assets like logos, fonts, etc.

Here are some tactics used Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Affiliate Marketing, Native Advertising, Marketing Automation, Email Marketing. The best part about Digital marketing training is that it can work for any business in any industry regardless of what companies are selling, marketing still involves building out buyer personas to identify your audience's needs, and creating valuable online content.

There's approximately 150,000 digital jobs predicted by 2020 and not enough digital professionals to fill them. This provides those studying digital-marketing course with a unique competitive advantage - you're gearing yourself up for a career where demand exceeds supply. Always a good move. Rarely a week goes by without a new onslaught of digital Marketing jobs announced for multinationals and national brands.

Digital-Marketing training is "Evergreen" career choice. The marketing, technology is constantly evolving, hence need for re-skilling is must these days. Churn your future with an impressive digital job.

Search Engines


Since most people enter the web using a search engine, knowing how it works and knowing how to make oneself visible through a search engine is paramount. Through search engine marketing you can create a brand presence, or make a sale, or get a customer lead that can later be closed through direct marketing channels.

Knowing all options that are possible for branding and marketing through search engines is necessary to be a good promoter for a company.

There are 5 strategies for search engine marketing.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Contextually Targeted Text Ads

Paid Inclusion and

Digital Asset Optimization

Companies that use SEO and PPC are the highest.

Facebook and other Social Media Marketing

One must understand the complex dynamics of people interaction on social media. People interact with a brand while on social media either by seeing an advertisement, or Facebook page, or a picture etc. and they comment on the product or share or give feedback to other friends and relatives. Cashing in on this social presence is a part of digital marketing.

Email Marketing


Giving a consumer an option to receive emails about the product, discounts, offers and events. They must be relevant and interesting and motivate the consumer to go to the business website or buy.

Website

Building a website with a logical hierarchy in its navigation based on the goal of the website is an important skill to acquire. Website can be of HTML, PHP or WordPress depending on our interest.

Mobile Media

Since most of our population spends more time on mobile phones than on desktops and computers one must learn how to adapt ads, webpages and social media images to the mobile phone.

Many companies have a mobile app for purchase of product and that too falls under the purview of digital marketing.

To be an expert in the field of digital marketing one must have knowledge on how to bring together a campaign on all platforms simultaneously. Knowing how to link email to Facebook, Instagram, tweeter and your web page.

Digital Marketing is a huge and exciting field that is progressing fast. Companies are forever on a quest to find skilled digital media personnel to help grow their business. This is the only way businesses can stay ahead of their competition.

Thursday, 12 October 2017

Importance of Digital Marketing



In this article we will be discussing about the major Importance of Digital Marketing in today's world:

1. Greater Opportunity: With the help of digital marketing a company or an organization can explore greater heights of popularity and targets. This is so because of the fact that digital marketing is not bounded to a particular region or a place like the traditional marketing. Online marketing on the other hand gives the organizations a wider scope to expand their market or customer base. Online Marketing is very important as in today's time each and every person is connected to the internet. This could be made easy for the organizations to spread the awareness about their product to the masses. Hence giving them a greater opportunity to grow financially as well as in popularity.

2. Conversion Rate: On the Internet the Conversion ratio is better than the traditional marketing. This is so because if a person is wants shoes then he will type shoes in the search engine and then the search engine will show the related results only but on the other hand if a person is in the market and someone gives him the pamphlet of bags then that is useless for him as he was looking for shoes and not bags. So with the help of digital marketing the failures of conversion reduces and increases the chances of sales.


3. Cost Effective: Digital marketing is one of the most cost effective way to promote the products and reach out to the customers. Marketing online is not at all very expensive till a certain point as this can be done by a trained digital marketer with the help of organic SEO. Internet marketing includes on the cost of digital marketer unlike the traditional marketing which has printing cost, distribution cost, etc to make it expensive.

4. Easy to Communicate: With the help of digital marketing it becomes easy for the organizations to communicate with the potential buyers. This helps the organizations to increase the conversion ratio as they can directly communicate to the customers and solve all kinds of doubts which the customer has in his or her mind. Solving the queries is the best way to promote your product as if the product's information, benefits, etc are clear in the minds of the customer then they can buy the product with an ease.

5. Higher Earnings: With the help of digital marketing the sales and the revenues both increases for an organizations. This is because of the fact that people are more interested in buying online rather than going out for each and every thing, this gives the companies a chance to sell their products more easily to the customers. As studied earlier that the promotion through this platform is much cheaper than that of the traditional form which makes it a higher earning platform for the organizations.

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Friday, 6 October 2017

Have You Thought About Joining The Side Gig Economy?



If you have a skill or passion that's not being used to its full potential, it may be time to consider using this to supplement your salary with a side gig.

