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kuriquinn · 4 years

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For the Future of Fandom

I decided to make a whole other post for this, just to drive the point across.

As creators, the most important motivation for us to create art is an inborn desire to do so. We will create things whether or not we share them with the wider audience because that’s what we do. We were born with this drive to convey our emotions with whatever means possible, be it writing or pictures or sculpture or whatever. Our art is for us.

But more often than not, we want to share it with others. Be it family or friends or an entire world of the audience out there in cyberspace or at conventions and such. And we do that because we want to know what people think of our work.

We’re not putting it up to be ripped to shreds, or copied by other people, or as an ego-boost for ourselves (trust me, there are easier ways to get those than the uncertainty of posting our creations for the masses to consume). It’s a, “Hey, I did this thing, I think it’s cool/that you’d enjoy it, what do you think?” kind of move.

Which makes getting feedback on our work probably the second most important part of being a content creator. It’s the motivator, the thing that makes us go, “Wow, people really liked what I did last time, maybe they’ll like *this* too”.” and keep creating.

The less feedback we get, the less we get the message that people want to see more of our work. And that makes a lot of creators decide to forgo the uncertainty of posting things/sharing their work online, and instead keep it to themselves or a select few chosen souls who they know they can get honest and consistent reactions from.

Feedback is SO important to us.

But I also understand that some content consumers have trouble with leaving feedback. Some are too shy to leave more than kudos and likes (and ao3 is awesome for having the kudos feature!), either not knowing what to say or worried they’ll say the wrong thing or worried they can’t express themselves properly in a foreign language or just being hugely intimidated interacting with the author(s) of their favorite stories.

There’s also a generational thing.

When I first entered the world of fandom (like 20 years ago, omg I’m old!), it was practically second nature to leave a comment on every chapter/every story/every piece of artwork you liked. It’s just what we did. It was understood to be part of the fandom process.

That being said, every comment was not positive, and there was a LOT of unnecessary flaming, abusive, insults disguised as “constructive” criticism. And those kinds of reviews put some content creators on such a defensive that when someone came along with the genuine wish to leave feedback, even if it was well-intentioned “you did this aspect so well, but I’m not sure I liked this, but I’m still going to keep reading because the other thing you did was awesome” kind of criticism, those creators got defensive and snappish. They responded with annoyed review replies or passive-aggressive rants in the next chapter of their stories.

And the only thing that accomplished was making content consumers very wary about leaving any type of feedback. Which made feedback itself dwindle, and new consumers coming into the fandom didn’t get to see the absolute waves of reviews and comments and feedback that used to be left on fanworks.

So now, 20 years later, the older generation of creators is trying to figure out whatever happened to all the comments, while the younger generation coming into it doesn’t understand that feedback used to be the actual norm. The onus for this disconnect doesn’t fall only on content consumers or only on content creators, it’s something that has evolved badly.

But that doesn’t mean this is how it has to be forever.

So many people in fandom are newbies who don’t really understand the etiquette of consuming fan works. Especially in the younger generation where so much in their world is accessible for free and with no need to pay it forward. How can we expect a certain reaction/behavior if we’re not willing to teach and encourage it? Sitting back and complaining that “it’s not like the good old days” won’t do anything. We have to actually engage and be active in changing the discourse on feedback culture. Come up with solutions instead of just bitching out the silent lurkers (which discourages then from even trying in the first place).

To that end, I’ve recently been experimenting with something I saw online somewhere, where the author provides a kind of rubric to help the reader out. (And this really appealed to me as a teacher, because I’ve used a similar type of thing in my class for reading responses and student evaluations of lessons and there’s always been a good response!)

The short version is, creators fill it with whatever reactions they hope for and leave it beside their newly posted chapter/picture/photo/poem/etc. as a guide.

Ex.:

I want to know what you think of my story! Leave kudos, a comment or as many of these emojis as you want and let me know how you feel!

❤️️ = I love this story!

😳 = this was hot!

💐 = thank you for sharing this

🍵 = tea spilled

🍬 = so sweet and fluffy!

🚔 = you’re under arrest! the writing’s too good!

😲 = I NEED THE NEXT CHAPTER

😢 = you got me right in the feels

(Feel free to substitute whatever reaction/emojis you want)

And it’s been working!

I started writing recently in a new fandom and wasn’t getting any feedback on a bunch of stories I was putting my everything into. And then I stumbled upon this trick and suddenly I’m getting loads of feedback in emoji form.

And as readers have become more familiar with my work across the chapters? They’ve actually started leaving personally written feedback too!

I’ve had half a dozen readers even comment how much they like the idea because it takes the pressure off them thinking up what to say and can now leave feedback with the same ease as leaving a kudo/like. And as the creator, it’s kind of run to look at your emoji legend and see what your readers are saying in emoji shorthand.

This is just one way to do it.

I’m sure there are tons of other ways you guys have figured out how to improve the exchange of feedback between consumers and creators, without pretty much ransoming your work behind paywalls or “I-Will-Not-Continue-Until-I-Receive-X-Amount-of-Comments” disclaimers.

And I’d love to hear them and repost them to share with anyone else!

The point is, generally, content consumers just need a starting point, dipping a toe in the water to get used to leaving feedback. As creators, it’s not wrong to want to have feedback from our audiences and this way we can gently encourage them to do so across the board.

I highly recommend trying this out. On your next few short chapters or pieces of fanart or whatever, leave an emoji legend with whatever comments you are hoping for (or just copy the ones above) and see if there’s a difference in the feedback you get. This worked really well for me and I’m confident it can work for you too!

Remember, content creation and consumption is not a quid pro quo thing. The minute it becomes that, you lose the fun of it. But by the same token, feedback is the only payment a lot of content creators receive for our hard work.

Obviously, we’ll continue to create whether audiences interact with our work or not.

But we might stop sharing our creations, or stick them behind a paywall.

Enough of the world has been monetized already. If we intend to keep fandom creations accessible to our communities and new generations coming in, we have to look at a way of maintaining it in a cooperative way. And creators shaming consumers for not providing feedback is as bad as consumers shaming creators for not creating on demand.

It’s a new decade. Let’s be better about this.

#fandom culture #creators and consumers #fandom is not passive #fandom is interactive #let's be kind #let's work together #new decade #fandom

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makeextramoneyfromonline · 3 years

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Affiliate Marketing: FREE Guide for Beginners

If you want to earn passive income from affiliate marketing, this post will become your reference guide.

Not only am I going to teach you the basics of how to become an affiliate marketer, but we will also dive into some real examples of professional affiliate marketers who are making thousands or even millions of dollars per year without spending money on PPC or anything else. of that nonsense.

We will cover promoting products on Amazon, creating SEO optimized content that ranks well on Google, email list promotion strategies, how to choose the best affiliate program for you and provide you with a step-by-step guide of the whole process. so you'll be earning affiliate commissions in no time.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is the practice of advertising the products or services of another person or company in return for a commission paid on a sale. Affiliate marketers join affiliate programs, look for affiliate products to advertise, and then share the products with their audiences.

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How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

The actual mechanics run in the background, thanks to the merchant's affiliate program software.

But here's a quick look behind the scenes:

When an affiliate joins the merchant program, they are given a unique ID and specific URL to use when promoting the company's product.

The affiliate includes the link in their blog content and / or through their email marketing efforts and invites readers to click on it for more information.

When a potential buyer clicks on the link to visit the affiliate partners' site, a cookie identifying the affiliate is placed on their computer. The cookie ensures that the publisher is credited with the referral sale even if it occurs days or even weeks later.

Whenever a buyer completes the sales process, the merchant checks the sales record for a cookie that identifies the source of the referral.

If the merchant finds a cookie with an affiliate ID, the affiliate is credited with the sale.

The merchant makes the reports available so that the affiliate can see their referrals (clicks) and sales.

The merchant pays the affiliate commission at the end of each pay period (i.e. revenue share).

How to Start Affiliate Marketing in 4 Steps

This is the key point you need to understand if you want to become an affiliate marketer:

In other words, your readers are already buying things. They are about to make a purchase, whether or not you give them any advice.

The question is, could you help them make a smarter decision than they could alone?

Because that's where you add value. You earn a commission in exchange for helping people make smarter decisions, and you use your blog and the Internet to systematize that process, providing valuable advice to thousands of people.

Here is a step-by-step process to do exactly that: Step 1: Choose a Product to Promote as an Affiliate

As an ethical blogger, you will always be limited in the products you choose to represent in two ways:

Either you are limited by your experience to products that you have used and liked, that have affiliate programs and that are well suited to your audience, or You are limited by the products that you can access to evaluate, either by purchasing them outright or by getting a free sample or trial. Regardless of the approach you take, expect to have to invest time and money researching the best products for your audience.

These are your two main options

OPTION # 1: PROMOTE PRODUCTS YOU ALREADY KNOW AND LOVE

This is the most common way to get started with affiliate offers.

You become an affiliate of something that you have used yourself, with which you have had a good experience, you have tested it thoroughly and you feel good recommending. You have to be pretty sure that others will get the same (or better) results as you, as long as they get the job done.

If you've had great success in a course, mastermind, or ebook that your readers could also benefit from, it makes sense to spread the word and share your results.

Take an inventory of products, services, and courses that you already have experience with. You may have a list of a dozen or more.

Which of these would you like to promote? Cross out the ones that do not fit the bill.

Now just check if the merchant has an affiliate program.

Using a search engine like Google, search for "affiliate program" + [product name], or just email the merchant and ask.

Then run your remaining options through this good affiliate product checklist:

You have previewed the product to see its quality (given, in this case).

They have a strong refund policy that you trust them to stick to.

They provide good customer support (and you've tried it).

You have a good story to share about your experience with the product.

The offering is tailored to the needs of your audience and will not abuse the trust you have built with them.

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Products that check all the checkboxes are your best opportunities for affiliate income. As time goes on, add as many of these products to your mix as you like.

You have found your first product! Apply through the merchant process and start promoting.

If you're just dipping your toe into affiliate marketing channels, this first option may be enough to get you started.

However, most bloggers will also want to try the following.

Option n. # 2: search for products through an affiliate network

If you don't have any direct experience or knowledge of products in your niche that can help your readers, you can often find good affiliate products on affiliate networks (← our detailed guide).

But be careful: this approach requires you to spend time on research and money to buy products to test, rather than the first option.

That's because there is less trust and prior knowledge involved up front. You must do your due diligence to protect your reputation and the credibility you have built with your readers.

When you work through a network, you will usually not know the merchant in advance and generally will not establish a relationship with him (your business relationship is with the network).

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The list of popular and trusted affiliate networks includes ClickBank, CJ Affiliate, eBay Partner Network, ShareaSale, CJ Affiliate (also known as Commission Junction), and the Amazon Associates program. Some networks will even assign you an affiliate manager to help you out and show you things.

Amazon products, in particular, are an easy way to start. Many newbies start out by becoming Amazon affiliates and then escalate to other types of more profitable affiliate offers.

Step 2: Get Yourself Set Up as an Affiliate

Whether you work directly with a merchant or through a network, you will need to apply, be approved, and provide certain information before you can be paid.

At a minimum, you will need to provide:

Your personal / business contact information for tax and reporting purposes.

Your bank account where the commissions will be sent.

In turn, the merchant must provide you with:

An affiliate link. Whenever you post about the product, you will use this trackable link. You will have a long tag at the end of each link that includes your affiliate ID.

You will usually also get some helpful tips and resources for marketing the product (often found in a welcome guide or on the affiliate website).

These could include:

A guide for affiliates, as well as instructions on how to use the platform and a summary of policies such as payments.

Online marketing tools like banners and sidebar graphics.

Example of email / web page swipe copy.

Ongoing communications from the merchant about promotions, new products, etc.

If you use a network like Amazon, you will get your own link for each of the specific products that you promote.

Be sure to check the help or support pages for your specific network for more information.

Step 3: Start Promoting Your Chosen Affiliate Offers

Ultimately, all your hard work finding and evaluating products is only worth it if someone takes your advice and makes the purchase, right?

For that to happen, you must present your recommendation to your audience. Even more important, you must make your recommendation trustworthy.

This is where many affiliate marketers fail. They think that placing a few banners on their blog with links to affiliate products is all they need to do.

Option n. # 1: create a resource page on your blog It promotes many different products, but also organizes them according to different types of readers and what they might need at the time. It also explains why those products would be useful to them.

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In other words, it is not just a sales pitch. It is educational. Because it contains a lot of quality content, as well as being well optimized for SEO, it also ranks well in Google search results and gets organic traffic. You also get good conversion rates.

Most likely, you can create a landing page like this in a few hours. Your readers will also appreciate that you put all your recommendations in one place for easy reference.

Option #2: Create and Promote Custom Content

(a) Answers the Reviews:

You can write detailed reviews of products, courses, books or software products you promote as an affiliate Your reviews can focus on a single product or compare competing products side-by-side. The second approach arguably builds more trust, but it also distracts people by giving them a lot of different recommendations. If you would like to review multiple products, one option is to create a review site where all the content is simply reviews and affiliate offers. It becomes a “one-stop shop” for your niche.

(b) Write Definitive Content on a Related Topic

You can write a definitive, comprehensive post on your site to educate your readers and “soft sell” your products and then work to get it ranking in the search engines.

For instance, you could write an ultimate guide to setting up a WordPress blog and include your affiliate links to your favorite hosting providers.

One example here at Smart Blogger is our post on freelance writing jobs. It's a detailed, definitive guide for freelancers looking to find online jobs, but it also allows us to feature one of our courses for writers.

Whatever the topic, make sure that it’s evergreen content - information that’s likely to be useful and valuable for years to come.

You can create blog posts, videos, infographics or anything similar - but whatever you do, it should not be a sales page. Focus on building trust and authority.

Finally, you should pay a lot of attention to SEO - make sure to optimize for the right keywords, keep WordPress running fast, and build links to your content to get a constant flow of traffic from Google.

