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10 Tips to Increase Email Marketing Response

2013-05-25T12:32:00.000+05:30

Email marketing is not dead, but at this stage in history people have a very low tolerance for marketing emails. In order to get a more positive response, you need to make your email marketing a little more targeted, and even a little more personal (if you can).

Getting a good response is no longer about having a massive email list. It is about engaging the recipient enough to get them to open the message in the first place, and then for making sure they do not delete/block your email within a few seconds of opening it. Here are some great tips for helping you to do just that.

1 - If you’re not 100% sure of their name then don’t use it

Do not forget that people use fake names to open up accounts. If you cannot be sure that the recipient has not used a fake name, then do not include any name within the message. People may forget that they have had used fake names and will simply block your email for fear that it might be a poorly optimized spam.

If the recipient had earlier made a purchase with you using a credit or debit card, then there is a chance that the name on the card is that of the person you are sending an email to (unless they used another person’s card). In this case, you should risk using their name on the email. Try opening with a salutation followed by the recipient’s last name. Some individuals might not too comfortable seeing you use their first names; especially so if they are not used to receiving messages from you.

If you can show and display an item that the recipient had bought from you before, it will add to your credibly. It is even more powerful if the email is optimized around the recipient’s previous purchases. Using lines such as, “if you liked that then you will love this” can work really well in such situations.

2 - Get to the point within the subject line

Your subject lines should be attention grabbing if your emails have to make any impact. People need a hook in order to make them look, but they also need to know what to expect. People have better things to do that trawl through a bunch of unknown messages. If you do not give them a clue as to what they will find inside, then people will not even look.

3 - Link to your website and your offer’s landing page

Email marketing Pundits might tell you that the only links you should be including are links to your landing pages. However, such a theory is not always correct. Your recepients may be interested in your offer, but they may also be interested in knowing more about you and what more you’ve got to offer. Therefore its always a good idea to include links to your home page as well.

4 - Keep the page lightweight so that it loads quicker

Your page should be no more than a few megabytes heavy. Any more and your messages will take a long time to load; unless the recipient is on a 3/4G internet connection. Most people today are not willing to wait that long and unless your emails are optimized to load fast, you might lose out on potential customers.

5 - Start with your hook/point and make it big

Making your point – loud and clear – in the opening few lines of your messages can go a long way in eliciting the desired response from your email marketing campaigns. Making people search around for information is never a good idea. Make your point, make it attention grabbing, and then use the rest of the message to sell your point/hook to the recipient. A soft introduction is a very bad idea for an email message.

6 - Target your list for age and gender demographics

If you have the recipient’s age or gender data, then you should use such data to optimize and personalize your messages. A message which is optimised for the recipient’s age and gender generally gets far more responses than generalized messages.

7 - Keep up to date with spam triggers

It is important to avoid using certain words in your email’s subject line which might trigger the spam filters into action and cause your emails to land in your recipient’s SPAM folder. In order to keep up with changing spammer tactics, you need to keep yourself up to date with the most recent spam triggers. Some of the most common ones include excessive use of capital letters or excessive punctuation (i.e. using an exclamation point more than once, e.g. “!!!!!”).

Here is a great resource on spam trigger words.

8 - Keep your message very concise and to the point

You need to assume that your email is going to be skim read. Your large formatted title/hook is the thing that keeps them from instantly deleting your message. The rest of the content should be optimized as if it is written for a person with a very short attention span. The best way of doing this is to keep your message as short and concise as possible.

9 - Bright colors are okay if they are used carefully

A large bright and bold colored headline is acceptable as long as the rest of the message is fairly conservative. However, excessive decor and too many bright and bold colors might just put-off your potential customers.

10 - Do not use fraudster talk

The term fraudster talk is an invention of this article, and it stands for all the things that fraudsters/con-artists send in their emails. Terms such as “Save money”, “urgent” and “free” should not be used on your email without an extremely good reason.

It is also a very good idea to include unsubscription options with your emails.

I hope these email marketing best practices will help you get the desired response from your email marketing efforts. Thanks for reading and good luck.

Author bio: Korah Morrison, writer on College-Paper.org that helps students achieve their academic goals. Get 20% discount with –techblog20- promo code. With inputs from Sandipan.

Guest Blogging In The Penguin 2.0 Environment

2013-05-24T15:09:00.003+05:30

In my previous post, I had covered the Impact of Penguin 2.0 on Link Building and SEO. In this post I will solely concentrate on Guest Blogging and how it has changed in the post Penguin 2.0 era.

However before I proceed any further, it would be helpful to recapitulate what Guest Blogging is all about and why it is considered such an important SEO tool.

The Concept of Guest Blogging

The concept of guest blogging is easily understood with an example. Let us consider that there are two individuals X and Y. X owns Blog A, while Y owns Blog B. X approaches Y with a proposal to publish an article on Blog B in exchange for a link that will point to Blog A. This is how Guest Blogging works.

Why is Guest Blogging an Important SEO Tool

Continuing with the same example, X publishes an article on Y's Blog simply because doing so will give him a link back to his own blog. Thus guest blogging is nothing but a link building exercise which will help X's Blog improve its search engine rankings.

We know from experience that generally speaking, the number of links that point towards a website (from other sites) play a crucial role in determining its search rankings. Links are akin to votes of confidence in favour of a site.

It may seem to you at this point that more the number of links that point towards a site, the better is its search engine rankings (for a relevant keyword). However such a proposition is not entirely true as you will see in the ensuing paragraphs.

Guest Blogging as it now Exists

What started out as a simple link building exercise among bloggers, has now become so popular that organisations have taken to it as a parched takes to water. Guest blogging now forms an integral part of most organisation's content marketing and SEO strategies.

Guest Blogging Outsourced

It is seen, more often than not, that organisations who have adopted guest blogging lack the necessary time and staff availability to invest into guest blogging. They have therefore embraced outsourcing. All they do is to pay money to content marketing firms who do the rest for them.

These firms produce content in the bulk for their clients, approach other bloggers to post articles on their blogs and follow up with them until the so called 'guest post' is up and running.

The organisations originally outsourcing this work generally have little control over the entire process. All they are interested in knowing is the number of articles (with links) that have gone live during the period.

The Problem that lies in this Approach

The problem lies in the fact that these organisations have managed to commercialize the entire process of guest blogging. As mentioned earlier, they pay money to content marketing firms to create and submit posts on their behalf. These agencies in turn produce content in bulk so that they can find more backlinks for their client websites (and make more profits for themselves). And, in trying to do so what they compromise is on content quality. Most of the articles they produce are spun and thus unacceptable as far as Google policies are concerned.

Moreover the very fact that these articles are of a poor quality mean that none of the popular blogs will ever pick them up. Thus these articles end up getting published in sites that hardly seem to know the meaning of the word quality.

What has changed with Penguin 2.0 and why this approach to Guest Blogging is no more Effective

Penguin 2.0 targets webspam of all kinds. With Penguin 2.0 over-optimisation and poor-quality link building can hurt you. In fact, low-quality links do not count anymore. Thus if your site has hundreds of links coming in from unrelated low quality blogs or websites, you might be a potential target for the imposition of a Google penalty.

Now if you have had outsourced guest blogging to an external agency (or bulk posted content on other sites on your own account without assigning much importance to quality), you are indeed running the risk of a Penguin 2.0 downgrade should most of your links come in from low quality sites.

Guest Blogging in Penguin 2.0 Environment

Post Penguin 2.0, you will have to give your guest blogging strategy a serious rethink and adapt the same to its requirement. Thus, you need to..

1. Focus on Content Quality

Armed with a quality article, you can safetly approach any authority blog within your niche for a guest posting opportunity. If you devote sufficient attention to the aspect of content quality, you will never have to worry about getting your articles published in a low quality blog/site again.

2. Choose Authority Blogs within your Niche

When zeroing in on blogs/websites to guest post on, choose sites that are related (in terms of content) to your own blog/website. This will help your link building efforts appear more natural to Google Algorithms. If a large proportion of your links come in from sites that are 'unrelated' to your content, you are running the risk of penalisation.

3. Bring about Anchor Text Variations

Since Penguin 2.0 seeks to target 'over-optimisation' of all kinds, bringing about Anchor Text variations assumes greater importance. If you use the same anchor text for all your links, the same hardly seems natural. Instead introduce variations in your choice of Anchor Text.

For example, if you have targeted the anchor text "Best SEO Tools" in one of your articles, you can use the anchor text "Best Tools for your SEO Needs" in your next post. Also use a mix of short-tail and long-tail keywords as your anchor text - as I have done so in the example.

4. Link Throughout your Site

Again to make your link building efforts seem more natural, diversify links through your site.

Reviewing your Link Building Efforts and Protecting your Site from a Possible Penalty

At this stage generate a list of sites that link back to you. You can use any good SEO tool available in the market for this purpose. Even the Google Webmaster's Tools comes in handy for this purpsose. If you had outsourced your link building efforts, you should ask the concerned agency for such a list.

On an appraisal of this list, if you find that a number of links pointing towards your website make you susceptible to a Google penalty (based on the factors discussed above), you can either use the Google Disavow Tool to disown such bad links or make specific requests to the concerned webmasters to take down such links - the former being a more effective approach.

With the Disavow tool you can tell Google not to consider external links from certain sites while determining the rankings/authority of your site and thus protect your website from being de-ranked.

I hope with this article I have been able to clear all your doubts regarding Guest Posting post Penguin 2.0. For any queries or suggestions please feel free to use the comment form below. Thanks for reading.

Image Via: Agentblackhat.com

Link Building and SEO In The Penguin 2.0 Environment

2013-05-23T15:05:00.000+05:30

Penguin 2.0 algorithm update is here and it promises to hit webspam hard. With the next generation Penguin 2.0, (called so because this change is not just a data refresh within the existing algorithm, but changes made to the algorithm itself) Google attempts to specifically target black hat spam and give greater thrust to content quality and ethical link building.

Before going further into our discussion, it makes sense to recapitulate what the original Penguin update was all about.

The original penguin update (Penguin 1.0) was released on April 24, 2012 in an attempt to de-rank all websites that participated in unethical SEO practices (Black Hat SEO) that include keyword stuffing, anchor text over-optimization and unnatural link building. The Penguin update also came down hard on the so called 'link networks' that promised quick SEO results for their clients. Google subsequently made several 'data refresh' updates to the original algorithm to counter webspam more effectively.

What to Expect from Penguin 2.0

Penguin 2.0 is the next gen kid and thus better equipped to counter webspam than its predecessors. The update will attempt to target the following areas

1. Coming Down Harder on Black Hat SEO

Black Hat SEO as I have already mentioned is an attempt by sites to manipulate search rankings by participating in several unethical practices that include 'stuffing' articles with keywords, manipulative link building using paid link networks (you pay to buy hundreds of links that go live overnight), over-optimizing anchor texts (including use of exact-match anchor text) and similar other practices.

Black Hat SEO gives an unfair advantage to webmasters who indulge in such practices and often lead to poor content finding a way to the top of the search result pages. Penguin 2.0 would seek to provide a knock-out punch on the face of such practitioners by ensuring that only quality content (that are of relevance to the users) are assigned the top-spots in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs)

2. Devaluing Low Quality Link Building

Guest Blogging and Infographic releases have emerged as the most important link building techniques in the recent years. However a large number of organisations have been outsourcing these functions to agencies who produce content in bulk and get them published in a large number of low quality websites and/or blogs. The same goes for Infographics as well.

With Penguin 2.0, Google will devalue links from low quality blogs and websites. Thus links from low-quality sites (see Panda Update) = No links at all.

Also links coming in from unrelated sites will hold less value than links coming in from 'related' sites.

3. Negating Paid Social Media Promotions

We know that social shares can have a positive impact on SEO. We also know that social shares can be purchased. Thus this leaves room for manipulation of search results - something that goes against Google policies. Thus with Penguin 2.0 and the updates that would follow, Google will attempt to pull in the plug on such paid social media promotions. How Google attempts to achieve this is not known and will become evident in the months to come. Perhaps they will come down hard on 'agencies' that 'sell' social media shares or they will concentrate (while considering the impact of social shares) more on the authority of the 'person' making the shares than on the number of shares received.

4. Better Information Dissemination

With the new Penguin update, you can expect greater information dissemination to help webmasters better identify (and rectify) grey areas in their optimisation process.

5. More Thrust On Author Rankings

Author Rankings are starting to play a very important role is SEO. With Penguin 2.0 the thrust on Author Rankings will be more profound - thus helping content written by authors with more authority to rank higher in SERPs.

Link Building and SEO In The Penguin 2.0 Environment

After the short discussion on what to expect from the next-gen Penguin update, I will now discuss how you need to adapt your link building strategies to match the requirements of the Penguin 2.0 environment.

As with any Google algorithm update ignorance in this case is not a bliss.

1. Create Authority Articles.

Focus on creating authority articles within your given niche. Authority articles are articles which extensively discuss a particular topic and come across as a 'complete resource' for those who are seeking more information on the given topic.

Focusing on this strategy can bring you twin benefits. One, such articles can help improve your domain authority. Second and more importantly, authority articles easily pull links from other quality sites - who might want to link to your article page in order to provide more complete information to their readers (a natural link building tool) .

Thus authority articles can give a huge boost to your search engine optimisation efforts and help you rank high within your niche.

2. Disown the Black Hat

Stay away from all black hat techniques (that promise results overnight). Instead focus on ethical link building and other optimisation techniques. White Hat SEO commands greater investment of time and efforts, but in the long run will also give you better results.

3. Do the Guest Blogging Right

As I have pointed out earlier, links from low-quality sites no more count. Thus, you need to adapt your guest blogging tactics accordingly. An authority website will never publish an article that is low in quality or copied from other sources. Therefore to make it to a quality blog/website, your article has to be well written, informative and relevant. It is also important to ensure that the site you guest post on is related to your site so as to get the maximum benefits from your guest blogging endeavours.

Thus if you have been guilty of producing content on the bulk and getting them published in sites which are low in quality, its time you gave your strategy a serious rethink. Focus solely on quality content that can easily make a quality website its home.

The same holds true for Infographics. Only those Infographics which are 'high' on content and attractive in design will be picked up by authoritative websites. Anything else is simply a waste of time.

4. Incorporate Authorship Tags

The Rel=Author tags helps Google match your GooglePlus (G+) profile to the content you create on the web and thus keep track of the same. An author who churns out quality content on a regular basis is generally assigned a higher 'Author Rank' by Google and his/her articles generally command a higher rank in SERPs.

Read: Using Rel=Author tag in G+

5. Maintain Anchor Text Variations

Maintaining Anchor Text variations is very important if your want your link building efforts seem natural to Google. The cardinal rule here is not to use the same anchor text throughout. Instead introduce variations.

For example, assume you are a social media management company, and have targeted the anchor text "Social Media Optimisation" in one of your guest posts. In another guest post (on another site), instead of targeting the same key phase, you can use the phrase "Optimising Your Social Media Promotions" as your anchor text.

Also make sure that all your links do not 'lead' to the same page. Diversify your links throughout your site.

6. Staying Away from Paid Linking Or Paid Social Promotions

Here I would like to specially mention the fact that you need to stay away from paid linking of any kind. Google in the past has been severe on those 'link networks' that had sprouted on the web. Inspite of several take downs by Google, webmasters still continue to employ paid linking as a tool to manipulate search results. However with Penguin 2.0, Google will be fishing more aggressively for webmasters who still employ such paid linking tactics. Therefore do not at any cost accept or offer money to create links.

Similarly stay away from paid social shares and instead focus your efforts towards building a thriving community of social media followers (based on a give and take relationship) who joyfully share your posts around.

Is This The Death Of Blog Commenting?

No I don't think so. Blog commenting as an SEO tool will still continue to exist, however, its influence on search rankings might be considerably reduced.

As a safeguard never comment on blogs with unmoderated comments. Ideally you should be commenting on quality blogs within your niche. Each comment should go beyond the usual "Great post buddy" claim and add some value to the post. And, please stay away from links within the text.

I hope with this article I have been able to provide an outlook on what you can expect from Penguin 2.0 and how you need to modify your link building SEO efforts to keep in sync with the same. Let us all resolve to keep #webspam out and make the web a more useful place from the unsuspecting reader.

For any queries or suggestions feel free to use the comment form below.

Framing Catchy Yet Marketable Company Name Ideas

2013-05-22T13:09:00.000+05:30

Perfecting business naming doesn’t happen overnight, yet it has happened in some strange ways. Some inventors have launched major labels after they’ve finalized the finished product; others have simply taken two common words and slammed them into one odd sounding phrase. What worked for others may fail for you, meaning you’ll probably need days of brainstorming to perfect your corporate name. Add marketability issues into your naming process, and the whole enchilada gets harder.

Let’s explore some interesting ways small businesses, individual entities or large corporations could name themselves, or avoid error, while keeping future marketing at the forefront of their final decision.

Avoid Social Hotness

Basing small business or large company name ideas solely off what everyone is talking about would be your first mistake. Since today’s trends are tomorrow’s archives, having your entire existence built off what millions love today wouldn’t help your bottom line. Developing products under your name, however, based off trending topics could net quick ‘in and out’ profits. Passing your business name off to sons should have meaning; therefore, avoid social trends which haven’t been proven as rock-solid when naming your business, and ensuing domains.

Make It A Catch-All Name

Having numerous products, services or skills means you’ll name your business based off what best collects your offerings under one ‘umbrella’ description. Having the catch-all approach to naming makes marketing much simpler as plans created for marketing purposes will easily include everything your business offers. Sure, this makes the naming process much harder, but what part of starting something new is easy? Our goal is lowering marketing investments, raising public perception and becoming the community cornerstone within your niche, forcing your naming methods to take slightly more caution.

Shoot For 3 Words

Don’t restrict yourself to three words, yet anything longer may frustrate consumers with shorter memory banks. One word, of course, would ideally work best for both search engine optimization and local storefronts; if not possible, work up to two words, and so forth. The more the business name resonate within consumers’ minds, the better grassroots advertising methods – namely word of mouth – will perform all marketing work for you. Avoid using difficult to pronounce words or phrases, unless your clientele is expected to be an upscale class of English professors.

Plan For SEO

Company name ideas should reflect potential costs per click, or how easily one could achieve organic positioning with great content related to your name selection. Stricter rules, thanks to Panda, mean creativity must be invoked when starting anew in search marketing, with lesser concentration on linking. Relevance, both in content and domain usage, is more necessary than ever. So, in addition to above mentioned tips, keep your digital marketing ROI in sight when naming your business since the harder people must search for you, the more you’ll need to spend.

More vital than ever, naming your business must combine products, services, expected audience and marketability into one memorable, bite-sized, yet easy-to-market name which everyone will flock to. Unless you’ll target affluent individuals only, remember to keep elegant jargon minimal and your domain name’s potential reach in mind before finalizing company name ideas.

Roger Klawinski is a freelance writer and domainer who searches for domain names at BuyDomains.com Image via Mashable.com

21 Tips For A More Successful You

2013-05-22T10:34:00.008+05:30

There is a fine line between success and failure and the same lies in your efforts. The power to change lies with you. Its time to quell all your fears and go all out in a bid to achieve everything that you've always wanted to achieve.

The following post aims to help you achieve more success in your life's endeavours.

1. The only person stopping you is you.

2. Successful is he who perseveres in his handwork.

3. Trying to do too many things at once is akin to doing nothing.

4. Self belief is the best belief. Believe in yourself and your ideas.

5. Don't be shy of letting others know of your ideas.

6. Learning never ceases. Every experience is an opportunity to learn.

7. Be 'clear' about what you want to achieve. As long as you 'know your end' and are desperate to 'reach the end' you will always discover the 'road to the end.'

8. Ask yourself : Do I enjoy what I do? If not what bring me real joy.

9. Be Original. Nothing beats that.

10. Being productive is about cutting about the distractions.

11. Success lies in doing what you do best.

12. Confidence comes from being well prepared.

13. Devote a certain part of the day to the act of self-improvement.

14. As long as you are right, what others think of you is none of your concern.

15. Sleep is an absolute necessity. It refreshes your life.

16. Contentment kills creativity and the zeal to work hard.

17. Be committed to your cause. Commitment needs strong will power.

18. Learn to say NO.

19. Overnight success is a myth. Give yourself time.

20. One small step each day can take you further than one giant leap every weekend.

21. Treat others with compassion.

Bonus Tip: Now is the time to act.

Why Twitter Owes Its Existance To Two Way Radios?

2013-05-21T12:13:00.000+05:30

Did you know that Twitter owes its existence to two way radios? Honest!

Surprised? Shocked? Don’t be – this is 100% true. It is a fact that radio systems have inspired the creation of Twitter.

I bet that you still don’t believe this and are probably laughing out loud at my claim. You’re probably wondering that how could a boring technology that’s been in existence since the last 80 years inspire a social networking website that’s grown into a raging hit. You are probably asking: How can a Rip Van Winkle ever inspire a Justin Bieber to stardom?

So, the right thing to do is to clear your doubts. Listen to this story:

Jack Dorsey, one of the co-founders of Twitter, was a fan of two way radio technology since his childhood (in St. Louis, Missouri). He loved listening to the radio communications on a scanner. Jack would get his kicks listening to what the emergency services department had to communicate. He was fascinated about how things worked in the real world, and it is this radio communication that Jack has transitioned into the virtual world in the form of Twitter. Jack has admitted this on 60 Minutes, a popular show.

What Actually Inspired Jack To Create Twitter?

Jack was always struck by the fact that everyone communicating on a radio system spoke very crisply and clearly, and the communication was short and sweet. Many conversations would be in code, but nevertheless, even coded conversations would be clear and instantly decipherable.

Jack was also struck by the fact that people using radio systems always spoke about:

(a) What they were doing.

(b) Where they were going.

(d) What they were planning to do in the near future.

(e) What were their feelings.

(f) What are their intentions.

(g) How do they feel about a certain thing or event

All these factors got into Jack’s gray matter and the idea of Twitter was born.

Today, Twitter is just like a global online radio system, except that it is not restricted. You can write about anything for the whole world to see and comment. Of course, you cannot strictly compare it with a physical radio system – that would be asinine.

Like two way radios, it is easy to use. It is easy to join, simple to use, it can be automated, and most of all, it is democratic. Plus, with smartphones around, you can post all the information listed above at anytime. Finally, like radio communication, all the posts uploaded on Twitter are crisp, clear and short (140 characters, and no more).

What’s Next After Twitter?

There’s no stopping Jack now. Radios inspired him to create Twitter and the Twitter-smartphone revolution has inspired him to create Square, which will enables wireless credit card payments across all platforms (android, iOS, etc.). Jack also wants to become Mayor of New York.

Can we say that two way radio systems have had a role to play in the creation of Square? Nah, that would be too farfetched.

This is how radio systems have played a role in the creation of Twitter.

Author Bio: Jessie K. Wright is a blogger and tech-head from Kentucky who loves writing about information technologies.

The Top 5 Link Building Don'ts

2013-05-21T11:41:00.001+05:30

With another major Penguin update looming large (sometime this summer according to Matt Cutts) I wanted to put together a quick reminder of the link building strategies you should be straying away from in order to keep your site ranked well in Google search results. Google has already made a dozen or so updates to its first Penguin algorithm update, but this next one apparently according to sources is going to be just as big if not bigger than the original.

So now that I’ve warned you let’s get into the top 5 specific link building strategies you should be staying away from in order to better protect yourself from not just this upcoming Penguin update, but more that follow throughout the year.

1. Anchor Text Abuse

Whether you like it or not, Google is forcing SEOs to limit their anchor text strategies. In order to adapt, you’ll need a majority of your anchor texts to be brand specific and domain specific rather than keyword specific.

2. Guest Posting on Lower Quality Blogs

As one SEO consultant advised me, “there’s no difference between low quality guest posting and just plain ol’ article submissions.” Well said.

3. Directories of Any Kind

Other than Yahoo! Directory and Best of the Web, you’re going to find yourself in a bad 'place' with Google if Directories are part of your link building strategy. The only opportunity here is to get listed in highly moderated, very niche directories.

4. Too Many Links to Just One Page

The old strategy where a majority of your links go to your homepage is not going to cut it. Google has already been very good at identifying this sort of thing. Make sure you diversify your links throughout your site.

5. Too Many Links in a Short Period of Time

Be careful. Don’t get impatient! You’ve got to be patient with your link building strategies. Take the long-term investment approach. Building too many links to your website in a very short span of time may seem unnatural to the Google algorithms and your site might get downgraded as a result of this.

Conclusion:

There’s plenty more that I could add to this list such as blog commenting, paid links of any kind, article submissions etc. But these 5 are in my opinion the most important to mention.

You’re probably asking yourself… “well what link building strategies can I do?” That’s a tough question. In many ways it feels like the walls are closing in on us SEOs and our options for link building are becoming less and less over time. If you feel this way don’t worry, you’re not alone! There are a few good strategies out there that are still worth pursuing, and that many SEO’s, SEO companies, and SEO resellers are finding great success with this year.

Here are a few worth mentioning:

1. High quality guest posting
2. Broken link building
3. High quality Infographics
4. High quality press releases
5. Highly moderated niche specific web directories
6. Social social social!

Link building still works ladies and gentlemen! It just takes a lot more work than it used to. And those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do this work are going to reap the benefits for years to come!

This article was contributed by Nicole. She has been writing about link building strategies for years. Image Via seohour.com

Site5 Hosting Review

2013-05-20T17:05:00.000+05:30

If you believe homegrown companies are a foregone conclusion, you’ve never read our Site 5 web hosting review, your perfect hub for parking unused domain names. Completely built from the ground up by professional datacenter engineers, deploying all service and technical support in-house and offering no-frills billing, Site5 has truly brought down home web hosting for those who want local call centers and concierge-like treatment.

Trimming the fat off bogged down servers, continuously upgrading servers while offering perhaps the most dynamic work environment epitomizes the overall company persona which is backed by outstanding price structures. Read more of our exciting Site5 hosting review and share the love for true hosting at its finest, then see why domain names are finding their way to this site – or being registered there.

Price Value

The statement - 'nearly symmetrically perfect in every facet of product offering' - would best vocalize our praises of Site5. Since we don’t believe enough space existed to place our 'Site5 web hosting review of price value', we simplified everything in a few short phrases: unlimited bandwidth and disk space plus migration from one host to another is free. Each site can receive its own admin, and Site5 costs a mere seventeen cents a day to rent server space (which is easily made back with Adsense).

If that isn’t enough, customers can choose a server which is close to their home. That, in itself, is unheard of – unless, of course, you also toss in their free trial of services. The value one receives with all possible offerings is nearly insane compared to the price which you’ll pay. Perhaps our Site5 hosting review will expose this company enough to sink the competition – unless they’re doing this on their own. Domain names hosted locally means further protection for premium TLD’s.

Reliability

Site5 doesn’t write about their uptime – they challenge you to prove it. With their 99.9% uptime guarantee or your money back, the gauntlet is officially thrown back to the customer. All servers are housed in or around the corporate office so you’ll never be too far away from reliability. And for those ecologically conscientious, Site5 hosting review reveals they’re green, planting trees to offset carbon emissions. Standard backup generators are on-board to assure customers will be safe during power outages which also backs their uptime guarantee. Reliable servers equals happy domainers.

Control Panel

Based off the cPanel schema and programmed in-house comes the control panel solution suitable for users of all levels of expertise. Customers can easily work with third-party scripts, adjust MySQL databases, setup email addresses and do everything your standard cPanel or Plesk backend will allow. An excellent overall program for easy manageability of your entire website, and our Site5 web hosting review renders an easy two thumbs way up.

Customer Service

Technicalities which perplex novice or expert webmasters can easily be solved around the calendar simply by phoning, emailing or submitting ticket request online. The professional mannerism in which they handle simple or complex billing, hosting or server issues – albeit few issues are reported – can be solved quickly yet with efficacy towards the upset or hyper customer. Site5 also offers live monitoring of current server status which is helpful for those with heavy traffic.

We easily give the customer service portion of our Site5 hosting review a ten – perhaps an 11 based off how they’ll nurture to those who want to port their domain names to their servers.

Roger Klawinski is a freelance writer and domainer who sells his domains at Afternic.com, a domain auction marketplace.

How To Make Your Own Sports Site (And Why It's A Great Idea)

2013-05-19T12:06:00.002+05:30

They say that you should write about what you know, and for many of us that's sports. If you are the kind of person who watches the game, shouts at the TV, then rants about it to everyone you know (regardless of whether they're actually interested in the sport themselves), then a blog of your own to vent on and to use as a form of catharsis may be exactly what you need.

Here you can rant to your heart's content and make your opinions known, but unlike telling your disinterested girlfriend, you'll be able to share your views with other fans and enter into some lively debates.

Writing about sports is something that many of us could do then, and something that most of us would enjoy. That makes it a brilliant way to make some extra money and a perfect hobby.

Running a sports blog you see is very easy to do, and because it's such a popular subject you'll find that you can quite easily tart to find readers and discover new topics to write about. There's always something new to write about and the fans that come to your site are likely to be opinionated and passionate (about the sport) themselves. Do a little promotion then, write regularly and you could start to bring in some hefty advertising revenue. So how do you get started?

What You Will Need

What you will need to get started is a hosting service to buy your 'web space' from. Through a site like BlueHost, you'll be able to put your website files onto a server that anyone can access, and you'll also be able to purchase a 'domain name' that people will enter to bring up those files (choose something catchy and unique). One thing to look into, is that your hosting provider offers a 'control panel' with WordPress support. This isn't a requirement for creating a website, but it will make it easier to get started. The whole lot will cost you around $100-$200 for a year.

When creating your site, try to pick a niche that will be popular but that will set you apart somewhat from the bigger sports blogs. Focus on a particular sport, a particular league or even a particular team to reduce the competition you're going up against.

From here you can follow the instructions on the control panel or on the WordPress website to install the tool and begin using it. WordPress is a blogging platform and a 'content' manager that makes running and creating a website very simple. After installation is complete you'll already have the template for a website in place, and all you need to do from there is to edit the look of the site (by changing the banner and title for instance) and to start writing your blog (by clicking 'new post' whenever you have something to say).

Note that once your sports blog is up and running and has a steady stream of visitors coming in, you can monetize your site with Adsense (an advertisement platform) and start earning some decent advertising revenue.

A Few Tips

You have your site now and it's easy enough to update, so all that's left to do is to make it a hit. To improve your chances of developing a dedicated readership and making money, observe the following tips:

Write often
Don't be afraid to be controversial or heated (anything that sparks discussion or gets a reaction is good)
Look for different angles that haven't been covered in the mainstream press
Be quick on news
Create a Twitter account to promote your new posts
Work with other bloggers to help each other out
Promote to your friends!

So there you have it, everything you need to know to start your own sports blog. The rest is up to you. Good luck!

Joshua Bing is a keen follower of hockey and indulges in writing sports related articles during his time off from work. By day, he is a dedicated employee of a store (www.hockeygear.com) providing great quality discounted hockey gear.

SoLoMo, Tradigital, Likeonomics - Words That Will Make You Score While Your Spell-Checker Cries Foul

2013-05-18T16:19:00.003+05:30

The concept is funny: we live in a world where technology changes things at an instant, but our technology is not always ready to adapt to the changes. Take spell checkers for example. In today's fast paced world where new technological or marketing words are being created on a regular basis, our spell checkers simply don't seem to find a way to keep up. You type the popular word down in your word processor only to have the red or green squiggly line appear underneath it.

The following are some of the common words that when incorporated, will help your writing score while your spell-checker might throw up the red flag.

Blog: Blogs have been around for quite some time now, and they are constantly being referenced in writing all over the Internet. But try to use the word blog in your writing (or any other form of the word blog), and you’ll be seeing red.

Facebook: Facebook is only the most used website on the Internet today, yet nobody told your word processor's spell checker about its fame. If you plan on writing about the popular social media site, be prepared to drive your spell checker crazy.

Gamification: When it comes to marketing, there may be no better way to captivate an audience than through the use of a game, which is why gamification is a real term used to describe gaming in marketing. However, your spell checker will not only flag the word as being wrong, but it may even auto correct it to “ramification”, so make sure to proofread your work before sending it off, otherwise your gamification article may come off as a ramification article.

Likeonomics: Likeonomics is another popular term used today in business to determine the likeability and trust of people and companies, but if you try to use the word in your writing, your word processor will think you’re crazy.

Smartphone: Smartphones have also been on the market for many years and have changed size, shape and functionality, yet the word has yet to be added to some of the most popular spell checkers. Sure, you can switch “smartphone” for “mobile device”, but it doesn’t have the same meaning.

SoLoMo: Acronyms barely ever make it to the spell check dictionary, so it’s no wonder that spell checkers red flag SoLoMo, the acronym for Social + Local + Mobile. But SoLoMo is a popular marketing term that is widely used, and if the world catches on to acronyms like Brangelina, it’s time to consider updating the spell checker with marketing terms too.

Tradigital: Want to combine traditional marketing methods into the digital world? Then you’re applying tradigital tactics. It’s a common phrase amongst marketers everywhere, and using it will make you seem as if you truly know what you’re talking about. However, your spell checker might endeavour to make you think twice about the spelling.

Author Bio: Jacob Smith is a school teacher and freelance writer from Houston. He has recently been writing about the importance of using a grammar checker before publishing written work.

Time Management And Productivity Tips For Bloggers

2013-05-18T11:55:00.001+05:30

For most bloggers striking a balance between life, work and blogging is often a difficult proposition. Therefore time management and productivity related issues often assume critical importance for them and for the survival of their blogs.

In this post we will discuss a few time management and productivity tips for bloggers.

1. Get yourself a tablet and blog while you are commuting. Not advised while you are crossing a busy street.

2. Use apps like 'Evernote' to jot down ideas the moment they strike you. Don't let those moments of brilliance go to waste. Even the simple pen and paper would do.

3. Checking emails every few minutes can be counter productive. Allocate a definite time span for checking emails and don't go beyond it.

4. Turn off auto email and social media notifications. They distract you and make you anxious, leading to a fall in productivity.

5. Kill those bad habits. If you are guilty of checking your traffic stats every now and then, you'll know what I mean.

6. Limit your social media presence. It needs strong will power though.

7. Use Dragon Naturally Speaking. Its a voice command software that lets you type by speaking to the computer. Its accuracy is surprising.

8. Automate your social media promotions and save valuable time. Gainfully employ the time same saved in creating quality content for your blog. A few tools to help you automate your social media promotions : HootSuite, Ping.fm, TweetDeck, TwitterFeed

9. Find your sweet spot. Sometimes moving away from your workdesk helps. Consider taking your laptop down with you to the lawn and the change of setting might bring about an improvement in your efficiency.

10. Go to sleep. Get yourself a good night's sleep and see your productivity increase the next morning.

11. Plan your day ahead. Planning is a great asset that keeps you focused and on schedule.

12. Indulge yourself in the things you like. A revitalized mind can help you work wonders.

13. Don't force yourself when your mind goes blank. Its only a matter of time before creativity is restored again.

14. Challenge yourself by setting aggressive (but achievable) goals. You are at your best when you compete with yourself.

Last but not the least,

15. Concentrate on doing one thing at a time. Its time when you realized that multitasking is a myth. You cannot be chatting with friends on Facebook and churning out quality articles all at the same time. Ultimately it comes down to your will power and sense of discipline. Its all about getting your priorities right.

Got more productivity tips to add? Kindly use the comment form below.

Employee Investment - Developing Your Workforce

2013-05-17T17:09:00.001+05:30

It goes without saying that it costs more to train new personnel than to maintain productive employees. In order to preserve an effective workforce, training and coaching needs to become an integral part of a business. In fact, The American Society for Training and Development generally recommends a minimum of at least 40 hours of some form of training for each employee every year.

Below are some of the reasons why having a training and development program in place so heavily influences securing an effective workforce.

Purpose of Training

There are many types of training programs that businesses can regularly use to ensure that their staff is up to speed on company work policies, production methods and other important corporate level strategies. For instance, training might involve everything from orientation to learning about more specific and unique business processes.

Purpose of Coaching

Business coaching is usually a slightly more intimate process in that it addresses more specific situations. For example, a sales team or marketing division may have a sales coach teach them communication skills, while an executive coaching program may focus upon leadership.

Coaching also emphasizes the employee’s place in the company by affording them the opportunity to develop and grow their skills. An added bonus, employees are able to enhance their careers and are better poised to rise within the company. This makes staff even more valuable to the company.

The chance to experience ongoing development has always been one of the top influences that employees desire to see at work. In fact, the lack of ongoing training or coaching programs is so important to employees that they regularly cite their inability to see any potential for career growth or progress as a reason to leave an employer.

Employee Growth and Productivity

The more informed employees are, the more productive they can be. Employees who are not properly trained can flounder and fail to manage their jobs effectively due to their lack of knowledge. This can easily lead to job dissatisfaction both for staff and management. To avoid this, business coaches can be used to easily train staff and help them become more productive overall. This, in turn, leads to more satisfaction, revenue, and greater overall success for everyone involved.

Retention Strategy

According to various work related studies, the existence of a company’s training and development program has always been rated highly by employees, second only to reporting to managers with whom they work well. Aside from obvious reasons, supervisors and managers who ensure that their staff is trained effectively will always have an advantage over those who do not.

Businesses from all industries and of all sizes have learned how valuable employee training, coaching and development can be. When done at the outset and continued throughout an employee's career at the company, coaching programs provide a significant payoff for employers with increased knowledge, productivity, contribution and loyalty.

These are just some of the reasons why employee training and coaching programs are such an integral part of any successful workforce retention strategy for businesses. Just like capital, employees are also company assets. As such, by learning about the best approaches to guarantee successful employee training, businesses can get the highest return on their investment. In today's challenging economy, companies need to use every advantage available to them in order to get and stay competitive.

Researcher Shelby Warden writes articles to help small businesses succeed. Working with success strategies for businesses, Noomi is the web's largest network of independent executive and business coaches. Their free online service matches clients up with the perfect coach based on their unique goals, personalities, and backgrounds.

Crafting A Winning Web Content Strategy For E-commerce Sites

2013-05-17T11:46:00.002+05:30

Shopping habits have changed over the last few years. No longer do people like visiting a retail store and checking out the goods that they want to purchase. They simply like logging onto an online store and shopping from the comfort of their homes and offices.

However online shopping does have one major drawback – customers can’t touch and feel the products they are shopping or flip through the pages if they are buying a book. In such a situation the content of your online store becomes the bridge between the product and the customers.

In web development and search engine optimization ‘Content is King’ and this adage becomes even more important when it comes to an online store. The content of your online store needs to be both attractive and unique to create an impact in the minds of the customers.

Here are a few tips that will lead you to a winning web content strategy for your E-commerce site.

Know Your Target Audience

Profiling your target audience is very important to write appealing content. The language of the E-commerce content varies from store to store. You might also have to take cultural connotations and gender into consideration before writing the content. For example, a site selling tees and jeans to teenagers will have a different 'style' of writing when compared to a site selling books to scholars. You need to be extremely creative with your style of writing, keeping in mind the profile of your target audience, to strike a chord with the customers.

Unique Content

Customers do have a habit of checking the same product across multiple sites and here having unique content adds to your advantage. Most of the sites tend to use the description of the product sent by the manufacturer. If you are rewriting the description in a more attractive manner and helping users better understand the features and advantages of the products you offer, you have a good chance of grabbing their attention and thus conducting a sale.

Be Precise

Web is not akin to print where a person picks up a newspaper or magazine and reads through the entire article. Most Internet users are impatient and spend only a few seconds on a page. Hence you have to be precise with you content. Avoid long sentences and instead offer all the information in a short and compact manner. Punch lines and bullet points are some of the best ways to sell products on an online store. Your content has to be high on sales pitch.

Have Variations In Content

One of the biggest problems that come with eCommerce content is that they tend to be repetitive. This is common when the site has large number of products and the writer tends to lose out on the creativity part. To be successful your online store needs to have variations in the content it hosts; although it is advisable that you maintain a 'similar' style of writing throughout the website.

Type of Content

What kind of content is best suited for promoting your products - descriptions, demonstrations or a comparison? The ultimate choice will depend upon the type of product you are selling. For example, if you are selling a product that is also available across other E-commerce websites, a descriptive style of writing might be best suited to your purpose. On the other hand, if you are promoting a product which very few customers have heard of before, a short description followed by a demonstration should work best. For exclusive products on your store, you can always choose the comparative style of writing.

Call To Action

A Call to Action is one of the most important elements to incorporate into an eCommerce website's content strategy. A call to action encourages a visitor to complete a certain objective, for example, motivating an user to place an order with your website. Words like ‘Buy Now’, ‘Add to the Cart’ or ‘Shop Now’ should be placed strategically alongside each product description and/or customer testimonials to ensure that a customer shops for the products once convinced. If you get the 'Call To Action' factor right, it can add to the conversion rate of your site significantly.

SEO Friendly

Last but not the least, your content should be search engine friendly to attract targeted traffic to the website. Since most of your traffic is likely to come via the search engines, you need to optimize the use of keywords and key phrases within your content. However make sure that you aren’t stuffing your content with keywords as it spoils the beauty of the content and kills the whole purpose of writing it in the first place.

Recommended Read: On-Page SEO For Your eCommerce Website

We sincerely hope that these tips help you in coming up with an effective content strategy for your eCommerce website and thus give a boost to your sales and revenue. Thank you for your time. We wish you good luck.

This post is shared by Mayank Kaushik, Business Manager from RiaEnjolie.com. RiaEnjolie offers high-impact small business Websites as well as eCommerce Website development to help grow your businesses. You may follow them on twitter @RiaEnjolie

5 Steps To Optimize Your Website Using Analytics

2013-05-15T19:33:00.003+05:30

Most website owners like to install analytics so that they can obsess over visitor numbers, but there are so many other data points available through mainstream analytics services like Google Analytics which are also useful to look at. Being able to assess what pages are most popular, look at bounce rates and see what countries your visitors hail from are not just superficial interesting—you can use that data to optimise your website and improve it exponentially.

Analytics basically allow you to assess the strongest and weakest points of your website, allowing you to focus on the former and strengthen the latter.

1. Take In The data

The first step to optimising your website based on your analytics is looking at the headline facts and figures and starting to analyse exactly what they mean. Go through each and every page of your chosen analytics service and figure out what each data point is trying to tell you about your website. As a basic guide, the most important information to look at is the visitor numbers and bounce rate for each of your pages, the geographical location of your visitors, visit lengths and also finding out where your visitors are coming from (usually from referrals or search).

By looking at all of this information, you can start to assess in order: what pages are popular and what pages need improving, whether you need to focus on pushing your website in certain countries, whether you need to increase user interaction with your website and also how to get more people to your website.

2. Notice Geography

Visitor maps are not just for fun—the geography of your visitors is important and you should be carefully assessing where your visitors come from as a way of anticipating their needs. This is especially important if you run an ecommerce website. If you notice for example that you get a lot of visitors from Spain but not a lot of conversions, then lower your shipping ratings for Spanish customers. Consider showing your prices in euros as well as pounds or dollars. Think about possibly having your site translated so that you can display it in multiple languages. These are just some possibilities of what you can do based on geographical information, and it displays well why that information is important.

3. Take Measurements Over Time

You must wait at least a month after installing analytics to truly be able to make any assessments, because data becomes more reliable and more useful if it covers a larger period of time. You can see if there are fluctuations over the course of a week or month in your visitor numbers, and you can assess what days people are most likely to visit your website—making them days good ones to launch new schemes or sales. If you want to make changes based on your analytics, you should do so only when you have confidence in the numbers you are receiving.

4. Judge What Changes Should Be Made

After you have gathered all information possible on your website, it is time to start making decisions about how to change your website for the better. If you have a high bounce rate, try shorten your front-page load time or improve the look of your homepage. If you get most of your visitors via search engines, think about what you can do to optimise your website for search and push yourself higher for the relevant keywords. Make your data mean something, and translate that data into action.

5. Track The Effects

Once you have implemented changes based on your findings, you need to track your analytics and see if they have had any effect—positive or negative. At that point you need to repeat the cycle: take a report, analyse all the particulars and then come up with a strategy to improve the numbers. