Inu Etc's Blog, page 23

Could Blogging Be Your Thing?

Have you been considering starting your blog, but you were a bit afraid thinking, you aren’t tech-savvy, you don’t have outstanding writing skills, or perhaps have no idea what to write about or how to start. In our changing world, not only do more and more people have to work from home, but we also have to be quite independent with a go-getter mentality if we want to succeed in this new era. So, if you have a feeling you could be blogging, this article could help.

Your Passion Matters More than Your Expertise

Chances are, you haven’t started writing your blog articles yet because you feel you don’t quite have enough expertise in a certain area you want to write about. Should you be worried about this? Not at all! Your readers are more curious about your personal experience than having a very advanced level of degree and related career experience in the topic of your choice. Be rest assured, you don’t need a Master’s or Ph.D. degree to write about something you feel passionate about!

If you are passionate about a certain area, be it technology, cooking, fashion, or wellbeing, you must have gained enough information to write something interesting, based on your private experience! This matters a lot more to your readers than a scientific approach. Blog readers are not those types of readers who seek expertise. So, if you think about the topics and areas of your interest where you also have useful experience to share, this shouldn’t be a problem!

Of course, you should be up-to-date with your information, so educating yourself continually in your niche can only add to the quality of your content, and make your blog more informative. Similar to our everyday lives, if you want to stay on the top of your game, or just know what’s going on in the world, you strive to inform yourself regularly on what’s happening in the world. And like with everything, practice makes perfect. The more you write, the better you become.

Which can raise the next question.

Should You Have Outstanding Writing Skills?

More importantly, you should enjoy writing, especially for long hours. If this is not your thing, you should not start. But if you like writing about various things, and you have a bit of experience, it could be a great basis to start your personal blog. We all have to start somewhere, and none of us was born already writing, right? If you have faith you can do it, it should not be rocket science. It takes good grammar and being able to share a story that could be interesting for others. 

If you have appropriate experience doing plenty of correspondence, you should not be worried. It is false to think that most bloggers have had great previous writing experience. All you need to do is muster up your courage, think about your greatest strengths and experiences, and have faith in yourself! Then ready, steady, and go!! You should also take it easy, since you can use an informal and conversational tone, like the one you would use writing to a friend. 

Share Your Knowledge With the World

Blogging is a great way to do so!! If you feel you have enough useful information to share with others, who could also benefit from the things you learned and experienced, it is a win-win scenario. Maybe this is your greatest chance to be heard. Some bloggers write frequently about what’s happening to them, sharing their everyday life stories. Writing blogs can also earn you a decent income if you become great at it. It is worth trying!

Some bloggers can even capitalize on their blogs in the long run. This is a great form of income, what’s more, could be an attractive source of a passive income! The top bloggers who also know the technical bits of affiliate marketing and other ways to make their blogs more profitable have invested quite a bit of time, effort, as well as self-learning to become one of the bests! The choice is yours to spend time writing blogs only a few hours too many each week. 

It doesn’t only improve your writing skills and clarifies your ways of thinking, but can also polish your strategic skills. It could also lead you to become very good at your chosen field! So much so, that some bloggers became true experts in their fields, receiving a book or film offer!! If you choose to make it interactive, you could gain a larger following. When you write something and people comment on it, you can connect with them and share what you know more easily.

What Should You Name Your Blog

After selecting your preferred field of topics, you could give your blog a suitable name. Don’t have any idea of what a good name should be? Try to brainstorm your ideas and jot them down on paper. A few hints: Write about your everyday life. The things that matter to you and make your life unique. Everyone has valuable thoughts, what are you passionate about? If you think of ways to combine your daily life with areas of your experience, you could create interesting articles. 

For instance, if you enjoy traveling and have gained many interesting stories on your trips, together with invaluable information, if you share them with others, they could greatly benefit from those. Always think about what valuable snippet of knowledge could you add from your perspective which provides a bit of a different angle from your side. Perhaps this is your unique gift of seeing things differently. People love new perspectives, feel free to share yours!!

What are you passionate about?

Have you been considering writing about your hobbies??

No matter what your interest is, remember, you are writing for a wide range of audiences. Some people will be surely interested in what you have to say. How about odd topics? Well, as long as you engagingly write them, there’s a high probability you will have some following. The more passionate you are about your topics, the more it will shine through your content!

When you know the main field of your topics, and have an idea of your blog name, it will also be your website domain name. Make sure that it matches your content well! You should aim to signal your content through your domain name so that your audience can find you effectively. If you have travel content, for example, your domain name doesn’t have to include travel, you can just use the words trip, journey, etc. When you write about something more personal, like the thoughts you want to share with others, you could just use your name as your domain. 

This post contains affiliate links (I don’t recommend anything that I don’t believe in), meaning at no extra cost to you, I might receive a small commission for purchases made through these links.

Initial Steps to Get Your Blog Going 

To start running your blog after you have your domain name, you will need blog hosting and blogging software. These usually come in a package. The company which stores your blog data and delivers them to your users when they search for your content is the blog host provider. Additionally, you will need blogging software like WordPress to be able to build your blog. It is simple to use, you can tailor it according to your needs and it’s also used the most frequently.

You could use Hostinger.com as your software for instance. Log in with your chosen domain name and password. You can reset your password in case of need. After you log in you will see the Hostinger Portal from where you can click the blue WordPress button to be taken to your WordPress blog. You can modify your blog content here. WordPress is quite user-friendly and enables you to make easy changes in your design or layout with a few clicks. 

WordPress also offers you thousands of themes to choose from, so if you don’t like what you originally choose and installed, you can easily replace them with a new one. To do so, you need to click on the Appearance button, then on Add New Theme. If you wish to change your design on any occasion, you only need to activate a fresh WordPress theme. If you click on the Popular tab and find something you like, you can click Install, and Active to make it appear on your blog.  

Your First Post And Your Content

When your blog is working, you are ready to create your first blog post! To activate your first content you need to click on Posts from the menu on the left. You can delete the default post which is already there but you will not need it, by clicking Trash. Then, press Add New to writing your new post. Follow the instructions and type the title of your post on the top, then you can start writing your post beneath it. 

If you click on Add Image then press the Upload button, you can add images to your post. You can also change the size of your picture on the following page. You can upload your picture by clicking on Insert into post. To finalize your post, press the Publish button in the top right corner. You should have static and dynamic types of content on your blog. Static content doesn’t change much or not frequently, your readers should be able to access these pages via your blog menu.

You should design these static content pages before you begin your blog. Try to include the following static pages: About me, your bio with the key points of how you got to your current field, as well as your objective. Contact me, to enable your visitors to reach you in case of need. You should share your private data to the extent you feel you need, including your email address, phone number, and maybe your physical address. Even better, if you link them to your social media sites. 

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

You should also include a Disclaimer Page, if you want to earn money through your blog, you should describe the ways you want to generate profit. According to FTC requirements, this is highly important. Especially if you are discussing and endorsing a product or service. Privacy Policy, if you collect data from your users, you also need to include a privacy policy page through which you can share with your visitors how you do this. You should also add Terms of Service if you sell products or services online, to minimize your liability. 

The dynamic content is your actual blog content. This is the essential part of your blog, where you offer useful information to your visitors, such as your unique experience, stories, tips, research, facts, and any knowledge you may have gained. This is your pivotal element to maintain the interest of your readers, and make them return. You should upload content often and frequently, if you skip long weeks or months, you cannot build a following. Ideally, you should post weekly to drive adequate traffic through your content. 

What Makes Your Blog Content Engaging

You might aren’t in the mood to write amazing content all the time. It is normal. However, you should strive to come up with quality content that could be interesting for others, keep your story engaging, and informative. If you can write on versatile subjects in various tones, it could spice up your brand. Having interesting titles can spark up curiosity and drive followers to your page. Your first paragraph should be a clear outline of your topic and should be appealing enough to read on. 

Your visitors could amazingly benefit from a long and informative article you write. If you do so, you should make it transparent, with clear structuring. Chances are, your readers would skim through your content, if they have to read long paragraphs, so you should do your best to break them down! You can ensure better visibility by not only using spaces between paragraphs, but quotes, images, lists, headings, subheadings, and you could sparingly use bolding. 

A good strategy could be to ask an engaging question at the end of your posts that your visitors could answer. This could initiate an interactive conversation between you and your readers. If you do so, your page’s engagement could grow much faster. Strive to be unique and genuine, plagiarism is never a good idea! Use your experience to create your content, but feel free to study the techniques and topics of other bloggers in your field! 

If you can, use images that you have made, to be as original as possible! Alternatively, you can always find free stock photos on the internet, if you don’t have a chance to take or use your photos. You could get creative and use graphic work, or various software for example Canva to add images to your content. Most importantly, it should come from your passion. Remember to always double-check your content’s grammar and writing style, Grammarly could be a great help!

How to Promote Your Blog

When you create a blog, website, or social media site it is always just the beginning. How well it will work for you, is a question of further efforts you are willing to put in. To achieve your desired following, you need to find promoting ways that best work for you. It could be different for everyone. Be willing to try and test a few of the following tips to get the most out of your blog and brand!

You should start by informing the people closest to you: your family members, friends, the members of your social circles, and colleagues. Talk to them about your blog, send them invitations, and ask them to follow it, and also promote it to others. Express your gratitude to them! You could also link your content to social media platforms, and promote your blog on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Pinterest. Try to do so sparingly but effectively!