Assuming your affiliate agreement allows it (sometimes it doesn't), you can create additional content, exclusive to your readers, that helps people get even more value from the affiliate product.

People love bonuses! You can create many types of bonuses quite quickly and easily, while still offering your readers excellent value.

By the way, this is a great way to differentiate yourself from other bloggers who represent the same products.

Here are some examples of bonuses you could offer:

Step-by-step checklists

Quick start guides

Video summaries or demos

Complementary or discounted services

Step 4: Comply with Legal Requirements

But even if it's not required by law where you are located, we recommend it. It is a good business.

Don't be afraid to be transparent. People will appreciate your honesty and want to support you in rewarding you for improving their lives.

So wherever you share an affiliate link, be it in blog posts, web pages, or emails, let your readers know that you can earn a small commission if they buy through you, and if they choose not to use your link, don't worry. .

Assure them that you wouldn't recommend any products if you hadn't used them yourself or if you were sure they could help them.

It is also a good idea to create an affiliate disclaimer page on your website.

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smallblanketfort · 7 years

Note

do you have tips on taking notes?

yes!! i have many, so i tried to make it easier for you to navigate :)

L O N G post ahead of you, covering lecture notes and readings notes, from a college senior :)

lecture notes:

i suggest using a notebook and pen, physically writing down. it’s easier to study, and since it’s using your body, you have a much higher retention rate on your side than if you use a laptop.

i have used my laptop for taking notes before. it’s easier to take more notes, word for word, but that’s not always helpful. maybe that’s your style, especially if you enjoy rewriting your notes all pretty and more successfully when you get home. i am not that girl.

more notes does not always equal better! it’s good for you to listen actively, selecting what is important and what is not. i take very thorough notes. i take a lot of notes. if you need notes for a missed class, i. am. your. girl. that doesn’t mean i write out everything word for word. selecting details, clauses, and images really helps me to not only keep up, but also to memorize later. plus, when you’re typing, it’s easier to type all the words out without really processing the whole meaning. remember that dense notes are harder to study

finally, when you write by hand, you can get more creative with your style. occasionally, i’ll web notes out from one, rather than a traditional outline, bc it makes more sense for the topic

it also helps my anxiety! so much! if i force myself to take great in depth notes, then my mind has to dedicate more brain space to the task at hand than to my anxieties.

stick to one of these though. it really sucks to get into a test and realize you didn’t study half of your notes bc you forgot half were on your laptop. it’s awful lol.

if you use a laptop, get used to how it works first. do u know how much i resent trying to switch from a bullet that is under other bullets (like this one, not filled in) to a main point bullet (the ones filled in). it can be so confusing. also make sure you use a program you like. you can take directly into documents, but i find that i really love evernote, as i can make notebooks for classes, stacks of notebooks for my college, and that i can tag notes with specific classes and topics.

if you’re on paper, for fuck’s sake, divide your notebook into sections for classes. keep it all together. those notebooks with handy dandy dividers are so helpful, and they keep you from carrying around 5 notebooks at once.

i wouldn’t worry too much about highlighters and such in class. there’s just so much going on then. save highlighting and color coding for later, and count it as studying.

don’t worry about traditional outlining styles, with roman numerals or whatever. i take notes very simply. bullets/dashes, subnotes under a broad note.

do it how it makes sense to you! maybe that includes different bullet styles, different places for different types of information (on a simple level, i start writing chapter numbers and titles as far to the left as i can go, over the margins, in bold and capital letters. i also usually go over these later in a certain color marker)

in some classes it is helpful for me to write the topic along the top of the page in a highlighter (color coding is lovely) the main idea/topic for each page. the classes this was most obviously helpful in were astronomy (COMETS or BLACKHOLES etc) and shakespeare (MUCH ADO ACT 2 or ROMEO etc)

it’s easiest to just note page numbers of referenced complex diagrams, as they are usually in your reading or accessible online

your style might look different in each class. whatever works.

note everything (everything) your professor writes on the board. if it’s important enough for your professor to write it, it’s probably important enough for you to write it.

note examples only if it’s helpful for your memory. however, make light note of things like famous people and their science/psych experiments. but in math and such, note! the! examples! and! reasons! will help you so much.

examples that have emotion, imagery, or sound are going to be more helpful. applicable examples are most helpful. good professors will lecture you accordingly. lazy ones will not.

star anything that the professor stresses or hints will be tested. anything that they say is a major theme or whatever.

note main ideas/points/themes, definitions, conclusions,

use your tests to help you figure out what you need to know. ask questions about the tests too. in every class i’ve taken, i’m totally shocked at how willingly people ask about exam format and how willingly the professor will tell us how it will work. they want you to succeed.

people learn differently! i suggest taking notes in class and later adding touches that help you. count it as study time too. a warm up, if you will.

if you’re visual, this might include highlighting, color coding, drawing diagrams, etc.

if you’re an auditory learner, reading the notes out loud and organizing them accordingly, as well as making up rhymes, rhythms and such, might help you. some auditory learners actually like to record lectures and listen to them later.

if you learn best through movement, rewriting or making flashcards will be great for you.

sometimes professors go really. fuckin. fast. why. idk? but

dont be afraid to ask them to go back a slide bc i guarantee, you will be the class hero for asking

develop a little bit of shorthand. sometimes i end up using initials, arrows, abbreviations… this is where i got “bc” and “thru” and “u” and such. lol. also, list things vertically, rather than using commas and “and/&/+) it’ll be more clear later

some professors you literally cannot take notes on. it sucks. you’re going to need to do the readings and pick their brains on how the test will be to figure out how to prepare. take home tests are your best friend. thank god for them. seriously. get your butt to church and do some worshipping.

if your professor puts powerpoints online, save the powerpoints, ya never know.

look at inspiration if you want, but remember that notes on studyblr are usually copied from class notes. if you’re too focused on how pretty your notes are, good luck to you

finally, the day before an exam, i review my notes that i have (hopefully) been studying. i like to make a one page cheat sheet / study guide on everything i didn’t remember, leaving out everything i understand, memorized, or want to disregard.

reading notes:

ima be real and tell you i hardly ever do reading unless i will be tested on it in class in multiple choice. and im an english student. ye i suck, i know. i dont condone shirking the system but u know what, reading shakespeare or 18th century lit literally makes me want to kill myself. so, im a senior in college, and have barely ever done the reading for a class. the thing is, if you do it right, anything is better than just reading the words on the page and not getting the meaning. dont be a reading zombie. read actively, even if it’s not the actual reading. doing this, i have a 3.9 gpa. so. there’s hope for us yet.

first of all, yall need to do your damn reading. idc how. but due to the fact that a test will be multiple choice, essay answer, a presentation, or a paper, you’re going to not love pulling nothing out of your ass. can be done tho. just be fake deep.

that being said, i’m writing a lot below, but the reality is that if it’s lit, your notes dont have to be longer than a sentence. if it’s a textbook, more.

the same formatting question comes into play here, except it’s should you take notes in your book or in a notebook?

listen i’m always going to be pro notebook, pro physically writing it out as it helps me really get the information into my head, rather than more passively highlighting

i tend to do both, if im willing to mark up a book. i underline and highlight things that stick out to me, and i write them down as well. sometimes when reading literature/essays, if i know the contextual/meaning notes will be interesting to me later, i will copy notes both into my notebook and also less in depth onto post it notes (which also make sweet little flashcards btw), which i will stick into the passage. this is so helpful when a) im reading it again later and b) when we are discussing a passage in class

buy used books. it’s cheaper. until it happens to u, u do NOT UNDERSTAND how EXCITING it is to get a book that has highlights and underlines in it ALREADY. DUDE. my work is basically DONE for me. now take that lightly, bc often different ppl will highlight different pieces of information. however, it is helpful.

look up summaries. do not simply rely on cliffsnotes and sparknotes, esp since professors are very aware of these. google “title of book, summary, chapter notes, whatever youre looking for” and use the blog posts, the book reviews, the papers that come up. does this method probably take a bit longer? maybe? but it’s easier on my tired brain.

if you don’t have time to read your textbook one day and really want to, read the introduction and the conclusion to the chapter, or the first and last sentences to the paragraphs. it’s not great, but it’s something.

like your lectures, note definitions, conclusions, and helpful examples, as well as people and dates. if i’m reading literature and i’m deciding to be a smart student i will keep several logs as well. these logs will make it so. easy. to study for your exam:

updated character lists, including name, relationships, and anything defining and important

scene/chapter summaries, just a sentence summarizing what happened where

any quotes or themes that stand out

i highly highly highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of the well educated mind for note taking on a range of genres. this is what i had to use through high school and while it’s involved, it’s incredibly helpful.

if you’re going to have to cite your notes, note the page number in the margin every time you flip the page

the biggest issue i have with reading is when and where to do it. before or after class? always ask your professor if they do not tell you. where in your notebooks? i always do it on the next blank page bc leaving space stresses me the fuck out. make notes on the top of your pages of corresponding lectures/readings.

for both lectures and readings i really really really suggest either having something to drink or something to snack on (think fruit, loose nuts, m&ms. small loose things rather than things u bite? idk they just last longer?)

okay i hope this was somewhat helpful even tho it’s an incredibly longwinded post. it seems like a lot, but the reality is that while i take a lot of notes, i don’t make them complicated, i don’t have rules, i just do what feels right in the moment. they’re not at all stressful. just take it easy and do whatever works for you :)

if anyone has other tips, feel free to reply :)

#school

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retrogamestoreblr-blog · 4 years

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3 Great Passive Online Income Methods

There Are Several Different Ways To Generate Passive Online Income And Make Money.But, before we get to them ...What is passive online income?Passive online income is building online businesses that allow you to generate income and grow and scale without a real-time presence. In other words, you’re not trading your time for money. Instead, you build something up front that can continue to work for you over time.It’s like when someone writes a hit song and collects royalties on it for the rest of their lives. They wrote the song once and they get paid as long as someone is singing that song.You can build a passive income without investing a lot of money. Just remember, if it doesn’t take much money, then it’s probably going to take lots of work.Passive income isn’t ‘get rich easy,’ but it is ‘get rich smart.’If you have the mindset that you are building assets that will continue to work for you later, then you’ll do just fine. You’re doing work now to have flexibility and freedom (and money) later.Here are three completely different legitimate strategies that you could choose from to build a passive income business of your own.Passive Online Income Method 1: Freelancing to Problem Acquisition to Solution.

Stick with me on this… You’re going to freelance by working for different companies or individuals and getting paid for your skills. Yes, I know, this is indeed trading time for money, and it is NOT passive income.Freelancing can be an AWESOME way to get started in building a business of your own. You're going to acquire skills and discipline when you’re running your own business as a freelancer. And you’re going to get paid quickly, too. If you start out trying to make passive income, you’re going to have a very steep learning curve that will involve spending money without making money, sometimes for months.Freelancing brings the money in and gives you an education at the same time. As you’re freelancing, you'll get to know the industry that you're in, and you can be on the lookout for the problems. These are opportunities for you to create product-based passive income businesses. You’re freelancing in a niche that interests you, making money and observing what’s missing, what people need and want, and where the money is made. There’s two basic ways this might work for you. The first is you find a way to do what you’re doing as a freelancer, only in a way where you do the work once and continue to sell it over and over again. Let’s say you build WordPress sites. Maybe you create a WordPress theme and software or videos that anyone can use to customize that theme to their particular business. You might even tailor it to a specific niche, like chiropractors, dentists, contractors, etc. You might give customers the option of setting up the site themselves or paying extra to have it done for them. In that case, you would have an outsourcer do the actual work for you. If you can create products that can be used out of the box by customers or businesses, then you’ve got a passive income business.The second method is finding out what a niche needs as far as information and training. Perhaps you’ve worked in a niche long enough, you can now teach about it, and so you hold a live webinar series, record the calls and make a product you sell over and over again. In the first case you’re providing the businesses or customers with something they can use, such as a website, templates, private label rights items, etc. Essentially, you’re turning your service-based business into a productized business.In the second case you’re providing recorded trainings, whether it’s a course, video series, audio series, books, etc. It can even be a case where you’ve ghostwritten so much material in a certain niche, you now know it front ways and back ways. You can now step out of the limelight and very easily create your own products in that niche. Freelancing is very much tied to your time, but it gives you an income and the opportunity to find out what you can create that people need or want. An active business can be shifted and turned into a more passive business by either having products that are already made, by having software do a lot of legwork for you, or even other human beings doing that work, too.Passive Online Income Method 2: Audience to Advertising.

This is one of the most popular forms of building a somewhat passive income online. I say somewhat, because in most cases you will continue to do some work, or at least outsource some work to keep this going. Essentially, you are building an audience and then generating income through advertising to that audience you built. Someone on YouTube making money through AdSense, or a blogger with sponsors or ads, or a podcast with sponsors… you get the idea. You generate content to bring in the audience, and businesses who want to reach that audience pay you (either directly or indirectly) to advertise. Things you need to know: It can take months to build up your audience to a point where advertisers will pay you. You can go through a service such as Google AdSense, or deal with sponsors directly. You likely won’t get rich off Google AdSense from your blog. But you might on YouTube – it just depends on how well you can generate an audience. This is not entirely passive. You usually have to keep creating content or pay someone else to create content for you. If you can become famous in your niche, you will do well at this. If you create super popular videos on YouTube, you can make a fortune through the advertising. Whether you’re selling advertising or not, remember to build an email list. There are times when one email to your list will earn you as much as an entire month of paid advertising. If you hire people to create content for you, you can have several sites at once in several different niches, all selling advertising. If you’re going to sell the ads yourself, first give away ads to some big names in your niche on a trial basis. Then let other potential advertisers know that these big names are advertising on your site (works wonders!)Passive Online Income Method 3: Become an Expert to Sell Stuff.