What is a Side Gig?

A side-gig or side-hustle is something you do in addition to your regular job. It's a way of creating another stream of income, eventually taking this full time (if you wish to).

It's not a fancy way of labelling a 2nd job, side gigging is totally different. Back in the days people were moonlighting to make ends meet, side gigging is creating something for yourself and growing this into a business with an end goal of more income and more time. It's taking something like a hobby or interest and finding a way of making an income from it. With e-commerce sites today such as Etsy, eBay, and Fiverr it can be really simple to start up with very little capital (my start up costs were £0!)

How to find your gig?    


What are you good at? What do you enjoy? This could be something that you may have never thought of before but it can be something simple. If you are fluent in another language, you can teach it, my partner has a side gig as an interpreter. If you love making or customising your own clothes, sell them online - there could be a market out there for you. It can start from just helping somebody out, such as walking a friend's dog. There are lots of start up companies right now where you get paid to pet sit or house sit.

There was just an article I read today, a 15 year old pupil has built a £50,000 tuck shop business! It started with him selling sweets and drinks to his fellow pupils from the boy's toilet in his school, and now has expanded to other schools in his area. You can even start with something linked to what you currently do. If you're a PA and good with correcting grammar and writing, there are people out there who will pay for your skills. I know someone who makes a good extra income by editing blogs and online posts in English for Chinese writers.

"Look around and you'll see side-hustlers everywhere turning their knowledge and abilities into profitable businesses."

Alexis Grant - writer

Do the research

Look into what similar gigs are offering and which platform you then want to start using to get your gig out there. Etsy is good for Arts and Crafts and personalised items. Fiverr and Elance if you're offering a service. Speak to people, whether that be people you know who are doing it or people online. There are plenty of places to look, a simple Google search will list the information you need. You just need a willingness to do it. When I started out, I wasn't certain what I wanted to do, just that I wanted to start doing something that I enjoyed and had the potential to go full time. I experimented with a few things and that's what has got me to where I am now.

It's not a job

There are no set times like a 9-5, therefore you have to be disciplined. You have to set time aside to work on your side gig if you want to make it successful. However if you enjoy what you're doing, it should be something you look forward to spending time on. I don't see my side gig as work, I enjoy the time I spend on it. I see it as a creative outflow of energy.

The side gig is becoming ever more popular and appealing. Millennials in particular are embracing more flexible ways of working. It's a natural evolution of the workforce in a changing economy, and with the power of social media, you can take your business global. The technology is now available with apps such as Evernote (your faithful organisation tool) makes it so much easier today to do business. Unlike a job, you work at your own pace, there are many others working a similar side gig to myself and are now earning a full time income and more with it. They have chosen to put in the time to get them to where they are, I am working at a pace that fits in with my lifestyle. The beauty is you choose.

Enjoy it!


Some like a balance between their side gig and their day job and enjoy the variety. Others intend to go full time with their gig. The point is choice and flexibility. We no longer live in a time where you work for one company all your life, and in return you are offered job security and a guarantee the company will look after you when you retire. The government have already stated there is not enough in the pension pot for the huge number of baby boomers about to hit retirement age. Would you rather just wait and see what happens, hoping things will be OK or would you rather know you will be OK. Side gigging is the step in the right direction. It helps you become in control of your finances and your time. Have a gig, start hustling!

Tuesday, 3 October 2017

A Beginner's Guide To The Autoresponder



It's generally true that the lifeblood of any online business is your email list. Therefore building an email list is something you need to be doing from the outset. List building can be a very simple process, if you have a few tools in place before you get started. One of the most important tools you are going to need is an autoresponder. Without an autoresponder building your list is going to be much harder if not impossible.

Fortunately, there are a few different autoresponders out there and they are generally easy and inexpensive to obtain, Some are even free. And most are extremely simple to use. You won't need to outlay too much money to get started, nor will you need any specialised skills.

What Is An Autoresponder?


Autoresponders are messages set by you to go out automatically to your email list. They help you by automatically sending out emails and newsletters to recipients who have signed up to your list.

You can schedule each individual set of messages, (known as a campaign) to go out to your list in a sequence set out by you. You can decide what messages are sent by which campaign and even control the rate at which they are sent. For example you may want to send emails out to a new subscriber on days 1,2,3,4,5 then slow down the rate of emails to say day 7,10,14 etc. Autoresponders are invaluable because they enable you to write your messages in advance and they keep track of who they have sent them to and when.

They also give you a breakdown of how many of your recipients opened the messages, clicked on links etc.

The best autoresponders also give you the ability to create and manage newsletters, even providing you with hundreds of templates.

As you can see, an autoresponder service is really an essential part of your list building arsenal. Without it, you would find it almost impossible to collect and manage email addresses. It would also be a nightmare trying to keep track of what messages you have sent to each individual address.

There are two types of autoresponder services...

Self-Hosted Autoresponders

Self-hosted Autoresponders won't normally cost you a monthly fee. They will usually have an upfront charge for the autoresponder itself. However, what you save initially may cost you later down the line because of problems that can arise when using this method.

First, with self-hosted autoresponders, you have a very real chance of all your messages getting delivered to your recipients spam folder. This is because a self-hosted autoresponder does not usually contain the ability to stop messages being filtered as spam.

Second, you will have to deal with any spam complaints you get by yourself. When you use a hosted service, they will usually handle any spam complaints you may get on your behalf. Also with a hosted service, you have the option to use double-opt. This ensures you will have extra protection in the event of any spam complaints.

Third, hosted services usually provide you with the ability to back up your lists should anything go wrong. With a self-hosted autoresponder this will be solely down to you to attend to. Add to that any maintenance you may need to carry out and all of a sudden the money you are saving may not seem such good value after all.

Hosted Autoresponder Services

Hosted autoresponder services are much less of a headache to use. Not only are they generally white-listed with most of the major ISP's, but they also ensure you are protected in the event of any spam complaints you may get. They also have lots of extra useful features that you would not get with a self-hosted autoresponder.

There are numerous hosted services for you to choose from and each comes with their own pros and cons. If you have never used an autoresponder service before, it can be very difficult to decide which one is best suited to your own personal needs.

With this in mind, I'm going to give you a brief summery of the five most popular autoresponder services available today. You can then better decide which is the right one for you. Remember, once chosen you will usually have to stay with the same service for as long as you are running your business. If you decide six months down the line that you want to change your autoresponder, you will have the unenviable and somewhat complicated task of transferring your list to your new service.

Transferring your list to a new service can be a very time consuming and awkward job. Your new autoresponder service may even require you to ask all of your list to reconfirm their subscription. Best case scenario, this could take a long time, worst case you could lose a large chunk of your email list in the process.

Obviously, if you have spent the past six months building your list, this would be a major setback. So as you can see, it is important to choose the right autoresponder service from the start.

Popular Hosted Services


Aweber.com

Aweber has been the most popular autoresponder service for a very long time now. The reason is they are a very reliable service, with some great features and a price plan that will grow with your list. Therefor its not too expensive at the outset, in fact at the time of writing it's free for 30 days then just $19 a month. As your list grows your monthly fee will increase. Aweber is also fairly easy to use and with access to over 700 templates and 6000 stock photos it is well worth considering. It also has a great has a great customer support system.

GetResponse.com

GetResponse is second only to Aweber in terms of popularity. They also boast some great features including a fairly substantial image library as well as over 500 templates. As with Aweber, Getresponse is simple to use and also has plans that will grow with your business. Starting at $10 a month they are cheaper than Aweber, and also offer the option of getting an 18% discount if you pay for 12 months in advance. Again at the time of writing they are offering a 30 day free trial.

iContact.com

Just like Aweber and Getresponse, iContact is offering a 30 day free trial. With packages starting at $14 a month they are competitively priced and with a 15% discount if you pay annually are well worth a look. They provide a very reliable service and although not as user friendly as Aweber and Getresponse their autoresponders are still very good. Add to this the fact that you can manage a list of up to 15,000 subscribers they offer a very enticing autoresponder service. Another great point to take into account is the ability to import your existing list and add contacts manually.

ConstantContact.com

Constant Contact also offers a free trial period, but unlike the others this is a 60 day trial. Like Aweber and Getresponse they offer a service that grows with your list, with packages starting at $20 a month. They also offer a good size image library, templates and a phone app. They are a little let down by the lack of features compared to Aweber and Getrsponse. But with a really good support network they certainly offer a a service worth considering.

MailChimp.com

Finally we have Mail Chimp. Mail Chimp is somewhat different to the other autoresponder services, because they offer a free service aimed at startups. If your list remains below 2000 you will not have to pay anything. After 2000 names on your list then you can go onto the paid plan which starts at $10 a month. However, with the free version you are limited to the features you have access to so you may want to start on the paid plan earlier in order to access the extra features.

Bottom Line

The autoresponders I have listed all have really good integration features and work really well with WordPress. As WordPress is used to build around 28% of all the websites on the internet, being able to integrate into this platform is an important feature.

Although I have listed what are probably the five most popular autoresponder services out there, that's not to say you should disregard the others. By all means have a look at a few of these and decide for yourself. We all have different wants and needs and maybe you will find a service more suited to what you require.

Have you started using an autoresponder service yet? If so which one and how are you finding it? Do you use a self-hosted autoresponder? what problems have you faced and how have you overcome these?

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