If you are also active on the blogs of different bloggers and engage with your community by quality comments, you can promote your blog via a link, if they like you. This can benefit your following greatly and can get you prompt recognition in your blogging environment. You must keep your visitors’ interest high by engaging with them when they leave a comment. 

It is like the two sides of the same coin, when you engage with your readers, they will feel encouraged to return to your site! If you can also work together with other bloggers in your field by promoting each other’s brands, products, and services, using social media platforms, and referring to each other in the comments sections, you can multiply your and others’ following!

If you want to ensure returning visitors, you can also use email marketing. All you need to do is get your visitors’ email addresses and inform them when you post new content to your blog. Many service providers notify their followers by sending them emails about their new content. Creating such alerts could be a prerequisite to building up a successful following!

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Optimize Your Blog by Using SEO

You should also optimize your blog adequately for search engines. Without an effective SEO, (search engine optimization), your visitors won’t be able to find your blog. At least you should use basic processes. You should use header tags for section headings and subheadings. Categorize your content distinctly by using specified and suitable categories. Use Appropriate Permalinks, with the right ending, which shouldn’t be an article number.

How to Capitalize on Your Blog 

If you have your products and services to sell, your blog can be a great tool to earn you an income. Ideally, with your growing number of visitors, your blog should become an automated source of income, and visitors could also buy from you when you are taking a break, you are traveling, are on holiday, or spending time with your family members. Among the most used online products are digital materials like e-books, tutorial videos, etc. 

Selling your products can not only be made an automated process, but you can also save a lot on the shipping cost and make it work fast! If you have a lot of knowledge in a certain field, and you create your digital materials, you might as well surprise yourself how well they could work! Writing an ebook should not be too hard if you have some kind of expertise in a field. If you offer it at a friendly price, and many of your visitors buy them, you could earn a great passive income!

You could also create memberships on your blog. You could include in your memberships unlimited downloads, free consultation, a private forum with a great community, and specific content available to certain members. Your blog can earn you an income in many ways depending on your aims and targets. Not every blogger who sells products and services is willing to be a part of an affiliate program. Doing so they could lose traffic to different sites. 

If it sounds like your thing, you could also consider selling affiliate products through adverts for commission. Your visitors have to click on a link on your page to end up on the advertiser’s site. If they buy something from that site you can earn a commission. Using affiliate links on products and services reviews can help you make money if you disclose that you are an affiliate for the given product or service. 

If you have created a successful blog with a great following, chances are, advertisers will seek you out to help them advertise their products and services through your platform. By using Google Adsense, both you and your advertisers can benefit from your popularity. It works in a way that Google detects and finds possible advertisers for you, and you enable adverts to run through your page by adding a Google Adsense code on your blog. It works automatically, and this code can earn you some cash. Wishing you the best of luck!

This is a guest post written by Russell Ridgeway

Russell Ridgeway is an American writer based in Budapest, Hungary. He works for Lensa and creates freelance content in the business, tech, and fashion industries. He also writes creative fiction. You can reach him by email (russell@lensawork.com), or on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.

If you want to submit guest posts to Inuidea, check out the guest post guidelines for Inuidea.

Featured image illustration by Storyset

The post Could Blogging Be Your Thing?  appeared first on Inuidea.

3 Dos and Don’ts of Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail has been around for decades, and this multibillion-dollar industry isn’t going anywhere.

In the United States, advertisers are experiencing exponential returns on the investments they’ve made in direct mail marketing.

While electronic communication methods continue to power the working world, direct mail still works—and it’s an essential part of a marketer’s toolkit.

If you go the direct mail route and want it to lead directly into your audience’s hands, it’s important to do things right. In this detailed guide, we’ll offer three dos and don’ts of direct mail marketing.

1. Do: Create a Quality Mailing List

To ensure the success of a direct mail marketing campaign, a business must first define their target audience.

Simply flooding a zip code or geographical area with a mailed offer isn’t a very efficient way to use your company’s resources.

Decide who to reach, and trust data and mailing experts to help you build a targeted list. Consider your customers’ shared characteristics.

If you can accurately profile the company’s buyers, it will be easier to target them. Users can check out infantileindustries.com to learn how to reach the right audience and craft a compelling marketing message.

If your company is in a medium or large metropolitan area, it’s a good idea to test a small market segment before starting the campaign.

Run a few tests using a focused mailing list to measure the campaign’s ROI and effectiveness and adjust the offer, audience, and ad design to find the right combination.

2. Do: Come Up With a Great Offer

Once you’ve put the work into choosing a targeted audience, it’s time to create an attractive offer.

Your ad campaign must offer readers something valuable, whether that value is real or perceived.

In the end, all companies have a single goal: to find new customers. To succeed, though, these transactions must benefit both sides.

3. Do: Choose the Right Ad Copy and Design

Now that you’ve found your target market and chosen an offer, think about what the campaign might look like.

What kind of design elements and marketing slogans will catch a recipient’s eye long enough for them to read all the way through?

Catchy copy and bold designs grab readers’ attention, deliver the message, and reinforce a company’s brand message.

Potential customers are drawn to effective branding, and you don’t have to be a writer or an artist to create a compelling ad.

With help from an in-house creative team, any seller can craft a well-written and visually appealing direct mail marketing campaign.

These three tips, when kept in mind, will go a long way in ensuring the success of your company’s next direct mailing.

However, it’s equally important to avoid common mistakes such as those listed below.

Bonus Tip: Include a Strong Call to Action

When sending out direct mailers, it’s best to include a specific call to action. Tell customers how you’d like them to proceed.

Do you want them to stop by, call to win, or enter now?

Don’t send out mailers with vague goals. Instead, try inviting recipients to your next sale. Encourage them to follow the company on its social media pages and consider including a discount code for use on their next purchase.

There are numerous possibilities, but it’s crucial not to keep the audience guessing what their next steps should be.

Having a specific and singular goal is how companies see measurable results from their direct mailing efforts.

1. Don’t: Leave Mistakes Behind

Before sending out a direct mailer, proofread it carefully—and then proofread it once more. Afterward, have someone else look it over.

Nothing gets mailers thrown away faster than formatting issues and glaring typos.

With various online resources, sellers can check for punctuation mistakes and grammatical errors while ensuring their ad copy flows well and makes sense.

2. Don’t: Pass Up the Chance for a Good Follow-Up

After all the work you’ve done to implement a direct mail marketing strategy, don’t forget to monitor new leads and follow up with them. It’s easy to track new customers with physical coupons, promotional codes, landing pages, sales number comparisons, and signups.

After you’ve gathered information on the target audience, how will you nurture those leads and create a community of loyal customers?

Building brand affinity can be as easy as sending a thank-you note, offering a newsletter subscription, or making a personal call. No matter how it’s done, building a relationship with customers is always a worthwhile effort.

3. Don’t: Forget About Online Traffic

All marketing efforts, whether they’re in print or online, should work together. Use your company’s print ad strategies to reinforce its digital efforts.

A business’ online footprint is its main line of defense. If your social media accounts and website aren’t quite up to par, a digital marketing team can help get things running smoothly and ranking higher.

Bonus Tip: Don’t Overload Readers With Information

Among the mistakes that companies make in their direct mail marketing campaigns, including too much information is one of the most common.

The experts typically suggest including no more than one headline, a few lines of text, and two images. If the message can be condensed into a set of bullet points, that’s even better.

Keep in mind that direct mail marketing is about sending actionable and easily digestible content to potential customers.

Put essential information at the top of the ad, and be sure to include some negative space in the design. It’s not a product description or a blog post, so it’s best to keep things simple.

Overly complex and wordy mailers typically aren’t read, and that means you’ve wasted time and money.

Build a More Effective Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

The world is going paperless, and many of today’s companies don’t see any value in direct mail advertising.

The idea of devoting part of a company’s marketing budget to print media may seem counterintuitive, especially to those who look everything up online.

However, the numbers speak for themselves, and direct mail ads are still the best dollar-for-dollar value.

While the consumer and business worlds are moving toward electronic communications, brands can still get their messages across in powerful ways with direct mail marketing.

Featured image illustration by freepik.com

The post 3 Dos and Don’ts of Direct Mail Marketing appeared first on Inuidea.

How to Increase Website Traffic to Make More Sales

Every online business owner knows that having a website running a virtual shop needs customers for sales, and makes sales turn into profits. 

But there are so many competitors that own websites just like any other online business owner too. So the question is how you can attract more targeted customers to your website?

Here are some simple strategies that I’ve put together just for you, so you don’t have to go through a hard time testing which strategies work best for bringing traffic.

Article Marketing:

Article marketing is one of the free staples to website traffic that is always going to be targeted. There are some internet marketers that make their entire living from article marketing. 

Imagine waking up in the morning, or afternoon if you prefer, writing 5 to 10 articles, submitting them to top article directories, and when you are done, doing whatever you want with the rest of your day.

This is a reality for some people and these people are the ones that are using article marketing to get their targeted traffic. Read on to find out the basics of article marketing.

Basically, you will need to have a subject in mind and a few affiliate product websites or Google AdSense websites to promote with your articles. Then, you need to brainstorm a list of possible article titles.

The longer the list is the better because you will have more choices to write about. 