Okay, first things first. You don’t have to be a WORLD CLASS expert. Heck, you don’t even have to be an expert – you can use the reporter model where you report on things in your niche. And if you’re going to be an expert, you just have to be enough of an expert to know a little bit more than your audience. It’s like new teachers – they read ahead in the book by one chapter, and that way they always know more than their students. Your goal is to become just expert enough to earn the trust from others, so they want to learn even more from you. What do you know that others want to learn? What can you learn that others want to know? Create your own product, book, course, webinar, etc. Solve a problem for your audience, a problem they will PAY to make go away. Promote that product through any and all means possible (there’s enough there to write an entire book.) This is just like writing a song, in that you do it once and get paid for it over and over again. You wake up in the morning and there is more money in your bank account because people bought your book overnight. By using tools and software and systems, you can automate the delivery process so that you literally don't have to do anything to serve your audience. And if you get the sales funnel set up right, you can BUY traffic to send to the funnel that makes you money like clockwork. Spend $1, make $1.50, or whatever. When you’re able to profitably BUY traffic, the sky is the limit and you are making a truly passive income.Now, here is my favorite way to make passive income: Promote other people’s continuity programs. Yes, I’m talking affiliate marketing. You are still selling products to your audience, but now you’re selling memberships and software as a service, and you are receiving income for months and sometimes YEARS for a sale you made once. You’re the expert. You’re recommending THIS software or THAT membership to your audience because you KNOW (for real, no joke) that it can help to solve their problem. You are helping your audience to solve problems and get what they want. And in return, the membership or software as a service pays you for as long as your customer continues to subscribe.And it gets even better, because you did not create the software or membership, which means you have nothing to maintain and no customer service issues to deal with. All you have to do is figure out what to do with the money.One caveat: Memberships and software as a service are generally things people don’t subscribe to forever. Yes, they might stay with the hosting company you recommend, or the autoresponder you recommend, for years. But in most other cases, they will drop out after a month, a few months or a year.But again, if you have a funnel that allows you to BUY advertising at a profit, then you’re golden. You just keep filling the funnel, making the sales and watching your monthly income grow and grow. A funnel that is tested and proven takes maybe a few minutes a day to care for, if that. You can train your virtual assistant to care for it for you, as well as answering any emails that might come in. So, how do you get started? Well first, you have to be an expert in the eyes of those who you are looking to serve.And remember, you do not need all those qualifications and credibility. Some people gain expertise and credibility just through sharing their experience. And you can go out and start talking to people, asking them questions like, ‘What are struggling with right now? What are your biggest pains? What's something that you wish existed, that doesn’t?’That will give you some ideas about where to start and what positions you might be able to take. Remember, a successful business solves people's problems. To earn passive income, you’re going to have to do the work and put in the time.

So we have learnt that passive online income is all about building something now so you can reap the benefits later. By using software, using tools, using automation, using other people that you hire, you can actually turn this business that helps solve people's problems to something that can be automated for you, for truly passive income. Read the full article

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ftwrthtx · 6 years

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UFC 3 is set to release this week but we have already stepped into the octagon. Was it ready for the bell, or should it return to training camp?

Read our review to find out.

The UFC video game franchise has grown quite a bit since it’s first installment and really feels like it’s been around longer than it has. Last year’s release was a decent edition and garnered some pretty good review scores, but was lacking in the career mode area. This years release wanted to change that and the G.O.A.T. career mode in UFC 3 is light years ahead of what was offered in UFC 2.

Before we dive into more on GOAT mode, the base game itself has also seem some major improvements. First thing EA Sports did was to get back in the motion capture ring using their new Real Player Motion tech that captured smoother action from each fighter. Not only that, but when it came to capturing combos EA didn’t just capture a bunch of different strikes to copy and paste together later, but instead captured full combos by a fighter so that those animations would look and feel more natural, and they do. As folks that love a good striker, seeing a smooth three punch combo like a Right hook – Left uppercut – Right hook put someone on the canvas in sweet succession is not only eye pleasing, but satisfying as well.

The controls were revamped a bit as well, but not to the point of making the game feel totally different. Blocking is much easier and transitioning from defense to offense felt much quicker. This gives the stand-up modes a more boxing like feel which comes in handy on a couple of other non-standard UFC modes. More on that later. The ground game hasn’t changed much at all but you can turn on simple a defense that uses button presses instead of analog stick controls. All in all, the controls felt better and easier to use when standing and boxing.

As I said earlier, career mode is light years ahead of last years release. The goal isn’t just to fight and win a championship, the goal is to become the Greatest of all Time (G.O.A.T.). Depending on the difficulty level you choose, this can either be fairly easy to achieve or it could be downright impossible. Once you have achieved it, a new difficulty is unlocked called Legendary that is very unforgiving and keeps you from being able to restart a fight if you got the crap beat out of you.

You’ll start your career out in the WFA, which is like a minor league system that is used to train and evaluate up and coming fighters. EA Sports does use their Gameface technology for UFC 3 if you want a more personalized experience, and it works pretty well. We did run into a problem with the Gameface page loading due to having used it with UFC 2 but finally figured out if we went to the gender selection page of their system it allowed us to start over. The likeness to a real person is pretty uncanny and you can use any person’s image as long as you have front and profile shots.

To start your career you’ll have a couple of fights in the WFA in which to impress Dana White, and depending on how you do, you’ll have a couple of different paths possible for you. Win both fights by KO and you’ll be in the UFC. Win one and lose one and you may find yourself on the UFC reality show vying for a shot in the UFC. Get your butt kicked twice and you’ll probably be asked to keep working at your craft in the WFA. It is also possible to make it to the UFC, only to get your butt kicked back down to the WFA. The career mode isn’t set in stone, and each person’s path may be different depending on your skill level and your results, so don’t expect it to always be a linear path.

Once you make it out of the WFA you’ll have your first rival mouthing off at you on social media. You can respond in several different ways, either being aggressive, passive, of dismissive, but eventually you’ll have to fight them and that is the key to progression. Each fight is broken down into fight selection, training camp, and then the fight itself. Fight selection isn’t too important until you’ve started to make a name for yourself, and then you’ll need to keep an eye on the stats of your opponents. Even on the easier settings, some of these guys will be able to easily defeat you if their stats are way above yours. Each fight will also list how many weeks will be available for your training camp, so pay attention to that as well.

Once you have a fight selected, you’ll then get to choose a training gym and these are as varied as the available fighting styles you chose from early on. We found that just because you are a striker, that doesn’t mean you should always train in a boxing gym, as you’ll need to be a more balanced fighter if you want to achieve that GOAT status. Make sure you can stand and bang, but at the same time make sure you can defend against those submissions too. The ground game might not be your forte but you better at least be able to defend yourself against someone whose forte is.

Each training camp is broken down into a certain number weeks where each week you’ll have 100 training points to spend on either making your fighter better or more popular. Both areas are important in becoming the GOAT so spread those points wisely. Learning new moves is important but in the grand scheme of things, having more buys for your PPV is a necessity as well. You can also spar with a fighter that will mimic your upcoming opponent and will give you a key to victory. Do this early in your training regimen and you just might be able to learn something that will help you knock the guys head off early, limiting any damage you may incur. Your longevity in the fight game might thank you.

If you need to take a break from your road to GOATness, you can jump right into the octagon in several other modes. Snoop Dogg joins the announcers for a best of 3 Knockout Mode where each fighter has a limited number of hits and no ground game required. It’s a fun mode but some of Snoop’s comments in the past may have soured some UFC fans toward Snoop. In a more traditional, almost Fight Night mode but with both feet and fists, Stand and Bang uses the game’s health system instead of a point system.

EA Sports also includes an Ultimate Team mode where you can build a fight team based off of playing cards which can be purchased or earned by completing challenges and ranking up. The online portion of the game gives you plenty to see and do, and if you played through the career mode, your skills learned just may come in handy there.

EA Sports UFC 3 is a pretty complete game this year and live roster updates should keep the game fresh and fun for some time to to come. The road to G.O.A.T. is definitely worth your time if you are a UFC fight fan.

EA Sports UFC 3 review code provided by publisher. For more information on scoring, please read: What our review scores really mean.

EA Sports UFC 3 Review – On The Road to Being the G.O.A.T. UFC 3 is set to release this week but we have already stepped into the octagon. Was it ready for the bell, or should it return to training camp?

#EA Sports UFC 3 #ps4 #Review #Xbox One

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marketerintel · 4 years

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How To Make Passive Income with $500

Date: 2020-07-29 17:05:42

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yeskraim · 4 years

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AirPods Pro vs Beats Powerbeats Pro: Apple’s true wireless earbuds do battle

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(Image credit: TechRadar)

Beats Electronics, the company behind Beats headphones, has been a big player in the global audio market since it was first set up nearly 16 years ago. Fast-forward to 2014 and the company was acquired by Apple for $3 billion – and since then, it’s been going from strength to strength.

Last year, Beats and Apple launched the Beats Powerbeats Pro, a pair of true wireless earbuds created for working out. During our review, we found they’re supremely comfortable, sound decent, and seem to never, ever fall out. What else could you ask for from a pair of buds built for fitness?

Later in 2019, Apple unveiled the Apple AirPods Pro. These are, admittedly, a better pair of buds when it comes to audio smarts – thanks to new noise cancellation tech. But when it comes to a good pair of true wireless earbuds there’s much more to consider. So which pair of Apple-owned true wireless earbuds are truly the best?

As with most high-end headphones these days, the answer will be different for everyone depending on your lifestyle. That’s why we’ve balanced the pros and cons of each pair of earbuds based on their most important factors, like sound performance and comfort. Read on to find out which pair of true wireless earbuds we think are right for you.

Read our full AirPods Pro review

Or, check out our Beats Powerbeats Pro review

(Image credit: TechRadar)

AirPods Pro vs Beats Powerbeats Pro: price

The Apple AirPods Pro true wireless earbuds cost $249 / £249 / AU$399. You might think this premium price tag makes sense for an Apple product, but there’s a significant price difference when you compare them to the 2019 AirPods, which cost $159 / £159 / AU$249 with the standard charging case, and $199 / £199 / AU$319 with the Wireless Charging Case.

As such, they’re not marketed as a direct replacement for the 2019 AirPods. When we compared the Apple AirPods Pro with the Apple AirPods we did find there’s a lot more on offer with the newer Pro model, including noise-cancellation and active EQ. For many that might justify the big price hike, for others, the advanced performance may still not be enough of a draw for that price.

Similarly, the Beats Powerbeats Pro cost $249 / £219 / AU$349. Unlike the AirPods Pro, you have four different colors to choose from, including Black, Ivory, Moss, and Navy – all of which come with a matching charging case.

The Powerbeats Pro are significantly more expensive than the previous iteration of these earbuds, the Powerbeats 3, which can usually be found online for under $100 / £100. But as we’ll learn later, what you’re getting with the Powerbeats Pro is the significantly improved design, Apple’s latest H1 Chip, and advanced sound quality.

As you can see, there’s no price difference between Apple’s two Pro true wireless earbuds in the US – and a marginal difference elsewhere.

AirPods Pro vs Beats Powerbeats Pro: design

How you feel about different earbud designs often comes down to personal preference and whether you want a bigger bud that might not be pretty but feels secure, or a minimal design that values style over sports credentials.

The Apple AirPods Pro are slim and minimal, but do have a distinct look when you have them in your ears, which has become synonymous with Apple. This is largely down to the stems, which stick out of your ear and point downwards. These stems are considerably smaller than the original AirPods, but they’re still obviously AirPods all the same.

The shorter stem may sound good if you were never keen on them in the original AirPods, but we found during testing it took some getting used to. That’s down to the fact there’s a ‘capacitive force sensor’ located in the stem. This is a small ridge on each of the AirPods Pro buds that you can squeeze to activate noise-cancelling / Transparency mode, or skip and pause tracks. What this means is that with a shorter stem, activating that sensor is a little more challenging – although we did find it became second nature after a few weeks of testing.

The Beats Powerbeats Pro look completely different to the AirPods. They have a design that’s become synonymous with sports-focused headphones – with a hook around the back of your ear – that still looks the part outside of the gym too. Of course, this makes sense given they’re marketed towards those who need a good pair of everyday headphones that are just as at home at the gym as they are the office.

On paper, we much prefer this look, but the one downside over the AirPods Pro is they jut out of the ears more – for some people this won’t be an issue, but it’s worth flagging up, especially if you like to wear earbuds to help you fall to sleep.

Like the AirPods Pro, there’s a control on the Powerbeats Pro themselves. On each, there’s a playback control button located where the Beats logo is, as well as a volume rocker, so you can control music with your hands.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

When it comes to comfort credentials, the Apple AirPods Pro have had an upgrade over the original AirPods. They now stay in place well and during our testing, we found they didn’t bounce around at all – even when we were jogging or running up a flight of stairs.

This fantastic fit is due to the customizable fit features. Apple offers three different-sized silicone tips and helps you to figure out which is best for you with a fit test within the app. This will make sure the buds don’t just fit well, but give you the best sound performance, too.

The only minor downside is that a lot of sweat can make the silicone tips slide about a little more than we’d have liked. But, crucially, they didn’t fall out, even while running. They’re also very light, which sounds like a big pro, but could be a problem if one of them ever did fall out. We couldn’t guarantee we’d notice straight away.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

We also found the Beats Powerbeats Pro to be extremely comfortable during testing. What we mean by that isn’t just that the design around the ear fit snugly, but the whole experience while listening to music was great too.

When we’ve tested some true wireless earbuds in the past we’ve found there’s a slight in-ear pressure when listening to music. It’s not unpleasant, but not ideal. It’s something we felt while listening to other workout earbuds, like the Jaybird X4. However, that odd pressure is nowhere to be found with the Powerbeats Pro. This is deliberate and due to a micro-laser barometric venting hold located in the front chamber that Apple says reduces pressure in the ear and improves bass response.

Like the Apple AirPods Pro, there’s also a choice of different-sized earbud nozzles, which contribute to the excellent fit of the Powerbeats Pro. Combine that with the added hook design and you’ve got one very comfortable listening experience.

