7 tips to become a time management master

First things first: why does time management matter? While that question breaks my little project manager heart, I understand your skepticism. Why not just do the damn thing? Well, managing your time is deeper than getting sh*t done-it’s about keeping your head screwed on properly (and getting even MORE sh*t done in the process).

We all know how it feels when work is piling up and there seems to be no end in sight. Not only can this cause procrastination, making matters worse, but more importantly it can lead to unneeded stress and anxiety. Time management practices will declutter your mind, making that to-do list a lot less scary.

Doing things at the right time in the right order will increase your productivity. Getting pulled in multiple directions is a thing of the past and more time in your day will start appearing like magic.

With more productivity comes great success at meeting deadlines. The goal is to get more done in less time without compromising quality (or sanity). When you have your tasks organized and prioritized, one of two things will happen to your deadlines:

Now onto the good stuff. Not all of us are Time Wizards at birth (like yours truly), but fear not-time management skills are easy to learn and maintain. To get you started, here are 7 time management tips:

If you’re worried about how productive you’ve been lately, one of the first things you should do is look at where your time has been running off to. If you don’t already, track the length of time it takes you to do things throughout the day. You’ll start to notice patterns and figure out where there’s room for improvement.

Take it one step further: set timers for yourself for a given project or task. Allow yourself X-amount of uninterrupted time to complete Y-thing. This will force you to stay on task, plus you can make it a fun little competition with yourself.

We’ve been there and we get it. Setting time blocks on your calendar (make sure they are public to your team, too!) will help twofold. This communicates to your team that you’re not available for meetings, questions or thoughts on last night’s episode of “The Bachelorette.” Even more importantly, it holds you accountable to focusing in on one thing for an allotted amount of time.

Getting into a working rhythm is also called “reducing context shift.” Context shifting is exactly what it sounds like. It’s when you switch from focusing on one topic to another throughout the day. But here’s the rub: your brain works overtime to shift gears and get back in your flow state.

We all know that things need to be “prioritized,” but what does that actually mean when it comes to your day-to-day? If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your projects and you’re not sure what to do first, consider making an Eisenhower Matrix. Sounds intense right? Don’t worry-it breaks down your to-do list into four, easy-to-follow sections.

Place your tasks in one of the four boxes below based on their urgency and importance. This will then dictate what to do, delegate, decide and do later.

Defining urgent: Time sensitive and needs to be completed in the short term. There might be many tasks in this box, so it’s best to list them in order of due date. Additionally, it’s possible for projects to start as not urgent, but put off long enough, they find their way into this category.

Defining important: Critical tasks needed to move the needle and reach your long term goals. Since there isn’t always instant results for “important” tasks, they are easy to ignore for too long.

Do First: If a task is both important and urgent, it should be at the tippy top of your list. These items need to be completed soon and will generate the most impact. If these are consistently tasks that have been delayed over and over, make sure you’re realistically giving yourself enough time to complete them.

Decide when: These are items that need to get done, but they’re not needed right now. Give yourself a deadline of when these need to get done and tackle these after your “Do First” items.

Delegate: To-do’s that are urgent, yet not quite as important go here. Oftentimes this could mean a small bid from a co-worker or a last minute request that landed on your desk. Ask yourself (and your team, given the rest of your matrix): “is there someone else that could handle this?” Otherwise, these are tasks that can be handled outside your time blocks.

Do Later (or never): The lowest priority items go here. These are neither urgent nor important. Examples could be cleaning out your desk drawer, optional team meetings and other nice-to-have items that you can get to once all other more pressing tasks are completed. Better yet, does this task ever need to be done? The luxuries and quirks of professional life are sometimes lost to the abyss of important, scheduled work-and that’s okay.

Create a daily schedule—and stick with it.

This step is absolutely crucial for learning how to manage time at work. Don’t even attempt starting your day without an organized to-do list. Before you leave work for the day, create a list of the most pressing tasks for the next day. This step allows you to get going as soon as you get to the office.

Putting everything on paper will prevent you from lying awake at night tossing and turning over the tasks running through your brain. Instead, your subconscious goes to work on your plans while you are asleep, which means you can wake up in the morning with new insights for the workday.

If you can’t do it the day before, make sure you write out your list first thing in the morning. You’ll find that the time you spend creating a clear plan is nothing compared to the time you’ll lose jumping between tasks when you lack such a plan.

Prioritize wisely.

As you organize your to-do list, prioritization is key for successful time management at work. Start by eliminating tasks that you shouldn’t be performing in the first place. Then identify the three or four most important tasks and do those first—that way, you make sure you finish the essentials.

Evaluate your to-do list and make sure you organized it based on the importance of a task rather than its urgency. Important responsibilities support the achievement of your goals, whereas urgent responsibilities require immediate attention and are associated with the achievement of someone else’s goals. We tend to let the urgent dominate when we should really focus on activities that support our business goals.

To avoid this pitfall, use one of the time management tips for work found in Stephen Covey’s book First Things First. He offers the following time management matrix, known as the Eisenhower matrix, as an organizational tool for prioritizing tasks based on these ideas of importance and urgency.

• Important and urgent: These tasks have important deadlines with high urgency—complete them right away.
• Important but not urgent: These items are important but don’t require immediate action and should involve long-term development strategizing. Strive to spend most of your time in this quadrant.
• Urgent but not important: These tasks are urgent but not important. Minimize, delegate, or eliminate them because they don’t contribute to your output. They are generally distractions that may result from the poor planning of others.
• Not urgent and not important: These activities hold little if any value and should be eliminated as much as possible.

Here’s a look at what sorts of activities fall in each quadrant. Try creating your own time management matrix and inserting items from your to-do list and day-to-day activities to evaluate how you are currently spending your time. You can create one in Lucidchart in less than a minute—that’s what we did!

When you can figure out prioritization, your personal time management can reach a whole new level. You will know where to focus your time during those days when there simply aren’t enough hours.

Sources:

https://thejamesagency.com/blog/7-tips-to-become-a-time-management-master/
https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/time-management-at-work
https://www.tempo.io/blog/7-tips-for-optimal-time-management

How To Write Professional Emails (With Templates)

Professional emails offer an efficient way to handle important communications in the workplace. You might write an email to follow-up after an interview, respond to a job offer or connect with clients. Understanding how to draft professional emails allows you to confidently write competent and effective messages. In this article, we provide templates for several common professional emails.

A professional email is any communication that you make either as an employee or a prospective employee of a company. These letters should have a standard format and a professional tone. The use of industry jargon is acceptable when you’re writing to someone who is also familiar with these terms and phrases. Focus on using clear, concise language for professional emails as the recipient often has several communications to work through each day. Professional emails are brief and efficient, keeping both parties on task.

Formal email format: What to include in your email

1. Subject line

This is the crucial part of your email which defines if a person actually opens it. A good subject line informs a recipient what the email is about and why they should read it. Try to make your subject line clear, specific, and to the point. For example:

2. Email greeting

How to start a formal email? At the beginning of your email, greet a person by name. Depending on the level of formality, your salutations may vary from a simple “Hi” to an official “Dear Mr./Ms./Dr./Professor…” For the most formal occasions, use a colon instead of a comma after the salutation. For example, “Dear Ms. Smith:”

3. Email body

4. Formal email closing

The formal email closing tells a recipient what’s next. If you want them to do something, include a clear and specific call to action. If you’re just wrapping up the discussion you’ve previously had, end your email on a friendly note to show a reader you’re willing to keep in touch with them.

5. Signature

FAQs about Professional Email

A standard professional email address format uses a combination of your first and last names and a domain name. However, if it’s a business email address, since the domain is usually the name of your company, the first part can be the name of a department.

Random numbers in a professional email address are not advisable. You could use a phone number as an email address; however, that will hardly be deemed professional. You’re also giving up your phone number sooner than you might want to.

A good email address is always a combination of your first and last names. It’s a safe bet; however, if someone has a similar first or last name to yours and uses the same email service provider, then you might be in a bit of trouble. In such cases, it’s better to opt for a custom domain name.

Anastasia is a content marketer and manager with a strong IT background, passionate about storytelling and SEO. She likes creating high-quality content and helping others develop their skills. Besides work, she loves traveling, extreme sports, and reading fantasy books.