Last, you need to research and start writing your articles. Submit them one by one to the top article directories, then take one out of every ten or so and submit them all over the web to as many free article directories as you can find.

Article marketing is easy and is one of the top free marketing strategies. You can use article marketing to create a flood of quality targeted traffic to your website, blog, Google AdSense sites, or affiliate product sites.

PPC Advertising:

The first and by far the most well-known strategy to build website visitors will be by means of pay-per-click advertising strategies with Google and Bing. 

Pay per click promotion works in that the advertiser pays a bid sum for any specific key phrase. Using tools such as Semrush or Ahrefs can help you to unleash your competitors’ PPC strategy which can help you to beat them.

The largest bidder has their site show up higher up in the various search engines making sure that when their search phrase is looked up, it’s actually very likely their own advertisement may appear first. 

There exists a catch though, every time an individual clicks on your ad, you are going to pay out the total amount you bid for that key phrase. 

It’s actually crucial that you locate market key phrases which are not overloaded, and at the same time not necessarily dead either.

Blogging:

There are three main areas to be concentrating on when you are blogging to increase your website traffic. They are:

encouraging existing contacts to come back more oftenadding a huge library of content to your websitekeeping your website fresh and interesting to the search enginesEncourage customers back:

A blog can be a method of communication for websites that already have some traffic. Whether they are customers or previous readers, this is where you will see the most benefits on the whole.

First, make sure that you have an obvious sign-up to your RSS feed and partner it with an email newsletter sign-up. 

Then, write plenty of interesting and valuable content that means that once someone lands on your site they will see the value of reading the posts and want to come back time and again.

This means straight away they are hooked as visitors but also means that they will become familiar with you and more likely to sign up for your products or services. 

Use the blog format to the best ability and display links to the most popular posts, which really can help to ensure that people want to sign up for whatever you have on offer.

A library of content:

Google, and other search engines, just love websites that have loads of good quality content that is interesting to human readers. 

By giving the search engines what they want they are more likely to return the favor by listing you higher in relevant search results. 

This means more search engine visitors and more chance of someone landing on your site and signing up as a regular reader.

Fresh content:

Keeping the search engines happy also involves convincing them that your information is current and relevant. 

By posting often and publishing the latest posts to your home page, you are achieving this freshness and satisfying what the search engines are craving.

Even a weekly post of your latest news and views shows to the search engines that you are maintaining the site and easy access to this latest information is a real bonus.

So, to increase your traffic through blogging you are going to give readers some content that they value with an easy way of accessing the latest posts. 

At the same time, you are providing the search engines with a huge stock of current content so that they know your site is updated frequently.

Use hosting providers such as Bluehost or Hostinger. Check out the comparison between Bluehost and Hostinger here so that you can make your choice.

Video and Forum Marketing:

Create videos and submit them on video-sharing sites. Have a report you are giving away, something on your blog people would be interested in? 

Copy the bullet points into a PowerPoint editor, get a screen capture software and you can do the narration. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just straight to the point and interesting. 

Use your targeted keywords in the title. Include your link if the viewer is interested further, they can read on, opt-in, download the PDF format, etc.

Participate in your niche’s forums, or start a new forum focusing on your niche. If people get to know you, you are being helpful on forums, comment on other people’s blogs, you are branding yourself. 

By branding yourself you are also building trust, and positioning yourself as an authority figure. If people start to trust you they are more likely to opt into your list or buy your products. Remember: people buy from people, not companies.

Collaborating with Blog Owners:

Working together with several other bloggers is definitely the proper thing to carry out as it will very easily do that in barely 2 months alone. It’s a wonderful preference to get more audience on your blog. 

Just how? One is to interview the favorite blogger within your niche. One more is that you may question many people and include their responses in your blog and finally, check the rankings of the leading blogs in your same niche.

Overseeing the rankings of the weblogs in your same niche is important. Do you understand the reason why? They might revisit your web blog to be familiar with their own rankings. 

Well, for you to let them know, you need to congratulate these people for the high rankings they obtained. That can gain you traffic, using other people attempting to frequently find their standings and ranks in your blog site.

SEO:

To make the website popular and get potential visitors, you must have to do hard work and invest your precious time. Even if you have a professional and up-to-date website you may not receive the expected traffic to your website. 

This is where Search Engine Optimization is getting its importance. SEO activities are vital for the popularity and traffic of the website.

Your website content plays a major role in increasing traffic. Searching for the right keyword that best matches the content is very important. Keep the content updated, precise and informative.

For business websites, the next important thing is the title tags on every page of the website. 

The title tag should be keyword rich and this helps the search engines to find your web page and thus increase the chance of your web page getting indexed by the search engine and listing the page on the top list of the result page. 

Creating blogs related to the products and services offered on your website can increase the number of visitors to your website.

Choosing the right keyword is important and more important is to have a proper keyword density. Keyword density should be about 2% of the total content of the web page. The keyword phrases should not be too lengthy.

Writing Newsletters:

First, try writing a newsletter about the products you are promoting. This might seem difficult, at first, but in this information age, there is no shortage of content on anything you want to write about. 

I am not saying that it will be easy to write your first newsletter, but once you get the first one out there, the next ones seem very simple. After writing your newsletter, send it to all of your contacts. In this first newsletter ask for their help. 

Ask what is most interesting to them and what they would like to hear about. Make this an interactive newsletter. 

Also, make sure you tell them to forward this newsletter onto their contact list, so they can sign up as well. You would be surprised at how many new people sign up on your list just through referrals.

Always Create Valuable and unique content:

The purpose of your website is to bring value to your web visitors. Do you do this on your site?

Sit down and for a moment imagine who your typical customers are. When they turn on the computers, what is in their mind? What problems are they encountering on a daily basis? 

Once you have an idea, go ahead and provide a solution to your website.

Your content needs to be original. That means you have not gone to some website and ‘copy pasted’ content. In this respect avoid rewriting or paraphrasing people’s articles or blogs.

When your content is unique, you will realize that more and more traffic will come from backlinks and people referring your website to their friends. 

The biggest challenge in creating unique content is laziness. We are all lazy; we do not want to do research or work hard. You can resolve to overcome this. Stand out of the crowd.

Conclusion:

By following the above methods to increase website traffic, you will definitely see a massive change in your website’s traffic. 

But first of all, you will need to prepare yourself so you stay determined and patient in the next several weeks. 

It will take time to build your customer base and have a reliable network that will keep coming in and out of your website. 

Regardless of the type of program or approach you use, it will require some weeks or months before you get loyal and repeat customers. The results will also take some time so you shouldn’t rush to get quick profits from potential clients.

You should also carefully plan and prepare how you will reach and attract customers in the next several weeks. It will be wise if you have a plan set for the next 3 to 6 months.

Only make minor adjustments, so you stick to your budget and get the leads you need. 

There are different types of leads, so you have to focus on the visitors who will actually be interested in your company and actually purchase your goods.

This is a guest post written by Shubham Chopra

Hey,

I am Shubham Chopra, founder of Marketing Savior and an exuberant content creator with a great zest for providing insightful reviews about digital products that will help startups & SMEs penetrate into the online world easily.

Check my viral meme content on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/marketingsavior_/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shubhamchopra99

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Marketingsavior/

Website – https://marketingsavior.com/

Featured image online illustrations by Storyset

The post How to Increase Website Traffic to Make More Sales appeared first on Inuidea.

How I Made My First $100 in Just 1 Hour and 111+ Online Business Ideas

I made my first income, the first $29 on Fiverr by doing a logo and a social media graphic design project in 2018.

I clearly remember how happy I was that freaking day. I felt like I was having an orgasm. LOL.

However, I won’t be discussing that money-making experience today. (Well, I did it already. LOL)

Today I’m gonna talk about how I made my first $100 in one hour or maybe it took me 1 year to earn $100.

Let’s find out.

So, on a rainy night, I received a cold email from a US-based company offering me a $100 sponsorship proposal. The company wanted to promote some email marketing services.

Initially, I told them I would like to see the blog post, and then I would decide whether to publish it or not.

After reviewing the post, I published it and emailed the PayPal invoice to them to initiate payment.

And,

About half an hour later, I got an email from PayPal:

You’ve received $100 USD from ‘I don’t wanna disclose” Ltd.

Man, look at that number!

One hundred dollars!

As a middle-class Indian young hustler, it was my first big earnings. It was a big deal and I was so happy.

Yeah, maybe it took me only an hour to get this deal and make this $100.

But,

Over the past year, I have been working on my blog every single day, writing blog posts, creating Pinterest pins, thinking about ways to generate traffic, and lots of other stuff that every blogger and aspiring entrepreneur does.

And while doing all this work to make my blog better, I was completely broke.

Fortunately, I always have the support of my parents.

In addition, I have free food and shelter. That’s one of the huge benefits you have as a teen entrepreneur.

My main concern is my pocket money, and I wanna make more money to invest in new crazy business ideas.

Actually, it took me almost 1.5 years to get my first sponsorship opportunity to earn the first 100 dollars from my blog.

What is the best way to make $100 in one hour?

If you’re a new blogger, aspiring online entrepreneur, or a young hustler looking to earn passive income while sleeping:

Man, you need to be patient!

I’d say you have to keep patience and work your ass off for the first 1 or 2 years!

Are you ready?

Read these posts to learn more about online business and get some proven online business ideas to start your money-making journey today.