It’s also worth mentioning here that both earbuds have been designed with IPX4 sweat and water resistance, which means they’re good for 10 minutes of water or sweat splashing.

(Image credit: Future)

AirPods Pro vs Beats Powerbeats Pro: battery life

Battery life is a key factor when it comes to finding the right true wireless earbuds for you. There’s no point going fully wireless if the battery is poor and you have to plug them in to charge them often, after all.

During our testing, the AirPods Pro lasted 4.5 hours with noise-cancelling on and around five without it. The AirPods Pro’s charging case will then give you over 24 hours of listening time when fully charged and it also has a fast-charging mode.

In comparison, the Beats Powerbeats Pro offer a huge eight to nine hours of battery life. That’s obviously much better than the AirPods Pro, but there’s no active noise cancellation here, which explains some of that big difference.

The Powerbeats Pro charging case also provides 24 hours of listening time and comes with a fast-charging mode, so they’re on par in that respect – although the Powerbeats Pro charging case is very big, which makes it a little awkward to carry around.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

AirPods Pro vs Beats Powerbeats Pro: performance

The biggest difference between the two true wireless earbud models is noise cancellation. The AirPods Pro are the first headphones from Apple with active noise cancellation tech built-in.

During testing of the AirPods Pro, we found that when active noise cancellation is on, there’s a strong and noticeable effect. However, it won’t completely shut out every sound around you. For example, if you’re in an office and there’s loud music playing, a bit of it might bleed through.

Having said that, just walking down the street with them in your ears will shut off most noises, including cars and motorbikes. Constant noise, like a fan or the wind (the type that can be particularly annoying), is shut off well, too. We also found they worked well on a train, making a huge difference when this mode was turned on and off.

Handily, the AirPods Pro also offer Transparency mode, allowing you to listen to music and hear what’s going on around you if you need to be a little more aware.

What’s important to note here is that although the Powerbeats Pro do not have noise cancellation, the very snug fit of the design – with the hook around your ear and comfortable in-ear nozzles – can give you a certain level of passive noise cancellation by physically blocking out sound. However, the AirPods Pro quite obviously win when it comes to drowning out outside noises and providing an immersive listening experience.

(Image credit: Future)

When it comes to general sound performance, Apple has provided custom drivers, improved bass and an adaptive equalizer within the AirPods Pro. During our testing, we found this meant vocals often sounded really rich and the bass, in particular, was more powerful than the original AirPods.

We had a similar experience across all kinds of music, including acoustic, indie rock, electro, pop, and hip-hop – but equally across these genres, the separation between high mid and low was only average. One thing to note is there’s still a feeling that the sound is ‘closed off’. What we mean by that is it sounds as though the music is coming from inside your head; high-quality headphones tend to make it sound as if the sound is coming at you from all angles instead.

Some other true wireless earbuds performed better when it comes to hearing the details in the music than the AirPods Pro, like the Sony WF-1000XM3 for example. Similarly, classic music sounded a little dull, but pop music always came through clearly with rich and balanced mid-frequencies.

During our testing of the Powerbeats Pro, we found that, as you’d expect, the Beats brand still caters to EDM, R&B and rap, and can now play most crunchy rock and alternative with some authority.

Surprisingly, the Powerbeats Pro have really turned down the bass this time around. Although they’re not quite at a flat EQ, it’s more like a gentle v-shape that boosts the highs and lows with a slight recess on the mids. It’s a smooth curve so that music sounds reasonably energetic, but not too slanted that movies and shows are unwatchable. We found that even movies like Thor Raganarok sounded absolutely fine with them.

Although it’s worth mentioning that this might be subjective. Our preferences for an EQ curve aren’t going to be to everyone’s tastes – and there are no tools here to alter the sound. This is bound to be frustrating if you don’t feel like you’re hearing enough mids when you’re watching a movie or if you feel like your music is missing some sparkle in the upper register.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Although they offered a good listening experience that blocked out some environmental noise, it wasn’t always a good experience listening to the Powerbeats Pro on busy public transport or in a loud office. With that in mind, we found they performed their best in quieter environments, like at home, in a calm office or at the gym.

Because you can use hands-free Siri, they’re great for setting timers in between sets and placing calls to friends and clients. Whether you choose the AirPods Pro or Powerbeats Pro may come down to something as sensible as where you’ll be using your earbuds the most.

Both true wireless earbuds feature Apple’s H1 chip. This means you get features including Audio Sharing, Announce Messages with Siri, and Hey Siri with each of them. However, one additional feature it’s worth mentioning here is that the AirPods Pro send exact volume levels to your iPhone so you can see if you’re listening to things too loudly. It’s a small but significant step in hearing health that could win some people over.

(Image credit: Future)

AirPods Pro vs Beats Powerbeats Pro: takeaway

Whether you buy the AirPods Pro or the Beats Powerbeats Pro will all depend on what you’re looking for. After all, they’re the same price in some regions.

If you’re active and want a pair of headphones that’ll do for the commute and the gym, you’d probably be best opting for the Powerbeats Pro. They fit better thanks to the around-ear hook and snug nozzles. What’s more, the (nearly) nine hours of battery is also hugely appealing if you’re active and won’t get a chance to stop and charge – unless you want to carry that huge case around with you.

On the other hand, if you want the best sound performance with the latest noise cancellation tech and Transparency mode you need the AirPods Pro. They’re also a good option if you prefer something a little more compact too, both in your ear and to carry around thanks to the smaller charging case.

If you’ve not been sure about AirPods in the past, the Pro design might win you over. Those big stems are smaller, audio performance is better, and fit has been hugely improved.

You can’t go wrong with either of these true wireless earbuds and at the end of the day it’ll come down to what your day-to-day activities look like, whether you need the latest noise-cancelling tech or maybe that you just prefer the design of one over the other.

Best headphones 2020: Your definitive guide to the latest and greatest audio

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samuelpboswell · 4 years

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How to Build a Binge-Worthy and Rewarding B2B Content Strategy

As marketers, we're accustomed to appreciating the rewards for a job well done. Create a piece of great content that resonates, and you’ll likely be greeted with those reinforcing indicators of impact: clicks, views, dwell time, pipeline growth, perhaps even third-party recognition. But what’s in it for the person consuming this content? Sure, there is the inherent value derived from enjoying the content to begin with – learning something new, solving problems, or merely being entertained. But if we want our readers to stick around and continuously come back for more, the next step for marketers may well be to further incentivize heavier consumption of our content, especially as serialized formats and experiential marketing continue to take hold. Naturally, the world of entertainment is leading the charge on this frontier.

The Business Value of Binging Content

Earlier this month, streaming platform Hulu unveiled a new ad format designed to reward binge watching. Triggered when a viewer begins to watch a third consecutive episode of the same show, “the ad experience presents viewers with either their next episode commercial-free or a personalized offer from a brand.” "A critical component of this ad experience is the use of machine learning to predict when viewers are likely to start binge watching a show," according to Jeremy Helfand, Hulu’s Vice President and Head of Advertising Platforms. "The creative execution then serves contextually relevant messaging from our brand partners that acknowledges a binge watching session has begun." Here’s an example of a customized binge-watching ad from Cheez-It: This is fascinating ground from a content marketer’s perspective. Binge watching is the most valuable action users can take on streaming platforms such as Hulu, but in the past, providers have mostly sought to avoid shaming viewers (I always chuckle at Netflix’s “We’re not judging” message prompt that pops up to make sure you’re still there after a show has been running for a certain length). Now, we’re seeing a shift toward actively incentivizing the behavior. It goes without saying that binge-like consumption of brand content is a worthy aspiration for almost any marketer today. At a time where attention spans are shortening and content is saturating, being able to keep users yearning for more is the ultimate validator. It can also greatly increase the impact of your content, helping the brand message connect more deeply while encouraging subscriptions, shares, loyalty, and advocacy. How can content marketers take a cue from Hulu and reward our most avid fans, while working to move more users into that category?

Building a Binge-Worthy B2B Content Strategy

In seeing the update from Hulu, I was reminded of a piece at Forbes by Kalev Leetaru a few months back, in which he asked: Why Doesn't Social Media Reward Reading Rather Than Merely Speaking? It was a great point that I hadn’t previously considered. “A user who spends their days spouting off uninformed bombastic platitudes will be lavishly rewarded with likes and followers, graduate to influencer status and earn revenue,” Leetaru wrote. “A user who spends their days quietly listening, like a patron in a library, will gain no recognition of any kind.” Marketers are increasingly taking steps to encourage user-generated content, customer advocacy, contest participation, and the like. But we may have a blindspot for the kind of passive consumption that offers plenty of value in its own right. Here are some tips to help you situate your content strategy around this focus. [bctt tweet="Marketers are increasingly taking steps to encourage UGC, customer advocacy, contest participation, and the like. But we may have a blindspot for the kind of passive consumption that offers plenty of value in its own right. @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]

Create Content that Lends Itself to Binging

Step one, of course, is to ensure you have content that’s conducive to the kind of ravenous consumption we’re discussing here. The most obvious way to achieve this is through serial content – sequential pieces that all contribute to a larger, cohesive, overarching narrative. This is the model used by streaming platforms like Hulu and Netflix, and the most binge-able shows tend to end episodes with cliffhangers that make it difficult to quit. Think about ways to replicate this dynamic with your strategy. Does one blog post create a natural transition to the next in a series? Do your videos leave viewers with a curiosity they can satisfy through viewing another one? Does your asset promotion include a tension-building hook (a cliffhanger, if you will) that compels someone to take another step? And are you generating buzz, both naturally and through influencer engagements, that frames your content as can’t-miss? (How many shows have you binged because so many people told you they were must-watch?) Web shows and podcasts like our Break Free B2B series also are natural opportunities to pull in your audience. (The latest episode, which features Content Marketing Institute’s Stephanie Stahl discussing content planning and building demand, is especially pertinent to the present topic.)

Deliver on Your Promises

We’re mainly focusing on ways to encourage continual content consumption here, but we should also recognize the attributes that firmly discourage binging: namely, a failure to deliver on the content’s core promise.

via GIPHY Think critically in these terms about everything you produce. Are we actually giving them the information they came for? Are we helping make our audience more capable and confident? Are they getting a unique experience, or is it the same thing they can easily find elsewhere? Perhaps most importantly, are we making all of this clear quickly enough? (How many times have you given up on a new show because the slow-moving first episode didn’t captivate you?) A few years back, our Elizabeth Williams penned a blog post with examples of content marketing case studies that bring home the bacon by fulfilling their promises.

Track How Individuals Consume Your Content

In order to reward content binging, you need to know when it’s happening and who’s doing it. There are a number of ways to understand this at a high level – measuring time on page, analyzing the number of referrals to a page from another one that sequentially preceded it, etc. – but we can also be more precise through the use of pixels and IP address data, which help us track activity down to the specific user level. Hulu also mentioned the use of machine learning technology, which could play a role for those with the necessary resources.

Develop Contextually Relevant Rewards

An incentive only makes sense if it fits contextually with the action that’s being rewarded. This is where marketers can really put on the creative hat and work to come up with relevant CTAs and interstitials that will jibe with a user’s mindset based on what they are consuming. From push-button fixes to more technical solutions that can be implemented with assistance from a web developer or agency partner, here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing...

Once a user has spent five minutes on a page, have a pop-up window acknowledging that fact (“Hey, you’re still here and we really appreciate it!”) while directing them to your best related content.

When a user lands on a piece of serial content directly from the previous installment, create unique messaging to connect the two and play up the cohesive experience.

When an email subscriber opens up five consecutive emails from your brand, send them an additional one with a special offer, available only to your most loyal readers.

When a video viewer keeps watching for five minutes, trigger a pop-up link within the video that unlocks additional supporting content.

The possibilities are endless, just as the content consumption journey can be when designed thoughtfully under this premise.

Keep Your Audience Coming Back

In thinking about this subject, I’m reminded of a popular customer-centric models promoted by a marketer I admire (one who, incidentally, has a background in television). Andrew Davis’s Loyalty Loop urges brands to take advantage of a moment of inspiration (“instants in time that send you on a journey you never expected”) to reinforce the behavior. In this case, it might mean catching someone while they’re inspired by that first piece of content – that tip of the iceberg – and prompting them to explore further. It’ll about anticipation.

youtube

For content marketers, rewarding the content-bingers in our audience is a great way to strategically incorporate this concept. And if we do it successfully, we’ll be able to appreciate those aforementioned rewards for a job well done all the more. For further guidance on creating rewarding content, learn about the T.H.I.N.K. model for content strategy and how it puts purpose behind every piece.

The post How to Build a Binge-Worthy and Rewarding B2B Content Strategy appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from The SEO Advantages https://www.toprankblog.com/2019/12/binge-worthy-b2b-content-marketing-strategy/

0 notes

ralphlayton · 4 years

Text

How to Build a Binge-Worthy and Rewarding B2B Content Strategy

The Business Value of Binging Content

Building a Binge-Worthy B2B Content Strategy

Create Content that Lends Itself to Binging

Deliver on Your Promises

Track How Individuals Consume Your Content

Develop Contextually Relevant Rewards

When a user lands on a piece of serial content directly from the previous installment, create unique messaging to connect the two and play up the cohesive experience.

When an email subscriber opens up five consecutive emails from your brand, send them an additional one with a special offer, available only to your most loyal readers.

When a video viewer keeps watching for five minutes, trigger a pop-up link within the video that unlocks additional supporting content.

The possibilities are endless, just as the content consumption journey can be when designed thoughtfully under this premise.

Keep Your Audience Coming Back

youtube

The post How to Build a Binge-Worthy and Rewarding B2B Content Strategy appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

How to Build a Binge-Worthy and Rewarding B2B Content Strategy published first on yhttps://improfitninja.blogspot.com/

0 notes

racheljhaydentx · 4 years

Text

How To Write A Blog Title That Gets Clicks

In July 2018, more than 79 million blogs were posted on WordPress, a content management system (CMS) popular with bloggers. This is more than 2.5 million blogs posted every day.

With so much competition, you need to make sure your blog post shines from the start. To do so, you need to know how to write a title.

It may seem like an easy thing to do, something to slap together right before you write or post your blog. But just as a book cover can impact sales, so too can your blog title impact how many people click on it and share it with others.

The right blog title will not only hook the reader but convey meaning in a powerful way.

If you’re ready to make your blog titles good enough to garner clicks and shares, then this guide’s for you. We’ll first cover basic guidelines and then dive into a step-by-step approach.

Keep reading to learn how to get your blogs noticed.

How To Write A Title: Basic Guidelines

Before you write the best blog you can, you’ll need a working title.

You’ll want to come up with a specific and clear working title because the fact is, titles matter. We’ll talk more about working titles soon.

Either way, your working title and final title should both aim to check all the boxes, as it were. Allowing yourself the space to play with multiple options for your title will permit you to find the best possible combination of words.

Why Titles Matter

The title of your blog post is the first introduction your potential readers receive. It’s the first impression, and we only get one chance to make those.

Whether you’re going to post your blog on social media networks, send it via email marketing, or rely on SEO (search engine optimization) to place it on SERPs (search engine results pages), it must meet certain standards in order to hook a reader.

Titles sell your content. For this reason, they must conform to the limitations of your intended media outlet.

Why Length Matters

One way a title can so conform is to be the proper length. You don’t need to worry about this so much with a working title, but you should think about it a little while drafting.

Too long and search engines will cut off letters, spaces, and maybe even whole words from your title. Too short and you’ll be unable to deliver the necessary clarity while hooking potential readers.

We’ll get more into our specific length suggestions later in this guide.

Why Word Choice Matters

Because you’re limited by length, the words you choose must be impactful. This means cutting overused words and opting for words that pack more punch.

Some examples of words you want to avoid are:

Things (too generic)

Awesome (overused)

Great (too vague–what is greatness, anyway?)

Take a look at these words, which are more powerful and unique:

Incredible

Brilliant

Painstaking

Don’t fear the thesaurus. We recommend keeping one on hand.

Whether you optimize for SEO or social media, you’ll also want to ensure you’re using the active voice. This makes your title more exciting and engaging.

Active voice also directly connects with your readers, addressing them. The active voice exists when the subject of the verb performs the action of the verb.

In other words, if you write: “15 Brands Who Aced Instagram” as part of your title, that’s in the active voice. The brands are the subject of the verb “aced” and have performed the action.

By contrast, the passive voice creates distance between your readers and your content. You want your title of all things to immediately connect with your readers.

Why Numbers Matter

If appropriate, adding a number to your title can empower it. Numbers capture the reader’s attention because they provide finite expectations.

Numbers also make a promise of value. Readers find such promises inviting, and then when you deliver, you gain credibility and authority.

Online marketing is all about building trust between consumers and your brand. Every step matters, from writing your blog post to keying into how to come up with a title.

In the next section, we’ll dig deeper to help you craft titles that will grab readers’ attention and entice them to consume your content.

6 Steps For Titling Success

Now that you know what matters in a blog title, we’ll move on to a step-by-step process for how to write the title of an article.

Where appropriate, we will specify whether a particular tip is more aligned with optimizing for search engines or for social media. Regardless of which of those you’re aiming for, you should always aim to optimize for the audience.

1. Begin With A WIP Title

Trying to write the final title before you’ve written the blog is putting the cart before the horse. For this reason, we recommend coming up with a work-in-progress title to guide your writing of your blog.

A working title differs in scope from a topic.

If, for example, you’re in finance, “Financial Trends of 2019” wouldn’t be a good working title though it may make an excellent topic. The reason for its excellence as a topic is it might generate multiple good story titles.

We say story titles because we want you to think of your working titles as a story. All content writing is storytelling in some way, even if its purpose is to educate or sell.

2. Adhere To Accuracy

Your final title must be accurate. Whatever promise it makes of your content you must deliver on in the article.

The title’s job, in part, is to establish the reader’s expectations. If your content doesn’t match those expectations, you risk losing readers’ trust.

You should avoid hyperbole and all exaggeration at all costs–especially in your title. Exaggeration is disrespectful to the readers’ experience.

You can add clarity and accuracy to your title by adding a bracketed phrase that describes the nature of your content. For example, if your blog post is an infographic, writing [Infographic] at the end of your title tells readers and search engines alike what to expect.

Incidentally, of all post types, infographics get the most shares. You might consider creating one and using the bracketed addition in your title.

3. Make It Eye-Catching

Remember at the beginning of this guide when we mentioned the millions of blog posts published each day? Your title can help you compete with the flood of daily posts if it’s eye-catching.

One way to accomplish this is to use alliteration. Alliteration catches the eye and it’s also a powerful memory tool.

Focus your title on the who of your post and not the why. For example, if you’re writing a post about brands who have benefited from services like those you provide, you’ll want to make them the center of your title instead of why they chose said service.

For this, you need to have an understanding of your buyer persona or ideal client. You should develop this understanding before you develop content, so if you’ve not taken the opportunity, now is the time.

Only then can you find the type of language and tone to appeal to them. Speaking of language, make it strong–but in moderation.

If all of your title is made up of strong language, it is like a room full of people shouting: It all becomes noise.

4. Brevity Is The Soul Of Wit

When Shakespeare wrote these immortal words, we’re sure he didn’t think of them being applied to article titles, but they ring true all the same.

The shorter your title, the more powerful it can be, but you don’t want to make it so short as to diminish meaning. The length of your title depends on what you plan to use it for.

If you want to gain attention on search engines, aim for keeping your title to 70 characters or less. Google cuts off characters after the first 70, which means your title could be truncated.

If you’re hoping your blog will perform well on Twitter, you should keep it to eight to twelve words. If you’re looking for a character guideline, stick to 130 characters or less in case tweeters want to comment on your article.

For Facebook success, it should be 12 words long–or 14 words long. Titles of those lengths perform the best on that particular social network.

We’ll talk more about optimizing for social and search in the next section. Believe it or not, there’s more to it than length.

5. Focus On Social And Search

While it’s possible to optimize your titles for either search engine rankings or social media shares, we recommend optimizing for both together. After all, why not go after two birds with one stone?

The way to do this is to make certain your title includes both a pain point and a solution. You’ll also want to research keywords your audience searches for and put them toward the beginning of your title.

We must add at this juncture that ensuring your title reads naturally is also of paramount importance. Try also to make your title entertaining.

On Facebook, users share entertaining content the most–48% of the time.

6. Two Heads Are Better Than One

Once you have your blog article written and a title crafted, we recommend sharing both with a colleague or reader you trust. First, show them the title.

Ask about their expectations. Ask them to put the title into their own words.

Ask them to rate how likely they’d be to click on that title in a search engine or in a tweet or Facebook post (or other social media post). Then, give them the blog article.

Ask them to reflect on whether or not the article fulfills the promise made by the title. Finally, ask them if the title can be strengthened.

Their answers to these questions should tell you if your title is accurate, concise, appealing, and optimized.

Recap

With an in-depth guide of this length, we’d like to provide a brief recap on how to write titles.

First, we covered basic guidelines. We discussed the importance of:

Titles

Length

Word choice

Numbers

With that understanding in mind, we dove into a six-step process for writing successful titles with the aim of getting more clicks and shares on both search engines and social media networks:

Start with a draft, work-in-progress title

Be accurate and clear

Catch your reader’s eye to make a good first impression

Keep it concise

Aim to please readers on search engines and social media networks alike

Brainstorm and seek the input of another before publishing

If, after following these steps, you still feel lost about creating titles, there are automatic blog title generators. However, you should use these with caution.

Automatic blog title generators cannot take into account your buyer persona. They can be a good starting point, but you should not consider them a replacement for all six steps.

At the very least, you should follow steps 5 and 6 manually.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to how to write a title that gets clicks and shares, we cannot understate the importance of giving this task the time and creative energy it deserves.

Think of your title like the cover of a book–and despite the old adage that we should not judge a book by its cover, we certainly do that. If we did not, bookstores–online and brick and mortar–would not display book covers.

Don’t rush the process of creating the right title. It can take as long–or longer–as crafting the blog post itself.

While this may seem strange because the blog post is so many more words, remember that in that first impression, you must convey meanings, power, and hook your reader in so few words.

Blogs and their titles are a key component of content marketing. When executed properly, they can lead to building brand awareness, trust, and increasing conversions.

If you have additional questions about crafting successful blog titles, writing blogs, or content marketing, we encourage you to contact us. We’d love to help you attract and engage new customers.

from Riserr Marketing https://riserr.com/how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks from Riserr https://riserr1.tumblr.com/post/189206083866

0 notes

thelmasirby32 · 4 years

Text

How To Write A Blog Title That Gets Clicks

In July 2018, more than 79 million blogs were posted on WordPress, a content management system (CMS) popular with bloggers. This is more than 2.5 million blogs posted every day.

With so much competition, you need to make sure your blog post shines from the start. To do so, you need to know how to write a title.

The right blog title will not only hook the reader but convey meaning in a powerful way.

If you’re ready to make your blog titles good enough to garner clicks and shares, then this guide’s for you. We’ll first cover basic guidelines and then dive into a step-by-step approach.

Keep reading to learn how to get your blogs noticed.

How To Write A Title: Basic Guidelines

Before you write the best blog you can, you’ll need a working title.

You’ll want to come up with a specific and clear working title because the fact is, titles matter. We’ll talk more about working titles soon.

Why Titles Matter

The title of your blog post is the first introduction your potential readers receive. It’s the first impression, and we only get one chance to make those.

Titles sell your content. For this reason, they must conform to the limitations of your intended media outlet.

Why Length Matters

One way a title can so conform is to be the proper length. You don’t need to worry about this so much with a working title, but you should think about it a little while drafting.

We’ll get more into our specific length suggestions later in this guide.

Why Word Choice Matters

Because you’re limited by length, the words you choose must be impactful. This means cutting overused words and opting for words that pack more punch.

Some examples of words you want to avoid are:

Things (too generic)

Awesome (overused)

Great (too vague–what is greatness, anyway?)

Take a look at these words, which are more powerful and unique:

Incredible

Brilliant

Painstaking

Don’t fear the thesaurus. We recommend keeping one on hand.

Whether you optimize for SEO or social media, you’ll also want to ensure you’re using the active voice. This makes your title more exciting and engaging.

Active voice also directly connects with your readers, addressing them. The active voice exists when the subject of the verb performs the action of the verb.

In other words, if you write: “15 Brands Who Aced Instagram” as part of your title, that’s in the active voice. The brands are the subject of the verb “aced” and have performed the action.

By contrast, the passive voice creates distance between your readers and your content. You want your title of all things to immediately connect with your readers.

Why Numbers Matter

If appropriate, adding a number to your title can empower it. Numbers capture the reader’s attention because they provide finite expectations.

Numbers also make a promise of value. Readers find such promises inviting, and then when you deliver, you gain credibility and authority.

Online marketing is all about building trust between consumers and your brand. Every step matters, from writing your blog post to keying into how to come up with a title.

In the next section, we’ll dig deeper to help you craft titles that will grab readers’ attention and entice them to consume your content.

6 Steps For Titling Success

Now that you know what matters in a blog title, we’ll move on to a step-by-step process for how to write the title of an article.

1. Begin With A WIP Title

A working title differs in scope from a topic.

We say story titles because we want you to think of your working titles as a story. All content writing is storytelling in some way, even if its purpose is to educate or sell.

2. Adhere To Accuracy

Your final title must be accurate. Whatever promise it makes of your content you must deliver on in the article.

The title’s job, in part, is to establish the reader’s expectations. If your content doesn’t match those expectations, you risk losing readers’ trust.

You should avoid hyperbole and all exaggeration at all costs–especially in your title. Exaggeration is disrespectful to the readers’ experience.

Incidentally, of all post types, infographics get the most shares. You might consider creating one and using the bracketed addition in your title.

3. Make It Eye-Catching

Remember at the beginning of this guide when we mentioned the millions of blog posts published each day? Your title can help you compete with the flood of daily posts if it’s eye-catching.

One way to accomplish this is to use alliteration. Alliteration catches the eye and it’s also a powerful memory tool.

Only then can you find the type of language and tone to appeal to them. Speaking of language, make it strong–but in moderation.

If all of your title is made up of strong language, it is like a room full of people shouting: It all becomes noise.

4. Brevity Is The Soul Of Wit

When Shakespeare wrote these immortal words, we’re sure he didn’t think of them being applied to article titles, but they ring true all the same.

The shorter your title, the more powerful it can be, but you don’t want to make it so short as to diminish meaning. The length of your title depends on what you plan to use it for.

If you want to gain attention on search engines, aim for keeping your title to 70 characters or less. Google cuts off characters after the first 70, which means your title could be truncated.

For Facebook success, it should be 12 words long–or 14 words long. Titles of those lengths perform the best on that particular social network.

We’ll talk more about optimizing for social and search in the next section. Believe it or not, there’s more to it than length.

5. Focus On Social And Search

We must add at this juncture that ensuring your title reads naturally is also of paramount importance. Try also to make your title entertaining.

On Facebook, users share entertaining content the most–48% of the time.

6. Two Heads Are Better Than One

Once you have your blog article written and a title crafted, we recommend sharing both with a colleague or reader you trust. First, show them the title.

Ask about their expectations. Ask them to put the title into their own words.

Ask them to rate how likely they’d be to click on that title in a search engine or in a tweet or Facebook post (or other social media post). Then, give them the blog article.

Ask them to reflect on whether or not the article fulfills the promise made by the title. Finally, ask them if the title can be strengthened.

Their answers to these questions should tell you if your title is accurate, concise, appealing, and optimized.

Recap

With an in-depth guide of this length, we’d like to provide a brief recap on how to write titles.

First, we covered basic guidelines. We discussed the importance of:

Titles

Length

Word choice

Numbers

With that understanding in mind, we dove into a six-step process for writing successful titles with the aim of getting more clicks and shares on both search engines and social media networks:

Start with a draft, work-in-progress title

Be accurate and clear

Catch your reader’s eye to make a good first impression

Keep it concise

Aim to please readers on search engines and social media networks alike

Brainstorm and seek the input of another before publishing

If, after following these steps, you still feel lost about creating titles, there are automatic blog title generators. However, you should use these with caution.

Automatic blog title generators cannot take into account your buyer persona. They can be a good starting point, but you should not consider them a replacement for all six steps.

At the very least, you should follow steps 5 and 6 manually.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to how to write a title that gets clicks and shares, we cannot understate the importance of giving this task the time and creative energy it deserves.

Don’t rush the process of creating the right title. It can take as long–or longer–as crafting the blog post itself.

While this may seem strange because the blog post is so many more words, remember that in that first impression, you must convey meanings, power, and hook your reader in so few words.

Blogs and their titles are a key component of content marketing. When executed properly, they can lead to building brand awareness, trust, and increasing conversions.

If you have additional questions about crafting successful blog titles, writing blogs, or content marketing, we encourage you to contact us. We’d love to help you attract and engage new customers.

Source: https://riserr.com/how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks

from Riserr https://riserr.wordpress.com/2019/11/21/how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks/

0 notes

riserr1 · 4 years

Text

How To Write A Blog Title That Gets Clicks

In July 2018, more than 79 million blogs were posted on WordPress, a content management system (CMS) popular with bloggers. This is more than 2.5 million blogs posted every day.

With so much competition, you need to make sure your blog post shines from the start. To do so, you need to know how to write a title.

The right blog title will not only hook the reader but convey meaning in a powerful way.

If you’re ready to make your blog titles good enough to garner clicks and shares, then this guide’s for you. We’ll first cover basic guidelines and then dive into a step-by-step approach.

Keep reading to learn how to get your blogs noticed.

How To Write A Title: Basic Guidelines

Before you write the best blog you can, you’ll need a working title.

You’ll want to come up with a specific and clear working title because the fact is, titles matter. We’ll talk more about working titles soon.

Why Titles Matter

The title of your blog post is the first introduction your potential readers receive. It’s the first impression, and we only get one chance to make those.

Titles sell your content. For this reason, they must conform to the limitations of your intended media outlet.

Why Length Matters

One way a title can so conform is to be the proper length. You don’t need to worry about this so much with a working title, but you should think about it a little while drafting.

We’ll get more into our specific length suggestions later in this guide.

Why Word Choice Matters

Because you’re limited by length, the words you choose must be impactful. This means cutting overused words and opting for words that pack more punch.

Some examples of words you want to avoid are:

Things (too generic)

Awesome (overused)

Great (too vague–what is greatness, anyway?)

Take a look at these words, which are more powerful and unique:

Incredible

Brilliant

Painstaking

Don’t fear the thesaurus. We recommend keeping one on hand.

Whether you optimize for SEO or social media, you’ll also want to ensure you’re using the active voice. This makes your title more exciting and engaging.

Active voice also directly connects with your readers, addressing them. The active voice exists when the subject of the verb performs the action of the verb.

In other words, if you write: “15 Brands Who Aced Instagram” as part of your title, that’s in the active voice. The brands are the subject of the verb “aced” and have performed the action.

By contrast, the passive voice creates distance between your readers and your content. You want your title of all things to immediately connect with your readers.

Why Numbers Matter

If appropriate, adding a number to your title can empower it. Numbers capture the reader’s attention because they provide finite expectations.

Numbers also make a promise of value. Readers find such promises inviting, and then when you deliver, you gain credibility and authority.

Online marketing is all about building trust between consumers and your brand. Every step matters, from writing your blog post to keying into how to come up with a title.

In the next section, we’ll dig deeper to help you craft titles that will grab readers’ attention and entice them to consume your content.

6 Steps For Titling Success

Now that you know what matters in a blog title, we’ll move on to a step-by-step process for how to write the title of an article.

1. Begin With A WIP Title

A working title differs in scope from a topic.

We say story titles because we want you to think of your working titles as a story. All content writing is storytelling in some way, even if its purpose is to educate or sell.

2. Adhere To Accuracy

Your final title must be accurate. Whatever promise it makes of your content you must deliver on in the article.

The title’s job, in part, is to establish the reader’s expectations. If your content doesn’t match those expectations, you risk losing readers’ trust.

You should avoid hyperbole and all exaggeration at all costs–especially in your title. Exaggeration is disrespectful to the readers’ experience.

Incidentally, of all post types, infographics get the most shares. You might consider creating one and using the bracketed addition in your title.

3. Make It Eye-Catching

Remember at the beginning of this guide when we mentioned the millions of blog posts published each day? Your title can help you compete with the flood of daily posts if it’s eye-catching.

One way to accomplish this is to use alliteration. Alliteration catches the eye and it’s also a powerful memory tool.

Only then can you find the type of language and tone to appeal to them. Speaking of language, make it strong–but in moderation.

If all of your title is made up of strong language, it is like a room full of people shouting: It all becomes noise.

4. Brevity Is The Soul Of Wit

When Shakespeare wrote these immortal words, we’re sure he didn’t think of them being applied to article titles, but they ring true all the same.

The shorter your title, the more powerful it can be, but you don’t want to make it so short as to diminish meaning. The length of your title depends on what you plan to use it for.

If you want to gain attention on search engines, aim for keeping your title to 70 characters or less. Google cuts off characters after the first 70, which means your title could be truncated.

For Facebook success, it should be 12 words long–or 14 words long. Titles of those lengths perform the best on that particular social network.

We’ll talk more about optimizing for social and search in the next section. Believe it or not, there’s more to it than length.

5. Focus On Social And Search

We must add at this juncture that ensuring your title reads naturally is also of paramount importance. Try also to make your title entertaining.

On Facebook, users share entertaining content the most–48% of the time.

6. Two Heads Are Better Than One

Once you have your blog article written and a title crafted, we recommend sharing both with a colleague or reader you trust. First, show them the title.

Ask about their expectations. Ask them to put the title into their own words.

Ask them to rate how likely they’d be to click on that title in a search engine or in a tweet or Facebook post (or other social media post). Then, give them the blog article.

Ask them to reflect on whether or not the article fulfills the promise made by the title. Finally, ask them if the title can be strengthened.

Their answers to these questions should tell you if your title is accurate, concise, appealing, and optimized.

Recap

With an in-depth guide of this length, we’d like to provide a brief recap on how to write titles.

First, we covered basic guidelines. We discussed the importance of:

Titles

Length

Word choice

Numbers

With that understanding in mind, we dove into a six-step process for writing successful titles with the aim of getting more clicks and shares on both search engines and social media networks:

Start with a draft, work-in-progress title

Be accurate and clear

Catch your reader’s eye to make a good first impression

Keep it concise

Aim to please readers on search engines and social media networks alike

Brainstorm and seek the input of another before publishing

If, after following these steps, you still feel lost about creating titles, there are automatic blog title generators. However, you should use these with caution.

Automatic blog title generators cannot take into account your buyer persona. They can be a good starting point, but you should not consider them a replacement for all six steps.

At the very least, you should follow steps 5 and 6 manually.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to how to write a title that gets clicks and shares, we cannot understate the importance of giving this task the time and creative energy it deserves.

Don’t rush the process of creating the right title. It can take as long–or longer–as crafting the blog post itself.

While this may seem strange because the blog post is so many more words, remember that in that first impression, you must convey meanings, power, and hook your reader in so few words.

Blogs and their titles are a key component of content marketing. When executed properly, they can lead to building brand awareness, trust, and increasing conversions.

If you have additional questions about crafting successful blog titles, writing blogs, or content marketing, we encourage you to contact us. We’d love to help you attract and engage new customers.

from Riserr Marketing https://riserr.com/how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks

0 notes

williamlwolf89 · 4 years

Text

How To Write A Blog Title That Gets Clicks

In July 2018, more than 79 million blogs were posted on WordPress, a content management system (CMS) popular with bloggers. This is more than 2.5 million blogs posted every day.

With so much competition, you need to make sure your blog post shines from the start. To do so, you need to know how to write a title.

The right blog title will not only hook the reader but convey meaning in a powerful way.

If you’re ready to make your blog titles good enough to garner clicks and shares, then this guide’s for you. We’ll first cover basic guidelines and then dive into a step-by-step approach.

Keep reading to learn how to get your blogs noticed.

How To Write A Title: Basic Guidelines

Before you write the best blog you can, you’ll need a working title.

You’ll want to come up with a specific and clear working title because the fact is, titles matter. We’ll talk more about working titles soon.

Why Titles Matter

The title of your blog post is the first introduction your potential readers receive. It’s the first impression, and we only get one chance to make those.

Titles sell your content. For this reason, they must conform to the limitations of your intended media outlet.

Why Length Matters

One way a title can so conform is to be the proper length. You don’t need to worry about this so much with a working title, but you should think about it a little while drafting.

We’ll get more into our specific length suggestions later in this guide.

Why Word Choice Matters

Because you’re limited by length, the words you choose must be impactful. This means cutting overused words and opting for words that pack more punch.

Some examples of words you want to avoid are:

Things (too generic)

Awesome (overused)

Great (too vague–what is greatness, anyway?)

Take a look at these words, which are more powerful and unique:

Incredible

Brilliant

Painstaking

Don’t fear the thesaurus. We recommend keeping one on hand.

Whether you optimize for SEO or social media, you’ll also want to ensure you’re using the active voice. This makes your title more exciting and engaging.

Active voice also directly connects with your readers, addressing them. The active voice exists when the subject of the verb performs the action of the verb.

In other words, if you write: “15 Brands Who Aced Instagram” as part of your title, that’s in the active voice. The brands are the subject of the verb “aced” and have performed the action.

By contrast, the passive voice creates distance between your readers and your content. You want your title of all things to immediately connect with your readers.

Why Numbers Matter

If appropriate, adding a number to your title can empower it. Numbers capture the reader’s attention because they provide finite expectations.

Numbers also make a promise of value. Readers find such promises inviting, and then when you deliver, you gain credibility and authority.

Online marketing is all about building trust between consumers and your brand. Every step matters, from writing your blog post to keying into how to come up with a title.

In the next section, we’ll dig deeper to help you craft titles that will grab readers’ attention and entice them to consume your content.

6 Steps For Titling Success

Now that you know what matters in a blog title, we’ll move on to a step-by-step process for how to write the title of an article.

1. Begin With A WIP Title

A working title differs in scope from a topic.

We say story titles because we want you to think of your working titles as a story. All content writing is storytelling in some way, even if its purpose is to educate or sell.

2. Adhere To Accuracy

Your final title must be accurate. Whatever promise it makes of your content you must deliver on in the article.

The title’s job, in part, is to establish the reader’s expectations. If your content doesn’t match those expectations, you risk losing readers’ trust.

You should avoid hyperbole and all exaggeration at all costs–especially in your title. Exaggeration is disrespectful to the readers’ experience.

Incidentally, of all post types, infographics get the most shares. You might consider creating one and using the bracketed addition in your title.

3. Make It Eye-Catching

Remember at the beginning of this guide when we mentioned the millions of blog posts published each day? Your title can help you compete with the flood of daily posts if it’s eye-catching.

One way to accomplish this is to use alliteration. Alliteration catches the eye and it’s also a powerful memory tool.

Only then can you find the type of language and tone to appeal to them. Speaking of language, make it strong–but in moderation.

If all of your title is made up of strong language, it is like a room full of people shouting: It all becomes noise.

4. Brevity Is The Soul Of Wit

When Shakespeare wrote these immortal words, we’re sure he didn’t think of them being applied to article titles, but they ring true all the same.

The shorter your title, the more powerful it can be, but you don’t want to make it so short as to diminish meaning. The length of your title depends on what you plan to use it for.

If you want to gain attention on search engines, aim for keeping your title to 70 characters or less. Google cuts off characters after the first 70, which means your title could be truncated.

For Facebook success, it should be 12 words long–or 14 words long. Titles of those lengths perform the best on that particular social network.

We’ll talk more about optimizing for social and search in the next section. Believe it or not, there’s more to it than length.

5. Focus On Social And Search

We must add at this juncture that ensuring your title reads naturally is also of paramount importance. Try also to make your title entertaining.

On Facebook, users share entertaining content the most–48% of the time.

6. Two Heads Are Better Than One

Once you have your blog article written and a title crafted, we recommend sharing both with a colleague or reader you trust. First, show them the title.

Ask about their expectations. Ask them to put the title into their own words.

Ask them to rate how likely they’d be to click on that title in a search engine or in a tweet or Facebook post (or other social media post). Then, give them the blog article.

Ask them to reflect on whether or not the article fulfills the promise made by the title. Finally, ask them if the title can be strengthened.

Their answers to these questions should tell you if your title is accurate, concise, appealing, and optimized.

Recap

With an in-depth guide of this length, we’d like to provide a brief recap on how to write titles.

First, we covered basic guidelines. We discussed the importance of:

Titles

Length

Word choice

Numbers

With that understanding in mind, we dove into a six-step process for writing successful titles with the aim of getting more clicks and shares on both search engines and social media networks:

Start with a draft, work-in-progress title

Be accurate and clear

Catch your reader’s eye to make a good first impression

Keep it concise

Aim to please readers on search engines and social media networks alike

Brainstorm and seek the input of another before publishing

If, after following these steps, you still feel lost about creating titles, there are automatic blog title generators. However, you should use these with caution.

Automatic blog title generators cannot take into account your buyer persona. They can be a good starting point, but you should not consider them a replacement for all six steps.

At the very least, you should follow steps 5 and 6 manually.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to how to write a title that gets clicks and shares, we cannot understate the importance of giving this task the time and creative energy it deserves.

Don’t rush the process of creating the right title. It can take as long–or longer–as crafting the blog post itself.

While this may seem strange because the blog post is so many more words, remember that in that first impression, you must convey meanings, power, and hook your reader in so few words.

Blogs and their titles are a key component of content marketing. When executed properly, they can lead to building brand awareness, trust, and increasing conversions.

If you have additional questions about crafting successful blog titles, writing blogs, or content marketing, we encourage you to contact us. We’d love to help you attract and engage new customers.

from https://riserr.com/how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks

from Riserr - Blog https://riserr.weebly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks

0 notes

seattleseo1 · 6 years

Text

How To Write A Blog Title That Gets Clicks

In July 2018, more than 79 million blogs were posted on WordPress, a content management system (CMS) popular with bloggers. This is more than 2.5 million blogs posted every day.

With so much competition, you need to make sure your blog post shines from the start. To do so, you need to know how to write a title.

The right blog title will not only hook the reader but convey meaning in a powerful way.

If you’re ready to make your blog titles good enough to garner clicks and shares, then this guide’s for you. We’ll first cover basic guidelines and then dive into a step-by-step approach.

Keep reading to learn how to get your blogs noticed.

How To Write A Title: Basic Guidelines

Before you write the best blog you can, you’ll need a working title.

You’ll want to come up with a specific and clear working title because the fact is, titles matter. We’ll talk more about working titles soon.

Why Titles Matter

The title of your blog post is the first introduction your potential readers receive. It’s the first impression, and we only get one chance to make those.

Titles sell your content. For this reason, they must conform to the limitations of your intended media outlet.

Why Length Matters

One way a title can so conform is to be the proper length. You don’t need to worry about this so much with a working title, but you should think about it a little while drafting.

We’ll get more into our specific length suggestions later in this guide.

Why Word Choice Matters

Because you’re limited by length, the words you choose must be impactful. This means cutting overused words and opting for words that pack more punch.

Some examples of words you want to avoid are:

Things (too generic)

Awesome (overused)

Great (too vague–what is greatness, anyway?)

Take a look at these words, which are more powerful and unique:

Incredible

Brilliant

Painstaking

Don’t fear the thesaurus. We recommend keeping one on hand.

Whether you optimize for SEO or social media, you’ll also want to ensure you’re using the active voice. This makes your title more exciting and engaging.

Active voice also directly connects with your readers, addressing them. The active voice exists when the subject of the verb performs the action of the verb.

In other words, if you write: “15 Brands Who Aced Instagram” as part of your title, that’s in the active voice. The brands are the subject of the verb “aced” and have performed the action.

By contrast, the passive voice creates distance between your readers and your content. You want your title of all things to immediately connect with your readers.

Why Numbers Matter

If appropriate, adding a number to your title can empower it. Numbers capture the reader’s attention because they provide finite expectations.

Numbers also make a promise of value. Readers find such promises inviting, and then when you deliver, you gain credibility and authority.

Online marketing is all about building trust between consumers and your brand. Every step matters, from writing your blog post to keying into how to come up with a title.

In the next section, we’ll dig deeper to help you craft titles that will grab readers’ attention and entice them to consume your content.

6 Steps For Titling Success

Now that you know what matters in a blog title, we’ll move on to a step-by-step process for how to write the title of an article.

1. Begin With A WIP Title

A working title differs in scope from a topic.

We say story titles because we want you to think of your working titles as a story. All content writing is storytelling in some way, even if its purpose is to educate or sell.

2. Adhere To Accuracy

Your final title must be accurate. Whatever promise it makes of your content you must deliver on in the article.

The title’s job, in part, is to establish the reader’s expectations. If your content doesn’t match those expectations, you risk losing readers’ trust.

You should avoid hyperbole and all exaggeration at all costs–especially in your title. Exaggeration is disrespectful to the readers’ experience.

Incidentally, of all post types, infographics get the most shares. You might consider creating one and using the bracketed addition in your title.

3. Make It Eye-Catching

Remember at the beginning of this guide when we mentioned the millions of blog posts published each day? Your title can help you compete with the flood of daily posts if it’s eye-catching.

One way to accomplish this is to use alliteration. Alliteration catches the eye and it’s also a powerful memory tool.

Only then can you find the type of language and tone to appeal to them. Speaking of language, make it strong–but in moderation.

If all of your title is made up of strong language, it is like a room full of people shouting: It all becomes noise.

4. Brevity Is The Soul Of Wit

When Shakespeare wrote these immortal words, we’re sure he didn’t think of them being applied to article titles, but they ring true all the same.

The shorter your title, the more powerful it can be, but you don’t want to make it so short as to diminish meaning. The length of your title depends on what you plan to use it for.

If you want to gain attention on search engines, aim for keeping your title to 70 characters or less. Google cuts off characters after the first 70, which means your title could be truncated.

For Facebook success, it should be 12 words long–or 14 words long. Titles of those lengths perform the best on that particular social network.

We’ll talk more about optimizing for social and search in the next section. Believe it or not, there’s more to it than length.

5. Focus On Social And Search

We must add at this juncture that ensuring your title reads naturally is also of paramount importance. Try also to make your title entertaining.

On Facebook, users share entertaining content the most–48% of the time.

6. Two Heads Are Better Than One

Once you have your blog article written and a title crafted, we recommend sharing both with a colleague or reader you trust. First, show them the title.

Ask about their expectations. Ask them to put the title into their own words.

Ask them to rate how likely they’d be to click on that title in a search engine or in a tweet or Facebook post (or other social media post). Then, give them the blog article.

Ask them to reflect on whether or not the article fulfills the promise made by the title. Finally, ask them if the title can be strengthened.

Their answers to these questions should tell you if your title is accurate, concise, appealing, and optimized.

Recap

With an in-depth guide of this length, we’d like to provide a brief recap on how to write titles.

First, we covered basic guidelines. We discussed the importance of:

Titles

Length

Word choice

Numbers

With that understanding in mind, we dove into a six-step process for writing successful titles with the aim of getting more clicks and shares on both search engines and social media networks:

Start with a draft, work-in-progress title

Be accurate and clear

Catch your reader’s eye to make a good first impression

Keep it concise

Aim to please readers on search engines and social media networks alike

Brainstorm and seek the input of another before publishing

If, after following these steps, you still feel lost about creating titles, there are automatic blog title generators. However, you should use these with caution.

Automatic blog title generators cannot take into account your buyer persona. They can be a good starting point, but you should not consider them a replacement for all six steps.

At the very least, you should follow steps 5 and 6 manually.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to how to write a title that gets clicks and shares, we cannot understate the importance of giving this task the time and creative energy it deserves.

Don’t rush the process of creating the right title. It can take as long–or longer–as crafting the blog post itself.

While this may seem strange because the blog post is so many more words, remember that in that first impression, you must convey meanings, power, and hook your reader in so few words.

Blogs and their titles are a key component of content marketing. When executed properly, they can lead to building brand awareness, trust, and increasing conversions.

If you have additional questions about crafting successful blog titles, writing blogs, or content marketing, we encourage you to contact us. We’d love to help you attract and engage new customers.

The post How To Write A Blog Title That Gets Clicks appeared first on TopSpot SEM Online Marketing Services Seattle.

from WordPress http://topspotsem.com/how-to-write-a-blog-title-that-gets-clicks/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

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topicprinter · 6 years

Link

This is a short guide to give you some actionable steps to get started making money online so you can quit your job and start doing whatever the hell you want with your life.Why am I doing this?Because there’s so much misinformation out there on the world wide web… It can be so confusing to know where to begin. It’s often too difficult to know who to believe, what to do, which industry is best for beginners, and how you can actually begin making money.I know it’s confusing because I was in your shoes not so long ago. Let me give you a brief introduction to me and how I got to where I am today:I joined the US Army three years ago.Almost immediately, I knew it was not for me. You see, the military is an amazing experience and it has provided me with great opportunity, cash flow to get my life started, leadership positions, and some fantastic friends.For many people, the military is an incredible career.My story is a bit different…Almost immediately after joining, I started having issues. My first job was working inside a Brigade operations center (if you’ve been in the military, I was an S3 ops officer). For most people, something like this wouldn’t be an issue. For me, it was a nightmare.Noises seemed to bother me more than the average person.If someone was talking on the phone while I was trying to get work done, I couldn’t focus.If coworkers were having a conversation next to me while I was trying to get home to my wife, I felt like my head was going to explode… I couldn’t focus.For about a year and a half, I was wondering what was “wrong” with me… Why was I different than my coworkers? Why did they all seem totally fine at work throughout the day? Were they out of their minds? Was I the one who was “crazy”?It was a really confusing and dark period in my life… My relationship with my wife was deteriorating because I would come home from work every day in a horrible mood. What little time we had together was disconnected and beginning to turn into an unhealthy relationship. Honestly, I was not treating her well… I would come home from work absolutely exhausted and I’d take out frustration on her in passive aggressive ways that would never happen today.Thankfully, we got to the bottom of the issue. Thanks to working with amazing counselors, connecting with great online resources, and leaning into my relationships as best as I could, we figured out what was going on:I’m autistic.Do you know much about autism? I could write a full book on that (probably will someday!) alone but I’ll just give you a brief rundown:Basically, I have intense “sensory overwhelm” issues… What does that mean? Noises are more intense for me than the average person… I’m more sensitive to smells, tastes, uncomfortable clothing, heat, cold, and just about everything else.For us folks on the spectrum, life is more intense.This is why a 9-5 office job is not an option for me.For some people, becoming an entrepreneur and starting a business is a nice idea… Average Joe might daydream about working from home but never take much action in that direction. Why? Because their job is fine! They are comfortable! Life is good! There is no deep motivation to make a change.For people like me, entreprepreneurship is a necessity.I realized that if I didn’t make it as an entrepreneur, my life would be miserable…I simply can’t function in a normal job like most people. I had to do something.So I did!Through ALOT of trial and error, I was finally able to start making money online. Let me breakdown the process that worked for me. I strongly believe that this is a bulletproof model that someone could use to quit a 9-5 job and start earning enough cash to support themselves online.The process I’m going to outline assumes that you have a full-time job that pays your bills. I’m also assuming you have roughly 4-6 hours of free time in your day where you could start/run a business… If you are rolling your eyes at this part and thinking “Oh but i’ve got a family!” or “Oh but I go out with my friends at night!”...Listen. Do you want this?Do you REALLY want to develop the skills you need to work online?If not, that’s OK! Again, for many people, a 9-5 job can be great!However, if you’re someone like me who simply can’t tolerate their job and needs a way out, this guide will help.There is always a way.There is always enough time in the day to accomplish whatever the fuck you want to do.You need to prioritize, take action, and work your ass off every free moment you’ve got.There are no shortcuts.I’m not going to lie to you… It is not easy. If you want to have real success, you have to be willing to sacrifice, put in the work, and dedicate yourself to whatever you’re doing.There are no get rich quick schemes… Anyone who tells you differently is either lying or never did it themselves.Here’s what works:Step 1: Start a passion project and DEVELOP A SKILL.What’s a passion project? Can be anything.It can be a podcast (that’s what I did!).Maybe a YouTube channel?Twitch streaming is exploding these days! Maybe give that a try? Twitch is not just for video gamers these days… Their platform is expanding and looking to compete with YouTube.Maybe start a blog if you’re a good writer?Here’s the secret: IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU DO.All you are looking to do is develop skills.That being said, if your 9-5 job is already dealing with something you think can be turned into some sort of business (for example, you work in the marketing department at a large corporation), you’ve got a bit of a shortcut. When I started, I had ZERO skills. I was a 22 year old kid with no real experience, no real skills, and a ton of mental health issues… All I had was a passion for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu! I started the Mat-Tricks BJJ Podcast and got to work.For every type of passion project, there are associated skills.Let’s do a case study: Let’s say you decide to start a YouTube channel about your favorite hobby (let’s use Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as an example because that’s what I did!).You start filming yourself doing some Jiu-Jitsu techniques with your friends. Let’s say you come up with 10 videos you think are pretty good.Now you need to edit those videos. It’s time for you to hop on iMovie, Adobe Premier, or another video editing software… You start playing around. Your first few videos will SUCK. That’s OK! Everyone’s first stuff sucks :) My first podcasts were horrible! You can’t even find them online anymore because I’m so embarrassed by that content haha.This is part of the process… You will spend a few weeks or months going from “sucking” to “pretty good” at whatever it is you’re doing.Let’s say you’ve practiced editing videos for a few weeks and you finally have a few that you think might look good on YouTube.Now you need to learn about how to rank videos on YouTube. To do this successfully, you will need to learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and also a bit about writing copy (copy is words that get people to take a certain action - in this case, watch the video!).Your first few videos will probably be seen by hardly anyone… Again, this is normal.Eventually, you’ll realize that you’re going to need some social media skills if you want to get anywhere.To help promote your new YouTube channel, you make a Facebook page. You also make an Instagram account. You start writing some posts, getting some of your friends and family to like/follow your pages, and start getting your first fans!Oh! I almost forgot! You’ve also gotta make your YouTube channel look good!This means designing some cover art (canva.com is badass for this), recording/editing a channel introduction video, creating some playlists, and a few other things.After a few weeks/months of learning all about YouTube channel optimization, social media marketing, search engine optimization, and video editing, you’re starting to get some traction!Finally, one day, it’ll happen.You’ll have a video that does pretty well!!!Instead of your usual 100 views, you manage to get shared around by a few of your new fans! You start getting some extra views, people start commenting on the video and saying “this is great!” and stuff like that, and your video starts ranking higher on YouTube because of the traction.Now you’re starting to get around 1,000 views a video! More subscribers start to show up and suddenly you start realizing that you have fans that you’ve never met in real life.Congrats, this is your first real breakthrough and it’s damn hard to get here… Most people give up before this point and go back to trying to climb the corporate ladder.Here’s the thing: you might think you’re starting a YouTube channel… Although that’s true, what you’re really doing is developing skills you can leverage into legit money making activities.Using our YouTube channel example, here’s a breakdown of the skills you’ve developed so far. Each one of these is worth big money if you take the time to become a real master.Video editingSearch engine optimizationCopywritingSocial media marketingGraphic design (cover art and YouTube thumbnails!)If you started a podcast instead of a YouTube channel, you’ve been practicing audio engineering, interviewing, social media marketing, and maybe you’ve started venturing into a bit of email marketing.Maybe you started a blog? Congrats! You’ve been working on developing writing skills, search engine optimization, copywriting, website design, and more!You get the point.For every passion project, there are skills that go hand in hand. Those skills are extremely valuable. This brings us to step two.Step 2: Start building a portfolio around your favorite skill.Let’s stick with our YouTube channel example.So now you’ve got some skills!Here’s the thing: you won’t enjoy most of them. You will realize quickly that one or two of your new skills are clear favorites over the others. For example, let’s say you realize you don’t enjoy editing videos… In fact, you’ve decided that you’re going to hire someone as soon as you possibly can to edit videos for you… That’s the thing about starting out: in the beginning, you’ll have to do everything yourself, even the stuff you hate. It’s almost a rite of passage amongst entrepreneurs.That’s why it’s a great idea to partner up with a friend to get started!However, this guide is assuming you’re in this alone, like I was.So you’ve found that you don’t like editing videos but you LOVE writing posts on social media… In fact, you’ve found that you’re pretty good at it! Your small following is liking, sharing, and commenting on your posts. When you see your friends in person, they say things like “great post you made on Facebook yesterday”... Stuff like that.You also find you enjoy designing the thumbnails for the YouTube videos! Whenever it’s time to open up canva.com and design a new thumbnail, you spend way more time than is necessary just because you love what you’re doing.Social media marketing and graphic design are both incredibly valuable skills in today’s market.Time for you to start building a portfolio around those two skills so you can start making some money.If you want to quit your job, you need money ASAP.Here’s the hard truth: you will not make money quickly off your passion project alone.It is a long grind to monetize a YouTube channel… You need a lot of subscribers before you can start making a reliable living off selling merchandise, creating content on a service like Patreon, sponsorships, or YouTube ads… This is a side note but currently a lot of YouTube content creators are struggling because YouTube ads are starting to pay much less money than they did in the past (I won’t get into the details here… Just look it up on YouTube if you’re interested!).If you want to make money quickly, you need to create a business around your skill set and use your passion project as practice.How do you do this? Start networking!If you want to get anywhere in business, you will quickly realize that networking is one of the most important skills you can develop.Don’t think networking is a skill? Think again. Networking is probably the most profitable and important skill you will ever develop.If you can talk to the right person at the right time and have the right conversation, you can accomplish just about anything… Assuming you know your shit!That’s the hard part: knowing your shit… Hence why you’re practicing hard on your passion project!Networking might come easily to you. Maybe you already have quite a few friends who own businesses? If not, start meeting small business owners.What’s the best way to do this? Use your passion project!Using our YouTube channel example: start collaborating with other content creators.In any niche you go into, there are thousands of content creators… Some of them will be way out of your reach (unless you’re lucky and in the right place at the right time!) but many are people who are just a few months ahead of where you’re at. Many of these folks have found ways to start making some money, although they probably are not making a large amount… Again, they are maybe 8-12 months ahead of you.Connect with these people. Invite them to do a YouTube video with you! If they say no, move on to the next person. Eventually, several will say yes.How do you reach these people? Easier than you think if they aren’t too big. Usually, if you just send them a message over social media, they’ll respond. Eventually, you’ll start reaching out to some more influential people in your industry (which is way more complex) but that’s down the road.Start getting to know them. Become friends! Do not rush this process. Do not be fake. Be a real person. Just be yourself!Start growing your network and getting more involved in your niche. How long will this take? It depends! If you love talking to people (like I do), it might take a couple of weeks. If you’re shy and it’s tough for you to break out of your shell (which is OK!), it might take longer. Be patient, know yourself, and be natural.Once you have a few friends who have actual businesses, offer to help them out for free.“What!?!?! For free!??! But where’s the $$$??”Yes, work for free.Again, this guide is assuming you’re starting off like I did: you’re a total beginner! You’re a nobody.Working for free helps you build up a network of people who will vouch for your work.This is HUGE. It is absolutely essential if you want to go from zero to hero.I started out by helping local Jiu-Jitsu academy owners run their social media pages.Once you have 2-3 people who you’ve been helping for a few weeks/months, it’s time to go to step three… The one where you finally make some dough.Step 3: Make some dough.Let’s recap your progress so far:You now have a portfolio of 2-3 business owners who will vouch for your work.You are still hustling on your passion project and putting our consistent content.You are developing your favorite skills and learning all you can.You are continuing to network your ass off however you can.You still work at your job to pay the bills.Ok, time to make some $$$.Time to leverage your portfolio into bigger opportunities.If you’ve been working hard and networking your ass off, people will come to you!That’s what happened to me. My first client for social media marketing reached out to me and asked if I wanted to work for him as a social media manager. I didn’t have to sell him on anything! He wanted me!Why? Because I had been putting out consistent content on social media for almost a year.I had been putting out one podcast every single week for that same time period.Finally, after about 11 months, I was going to get paid. I had finally developed my skills to a point where they were worth money.Will it take you this long? It all depends on you… Again, I was a young kid who knew absolutely nothing. Like I said before, if you already have some skills from your 9-5 job, this process won’t take nearly as long. You’re already experienced!What if they don’t come to you?That’s when it’s time for you to develop a new skill: Sales.Start reaching out to people in your network who you KNOW you can help.If you want to become a social media manager (which is one of the things I do!), start looking at the Facebook pages of people in your network.If you’ve developed your skills to a certain point, you will be able to quickly see who actually knows what they’re doing.Let’s say you find a friend who 1. Owns a business and 2. Clearly doesn’t know what they’re doing with social media… What do you do?Do you message them and say “Hey pay me $1000 a month and i’ll fix your Facebook page!”NOPE!Message them and point out what they’re doing wrong in a really nice way.Maybe something like this:“Hey man! I noticed you’ve been sharing a lot of links lately on your Facebook page… I absolutely love your content and I know that Facebook doesn’t show your content to a lot of people if you’re sharing a lot of links. It reduces your organic reach! If you want your content to be shown to more people, post the links in the comments instead of the post itself!”Maybe they’ll say “Thanks” and never talk to you again.If that happens, onto the next person!You’re looking for that person who says something like this:“Dude thank you so much… Honestly, I’ve got no time for social media. I’m so busy these days running the business that social media isn’t a priority… I know it’s important but I just don’t have the time to learn.”Some variation of that.So what do you do next?Do you say “Pay me $1000 a month and I’ll solve all your problems??”NOPE!Something like this is better:“Man I know how hard it is to get ahead these days… Social media is super confusing at times… I’ve been in the social media game for the past year and it’s tough to stay ahead! Thankfully I get a lot of practice helping out *insert name of one of the people you help for free*”What did you do here?You just wrote something that we call a “brand building message/post”.Basically, some sort of message or post that tells people 1. What you do. 2. How long you’ve been doing it and 3. Who you’ve been helping… All without going over the top and being obnoxious!If you’re talking to the right person, this might be all you need to do. That might be enough for them to want to hire you.However, sometimes you might have to get them on a call.Maybe ask them to hop on a skype or phone call to see if you can give them some tips?“Hey man, I know social media is tough. Want to hop on a call? I’ll share some of the tips I’ve picked up that will save you a lot of time.”If they agree, get on the call and start dropping KNOWLEDGE BOMBS.Share everything you know for as long as the call lasts. Don’t hold anything back.Outline every single little thing they should be doing to expand their social media presence. If you’ve successfully worked hard on your skills, you should have enough information to blow their minds.If you don’t blow their minds, you either aren’t talking to the right person or you need to go back to practicing.If you’ve done everything in this guide correctly up to this point, you’ll blow some minds.So how do you “close the deal?”Well, before you ever hopped on the call, you should have first taken some time to figure out what you deserve to be paid for this service.My first paying gig was $500 a month. Why so low? Because that is what the people in my network could afford to pay.Again, you’re new. You might not have reached a point where you’re rubbing shoulders with people running multi-million dollar businesses.If you have, then ask for more!You have to realize that your skills are incredibly valuable. If you have truly put in the work to become an expert, you deserve the money… Even though you haven’t made any up to this point!If you’re an amazing video editor, you can help your clients create professional and amazing videos that will help them make hundreds of thousands of dollars if they use those videos correctly.If you’re an incredible social media manager, you can help your clients build a massive audience, sell more products, signup more clients, and take their business to the next level.If you’re a fantastic graphic designer, you could partner with a t-shirt company and design shirts that sell like crazy.Your skills are worth REAL FUCKING MONEY.That being said, you have to charge what the people in your network can actually afford.If you are talking to someone owning a business that is doing under $300k in annual revenue, they probably cannot afford to pay you $1k per month. That is OK!If you want to make more money, you’ll have to start networking with some more successful people. That comes with time… It might take a little while to start meeting and connecting with the people in your industry who can afford to pay you the big bucks. Again, be patient, work hard, and keep hustling.As I’ve said before, this guide is assuming you’re a complete beginner with no skills and zero network whose desperate to quit your job and start working online.So back to our call.Let’s say you know that your client can probably afford around $500 a month.You’ve spent thirty minutes on the call sharing everything you know… They’re clearly interested, taking notes, and saying things like “wow, this is great!”... You are going strong!Do you say “Hey man, if you want to hear more, you’re going to have to pay up! $500!!!”Nope.YOU WAIT FOR THEM TO ASK YOU HOW MUCH YOU CHARGE.Again, they already know what you do.They’re not stupid.At some point in the call, they’re going to say something like “Alright, this is awesome, clearly we need to work together. What do you charge?”That’s when you say $500.If you follow this process correctly, the client will sell themselves on your service.If you’re a beginner, I recommend this is the process you take. As you gain experience, you can be less generous with your time. However, if you’re new, that’s still a ways away.The process I’ve found that works the best for selling your skills is to provide free advice until they realize they need you around in a more permanent capacity.If you’re talking with the right person at the right time, you should have yourself your first actual client. Congrats!!! This is a huge step. Now you’re ready for the final step: the big bucks.Step 4: The big bucks.So now you’re finally making some money!You finally have a paying client.Do you still keep helping the other people for free? Up to you! Maybe you have a chat with them and see if they’re ready to hire you for something more professional? If you’ve done a great job, this should be an easy sell. However, sometimes you might decide to find a new set of clients all-together because you think you can do better. That’s fine too!Regardless, time to start making some big bucks.How do you do this? Keep networking. Keep hustling on your passion project.By now, your passion project has probably gained a bit of traction. If it’s a YouTube channel, hopefully you have a few thousand subscribers. If it’s a podcast, hopefully each of your episodes gets around 500-1000 downloads. If it’s a blog, you’re getting consistent traffic to all of your posts.Start reaching out to the people who are running successful businesses in your niche. Invite them to be a guest on whatever you’re doing on your passion project.Start networking with people who are running businesses that earn at least $1 million in gross annual revenue… Hopefully much more. Begin making friends in high places.Eventually, one of these people will need help doing what you do best.By now, you’re a real expert in your skill.You should be able to blow the minds of just about anyone who isn’t already an expert in your skill.You’d be surprised how many super successful business owners don’t know the first thing about social media marketing, graphic design, video editing, or whatever else you’ve been working to develop.That being said, they know a real expert when they see one. Although they might not know much about your particular skill, they can tell whether or not you know your shit just by chatting with you.That is why it’s so important to not skip any steps. Real entrepreneurs can smell a faker a million miles away. You must become a real expert with real clients who will speak on your behalf, if necessary.How do you close the deal? Exactly the same way you closed your first clients.Get them on a call and start dropping knowledge bombs. Blow their minds with free advice until they ask you how much you charge.This time, ask for the big bucks. Be sure you’ve done your research prior to the call and you’re asking for what you’re really worth. Typically, around $1000 a month is considered entry level work for most skills (obviously, it will depend on the specifics of what’s being asked). If you’re going to be spending a significant amount of time working for this client, expect to charge $2-3k per month. Trust me, you’ll be working hard for this person and you’re worth every penny.What if they say no? WELCOME TO THE GRIND!Onto the next person.Keep it up and you’ll suddenly find yourself working with some super successful people who are paying you real money.Congrats! You’ve done it.You now have the potential to have a real business based around selling a skill.I know I was using the example of social media marketing/YouTube channel in this case study but I hope you see how this can be applied for any skill you might have developed.What’s next?Is it time to quit your job? Well, that’s up to you!Some people bail out as soon as they have enough money to cover their bills. Personally, I recommend you hustle for a few more months to make sure you have a long-term relationship with your new clients.Relationships can go south. Personalities might not match up. There’s a million reasons that things with your client might not work out. It might be worth your effort to ensure you’ve got some legit clients who will be paying you for a long time.That being said, you can now rest assured that you’re a real professional.You can do this! You’ve got the skills you need to make it as an entrepreneur.Congrats! I know how hard it is… There are long nights, missed opportunities with friends, and plenty of frustration.Oh! And say goodbye to your lunch break at work. That hour of your day is now dedicated to working on your passion project or helping your clients.I feel confident that the process outlined in this guide can help anyone go from zero to hero and start earning money online, even if they have zero skills and zero network.How long will this process take you? It really does depend on a lot of factors. Maybe you don’t have a family and you are hustling 6-8 hours per day after work? Maybe you have a wife and 3 kids and you can only work 2-3 hours per day on all this stuff? Perhaps you connect early-on with some excellent entrepreneurs who decide to help you out?For me, it took about two years from the time that I recorded my first podcast on my cell phone while driving in my car (absolute shit) until the point I was earning a few thousand dollars a month.Nowadays, I’m doing everything that I can to make sure this process is as easy as possible for people who are trying to break free from a job they cannot bear to keep.If you're feeling lost and you've made it this far in the post... Reach out. Please! I'm here to help :)And no, I don't have an MLM to pitch...

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