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Resource:

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-professional-email-with-templates
https://sparkmailapp.com/formal-email-template
https://www.getmailbird.com/professional-email/

9) Reflect on what it takes to be in a great relationship

Men have a built-in desire for something “greater” that goes beyond love or sex. It’s why men who seemingly have the “perfect girlfriend” are still unhappy and find themselves constantly searching for something else — or worst of all, someone else.

As James argues, male desires are not complicated, just misunderstood. Instincts are powerful drivers of human behavior and this is especially true for how men approach their relationships.

So, when the hero instinct isn’t triggered, men are unlikely to be satisfied in a relationship. He holds back because being in a relationship is a serious investment for him. And he won’t fully “invest” in you unless you give him a sense of meaning and purpose and make him feel essential.

You may also like reading:

A few months ago, I reached out to Relationship Hero when I was going through a tough patch in my relationship. After being lost in my thoughts for so long, they gave me a unique insight into the dynamics of my relationship and how to get it back on track.

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Hack Spirit review team. In our reviews, Hack Spirit highlights products and services that you might find interesting. If you buy them, we receive a small commission from that sale. However, we only ever recommend products that we have personally investigated and truly feel could be valuable to you. Read our affiliate disclosure here. We welcome your feedback at [email protected] .

How To Let Go: 3 Ways To Get Back To Manifesting

How To Get Back To Manifesting Step #1:

Trust The Process

Letting go is simply TRUST in action. You can say (or think) you believe in the Law of Attraction all you want but if you don’t display your ability to trust, then you’re not really letting it happen! Actions are a lot louder than words baby!

Manifesting is a process of co-creation. You decide on what you want and you put in your cosmic order. Then you TRUST that the Universe will do the rest. You TRUST that you will receive guidance about what to do or where to go next. You TRUST that the Universe is always communicating with you and sending you signals and that you really just have to follow the trail of breadcrumbs that’s happening for you right now.

When you don’t trust in the Universe, your eyes, heart and mind will not be open to those signs! You will be stuck back in the boring old Newtonian view of the world where you need to do X and Y in order to get Z. You will miss the magical shortcut in the middle because you won’t be able to see it! Switching your outlook to the quantum reality requires a leap of faith but it’s necessary to make it all happen.

How To Get Back To Manifesting Step #2:

Trust Yourself

Because when it comes down to it, so many of our manifesting “problems” are due to our own feelings of inadequacy! It’s one thing to consciously desire something; it’s quite another to believe it on all levels.

A lack of trust in ourself usually plays out by pushing ourselves because subconsciously we’re still trying to EARN our desire. We don’t feel good enough exactly as we are so we do the things we think we’re supposed to do to help things along.

While it’s true that (almost) all manifestation success stories require work, the problem here is that pushing/striving energy comes from a place of desperation–not confidence. The action that really works to help our manifestations is always inspired action, which comes from a place of trust.

How To Get Back To Manifesting Step #3:

Step Into Receiving

I say this with love because I’m one of you. (Scorpio! Duh!) But it was a great surprise to me to learn that receiving was something I had trouble with! I’m used to doing a LOT of work, used to organizing things my way, used to calling the shots. Letting other people do things for me still makes me uncomfortable at times! (I’m working on this.) I used to be deeply uncomfortable with anyone even buying me a drink!

That story might sound COMPLETELY unrelated to the art of manifesting but it’s actually not. Part of asking the Universe for help is ACCEPTING the help when it comes. You can’t look at what turns up and say “Oh that’s not EXACTLY what I was expecting so I’m going to ignore it and keep doing what I’m doing.” You can’t micromanage the magic!

If you truly want your intention, you must also say YES to it! You have to accept the help you’re being given! If you keep slamming the door in the Universe’s face, it’s going to get the message.

So take a deep breath and release your intention, then do what you need to do: listen and look for divine signs, follow the path in front of you and leave space for something wonderful to happen.

Letting go is one of the biggest Jedi mind-tricks you must master in order to manifest your desires. It’s tricky territory but it’s also totally achievable, especially with practice!

Love This Post? Then Pin It To Your Manifestation Board!

About Jenn

Hey there Goalgetter! I’m Jenn – Bestselling Author of The Mindful Witch | Healer + Coach and I teach modern manifestation techniques that actually work. (No spiritual bypassing BS!)

Need help focusing?

When it comes to negative things, part of letting go is self-esteem and forgiving yourself. If you can accept that you’re human and will do stupid things from time to time, letting go can come easier.

That’s where it gets interesting. Even traumatic experiences actually only last a short time. But remembering a traumatic experience is an experience in itself, and a single memory can condition many such experiences, even years later. We tend to spend much more of our lives mentally reliving traumatic experiences than we do actually experiencing them.

This is where mindfulness training is extremely helpful. It helps us recognize that memories and our reactions to are just that — mental and emotional activity happening right here right now. The event from the past has not come back, but rather we are noticing a new experience triggered by a memory of the trauma, which can be dealt with as a present-moment phenomenon. They can still be painful, but it completely changes the severity of the experience to recognize it as mental activity happening right here, now, in this room, rather than a past event that is haunting you.

Yes, that makes sense. There is a tail of mental imagery, associations, emotions, and then more on top of that. Once we realize that every moment is here and it is possible to experience it here (in peace), even when the mind and body might be going through tumultuous recollections. Just realizing that it is the mind, can help. This helps break the feedback loop between mind and body in such situations.

But there is a residue (again this is my mind speaking, which does not like certain experiences), and there might be some time needed to recover — for me, it means take time off, be by myself. Also I have noticed, old emotions — fear and anger (they can be the same), often times because they are unpleasant, and in the case of anger, it feels unwieldy to experience out in front of everyone, there is a tendency to suppress it. I usually end up writing, or if I am by myself, going to the shower, just expressing my anger by making sounds or yelling, if that is the only way to move the stuck feeling.

Yes, totally agreed… realizing it is the mind is the first step, and sometimes even then we need to withdraw so as not to become overwhelmed. In the buddhist perspective, that feedback looping and residue is referred to generically as “causes and conditions”. Events and the thoughts/emotions we have about them give rise to more thoughts and recurring thought patterns. The remedy is to train the mind to recognize them, in their moment of arising, as passing thought/emotion experiences, thereby deconditioning them from recurring so frequently, and from troubling us as much when they do. Ultimately, nothing happens but present moment experience.

Such a well explained post, David, and a very important topic. Mindfulness meditation sharpens our awareness and helps us notice when we are clinging to the past (or future) and once we are aware, we can practice letting go and free ourselves from the pain and suffering. Of course there are so many levels and it’s good to start with the “easier” ones. Abhijeet’s comments and your reply touches on the deeper challenges of (just) letting go. I think as long as we realize that it’s not about quick fixes, we can patiently and kindly even let go of traumatic experiences from the past. Thank you!

I guess that’s the overall lesson here — letting go is possible but there is no quick fix. It’s a matter of letting things happen in their own time. It is, however, much quicker to let go in this organic way than our usual method of drawing things out by fighting with them. Often drastically quicker, like fifty times quicker. But we never control quite how quick.

Great piece on mindfulness. Meditation is something I’ve been struggling with and I think mostly because I’ve been trying too hard which is the opposite goal of meditation and leads to frustration with myself. Which is why I appreciate how you break it down in a practical manner especially when you talk about noticing and fully concentrating on the little things we do every day. It’s a great way to start training your mind on stoping the inner mental chatter even if it’s just for a moment which then you can build upon later on for a successful meditation practice.
Always a pleasure to read your insight. Thanks.

Trying too hard is definitely the number one problem people have with meditation. The basic issue is this: mindfulness practice means training ourselves to recognize and allow present moment experience. But our basic impulse is to try to change or control our experience. So we get uptight about becoming relaxed, we get agitated about trying to be calm. Progress is made by regularly, repeatedly, progressively relaxing that impulse to change what is happening, breath by breath.

Excellent post, David. Experiencing a negative emotion or memory as a present bodily experience is extremely effective. Consciously relaxing any physical tension associated with the emotion or memory, and sensing the flow of the released energy, is indeed a healing experience.

Resource:

https://hackspirit.com/how-to-let-go-of-someone-you-love/
https://www.thealignedlife.co/how-to-let-go-manifesting/
https://www.raptitude.com/2018/07/let-go/

How to Teach Writing Skills to Older Kids

A writer is a person who writes about stuff. In order to write about stuff, you have to know stuff and do stuff. That sounds really basic and juvenile, but it is the reason why I am against writing programs for children under twelve years old. Most of the writing prompts for younger children aren’t very exciting and they know it. But we do need to know how to teach writing skills to teenagers.

A teenager has more to say than, “I did this and then I did this.” A lot of journal prompts for younger kids ask for those types of simplistic answers. Not all of them, but many. However, teenagers resist those types of writing activities. They think deeply, they have had some experience with life, their command of language is better, fine motor skills are more developed and they have the mental capacity to absorb tons of knowledge in a short period of time. In contrast, a young child possesses none of these and writing is often laborious for them. Forcing younger children to write will guarantee that they hate writing. Instead, teach young children to write with games and other activities.

Fun Ways to Work on Pre-Writing Skills

Since the typical age for children working on pre-writing lines is ages 2-5, I like to focus on fine motor skills that promote learning these lines and shapes instead of using paper and pencils/crayons. Your child will need the fine motor strength these activities provide in order to have good pre-writing lines and later good letter formations.

Check out my brand new ebook, The Basics of Pre-Writing Skills for Kids. This ebook takes an in-depth look at the developmental sequence of pre-writing lines and why they are an important part of the foundations for handwriting skills.

More Handwriting Resources

CONTENT DISCLAIMER: Heather Greutman is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.
All information on the Website is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult with a medical professional if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child. The information on the Websites does not replace the relationship between therapist and client in a one-on-one treatment session with an individualized treatment plan based on their professional evaluation. The information provided on the Website is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied.

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Writing Inspiration Apps

Story Wheel

Why We Love It: This app sparks creativity in pre-writers and helps build their storytelling skills. Spin the wheel and record your voice telling a story about the picture. Spin the wheel again for more prompts. Several kids can play at once, building a story to playback together.

Story Dice

Why We Love It: Every roll of the virtual dice yields pictures that tell a whole new story. Choose one or all of the images to use in your writing. Story Dice 3-D (Apple App Store only) adds the ability to move the dice around, and re-roll some or all of them.

Writing Challenge for Kids

Why We Love It: This app generates a series of characters, scenarios, and situations to create unique creative writing prompts over and over again. You can choose from several choices to customize each prompt as you go along.

The Brainstormer

Why We Love It: This app is terrific for teens and older writers who need to generate new creative ideas. A selection of tools helps you find inspiration for characters, plots, settings, and more. You can even add in your own words to create custom sets.

Writing Prompts

Why We Love It: Get new writing prompts from hundreds of scenarios and ideas. Teachers, this is a nice way to come up with a daily bell-ringer or journal prompt. (This same company also offers Character Prompts, a similar app but for character inspiration.)

Lists for Writers

Why We Love It: Add variety to your writing and break through writer’s blocks with these lists of, well, pretty much anything! Creating a new character and feeling stuck? Browse lists of names, character traits, physical characteristics, and more. Get the same for settings, plots, and all the other details that even the best writers sometimes draw a blank on.

Toontastic 3D

Why We Love It: Kids build their story-telling skills while creating one-minute movies with this surprisingly robust free app. Encourage students to plan and script out their story in advance to work on writing skills, then enjoy the fun movies they create! (Teacher Tip: Try this app for incredibly creative book reports.)

Storybird

Why We Love It: Storybird’s tools give kids the opportunity to write comics, short stories, chapter books, and more. Choose from existing illustrations and add your own text to create unique masterpieces. The professional artwork is wide-ranging, and writing challenges help kids expand their skills and push their creativity to new heights.

Resource:

https://www.julienaturally.com/teach-writing-skills-older-kids/
https://www.growinghandsonkids.com/basics-pre-writing-activities-skills-kids
https://www.weareteachers.com/writing-apps-for-kids/

How To Answer “What are Your Salary Expectations” [Video + Transcript]

Hi, everybody, and welcome. I’m Jenn, a career coach at Indeed with over 10 years of experience in career services. Today, I’m going to share some guidance on answering a very important interview question, “What are your salary expectations?” In this video, I’ll provide three strategies for addressing your salary expectations. And if you stick around until the end, I’ll share a bonus tip on how to identify the salary range for a role.

There are two points in the hiring process where employers tend to ask about your salary expectations, during an initial phone screen and during the final interviews. Recruiters may ask this question early on to assess if you’re within the budget that they have for the role and therefore a possible hire. Salary negotiations don’t actually begin until after a formal offer is made. And when you’re asked about your salary expectations prior to an offer, the employer is simply gathering information.

Now, what if an employer asks you about your salary expectations early on and you’d rather not share that information yet? If you choose not to respond because you’re still assessing a reasonable salary for the position or any other reason, it’s OK to let them know that. Since you’re still early on in the hiring process and still learning about the specifics of the job and the duties, just say you prefer to address the salary later.

You can always put the ball back in the recruiter’s court by saying, “I’m aiming to consider the entire compensation package, including insurance, stock options, retirement planning and other benefits that come along with the base salary. What does this role offer?”

Another option is to say, “Before I answer, I’d like to ask a few more questions to get a better idea of what the position entails. That way, I can provide a more realistic expectation.”

While these responses are great to have in your back pocket, if you’re taken off guard by the question, it’s often a good idea to wait to respond to the employer’s question about your salary range rather than asking the question about what they offer. It’s also common for the first-round interviewers to not have access to information about salary. Plus, when you wait to be asked, you have the power to begin the compensation conversation with a salary range you know you feel comfortable with rather than with a range provided by the possible employer.

At some point in the hiring process, there will come a time where you will have to provide your salary expectations. Be ready for this by researching comparable salaries as soon as possible. I’ll explain how to do that at the end of this video.

Strategies for answering “What are your salary expectations?”

Provide a salary range

Once you’ve done the market research to identify a reasonable salary, one strategy I recommend is to provide the employer with a salary range with a difference of $5,000 to $10,000 rather than providing a single number. It’s wise to make sure you’re comfortable receiving the bottom number and to specify that this is your base salary range, not your total compensation.

Another example would be, “I’m looking for a base salary roughly between $90,000 and $95,000 annually. Due to my technical skill set and years of experience, I feel that this is a comfortable and appropriate range for my work and the value I can provide.”

If the salary range was stated in the job listing, you can say something like, “I saw in the posting that the salary range is $70,000 to $85,000. Based on the range provided, I feel that $80,000 is an appropriate starting base salary based on the experience, credentials and industry knowledge I would bring to the role.”

Include an opportunity for negotiation when the time is right

As you might have noticed, I specifically address our annual base salary in these first examples. When considering compensation, it can help to consider other benefits such as vacation days, sign-on bonuses and the opportunity to work remotely in addition to any monetary compensation. It’s wise to always consider these benefits and how their presence or absence can impact your target salary range.

Mention your interests in benefits as part of your response to what are your salary expectations. If your salary is outside or on the higher end of the budget, the employers are then aware that you’re open to discussing elements beyond the base salary that could impact your overall compensation package pending a formal offer from them.

So, if this is something that you’re willing to do, say something like, “I’m seeking a position that pays between $120,000 and $130,000 annually. But should we both determine that I’m the best person for this opportunity, I would be open to exploring how salary, benefits, bonuses, equity, stock options and other opportunities can impact that.”

Remember, it isn’t standard to enter into negotiations prior to an offer. But it can be helpful for employers to have some perspective on your viewpoint regarding compensation prior to the extension of one.

Express gratitude

After an employer extends an offer, I recommend expressing gratitude and then opening the lines of communication to discuss the components of your expected compensation more specifically, and then enter a negotiation.

How to Answer “What Are Your Salary Expectations”

Understandably, you might find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the idea of having questions in regards to your salary expectations. You don’t necessarily need to answer this question right away. Let the interviewer know that you would first like to go over the position even though you are interested in discussing salary.

Research the role. Make sure you have a complete grasp of the responsibilities. Your first instinct may be to use an online search engine. This will result in multiple web pages showing you the average salary for your chosen profession. However, some might find this to be overwhelming.

Start by looking into our very own career research page on Zippia. This page will help you explore the job market more efficiently. It offers you the opportunity to find your desired position, what salary is the best suited for it, how to tailor your resume, the skills that would be ideal for this role, and more.

Factor in expenses. Think of cost of living in a location and how much you need to set aside. How much will gas cost? Will you need to buy a car or use public transportation?

You must always remember that location plays a key role, as the old saying goes, “location, location, location.” For example, an anesthesiologist’s average salary from Nevada may be slightly lower than one you can find in New York. This can also be determined by looking at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Choose a salary range. After doing your research on the position and location, pick a range in which you would like the salary to fall. Keep the range tighter, such as $50,000 to $56,000.

Deflect the question. You can always take a moment and delay answering this question until the very end of the interview, or even after the interview. That way, you will have ample time to think about how to answer it while telling them about your skills, qualifications and why you would make an ideal candidate.

Another alternative is to turn the tables and ask the interviewer to share what they have in mind regarding your salary. Once you have a particular number in mind, ask the hiring manager what the company is willing to answer. By doing this, you can take the pressure off you and put it back on them.

Be open to negotiation options. There are other ways to be compensated by an employer. If the salary isn’t exactly what you had in mind, consider other benefits they are offering. This could include health benefits, paid time off/vacation days, relocation costs or even equity in the company.

Resource:

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/what-are-your-salary-expectations
https://www.zippia.com/advice/what-are-your-salary-expectations/
https://himalayas.app/advice/what-are-your-salary-expectations

Display ads are placed on relevant third-party websites in the form of banner, image, and text ads. Display advertising is pretty much a blanket term that includes every visual ad placed on a website, however, it can be divided into three basic categories:

What Is Display Advertising? Definition, Targeting Process, Management, Network, Types, and Examples

With global spends on digital advertising expected to cross USD 333 billion this year, it is essential to understand display ads in detail. Scroll down to know how display ads capture people’s attention, how they use targeting mechanisms, and what are the types, benefits, and examples of display ads.

Display ads are a lucrative method of advertising for marketers looking for ways to reach and acquire customers. They make generous use of visual media in the form of texts, images, or even videos to catch people’s attention.

You can usually spot display ads in designated corners of webpages and social media platforms, and they are usually showcased in the form of a banner ad (graphic or text). All campaigns ranging from the ones using simple text to those with attractive videos can be grouped under display advertising.

Most successful display advertising campaigns use a clever combination of images, text, gifs, and videos to stand out on the internet and send their message across to the targeted audience. Marketers can play around with language, design, shapes, and sizes of banners to create engaging display ads.

Types of display ads

1. Remarketing ads

According to Accenture Interactive, 91% of consumers prefer to buy from brands that remember their interests and provide offers based on their needs. Retargeting ads do just that, and they’re easy for brands to implement. Here’s how they work.

2. Personalized ads

Google considers remarketing to be a subcategory of personalized advertising. Personalized ads target consumers based on demographic targeting and the interests they have shown online, that you can use to set a custom audience.

Affinity targeting shows your ads to consumers who have demonstrated an active interest in your market. These affinity groups can be relatively broad—like “car enthusiasts” or “movie lovers”—letting you reach large numbers of people.

Smaller custom affinity groups like “long-distance runners” and “orchid growers” let you get more specific about the interests you want to target. Bear in mind that when you use narrower groups, you’ll reach smaller audiences.

Custom intent and in-market ads target consumers who are actively searching for products or services like yours. You’ll reach fewer people than with either affinity or custom affinity targeting, but the people who do see your ad will be closer to making a purchase.

Similar audience ads target people who have interests or characteristics in common with your current visitors. To create lists of new but similar audiences, Google compares the profiles of people on your remarketing lists with those of other users, then identifies commonalities.

3. Contextually targeted ads

4. Site-placed ads

Section 4: Why are display ads essential for remarketing?

Remarketing or retargeting allows you to keep your brand in front of your potential customers after they have left your website without performing an action — persuading them to reconsider your offer when they need it.

Remarketing involves showing ads to prospects based on their behavior on your web pages in an attempt to guide them through your marketing funnel. The process is enabled by cookie-based pixels that track your prospects’ internet browsing behavior after they abandon your website.

Remarketing display ads help you shine a light on your value proposition for your target audiences who have steered away from your website — persuading them to revisit your offer when they believe they need it.

1. Behavior: There are two types of behaviors a visitor can showcase when they’re on your website – not Interested (the visitors spend less than a few seconds on your website, don’t go to any other page on your site and immediately exit), and Interested (the visitors browse through the website content, maybe even click through to other pages like the resources page, pricing page, or the about us section). Serve remarketing ads to Interested visitors with high intent.
2. Time: Time segmentation involves taking care of three things. First, the time duration between the visitor’s website visit and when you show them the first display ad. The frequency with which visitors sees ads. The time duration between the visitor’s first visit to the website and the time when they stop seeing remarketing ads.
3. Existing customers: Show your display ads to customers who aren’t that active on your platform; maybe the new feature update can convince them to become more active.

1:1 conversion ratio

Conversion ratio refers to the number of places to click on a webpage compared to the number of conversion goals presented on the page. A true post-click landing page is a standalone page, separated from your main website’s navigation, the purpose of the page is to promote a single offer, so it should always maintain a 1:1 conversion ratio.

The only clickable link on an optimized post-click landing page is the CTA button. If your post-click landing page has other off-page navigation links you are essentially going against the very definition of a post-click landing page, which of course minimizes your chances of getting visitors to fulfill the conversion goal.

Display advertising allows you to use images and other rich media types to create ads that have the visual appeal to attract new customers and call back potential customers who have lost their way.
When you create optimized display ads and connect them to relevant post-click landing pages you increase the chances of not only getting an ad click but a CTA button click.

Create optimized post-click landing pages for your display ads today with Instapage. Sign-up for the Instapage 14-day free trial and use the industry’s most sophisticated post-click landing page platform with advanced testing and analytics capabilities.

Sources:

https://www.toolbox.com/marketing/programmatic-advertising/articles/what-is-display-advertising/
https://mailchimp.com/marketing-glossary/display-ads/
https://instapage.com/blog/display-advertising
Display advertising

Georg Jensen’s Head of Brand and Content, Kasper Sierslev, discovered that video was an effective tool for driving engagement. “…with video, we found that our campaigns performed six times better than static ads.”

What Is Display Advertising in Digital Marketing?

Display advertising entails using text-based or visual ads on websites or social media networks to attract people to take action or simply raise brand awareness. The prices of these ads are most often calculated following a CPC model. That means you will be charged a specific amount whenever someone clicks on your ad.

Although display ads are most commonly used in programmatic advertising, brands also like to use them in their retargeting campaigns. That means they use display advertising platforms to target users who have previously left their websites without purchasing anything. That way, you entice them to come back and reconsider.

But despite their various uses, display ads remain particularly suitable for targeting potential customers still in the awareness stage of the marketing funnel. The reason is that the users seeing display ads aren’t searching for specific products and services. If they were, they’d be using a search network. That means their search intent isn’t transactional, but informational. Because of that, very few display ad impressions end up in a conversion.

What Types of Display Ads Are There?

1. Interstitial Ads — These ads are like the pop-up ads of old. An interstitial ad is an advertisement that appears before you can access a site’s landing page. Most users dislike these ads because they prevent you from opening a website before closing the ad. Also, these types of display ads are most often used on mobile devices.

1. Rich Media — These are interactive ads that can engage users in different ways. For instance, rich media ads might be an interactive video, poll, a button, or similar.

1. Video Ads — Video advertising is all the rage in the digital marketing world nowadays because videos offer an interactive experience for the users and plenty of possibilities for advertisers. There are two most prominent video ad formats: instream and outstream video ads. The former appears in the shape of pre-, mid-, or post-roll ads on videos, whereas the latter usually manifest in the form of a video player appearing somewhere on a website. Here’s how that looks:

Why should you use display advertising?

1. An important tool for brand awareness

When done right, display advertising is an essential element of any online strategy. Display advertising offers you the power to showcase your brand creatively across the internet and to thousands of potential customers.

2. Reach your audience like never before

With display advertising you’re no longer restricted by a user’s preferred social channel or an email provider. In fact, your brand can reach consumers across the internet wherever they might be looking for goods, services, news, and recommendations.

Indeed, Google Display Network alone can reach up to 92% of all internet users – everywhere. Whether you’re using Google, or another demand side platform (DSP), with display advertising, you’re likely to reach more consumers than almost any other online or offline format.

Plus, it gives you the chance to reach your potential customers across devices and formats. Using display advertising means your branding can be seen throughout a consumers day. From breakfast to midnight snack, from mobile to digital-out-of-home (DOOH).

3. Create relevant ads with personalised targeting

There are so many ways you can approach targeting with display advertising. The most commonly used is contextual targeting. In the same way as Google Search, you can specify keywords and search terms for online publications you wish your display ads to appear on.

There is also the option to reach desired consumers using demographic targeting. With display advertising, you can also target users based on their interests, geographic location, language, demographics as well as certain publication topics i.e. sports or entertainment magazines.

4. Increase ROI with retargeting

Retargeted ads perform considerably better than standard display ads. Why? Because you’re already targeting users that have a previous interest in your product! In fact, the click-through-rate for retargeting ads is typically 0.7% compared to 0.07% at the top of funnel.

For campaigns that are aimed more towards conversion, retargeting users with display advertising can be a great way of attracting consumers back to your site. For example, you can set up a script-tag on your checkout pages and retarget with relevant products to reduce card-abandonment.

5. Be creative

Last but not least, display advertising allows you to be creative. With the advances in display advertising technology, your ads can have interactive elements, video, countdowns, live product feeds… you name it!

Why is HTML5 the preferred display advertising format?

Once, there was also Flash. It offered flexibility in terms of design and interactivity. However, security vulnerabilities, and the fact it required a browser plugin, saw big tech industry players drop support for it.

Finally, in June 2016 Google stopped supporting Flash banner ads and it ceased to be a valid format. Instead another format, HTML5, was crowned the number one advertising format for display advertising – with static ads remaining as the dull older brother.

What is a HTML5 banner ad?

Put simply, a HTML5 banner is an ad that uses the same coding language used to design and control webpages. It applies the latest update of Hypertext Markup Language. HTML5 banners are therefore coded and updatable – and interactive – unlike static banners.

For example, within a HTML5 banner ad, text, images, video, and JavaScript are easily editable, much in the same way as any webpage. Thus basic HTML5 banner ads can be coded to automatically optimise to look perfect for every device and website.

They are also ideal for publishing to multiple ad networks, and offer advanced display marketers the ability to track clicks, as well as upload live data. Thanks to its superiority as a coding language, HTML5 is the default option for creating and controlling display campaigns.

Display Advertising vs Search Advertising

Search advertising is an advertisement that appears on the search engine results page (SERP) after a user types in a corresponding keyword. This ad reaches users with the purchase intent since they look for a product that a brand advertises.

Display advertising means placing ads on sites relevant to your product and target audience. This kind of ad is based on a push approach, while search ads — on pull one. It means that only users looking for a particular product come across search ads, while display ads are shown based on different targeting criteria.

Choosing the best ad to reach your goal, consider your search volume, a need to increase brand awareness, budget, and your type of business. Firstly, you need to know if the audience is familiar with your brand and product. For this purpose, you can check the search volume for the necessary keyword with tools like Ahrefs. If the volume is low, you can choose display advertising. If the audience is familiar with your brand, invest in search ads.

Secondly, decide whether you need to improve your brand awareness. If you’re an established brand and your outreach is wide, make use of search ads. This way, you will sell to customers who already know you and your product.

Thirdly, think of your budget. Building brand awareness with the help of display advertising is an expensive and long-term strategy that will bring you lower conversions than search ads could. If your business is on a tight budget, you’d better invest in search ads because they will bring you more money.

The last important factor is your type of business. If you provide local products and services, choose search ads. If a person has an acute toothache, lost their apartment keys, or their pet got sick, they will look for immediate solutions on Google and choose a company ranking high on SERP.

Types of Display Advertising

Interactive and video display ads are becoming more and more popular since they help attract user attention and can be more engaging than traditional ads. Let’s check out several examples of display ads.

Tokionomo promotes its product in the New York Times using an interactive ad to draw the attention of users. The brand offers a shelf-advertising robot that ensures a brand new type of brand communication.

Congrats, now you know the pros and cons of display ads, their types, the way they differ from search ads and have some examples at hand. So, choose the best type for your business and increase your brand awareness and sales

Sources:

https://www.brid.tv/the-power-of-display-advertising-and-why-you-should-use-it/
https://www.bannerflow.com/resources/ultimate-guides/display-advertising/
https://sendpulse.com/support/glossary/display-advertising
Display advertising

Video ads: These advertisements use videos or animations to connect with potential customers on a more personal level. Video ads are one of the most effective forms of display advertisements and great for generating brand awareness.

Examples of Excellent Display Ads, and Why They Work

To help you create an excellent display advertising campaign of your own, let’s look at these real-life examples. Below, you’ll find eight display ads that have worked in the past. We’ll discuss why they’ve enjoyed success.

Spotify

This is a promotion for Spotify Premium. If you use the free version, you know all too well that the ads can be intrusive to the in-app experience; this ad works because it gets to the point. What they are directly and indirectly saying is, “You can wave goodbye to ads and try the full version of Spotify for 30 days, after which you probably won’t want to return to the free edition.”

What makes this ad work? It addresses a pain point that customers using the free service all have, and offers an immediate, free (for a time) solution. The text is clear and not cluttered, and the green-means-go action button stands out. Single or two-tone color schemes with vibrant tones are also very effective statistically as they tend to pop out to the user on a desktop or mobile device.

MailChimp

Why does this particular ad campaign work? Well, there are several reasons. Rhyming is a powerful way to make your message stick, and each ad is equal parts funny and absurd—inviting connection through humor. Moreover, the colors are simple and appealing.

Klarna

This pay-later service originated in Stockholm, Sweden—where it still has its headquarters. And in the ad you see above, it has dug deep into its Scandinavian roots. Klarna isn’t actually Swedish for “smoother shopping”, so it’s added a bit of humor for users, as you can see with the two characters that pay homage aesthetically to playful Swedish stereotypes.

HP is one of the largest tech companies in the world and is perhaps best known for its printers. How do you make printing seem a little more interesting? Create ads that are fun to view and read, of course.

Adobe

Adobe is one of the world’s biggest software companies. Adobe’s solutions primarily focus on helping creatives achieve their goals. Photographers, designers, and podcasters use several tools (e.g., Lightroom, InDesign, and Audition).

The ad is successful because it sums everything up in four words; you take the picture, before bringing it to life with one of Adobe’s editing tools. The company has also used complimenting colors, making the ad more eye-catching.

Samsung

Samsung is a global manufacturer of various consumer items, including smartphones and tablets. It’s one of the fiercest competitors to Apple. As such, the company needs to ensure that its advertising game is on point.

Upon releasing the Galaxy S6 tablet, Samsung produced a campaign with a simple message: you can create work regardless of where you are. The ad appealed to people who might need to create quick prototypes for clients on the go, along with those either traveling or working remotely.

Huawei

The ad encourages people to be present with their loved ones aside, but it’s clever because you can still see the main product that Huawei is trying to sell. Moreover, the candy cane adds to the Christmas theme – as do the shades of red.

Are There Other Forms of Display Ads?

1. Banner Ads: One of the oldest and traditional forms of advertising, banner ads usually appear at the top of websites in a “banner” format. Here’s an example from Amazon Prime:
2. Interstitial Ads: These ads appear as web pages that are served to users before they are directed to the original page they requested. In the example below, you can see how this appears before accessing a web page or app on a mobile device:
3. Rich Media: These ads include interactive elements, such as video, audio and clickable elements. The example below shows an ad from DemandGen that includes an opt-in form right within the ad itself:
4. Video Ads: The YouTube advertising platform, as well as social networks like Instagram and Facebook, have opened a whole new avenue for marketers. Video ads allow you to reach your audience and connect with them on a personal level, and are well worth investing in.

On top of these formats, native advertising is an effective strategy to deliver great creative and get your message in front of an engaged audience. This approach allows you to produce content that your audience loves on their favourite channels. Check out our complete guide to native advertising to learn more.

What Are The Benefits and Downsides to Display Advertising?

As is the case with all marketing activities, display campaigns can come with their own pros and cons. Before we get into some actionable and in-depth advice on how to apply display ads to your business, let’s look at their benefits and downsides.

1. Diversity: Display ads come in many shapes and sizes. And as you’ve seen above, they can be presented in a number of formats, too. This means you can choose a style and advertising format that will help you achieve your goals.
2. Reach: Thanks for the Google Display Network (GDN), you can access millions of sites straight from your Google Ads account.
3. Targeting: Because of GDN’s extensive reach, you can also target the right audience by placing your ads on the right websites. This includes demographic and geo-targeting, along with specific interests of your target audience.
4. Measurable: Clicks, impressions and conversions can all be tracked from Google Ads, as well as Google Analytics for more granular performance and engagement tracking.

1. Banner Blindness: Because of the prolific nature of display ads, many users have come to ignore them completely. This means a lower click-through rate. However, this can be circumvented using remarketing and rich media ads. You’ll learn all about remarketing later in this guide.
2. Ad Blockers: Along with this, ad blocker technology has risen in popularity over the last few years. Many brands and media outlets have tried to circumvent this, however, by giving users the option of allowing ads or purchasing a subscription:

Sources:

https://www.marinsoftware.com/blog/the-best-display-ads-of-2022-and-why-they-work
https://www.acquisio.com/blog/agency/what-are-display-ads-5-steps-to-effective-visual-advertising/
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/display-advertising-definition

Users can get started in seconds with a blank board or choose from hundreds of categorized templates created by other users that can be modified as needed. Trello offers integrations with Slack, Google Drive, Dropbox, and dozens of other third-party platforms as well as mobile apps to streamline collaboration and workflows.

Best Small Business Software

Michael Kurko is a freelance writer who has worked with brands including Software Advice, Fit Small Business, and Fast Capital 360. He is an expert in small business marketing, finance, wealth management, and small business technology.

According to a recent survey, the average entrepreneur spends 68% of the time tackling day-to-day tasks and only 32% of the time on long-term goals, strategic planning, and other tasks that can help their business grow. Due to their limited operating budgets and small staffs, small businesses usually can’t afford the tools and systems that will help them streamline their daily operations.

We reviewed dozens of software platforms built specifically to help small businesses take care of the tasks that will help them thrive. We chose the best based on common business needs, quality of the platform, ease-of-use, and affordability. Here are our top picks.

List of top 21 business management software

1. ProofHub

ProofHub is an all-in-one business management software that helps businesses manage work in a way that everything can be kept organized in one place. It is a central platform that allows teams to sort through the clutter and visualize their everyday tasks seamlessly.

The software is based on the concept of centralizing all of your project requirements for simple access. ProofHub eliminates the need for several apps to share updates, collaborate, or manage assignments; all can be done in one spot.

You can assign tasks to your team members, track their progress as they do them, and ping them for updates whenever you need them. You can easily plan out the rest of the week and make meeting notes. It allows you to send out wishes to everyone by letting you make company-wide announcements. Team members can even connect with each other instantly using personal or group chat.

After approving the final adjustments to the deliverables, managers and their subordinates can easily mark activities from “doing” to “done.” ProofHub also allows you to manage and share files. You can even ping the customer with a progress report, ensuring that all of your work is completed on time and in one place.

The task management section of ProofHub is responsible for the creation, management, and tracking of tasks in a project. Tasks for the entire team can be planned and readily laid down in a visual-friendly Kanban format and Gantt charts.

The Table view in ProofHub organises all of your tasks like a dynamic Excel spreadsheet. It’s quite useful for someone who has spent their entire working life working with tables, because it’s jam-packed with column functions. You can also customize the task view as per your unique needs using custom fields . The calendar view allows you to see all of the tasks you’ve been allocated throughout the week, so you’re always aware of when you need to follow up on important chores.

Whether on-premise or remote, ProofHub brings your team together with active collaboration features. The discussions section in ProofHub helps you have real-time discussions with your team members and segregate them on the basis of specific topics.

With the use of markup tools and annotated in-file comments, the proofing tool allows you to provide detailed feedback. Your collaborators can see each other’s comments, make changes as needed, and submit new versions for approval.

ProofHub keeps track of your team’s time spending patterns, which helps you remain on top of your schedule. By using time logging, monitoring, and reporting technologies, you may establish time accountability.

Timesheets in ProofHub are like spreadsheets for displaying the time logged by your team. You can view clean reports on how your team is spending time, what tasks are spending the most time and how many billable hours they have consumed.

ProofHub is an excellent file storage solution that smartly manages file copies, versioning, and sorting in one convenient location. It has a nicely structured file system and 100 GB (expandable) of file storage space for all of your project files.

ProofHub allows you to upload all of your project files and categorize them into specific folders. You can also attach files to communication modules like team Chat, Discussions, and Tasks, and all of your attachments will be conveniently accessible in the Files section.

You can also make numerous versions of the same file under the files section, each with its own version history. Upload new versions, revert to an older version, and share the final work with your team with ease.

ProofHub’s activity tracker allows you to see all of the modifications and updates that have been made to your projects. It informs you of each and every action taken by a team member. So, if one of your team members completes a task, leaves a comment, hits a milestone, makes a note, and so on, you’ll be notified automatically.

The ‘Me view’ in ProofHub is an excellent way to keep track of your own progress and productivity. Individuals can easily see all the tasks assigned to them, what needs to be done on priority, what is pending, and what has been accomplished.

2. Flodesk

Flodesk is a fast-growing email marketing service for small businesses. Their focus is on design, enabling small business owners to create beautiful emails and showcase their brand. Flodesk offers workflows that allow users to automate lead magnet delivery, welcome sequences, and more with an easy-to-use visual builder.

Conclusion

Using business management approaches to streamline your daily tasks is the need of the hour. A useful business management software not only assists you in improving your skills, but it also brings balance to many of your business procedures. When it comes to dealing with project uncertainty, modern project tools are a manager’s best friend. At the end of the day, everyone wants a more successful business and happier employees, which can only be achieved through proper management.

Vartika Kashyap is the Chief Marketing Officer at ProofHub and has been one of the LinkedIn Top Voices in 2018. Her articles are inspired by office situations and work-related events. She likes to write about productivity, team building, work culture, leadership, entrepreneurship among others and contributing to a better workplace is what makes her click.

Conclusion

Using business management approaches to streamline your daily tasks is the need of the hour. A useful business management software not only assists you in improving your skills, but it also brings balance to many of your business procedures. When it comes to dealing with project uncertainty, modern project tools are a manager’s best friend. At the end of the day, everyone wants a more successful business and happier employees, which can only be achieved through proper management.

Vartika Kashyap is the Chief Marketing Officer at ProofHub and has been one of the LinkedIn Top Voices in 2018. Her articles are inspired by office situations and work-related events. She likes to write about productivity, team building, work culture, leadership, entrepreneurship among others and contributing to a better workplace is what makes her click.

Authorship:

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/best-small-business-software-4154265
https://www.proofhub.com/articles/best-business-management-software
https://www.proofhub.com/articles/best-business-management-software#:~:text=%20Below%20are%20some%20commonly%20used%20software%20in,Database%20software%205%20Word%20processing%20programs%20More

Active voice helps create succinct, reader-friendly sentences. It’s also more direct; when you speak directly to the audience (“You can do it”) it’s more engaging than saying “It can be done.” This is important on your website FAQ page as well.

Know your audience

It sounds simple, but so many writers put pen to paper—or finger to keyboard—before thinking about who it is they’re trying to reach. Before drafting content, ask yourself these questions: Who is my primary audience? What about a secondary audience who can influence and inform my primary audience? How will they find my site online?

For example, say you’re creating a coaching website or an online portfolio. Your primary audience might be existing clients. However, your secondary audience is much broader and could include other professionals, reporters, or anyone who might need your services in the future. You’ll need to make sure your content is both accessible and interesting to all of these audiences. What kind of questions might these groups ask about a particular topic? Where are they most active online? What kind of information do they need?

Audiences find web content through many different paths—social media sharing, links from other websites, email sharing, and search engines. That last method is especially important when you write for the web. Text could be extremely well-written and informative, but if it’s not optimized for search engines, chances are few people will find it. Think of your audience again: what search terms would they type into Google? If you’re posting a resume online or making a website for your freelance work, what kind of jobs are you looking for? Make sure to include those terms in headlines and sub-headers.

Follow the “inverted pyramid” model

Web readers have short attention spans—they’ll decide whether your site has the information they need in seconds. Structure your content like an upside-down pyramid or cone. The most important messages go at the top of the page. Then, gradually drill down to the more specific, supporting information.

For example, say you’re creating a web page about a conference. The most pertinent details—a description of the theme, date, and location—would appear at the top of the page. Supporting details like speakers and their lecture topics would follow. The less important information—such as conference organizers, the history of the conference series or a list of related resources—would appear at the bottom of the page.

Bring your business online with Jimdo.

These two graphs can help you conceptualize the structure of your site.

How to Write Website Content

Pre-Writing Tips

Tip #1: Define Your Purpose

The single most important thing for any writer of copy is to understand its purpose. Knowing your end goal from the outset helps you craft the perfect piece of content and an ideal call-to-action statement (I’ll talk more about CTAs in Writing Tips).

Tip #2: Understand Your Target Audience

Let’s say selling is your primary goal. You can determine the best methods of selling only by knowing your audience. The more you know about your prospects, the better you can convert them into paying customers.

If you can learn to write in the ways in which your visitors speak or search, you can start building up a relationship of trust. And if you answer their specific question, they may become your loyal audience and clients.

Tip #3: Know Your Competitors

It’s likely that visitors to your website will also be considering the competition, so you need to make a strategic decision about whether to offer similar content or branch out and offer something different. Research can be an excellent way to spot trends among competitors and get ahead of the game.

“Look at the search results to determine how feasible it even is to rank, how we should structure our content, tone/sentiment analysis, what featured/rich snippets we can earn, and whether to focus on informational and/or transactional content.”

“Identify which pieces of content are driving engagement, be it traffic (estimated of course), likes, shares, etc. Social signals send a clear message in terms of what your shared audience finds valuable and interesting. Use those pages and compare page titles, meta descriptions, and type of content (long/short form, video content, etc.).”

Writing Tips

Tip #4: Hook Your Readers from the First Line

Tip #5: Make Your Copy Scannable

The layout is important too. Most people skim read, so to ensure that the text is easily scannable, you should include headers, bulleted and numbered lists, descriptive subheadings, and white space between paragraphs.

Tip #6: Help Readers Navigate

Remember that there are multiple routes through which audiences find web content. It could be from a post shared on social media, via links on other websites, via a marketing email, or through a search engine results page.

It’s also a good idea to post links to your social media accounts prominently to create a connection between your brand and visitors. They may leave the site, but remain your social media subscriber and return to the site.

Tip #7: Talk to Readers as You Would a Friend

Active voice: use sentence structure like “You can order our services” instead of “Our services can be ordered.” The passive voice is relevant when you want to sound more formal; in other cases, use the active voice to sound more personal.

Tip #8: Talk in Layman’s Terms

Continuing the idea of the conciseness of your copy, keep your copy simple. Research from The Literacy Project tells us that the average American reads at 7th to 8th-grade level. If you use simple language, your readers might be more likely to understand and remember more.

Tip #9: Avoid Spelling, Grammar, or Punctuation Errors

Tip #10: Encourage Readers to Act

Tip #11: Demonstrate Proof that the CTA Is Worth It

A good strategy is to include some proof to back up statements you have made about your products or services. This might be through success stories, original research data, customer testimonials, a relevant expert’s biography, or partnerships. This will help show your expertise and dispel any doubts that may inhibit the customer’s action.

The Different Types of Website Content Writing

• Brand content. This includes all your corporate pages, such as your company profile, history and milestones, team bios, customer testimonials, career section, and press releases.
• Blog. There are different types of content you can create for your blog. You can write how-to articles, interviews and Q&As, product guides, competitor comparisons, listicles, tips, best practices, and checklists.
• Product pages. If you have an e-commerce store, you should have product descriptions and checkout pages. Otherwise, you create pages detailing your products or services along with a CTA or lead form.
• Landing pages. These long, detailed pages either capture leads or generate sales. Use landing pages to describe the pain points of your customers, offer the solutions you’re providing, outline testimonials of your customers, give answers to possible objections, and list the price and value you’re offering.
• Support pages and documents. You can create FAQs, a knowledge base, and a contact page for customers to get support. You may also include product manuals, technical documents, and how-to videos in the mix.
• Long-form content. If you want to establish thought leadership, you back it up with authoritative, long-form content on your website or make it available for download. This includes research reports, case studies, whitepapers, and e-books.
• Email. This is a specialized form of content writing that covers different stages of the sales funnel. Create drip campaigns to move email subscribers toward a purchase. Send out promotional email campaigns to generate sales. Craft transactional emails to confirm orders or upsell products. And write newsletters to nurture loyal customers.
• Social media posts. Creating content for social media is unique. Create short, attention-grabbing copy. Be sure to use striking visuals and compelling videos to engage people.
• Scripts. With the rise of videos, podcasts, and webinars, consider creating this type of content to incorporate into your website. This requires writing scripts purposefully written for this kind of media.

The three most popular and effective types of content writing are case studies, pre-produced videos, and eBooks or whitepapers that prospective users can download and read, according to a 2018 study by the Content Marketing Institute . Once you’ve created a website to be proud of, it’s time to fill it in with content of these types.

Of these most popular content types, marketers that were surveyed for the study said that eBooks/whitepapers were the most effective at driving conversions and generating new business. That is because these long-form pieces of content are located at the bottom of the marketing funnel, educating customers in-depth about the exact benefits and outcomes they will gain by choosing you over the competition. Putting these pieces behind a form is a great way to gain contact information and other insights about potential leads.

Though case studies are very popular and necessary to create, they are less effective at converting new business in and of themselves, because they are located closer to the top of the funnel. A case study is a storytelling summary of a client relationship or project where your services or product have led to success. While this content will get potential customers interested in learning more, it’s not as likely to convince them to buy all on its own.

Though videos are the most-consumed content on the Web, they don’t show up as either effective or ineffective in the study. While you might want to eventually create some videos to meet user expectations and engage different types of audiences, this may be best prioritized as an evolution of your content strategy, not its foundation.

Sources:

https://www.jimdo.com/blog/11-golden-rules-of-writing-website-content/
https://www.semrush.com/blog/14-tips-for-writing-awesome-website-content/
https://www.demandjump.com/blog/what-is-the-best-content-for-websites

If you don’t have any examples of your work, then take the time to write up a few short pieces (500 to 1,000 words) just so that you have something to show a potential client in case they ever ask. Any way that you can showcase your work puts you ahead of the competition.

) Know when to write for free. and when to say "no."

• The company/person is a well-known name you can use as a resume builder. Ex: If you want to be a marketer and Seth Godin asks for your help on a page. then say yes to this gig. You can now say you’ve worked with Seth Godin which greatly adds to your credibility.
• The company/person is a hero of yours, and you want to work with them no matter what. Ex: If Tesla or SpaceX were to ask for a bit of your advice, and you really love those companies, then say yes.
• The company/person has a huge audience, and you will be getting credit for your work. Ex: If a blog with an active audience and 10x the readers you have asks for a guest post, they promise to also promote and email your article, and you’re definitely getting credit & links to your own site, then say yes.

If I catch you working for some shitty small insurance company that is "paying you in experience" . I will personally find you and smack the pen out of your hand and then smack you in the face for being so dumb.

Amazing Freelance Writing Jobs From Home That Pay $100+ Each (Get Paid to Work From Home – Even as a BEGINNER!)

1. Autostraddle: Cover queer/transgender lifestyle

Pay: Up to $150

This queer and transgender lifestyle magazine focuses on everything from beauty to entertainment and politics. They want pitches ( click here to see examples of successful pitches! ) from the demographic they represent and are especially keen to hear from POCs.

2. Bitch Media: Make money from your pop culture obsessions

Pay: Up to $150-500,000

Bitch Media is all about feminism and pop culture. They accept personal essays, opinion pieces, and reported stories, as well as photo essays and illustrations.

3. Briarpatch Magazine: Shine light on social issues

Pay: $250

4. Dame Magazine: Write for a respected women’s magazine

Pay: Around $200

One of the most highly-regarded feminist magazines, Dame wants stories relevant to smart women who are interested in knowing about the world around them. News, politics, culture, and science are some of their topics.

5. Femme Feminism: Explore fashion and feminism

Pay: Up to $100

6. Food First: Delve into food justice issues

Pay: $300

The focus of Food First is figuring out ways to end food insecurity. Send over stories about people who are affected by this issues, possible solutions, and more.

7. Huck Magazine: Write about radical culture

Pay: Up to $500

Describing itself as a magazine for those who are self-prescribed radical and independent, Huck covers culture, outdoors, arts, news, opinion, and profiles from an alternative lense.

Do you need qualifications to be a freelance writer?

Don’t let a lack of experience prevent you from diving into freelancing. You don’t need any fancy, expensive certifications or degrees to be a freelance writer, but you should, you know, actually be a decent writer. And even more importantly, you need to learn how to pitch and how to run a business, so you can get jobs and make money writing.

So — what should you say you could write, for these first writing clients? Here are some great newbie, entry-level writing projects you can pitch for to break into the biz, along with some thoughts on pricing:

1. Rewrite local small-business websites

I know, they’re a mess! Offer to rewrite theirs. Or to add some new content. Perhaps they could use a press page, to help them get free media mentions. Or they have no ‘About us’ page with team bios and the company’s story. I find those are the most common missing pages on small-biz sites.

If you love writing and have had feedback you write well over the years, it’s a guarantee you’ll be able to create something stronger than Joe Businessguy wrote on his own.

2. Find abandoned business blogs

Many small businesses start a blog, because execs know it can be a great way to improve their website’s search rankings, deepen customer bonds, and build their authority as a go-to expert in their space.

Abandoned business blogs — where there’s been no post for 6 months or a year or more — are legion. Pick an industry you know a bit about, search up companies in your region, and take a look.

Pricing: Start out at $50-$100 for short blog posts (500-750 words or so) from bitty companies, if you need first samples. Go up from there. My coaching students get $500 a post and more, from bigger companies, so there is move-up opportunity.

3. Write business emails

Ever make a purchase and not get a sequence of emails afterwards that offers to sell you more, or keeps building the relationship? Many, many businesses rely on email marketing.

Freelance writing job boards

Freelance writing job boards are ideal places to start your freelance writing journey. It is easier to land jobs on freelance writing boards as a beginner. And trust me, once you land your first job here, your confidence as a writer will be over the ceiling.

Freelance writing boards post a lot of writing tasks on their platforms. They have new jobs, almost hourly. Their entry-level is low, making them even friendlier and less competitive.

1. ProBlogger

A lot of writers consider Problogger to be their best pick when it comes to freelance writing gigs. What I love most about this site that you can search for using keywords. This feature lets you find work in your niches with ease.

Finding jobs here can be a little tasking than most other job boards. A lot of bloggers and freelance writers are members of this platform. Be prepared to send a few pitches daily to land jobs.

2. BloggingPro

BloggingPro is a free writing job board you may want to look at. They sort their jobs depending on types, i.e. freelance, internship, part-time, temporary, or full time. When applying for a job, make sure it fits what you are looking for.

3. All Freelance Writing, formerly known as All Indie Writers

You can quickly sort jobs depending on your level and your pay rates. The pay ranges are categorized into ‘low pay,’ ‘semi-pro’, and pro. This lets you spot gigs that are worth your experience easily.

4. Mediabistro

Mediabistro has been an excellent resource for freelance writers for over 20 years. They let you view job openings and apply for what interests you, free of charge. Furthermore, they offer free training courses in different fields, such as social media marketing and the fundamentals of public relations.

5. Freelance Writer’s Den

You need a subscription to find gigs on a Freelance Writer’s Den. With a membership worth $25 per month, you can land some good-paying writing gigs. They accept members from their waiting list. What I love most about this site is the writing resources they offer their members. They have three live training sessions every month. These resources are a sure way to build your skills as a beginner.

Conclusion

Freelance writing is a rewarding line of work to be involved in, and the freedoms that come along with it are an added bonus that makes the job even more appealing.

The trick to being a successful freelance writer is always to market yourself and never stop pitching. With the right amount of self-marketing, you’ll soon be well on your way to being well-known in this field of work.

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Disclaimer:Goats On The Road is an Amazon Associate and also an affiliate for some other retailers. This means we earn commissions if you click links on our blog and purchase from those retailers.

References:

https://copywritingcourse.com/freelance-writing-jobs-for-beginners/
https://www.writingrevolt.com/freelance-writing-jobs-from-home/
https://makealivingwriting.com/freelance-writing-jobs-for-beginners/
https://workathomesmart.com/freelance-writing-jobs-online-for-beginners/
https://www.goatsontheroad.com/freelance-writing-jobs-for-beginners/

Steps on How to Become a Writer

Do you need to write an essay for Cal States? Before you sit down to write a single word, there are different writing aspects you need to consider. For instance, if you are writing an argumentative essay, there are various aspects you need to consider. First, start by asking yourself, how do you write a thesis statement for an argumentative essay? Continue asking yourself, how do you write a conclusion paragraph for an essay? All these are some of the questions that should prepare you for your work. Here are the steps you need to consider.

• Start Today

If you want to start writing any piece of work, ensure that you start today. However, how do you write an outline for an essay? How do you write a conclusion paragraph for an article? Also, how do you write an introduction for an essay? These questions should help you to explore and know the vital elements that you need to include in your work.

• Explore

Even if you are writing a law essay, you need to explore. Most of the English written articles require enough data. It is advisable to explore and even know the writing format that you will use. Ideally, an MBA is a common course that is pursued by many people. However, if you have been asked to sit for an SAT, ensure that you write according to the instructions given.

• Know Yourself

If you want any form of work, ensure that you know the accurate analysis you need to explore. On the other hand, you need to know yourself. For instance, if you are writing on, why should we help the homeless? Make sure that you do not use persuasive terms in your work. Also, explore and know the narrative that will suit this kind of topic.

• Create a Writing Plan

The next step here is to create a writing plan. Suppose you want to write an article on art. Start by understanding art history. In other words, if you are writing about drama, economics, finance, history, Crucible, Berlin wall, geography, media, political science, sociology, and rhetorical analysis, ensure that you research to enable you to come up with perfect writing plans.

• Don’t Give Up

It would help if you never gave up when it comes to writing. If you are writing about English literature, make sure that you know the basics you need to use when writing. As a writer, you need to know the analytical skills that you should employ in your work. Also, you can join in different academic organizations such as NJHS that can help you to work on different chapters in school.

• Believe in Yourself

When it comes to writing, make sure that you believe in yourself. It has been discovered that most students use ACCUPLACER when making accurate course placement decisions. Ensure that you believe in yourself and do these placement tests to assess your proficiency in writing.

• Read

When I am in my room, I read different types of books to enhance my writing skills. Some of the best novels and books to read are such as King Lear, Jekyll and Hyde, Into the Wild, Fahrenheit 451, as well as The Lady of Shalott. Also, you can read Beowulf poem to understand various expository words that you can use in your writing.

• Invest in Training

If you want to become a professional writer, make sure that you invest in training. For instance, media studies involve the use of thematic terms, and students need to practice how to use them in their writing. Also, they should know how to conduct rhetorical scrutiny on literary work to understand how to phrase words, films, and texts that people use to communicate.

• Schedule Your Writing Time

You can become one of the freedom writers by scheduling your writing time. Also, as a student, you can join the national junior honor society, an international organization that can help you with some chapters you are writing about. You can consider writing your reflective essays to analyze Twilight. In doing this, you will attain your PGCE effortlessly.

Conclusion

Writing is a daunting task that needs thorough exploration. Fortunately, by going through the above steps, it will be easier to prepare yourself and know how to write. Consider searching for the best review sites if you want a professional writer to handle your work.