111+ Scalable Online Business Ideas You Can Start in 202117 Genuine Ways to Make Passive Income While You Sleep31+ Proven Online Business Ideas – Money Making Ideas That Work in 2021How to Make Money Online As a Graphic Designer7 Real Steps to Make Big Money TodayAll the ways I make money online by working from home7 Practical and Genuine Ways to Earn Money Online9 Ways to Make Money While Traveling [Travel 365 Days/Year]9 Proven Ways to Monetize Your Blog – Make Money Blogging in 20207 Great Online Business Ideas for Newbie Entrepreneurs in 202117 Super Easy Methods To Earn Money Online As A Teenager

Read more: The Best Resources You Need to Make Your Online Entrepreneurial Journey Easier!

Now It’s Your Turn

Hey, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post about how I made my first $100 and 111+ online business ideas.

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below right now.

Also, share this post with your friends and bloggers looking for some online business ideas or wanting to hear some real experiences about making money online.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I’m always available to help young hustlers like you.

Keep hustling!

The post How I Made My First $100 in Just 1 Hour and 111+ Online Business Ideas appeared first on Inuidea.

How Digital Marketing Is Going To Work Post Covid

I think we can all agree that 2020 was a year that none of us will ever forget. The world witnessed a pandemic after decades, and it is still persisting in 2021. As a result, many businesses got shut down, and many companies reverted to online platforms. So, digital marketers faced an immense opportunity to increase their client base due to the pandemic.

But, what kind of lessons should they learn from the pandemic? Will they keep their marketing strategies intact, or will they change them to cope with the New Normal scenario? As a digital marketer myself, I think the post-Covid world will come up with new marketing tactics. So, let’s get on with them.

How Will Digital Marketing Work In The Post Covid Era?

Let’s get on with some statistics first. Due to the lockdown restrictions in 2020, the number of app downloads increased by 31.7% that year. But the Google Click-Through Rate decreased by 41%, and as a result, the U.S. GDP alone reduced by 9.5%. So, as you can see, digital marketers will have to develop new strategies to retain their customers and keep their market share intact in the post-covid world.

1: Marketers Must Know Their Customer Segments

Before the pandemic, it was enough for digital marketers to know their target customers for implementing the marketing tactics. But, Covid19 has made the marketing world more streamlined, so marketers have to focus on customer segments more now. They have to target precise customers based on their individual needs. 

They can apply geographic segmentation, behavioral segmentation, or demographic segmentation techniques. To increase brand awareness among customers, the marketers have to personalize their messages for the particular audience. 

The new statistics show that 32% of customers are willing to buy affordable goods by focusing less on brands and more on product functions. In addition, we see 25% of customers prioritize their families’ safekeeping first, and 16% of customers are willing to buy eco-friendly goods. So, digital marketers have to collect deeper insight into their target audience based on customer segmentation to develop new convincing marketing tactics.

2: Agile Approach Is Beyond Technology

If you don’t know what the agile approach is, let me tell you, it is a project management approach that allows customers to have faster delivery of products with lesser hassles. Previously, marketers used to prefer the waterfall approach more because it gave them a better understanding of the operations.

But, the post-Covid era has mandated for marketers to use agile technology. It will include more accurate listening to customer issues and launching products based on demand sensing. It will also mean faster decision-making and being more flexible with customer demands. 

So, digital marketers will also know what is wrong with their existing marketing approach and will rectify it instantly. For example, a brand used to showcase the long cue of people outside their store to show product demands. But, now, they can’t show the same ad because it will nullify the social distancing restrictions. So, the agile approach will teach marketers new ways of marketing to grab customer attention faster.

3: You Are Not Competing With Your Competitors Anymore

As surprising as it sounds, but in the post-Covid world, you are not really competing with your competitors. Instead, you are competing with the last best experience your customer had with you. Most people have diverted towards online shopping, so you can imagine how powerful your digital advertising would have to be to remind customers that you are here for them.

If you just ensure a seamless and secure online transaction, that won’t be enough anymore. With so many businesses competing online, you have to go above and beyond the fundamental principles of digital marketing.

You must have ample personal data of your customers if you work in a digital marketing agency. So, use those real-time analytics to support your customer throughout their customer journey. Align your individual departmental goals with collective company goals to ensure customers have the best shopping experience with you.

4: You Must Have What Your Customers Want

The competition has increased to an unimaginable extent in the post-Covid world, so you must give customers what they want if you want to be in their good graces. Digital marketers can take advantage of Facebook advertising to demonstrate their products and services in an even better way.

You must ensure that customers can view your website on their smartphones and make purchases from there. Your website must have enough virtual detailing to convince customers to buy your products. You can also offer them discount coupons and special offers to attract them even more.

Customers want a frictionless shopping experience, so you must focus on the entire purchasing journey here apart from having the right product. Only then the digital marketers will rule the top shelves in the business environment in the post-pandemic world.

5: Fostering Long-Term Relationship With Customers Is Everything

Trying to make long-term relationships with customers was always crucial in the marketing world. But, due to the pandemic, it has become even more critical. Especially in B2B sales, you have to leverage the power of loyal customers to increase your revenue.

In the world of online interactions, making long-term relationships with customers is even more difficult. But digital marketers must think of it like online dating. The way people convince each other on dating apps to meet in person, they’ll have to persuade customers to buy their products.

Now, it is only possible when customers get what they want in the least troubling way. It will generate trust in the customers towards the brand. Thus, it will make their digital marketing efforts more efficient. 

Conclusion

The Covid19 has not changed the digital marketing scenario completely, but it has indeed introduced some changes. We have talked about a few of those changes here so that, as a digital marketer, you can grab some valuable insight into this phenomenon. If you want to survive in this competitive environment, you must understand how your customer and client behaviors have changed. So, make sure you apply these tips and harness the pandemic’s opportunity in the digital marketing world. 

This is a guest post written by Steve Smith

Steve Smith is a professional blogger at  Viacon & BlogManagement . He is open to take on new challenges in writing different niches and areas of the industry. He has been associated with Toppreference, TheBitcoinmagazine and TheCasinomagazine to write content and blogs on different niches like Technology and Digital Marketing. Steve James believes that if an individual has the correct information at the right time, they can achieve every feat.

If you want to submit guest posts to Inuidea, check out the guest post guidelines for Inuidea.

The post How Digital Marketing Is Going To Work Post Covid appeared first on Inuidea.

4 Tips for Moving Somewhere Where You Don’t Know Anyone

Moving to a new location can be exciting yet scary at the same time. When you don’t have anyone to lean on, you may be uncertain of how you’ll make new friends in a new environment. 

Here are a few tips on how to meet new people when you don’t know anyone.

Become Involved in Local Activities

One way to meet new people in an area where you know no one is by becoming involved in the local community. Whether you join local groups such as a local yoga studio, book club, or gardening club, this is a great way to find others who are interested in similar activities.

Having a foundational interest among a new acquaintance is a great stepping stone in any new relationship. Also, as you connect more you are likely to find even more interests you share.

Maintain Current Relationships

When moving somewhere new, it’s important that you don’t go from having a bunch of friends to having none. This is why it’s crucial to maintain your relationships at your last residence. Depending on your new location, meeting up may not exactly be possible if you moved across the country. Luckily, there’s a technology for that.

Set up a time to video chat with your friends from your last neighborhood to maintain personal connections that you trust and can talk to about your daily life and new experiences.

Network 

Perhaps the reason you have moved to a new location is due to a recent job opportunity you couldn’t pass up. Even if this is not the case, utilizing your job or career interests is a wise way to establish new connections.

Attend networking events to not only get your name out there in your field but also establish new relationships with others who have similar goals or aspirations.

Never Miss an Opportunity

During the process of meeting new people, be sure to jump on any opportunities that present themselves. Whether it is grabbing a cup of coffee with a neighbor or going out to lunch with fellow coworkers, any chance you have to get to know people on a deeper level is important when you’re in a new location.

If you are in the market for a new home, don’t miss out on Calgary homes for sale. With an ideal location with plenty to do, many prospective homeowners seek out to find their dream home in Calgary.

Now It’s Your Turn!

Hey, I hope you enjoyed reading these tips for moving somewhere where you don’t know anyone.

Now, share this post with your friends, or anyone who’s moving to a new place.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I’m always available to help young hustlers like you.

Keep hustling!

The post 4 Tips for Moving Somewhere Where You Don’t Know Anyone appeared first on Inuidea.

7 Great Online Business Ideas for Newbie Entrepreneurs in 2021

Starting a business is everyone’s dream.

But few of us start working on this dream to open a business. Mainly because we don’t know what business to start or have some vague ideas.

And above all, we don’t have the capital or money to invest in a new venture.

If you’re among such persons, then continue reading. Because here I’ll be discussing seven great online business ideas for newbie entrepreneurs in 2021.

Let’s start by looking at some of the advantages that an online business has to offer, especially for newbie entrepreneurs.

Reasons to Start Online Business

There’re at least five main reasons to open an online business if you’re a newbie entrepreneur. I’ll list some of them to make my point.

The new normal dictates that all businesses have an online presence, as an aftermath of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. This means an online business could attract more customers than a traditional brick-and-mortar one.Setting up an online business is superb for newbies because it requires minimal investments. All you’ll require is your skills and a superb domain name with hosting that costs $9.99 per month or more.It’s economical to promote an online business through ads on the internet and own website. In stark contrast, conventional advertising in newspapers, magazines, billboards, and other physical means is very expensive.You can adapt an online business very quickly to suit changing market conditions. This isn’t possible with offline business models.There’re countless ideas to start an online business. Comparatively, there’re fewer ideas for offline businesses.

If you would like to benefit from these five top advantages that an online business offers, then here’re some great ideas that you might like. Of course, you can adapt them to suit your skills and location, among other things.

7 Great Online Business Ideas for Newbies

The seven great online business ideas for newbies that I’m going to discuss require a minimum investment and your skills only. Therefore, you can try any of these. Furthermore, they’re easy to set up and operate too. You can select any of these ideas depending on your skills and the money you wish to invest.

1. Online Marketplace

Ecommerce is growing at a rapid pace, as we would all know. Nowadays, most people buy stuff online. That’s due to the need for social distancing to prevent the Covid-19 contagion, despite the availability of vaccines. Therefore, opening an online marketplace is one of the great online business ideas for a newbie entrepreneur.

Actually, you don’t need to invest much in an online marketplace. Facebook Marketplace allows you to list and sell items within a specific area, free of cost. If you’ve something that can really sell, try Amazon Handmade, which specializes in handcrafted goods.

At the same time, consider opening an online marketplace on Shopify or Etsy. While Shopify is ideal for all kinds of stuff, Etsy allows you to open a marketplace only if you’re selling rare items, antiques, or handcrafted items.

2. Online Translations

Online translations are another superb business idea if you’ve expert-level fluency in English and a foreign language. There’s no limit on how much money you can make from this business of online translations. In fact, online translation services are always in demand since individuals and businesses require them frequently.

You could open a website offering online translation services. Or signup with any translation services company as an independent contractor and make money as a newbie entrepreneur. In fact, there’re several companies that offer superb online translation services. This requires no investment.

Generally, you’ll be translating documents, advertisements, legal notices, contracts, and other such stuff as an online translator. As I mentioned earlier, you’ll require excellent, expert-level language skills for this business since your translations should have at least 99 percent accuracy.

3. Selling Online Courses

Another fabulous online business idea for newbies is creating and selling online courses. As education continues to suffer and people remain indoors, there’s a huge demand for online learning or e-learning. And you can ride the wave to make money from this business idea for a newbie.

To create an online course, you’ll require superb knowledge about a school or college subject or even something to do with a profession. Or you can create courses on your hobbies such as cooking, dancing, or playing a sport and sell them through any superb e-learning portal.

Another option is to create live courses. This means you’ll be conducting live classes using video conferencing software.

To create an online course, you’ll also require superb teaching skills. One way to be an online tutor is by signing up as a teacher at any of the topmost e-learning portals. In such cases, you’ll be working as an independent contractor that provides the course. In fact, several online tutors have become millionaires.

Read more: 6 Free Courses to Learn How to Start a Startup

4. Online Graphic Designing

Online graphic designing is a superb business if you’ve got the right skills and a relevant degree. There’re countless websites where you could signup and enter contests for graphic designing. You could win a superb contract to design logos, livery, and product brand images from some of the topmost companies in the world.

Generally, online graphic designers work through a freelance system known as crowdsourcing. This means that a company will hire a full team of graphic designers to work on a project. This means you’ll be working alongside some of the top graphic designers from the USA and abroad. This provides ample opportunities to learn a lot from them too.

You can also become a graphic designer by launching your own website and promoting it online. Or by advertising your services through different portals such as Craigslist, among others. The best way a graphic designer can become an independent contractor is by signing up on freelancing platforms such as Upwork and FlexJobs.com, among others.

Read more: How to Make Money Online As a Graphic Designer

5. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a business where you indirectly promote products for an eCommerce company such as Amazon or eBay and make money. To become an affiliate marketer, you’ll require a blog or website, YouTube channel, or free membership to other social media platforms including Pinterest and Instagram.

There’re several superb affiliate programs available from online retailers. For example, Amazon runs the largest affiliate marketing program known as Amazon Associates. eBay also has a similar program. In fact, some 43 percent of Amazon’s sales come through affiliate links.

When you become an affiliate marketer for any online store, they’ll provide you a dashboard where you can make links and ads for the products you wish to sell. And you’ve to post these links on your website, blog, or social media pages. When someone clicks on these links to buy something, you get commissions. Amazon pays between two percent and 18 percent commissions to its affiliate marketers, depending on the type of stuff they’re selling.

Read more: Top 29 Affiliate Programs You Must Join to Monetize Your Audience in 2021

6. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is also a business that requires almost zero investment. In fact, dropshipping is becoming very popular across America as one of the best businesses for newbies. If this sounds interesting, I’ll explain in simple words what dropshipping is all about.

As dropshipper, you’ll have agreements with wholesalers and manufacturers of various products around the world. Under these agreements, you’ll get stuff at wholesale or factory rates. You’ve to add your commission and advertise these products on your website.

Whenever anyone makes a purchase and pays, a widget that you’ve to install on your website will automatically deduct your commission and pass on the money and the order to the supplier. In turn, the supplier directly ships the stuff to your customer.

However, to enter dropshipping, you’ll need a superb returns policy and agreements on minimum quantities you can sell with the wholesaler or the manufacturer.

7. Blogging

Several years ago, blogging was considered a hobby. However, nowadays, blogging has become a big business that also allows you self-branding. And indeed, blogging is also a very lucrative business, if you’re a newbie entrepreneur.

To open a blog, you’ll require a domain name and hosting which costs $9.99 per month or more, depending on the plan you buy. And you’ll need in-depth knowledge about something combined with excellent writing skills. You can create content and upload it on your blog site.

There’re four ways to monetize a blog. The first one is by subscribing to Google AdSense. When you subscribe, you’re actually giving permission for Google to display ads on your blog site. And whenever someone clicks on these ads, you get some money.

The second and perhaps the best way to make money from blogging is with affiliate marketing. Join any good affiliates program, write amazing reviews of the products and provide links for people to buy the stuff.

The third way to make money from blogging is by accepting sponsored posts. Often some companies or individuals want their posts to feature on your blog. And they’ll pay you too. And finally, the fourth way to make money from blogging is by accepting paid ads to display on your blog site. That way, you can make a lot of money too.

Read more: The Ultimate Guide on How to Start a Money Making Blog in 2021

Final Thoughts: 7 Great Online Business Ideas for Newbie Entrepreneurs in 2021

As a newbie entrepreneur, you can try any of these seven online business ideas. As you can see, they don’t require any investments, can be started easily, and are simple to operate. Instead of going for complex businesses, these online businesses are almost hassle-free.

And online businesses are very versatile too, meaning you can add or remove or upgrade your offerings as and when necessary. Online businesses also earn you money while you’re asleep or doing some other work. You can also designate a family member to care for your online business as a newbie if you’re going to be busy.

Now It’s Your Turn!

Hey, I hope you enjoyed reading this list of 7 great online business ideas for Newbie Entrepreneurs in 2021.

So, now I’d like to hear from you:

Do you plan to work on any of these online business ideas?

Let me know in the comments below right now.

Also, share this post with your friends, struggling hustlers, and aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking for some great online business ideas.

7 Great #OnlineBusiness Ideas for Newbie #Entrepreneurs in 2021
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If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I’m always available to help young hustlers like you.

Keep hustling!

This is a guest post written by Alice Feltch

Alice is a career and productivity copywriter who believes in the power of networking. She’s passionate about blogging and writes web content for a variety of clients. She is currently dedicated to Online Jobs Academy as a gig worker, she understands the benefits and challenges of the industry.  Blogging about education and career regarding ideas to grow is something that she loves doing.

If you want to submit guest posts to Inuidea, check out the guest post guidelines for Inuidea.

The post 7 Great Online Business Ideas for Newbie Entrepreneurs in 2021 appeared first on Inuidea.

Top 17 Must-Have Mobile Apps for Bloggers in 2021

As a blogger, we want ourselves to stay focused on our work to get success in blogging. In other words, we want to grow our blog to make money blogging.

I know it’s hard to focus on your work when you’re surrounded by so many distractions, but you have to be focused to work hard and smart to make more money from your blog.

That’s why today I’m here with some of the most helpful and productive mobile apps for bloggers that you should use as a blogger to make your blogging journey easier.

Let’s dive right in.

1. WordPress

WordPress app allows you to do just about all the things you would normally do from your desktop.

For example,

You can draft a new post on your blog, review comments, track stats, and view other details right from your smartphone.

By using this app you can easily manage your free WordPress.com blog as well as your ‘self hosted’ blog from your smartphone.

The best part,

It’s a reliable app because it’s an official app by Automattic, the creator of WordPress.

Download for iOS or Android

2. Google Tasks

Feeling forgetful?

Relax man!

As a solo blogger, you’ve to manage multiple tasks in a day and nobody is capable of remembering everything at all times.

Organizing your tasks with a to-do list can make everything much more manageable.

A to-do list can boost your productivity, it helps you clarify your goals and that’s why you get more done with a to-do list app.

I used a lot of task manager apps but I think Google Tasks is the best task manager and to-do list app, because of its elegant look and easy to use features.

Google Tasks lets you create a to-do list within your desktop Gmail, Google Docs, or the Google Tasks app.

It syncs across all of your devices and you can easily manage, and edit your tasks from anywhere, at any time.

Download for iOS or Android

3. Google Docs

I always use Google Docs to write blog posts. Because while writing I often collaborate with my team and it’s easy to collaborate here.

Also, in Google Docs it’s easy to format a blog post by using H2s, H3s, titles, font, bullet points, etc.

Also, the Grammarly Chrome extension supports the web version of Google Docs. So, you can easily check grammatical errors and enhance your writing in Google Docs.

The mobile app is so simple with a clean interface, it’s easy to use and by using all features you can easily write a ready to publish, well-optimized blog posts on your smartphone.

Download for iOS or Android

4. Canva

I love Canva and I think it’s an essential design tool for bloggers, digital marketers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners.

It’s a beginner-friendly and easy to use online design tool, and the best part is it has a free version.

I’m using Canva to design engaging Pinterest pins, blog graphics, social media graphics, E-books, and more.

By using Canva mobile app or web app you can quickly design almost anything using free pre-made and ready to use templates.

Also, you can collaborate with your friends and coworkers to work together and faster.

Try Canva for FREE!

Download for iOS or Android

5. Grammarly

You want your writing free of embarrassing grammatical errors and mistakes, right?

Grammarly is an online grammar checker and proofreading tool that helps you avoid typos, grammatical errors, and improve the quality of your writing.

Check out Grammarly Review 2020: Boost Your Confidence & Enhance Your Writing

Grammarly offers a Keyboard app for Android and iOS, that you can use on your mobile device to write mistake-free emails, blog posts, or social media posts.

It automatically detects grammatical mistakes and provides lots of features that help you enhance your writing right from your smartphone.

Try Grammarly for FREE!

Download for iOS or Android

6. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is an essential web analytics tool by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. 

The official Google Analytics mobile app lets you monitor your website traffic right from your smartphone.

With this app, you can monitor real-time data and the app allows you to check out just about all web analytics data you would normally check from your desktop.

Download for iOS or Android

7. Google Adsense

We all want money, and we love to see how our money grows up daily.

If you’re using Google Adsense to monetize your blog, you can use Adsense mobile app to see all your revenue statistics.

You can check your estimated earnings and other statistics such as page views, impressions, clicks right from your smartphone.

Google AdSense is no longer available on Android and iOS, you can open the Adsense website on your smartphone browser to see your earnings.

This post contains affiliate links (I don’t recommend anything that I don’t believe in), meaning at no extra cost to you, I might receive a small commission for purchases made through these links.

8. Pocket

The pocket app allows you to save almost anything from anywhere so that you can check out later. You can save articles from Twitter, Feedly, and from sites you want.

Pocket’s clean layout, elegant design, dark mode, and other features give you a relaxing reading experience.

Also, Pocket’s listen feature turns any article, or blog post into a podcast. So you can just relax and listen to the articles to learn new things.

Download for iOS or Android 

9. Pinterest 

I love Pinterest because it drives massive traffic to my blog and when it comes to traffic generation, SEO and other social media take time, but Pinterest reacts in just one day!

You can use Pinterest to discover new ideas and to share your ideas with millions.

You can build a following by sharing your helpful content. Also, you can use Pinterest to drive massive traffic to your blog.

The Pinterest mobile app allows you to manage your Pinterest account from your smartphone. You can save new pins, track analytics, and view other details right from your smartphone. 

Download for iOS or Android 

10. Google Keep

Google Keep is a really useful app that allows you to add notes, photos, and audio. It syncs across all of your devices so that you can track your thoughts from anywhere.

You can add labels and colors to your notes to quickly organize them, it will help you easily find them later.

Also, you can set reminders and If you want to find a note you saved, a simple search will turn it up.

Download for iOS or Android

11. PayPal

I’m using PayPal for a long time to receive international payments from Google Adsense, business partners, and clients from all over the world.

PayPal app is a more simple and secure way to send and request money online.  for you, if you’re a blogger, freelancer, or anyone who’s working online and wanna receive payments online.

Like me, if you open a PayPal Business account for receiving international payments, both of us could earn US $10 each!

So what are you waiting for?

Sign Up RIGHT NOW!

Download for iOS or Android

12. Gmail

Now, I’m not going to write a long essay on Gmail. LOL.

We all know about Gmail.

Gmail is an easy-to-use free email service developed by Google that saves you time and keeps your messages safe.

The best part,

You can set-up your professional email address with Gmail and manage your professional mail account from your phone.

A professional email address is the one that has your brand name or business name in it.

For example,

inu@inuidea.com is a professional email address.

You should use Gmail because of its organized inbox, it blocks spam and keeps your account secure.

Also, you can access Gmail right from your smartphone and anywhere.

Download for iOS or Android

13. Pomodoro Timer

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.

The technique uses a timer to break down working sessions into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by 5 minutes of short breaks. 

As a busy blogger, you can use a Pomodoro Timer to use The Pomodoro Technique while you write blog posts or when you design graphics for your blog and social media.

It can boost your productivity because frequent breaks keep your mind fresh and focused.

Also, the timer creates a sense of urgency and makes you more responsible for your tasks and reduces the time you spend procrastinating.

Download for iOS or Android

14. IFTTT

Do you want a free virtual assistant that could automate various aspects of your social media and blogging?

IFTTT (If This Then That) is that virtual assistant that can automate almost anything on your phone.

It allows you to automate your social media, blogging and there are a lot of other automation features available on IFTTT that makes your blogging journey easier and productive.

You just have to connect different apps and set conditions for different apps using IFTTT Applets, and when those conditions are matched IFTTT performs the operation you have defined.

For example,

It can tweet your new blog posts, share them on Facebook, retweet articles, backup your Instagram photos to Dropbox, share your tweets to Tumblr, and lots more.

Download for iOS or Android

15. Pushbullet

Pushbullet allows you to share files between your devices. It works on all operating systems plus all major browsers.

I often use Pushbullet to send important files and links to my desktop from my phone.

It also allows you to view notifications from your phone in your desktop app or browser.

You can also view and send text messages, WhatsApp messages, and more to your phone from your desktop.

Download for Android or Windows

16. LastPass

It’s really hard and messy to manage all your passwords and I think it’s impossible to remember all your affiliate accounts passwords, and lots of other websites login details.

LastPass is a secure password manager that stores encrypted passwords online.

The free version of LastPass comes with a web interface, but also includes extensions for various web browsers and apps for smartphones.

Try LastPass for FREE!

Download for iOS or Android

17. Anchor

As a blogger, if you want to build a loyal audience you should go omnichannel nowadays.

So, If you want to start a podcast to share your knowledge to build a loyal audience and to make money podcasting, you can use Anchor to start a podcast for free in 2021. 

Anchor helps create a professional podcast and you can distribute your podcast to all major podcast streaming platforms for free.

By using the Anchor app you can record audio from anywhere. Also, you can record remote interviews with up to 4 guests or co-hosts.

Download for iOS or Android

Final Thoughts: Must-Have Mobile Apps for Bloggers in 2021

I’m using all these apps to make my blogging journey easier and I recommend you all these blogging apps if you’re struggling to manage your time or if you want to boost your productivity.

These apps not only help you in blogging but also these apps will help you with your social media, daily life, and online entrepreneurial journey.

Now It’s Your Turn

Hey, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post about must-have mobile apps for bloggers in 2021

Now I’d like to hear from you:

Which is your favorite app from this list?

Let me know in the comment section below right now.

Also, share this post with your friends and bloggers who are looking for some blogging apps to make their blogging life easier.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I’m always available to help young hustlers like you.

Keep hustling!

This article is edited by Inu Etc and co-authored by Baharul Islam.

The post Top 17 Must-Have Mobile Apps for Bloggers in 2021 appeared first on Inuidea.

9 Tips for Young Entrepreneurs Hiring Their First Employee

Hiring your very first employee is a landmark moment.

Your business is finally taking off, and you no longer have to do all the work by yourself. 

However, finding the right person for your company isn’t always easy, especially when you’ve never recruited anyone before.

In this article, we’ll give you our top tips for successfully hiring your first employee. 

1. Focus on Their Potential, Not Their Past Employer 

It’s easy to get distracted and focus solely on employment history. 

That’s not the best idea, and here’s why.

Their past employment doesn’t guarantee they’ll be the ideal fit for your company. 

When potential employers look at the employment history of their prospects, they assume the time spent there has taught prospects some valuable skills and given the experience that will benefit them. 

That’s only an assumption. 

Their past employer might’ve run their business completely differently than you do, which will make it harder for the prospect to fit in your company. 

Consider this example. 

If their past employer checked up on their work all the time, your prospect might have a hard time working autonomously and without supervision. 

By focusing on their potential instead, you’re looking at what matters; how your potential employee will use the best of their abilities to help you grow your business. 

After all, that’s the goal of hiring the right first employee.

The best way to focus on their potential is to prioritize their knowledge and abilities ahead of their employment record. 

Understand what they can do and see how they fit in your company, instead of assuming their past employment record guarantees they’re the right person for the job. 

As an employer, focus on their future potential instead of past employment. 

On the same note, let’s talk about evaluating their skills. 

2. Have Your Prospects Demonstrate Their Skills 

Your company will rely on your new employee’s skills for growth. So testing those skills is paramount. 

For starters, the applicant’s skill level is more valuable than their work experience. 

Some employees improve their skills at lightning speed within one year of employment, while others are slow learners and take years to improve at their position. 

You can get an honest assessment of their skill level when you see your prospects in action instead of reading about it. 

When you have your prospects show what they know, they also reveal their attitude towards work. For you, this insight is priceless. 

As you know, it’s not just about completing tasks; it’s about having the right work ethic and paying attention to the details. Your ideal candidate will put in their best effort. 

Unfortunately, many candidates are dishonest when applying for a job. 

A survey by Ladders found that about 30% of job applicants lie or bend the truth on their resumes. Furthermore, 80% never get caught, according to the same survey. 

source: theladders.com

While most applicants are honest in their resumes, 3 out of 10 applicants are likely to lie or bend the truth. 

If you want to avoid hiring a dishonest candidate, have them show their skills.

You can achieve this by designing an application task that will show if they have the skill set your position requires. 

Once they’re writing a task, it’s up to their abilities, not their resume. 

Now it’s time we talk about hiring a person who’s a culture fit for your company.

3. Make Sure the New Employee Is a Culture Fit 

Your company has its culture, and your ideal future employee has to fit into it. 

Even though you’ve been working by yourself until this point, your company has values built into it. Your employee has to mirror those values for you two to get along. 

Conversely, if you don’t share the same values, you’ll have a hard time understanding each other. Then you’ll see a rise in tension and a decline in productivity. 

An employee that’s a culture fit can achieve longevity within your company. 

It’s hard to imagine they’d stay with your company for a decade if you’re a mismatch. 

If you want to build a long-term relationship with your employees, they’ll have to suit your values and culture.

It’s also worth mentioning that being a cultural fit is sometimes more important than the skill level.

Skill level is vital, but only to a certain extent. 

If you determine a candidate has the right skills but doesn’t fit in, those skills won’t be of much use. 

Similarly, if you have a candidate with developed skills and potential who’s the perfect cultural fit for your business, giving them a chance is a good call. 

So how to assess if they’re a good cultural fit?

Start by identifying your company culture if that’s still unclear to you. 

You can do it by establishing your core values and goals and writing them down in a company culture statement. 

The next thing is to mix in the cultural questions in the interview subtly, so you can feel out if they’re a match. 

For example, you can ask questions like:

Describe your ideal work environment.What kind of leadership style do you expect from me?What do you want to achieve with this company?

After you’ve established the cultural fit, we can move on to the next tip. 

4. See if They Are Genuinely Passionate About Your Business 

An employee that’s genuinely passionate about your products or services will go the extra mile. 

When prospects are enthusiastic about your business, they’ll put in maximum effort. 

You won’t just get a skilled employee that will complete their tasks successfully, but a highly motivated worker who will make your company’s success their personal goal. 

You won’t have to worry about their engagement at work or them slacking off. 

Ideally, you’ll have an individual working alongside you that’s as passionate about your business as you are. You need employees like that if you want to succeed. 

Remember, you can teach your new employees a lot, but you can’t teach them to be passionate about your business. That’s something they need to bring to the table.

There are several ways to see if they’re genuinely passionate about your business and not just their salary.

The most straightforward thing you can do is ask them for feedback about your products and services. 

Ask them what things they like the most about your products and how they would improve them.

An enthusiastic candidate will be full of ideas and pointers on what they’d like to do.

Passionate job prospects will do their homework and explore your past projects or clients. 

Another way to gauge the prospects’ enthusiasm is by asking for motivational letters as part of your job applications. 

A great motivational letter takes time and effort to write, so the most enthusiastic prospects will write terrific letters, while average applicants will only follow a template. 

You can easily spot a template motivational letter. It lacks any distinctive features that show investment in your position and your company. 

Now, what about your expectations of new hires?

5. Set Your Expectations 

Since you haven’t hired anyone before, it’s difficult to know what you can expect from the entire experience. 

Your first hiring might be completely different from what you’ve originally expected it to be. It can end up being a complete disappointment or a pleasant surprise. 

Before you hire your first employee, clearly understand what you expect from them.

A great, tangible way to do that is to write down the goals you expect to achieve by hiring a new employee. 

By doing so, you can always check back to see if the new hire has lived up to your expectations. 

The employee goals you write should be measurable and time-bound since you expect to achieve them in a certain period since the hiring. 

For instance, if it takes more time than expected for your new hire to complete their goals, you need to readjust your expectations.

Setting your expectations is extremely important, especially when hiring for the first time. 

It will help you understand what to expect from new hires in the future and become a better recruiter. 

In addition, it’s going to keep you from having unrealistic expectations for recruits. 

It might not sound like much initially, but avoiding them will improve your overall hiring process. As your business grows, setting realistic expectations will become more critical. 

Let’s talk about your onboarding process.

6. Sketch Out the Onboarding Process 

Onboarding is a critically important step for hiring a new employee. 

A successful onboarding process allows you to integrate a new employee into your company and their new position. 

Without a well-thought-out onboarding, it will take more time for your new hire to get acclimated to their new duties, and their learning period will take longer. 

Having better onboarding will save your company time and money. 

This means you’ll be able to take full advantage of your new employee’s potential sooner. 

Also, mapping out your onboarding process allows you to re-evaluate it and improve it later, after the onboarding period ends. 

Like we said, as your company grows, you’ll onboard more employees.

If you carefully log your onboarding process, it’s easier to pinpoint pain points in your company onboarding and make it better for the sake of recruits. 

So how do you sketch out the onboarding process?

First, set a time in which you expect to fully onboard your recruit. You can define it by days, weeks, or months. 

Ideally, by the end of this period, you’ll finish onboarding your recruits in their position. 

What you want to do next is divide the period into learning phases. 

Design every phase that teaches something new to the recruit and gradually moves from simpler to more complex tasks. 

Include mastering company software, achieving tasks, and working according to the company workflow. 

7. Make Your First Employee Feel Welcome 

Once you take on the new employee, you’re no longer a one-man band with a business idea; you’re officially a team!

By warmly welcoming your first employee, you show you’re happy to have them, and that, in turn, inspires them to perform their best as a member of the team. 

On the other hand, if you put in zero effort to welcome your first employee, you’ll make it clear that the recruit is not a valued team member. 

It won’t be shocking if the recruit leaves as soon as they spot a better opportunity. 

When your first employee feels welcome, they genuinely feel like they made the right decision to join. 

By doing so, you’ll instill confidence in them about your newfound business relationship. 

Out of all their employment options, they chose your company, and that’s something you have to acknowledge and appreciate. 

It’s the least you can do.

The best way to welcome your first employee is to show your gratitude and optimism. 

Since they’re the first person you’ve ever hired, they’re special to the company. 

It’s also important to let them know that and be there for them if they have a hard time adjusting. 

How well you welcome them will shape their first impression, making their first days memorable and starting things off the right way. 

8. Prepare the Paperwork 

Hiring new employees also entails a legal process that you have to adhere to. 

Failing to fill in and submit the paperwork might result in fines that your growing company will have to pay. That is a senseless waste of resources. 

Additionally, when you’ve set up the legal process in advance, both you and your new employee have legal protection. 

If anything goes wrong or there’s a dispute, there are contracts and papers to keep things on track. 

Being careless about it can easily backfire and limit your company’s growth. 

Since you’re in a delicate growing phase, you don’t want unnecessary risks hovering above your head. It might be a drag, but filling in the paperwork in a timely manner is a must-do.

To make things easier, before you officially hire your new employee, talk to your accountant or bookkeeper. 

They should know what forms you need to fill out to be on the safe side. 

Second, contact your attorney and have them prepare a draft of your contract, so the hiring process adheres to all the necessary regulations.

Let’s talk about the final pro tip. 

9. Don’t Rush the Recruiting Process 

Understandably, you’re excited to hire your first employee—but don’t rush it.

Quality recruiting takes time. 

If you rush the recruitment process, you might miss some critical red flags that can show the candidate is not a good long-term fit for your company. 

Let’s look at the numbers.

As many as 46% of employers think that a poor role-candidate fit is the main reason for an employee not working out for their company. 

Picking poor candidates will cause high churn rates for your growing business and have a negative impact. 

You’ll experience losses, both in terms of time and in money, and taking on another employee means you’ll have to onboard them again. 

You won’t be able to fully attend to your other duties because you’ll have to spend time onboarding. 

It’s going to take weeks or even months before you can reap the full benefits of hiring a new employee.

You’ll be less productive, and your company will earn less than it potentially could.

If you want to ensure you’ve taken enough time for the recruiting process, first understand the current trends in HR. 

Not only will you have a better understanding of the recruiting process, but you’ll also have an overview of what’s changed in the hiring environment over the last year and adjust your expectations. 

It’s better to put in the time to hire the right people the first time around than risk churn and lose even more time and resources down the line.

It’s better to spend weeks assessing the ideal candidate than rushing and making a wrong decision.

Final Thoughts: 9 Tips for Young Entrepreneurs Hiring Their First Employee

There’s a special thrill when you’re hiring an employee for the first time.

Even though company growth is excellent news, you should still be conscious about it. 

At least now, you’re armed with the best pro tips for making sure your first recruitment is a fantastic experience. 

Let these tips sink in, and we’re sure you’ll make the best recruitment choice for the company. 

This is a guest post written by Michelle Laurey.

Michelle Laurey works as a VA for small businesses. She loves talking about business, and productivity, and share her experience with others. Outside her keyboard, she spends time with her Kindle library or binge-watching Billions. Her superpower? Vinyasa flow! Talk to her on Twitter @michelle_laurey.

If you want to submit guest posts to Inuidea, check out the guest post guidelines for Inuidea.

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How to Make Money Online As a Graphic Designer

Albert Einstein used to say that ‘the crisis is the greatest blessing for people and nations because the crisis brings progress.’ Going through a global pandemic, we can all give different meanings to this quote, finally seeing some positive consequences. 

For example,

Everyone now fancies working from home. We all find out that making money online from your kitchen table feels pretty sweet. And if you like to be creative and work with colors, there is one way to earn and have fun while working from home: online graphic design.

Why Making Money Online With Graphic Design?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), graphic designers’ employment rate is expected to grow up to 4% (11,100 jobs) between 2016 and 2026. The acceleration towards digitalization and online businesses means that companies need to produce a ton of content for websites, online promotions, and social media platforms.  

And most of these contents are visuals. You get over 90% of the information through images, and 40% of people remember better visual input than written explanations. Just think about when you scroll Facebook or the news. Before reading what a post is about, your attention gets captured by the image. 

Which is why any sensible social media strategy focuses on catchy visuals. Looking at some numbers, images on Facebook posts are 2.3x more engaging; on Twitter, updates generate 150% more retweets, while putting images on blog content increase Pinterest traffic up to 62.5%.

No wonder 50% of marketers prioritize creating visual content, and more than 41% of marketers state that original graphic designs such as infographics had the best performance in their marketing strategies.

In short, there are thousands of opportunities to make money online with graphic design. To put it simply, the job requires you to create a visual representation to communicate and translate a message or a mission. 

What is Online Graphic Design Today?

From its first appearance, graphic design transformed a lot. In the 20th century, the Internet and digital tools made visual processes accessible to all. In 1990, Photoshop was released among rudimentary programs like Microsoft Paint. 

Marketers and business owners need online graphic designers to create visuals for social networking sites, mobile apps, and web pages. And all these designs need to be coherent with each other, expressing brand identity and mission to connect with the audience. Format like infographics, videos, and images are at the core of any marketing strategy. 

There is a strong connection between art and graphic design. However, there is a core difference in the purpose. By definition (even if debatable), art has no purpose. On the contrary, online graphic design has a precise scope: communication. 

Unlike arts, a logo or an infographic cannot be open to interpretation or speculation. Graphic designers work following specific rules and steps, coordinating with the brand they are working for.

The point isn’t to express individual creativity, but rather translate into visuals the mission of goals of a company. The point of these designs is to make a specific brand recognizable to all with no exception – remember IBM, Nike, or Apple logo? 

How to Make Money Online With Graphic Design?

Making money online with graphic design is easier than you think. You can sell templates, make T-shirts, improve websites or mobile apps. In the era of ever-growing digitalization, what you can do has almost no limits. 

The talent of graphic designers lies in the capacity of communicating a brand with visual elements. It sounds easy, but it’s not. As a professional, you must be able to create different types of visuals. However, it’s wise to choose a niche or a field that you like and stick with it in the long run. You can widen your networks and choose a work arrangement that suits you.

Here are the three most common ways to make money online with graphic design: 

Full-time remote designer: You find the right company for you and don’t fancy working for more clients simultaneously. This solution is an excellent option to build a long-lasting working relationship. You can work from home, have a stable contract, and focus on one type of designing style. Freelancer Designer: If you can’t stand working in the same environment for too long, freelancing is the way to go. You can have multiple clients at once, grow your network, and decide if you want to focus on a niche or vary in different fields. You can use Fiverr and other freelance sites or you can use cold email and social media platforms to find clients as a freelance graphic designer.Being your boss aka a location independent entrepreneur: This solution is a mix of the previous ones. If you have some experience already, you can create your own company collaborating with different clients. You can decide wherever you want a long-lasting relationship or temporary collaboration when to work and on what to focus on. For more details on how to achieve the dream of becoming a remote entrepreneur, check this page here.

11 Best Online Graphic Design Tools

1. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the most popular tool for photo and animation editing. The software offers a wide range of typography options, 3D capabilities, and drawing tools for websites and mobile applications. In addition, it offers a vast library and photo management, as well as great customer service. 

2. Adobe InDesign

In the world of online graphic design, Adobe InDesign is a must. If you are working on publishing a magazine, on info sheets or brochures, that’s the software you want. With this program, designers can easily combine visuals and text, optimizing content. You can add tags to keywords, anchor text, table of content, footnotes, indexes, captions with hyperlinks, and so on. For these reasons, it’s one of the best options for WordPress. 

3. CorelDraw Graphics Suite

CorelDraw Graphics Suite provides professional features and an easy interface to use. Corel offers a vast online digital with thousands of high-resolution photos and images. In addition, you can access over 2000 vehicle templates, 1000 fonts, 350 designed templates, 500 interactive frames, and multiple gradients, vectors, and bitmap fills. Last but not least, you can even customize the interface you are working on! 

4. Inkscape

Perfect for beginners, Inkscape is free graphic design software to scale graphic designs and fix resizing. The interface is user-friendly, and it provides constant updates and you can add manual improvements by writing simple code. 

5. Sketch

Sketch is a vector-based graphic design tool for app, web, and interface design. This software works better with interactive prototypes for UI/UX projects. With a library of artboard templates for iOS and responsive web design layouts, the software ensures maximum size and resolution. 

6. Adobe Illustrator

With Adobe Illustrator, you can create illustrative artwork, layouts, corporate logos, websites, and more. It’s one of the most customizable online graphic design tools. In addition, it provides an ‘in-panel editing’ function to edit multiple images simultaneously.  

7. Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a clean and more affordable alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It provides a versatile grid system to create isometric video game graphics and icons. In addition, with the snapping option, you can lock and place objects as you please. Finally, it works with pixel art and vector art environments, giving more freedom to your projects. 

8. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

GIMP is for photo editors who can’t afford Photoshop. It offers a broader range of free features and professional-quality functions to create graphic designs from scratch. The software is very flexible because you can add different plugins, and it provides constant updates. 

9. Xara Designer Pro X

Xara has advanced features and tools for advanced design projects. Usually, this software is best for web and print designs, illustrations, edit photos, and design web pages. The interface is very intuitive, and it helps designers save a lot of time with scaling and resizing. Also, you can modify and undo action actions endless times, modifying as you please the outcome.  

10. Gravit Designer

Suitable for professional designers, Gravit Designer is an HTML-based graphic design application for high-quality vector graphics. The user-friendly dashboard allows switching between tabs or themes instantly. In addition, it provides a wide range of features, drawing tools, and templates to customize and create different images and designs.

11. Photoscape

Photoscape has some of the best features for editing and managing photo archives. It’s a free online graphic tool for beginners and professionals alike. Besides various features to edit photos, the software is available both in English and Korean.

Bonus: Canva

Canva is an essential design tool for bloggers, digital marketers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. You can use canva to design engaging graphics as well. It’s a beginner-friendly online design tool, and the best part is it has a free version.

Hooked – a must-read book for aspiring designers.

Get Started With Online Graphic Designer  

Once you get your tools ready, it’s time to get started to make money online with graphic design. As we said earlier, you can get hired as a remote designer, work as a freelancer or run your own designing company. With pros and cons, any of these positions are great to make money while working from home.

Despite the option that will work for you, remember these guidelines before starting: 

Research

You don’t need a degree or being a professional artist to be an excellent graphic designer. What you need is the capacity for synthesis and knowing what you are doing. You will have to be creative and propose catching ideas – if those hiring you get bored, probably it will happen the same with the audience. Study and do research, take inspiration from artists or street art, or even from nature. None will ever ask you to be the new Picasso. But you need an excellent visual background to find and propose your unique and original style. 

Communication

Do you remember that the core difference between art and design lies in the scope? Your first goal with each piece of design you create is communicating. Explore communication principles, and how they apply to visual arts – What elements can you take with you? There is something you don’t like? Your communication strategies are an integral part of your job, don’t underestimate it!  

Visual Elements

There is a reason why we don’t call ‘artists’ to all the people who we see make paintings or creating something. Besides debates on art, painting on a canvas doesn’t mean you are creating an artwork. The same goes with design. We can all use different graphic design tools, but not all of us have the same capacity of synthesis or the ability to choose the right images to vehicle a message.

Part of your job is to play with design elements and principles, layout and style, color, composition, and proportion to tell a story. Specifically, you represent the story of the brand. That’s where your creativity needs to take action – not in the intent of creating artwork!

Final Thoughts: How to Make Money Online As a Graphic Designer

In short, it’s possible to make money online with graphic design for beginners and professionals alike. The digital world is in constant evolution, and we are daily bombarded with images and visual inputs. 

If writers need to find their voices, you find your style and put your graphic out there. In no time, you will earn money sitting on your kitchen table while researching weird artists for your next logo! 

This is a guest post written by Costanza Tagliaferri

Costanza Tagliaferri is a Writer and Content Marketer at DistantJob & ThinkRemote. She has covered a wide range of topics, and now she is focusing on technology, traveling, and remote work.

If you want to submit guest posts to Inuidea, check out the guest post guidelines for Inuidea.

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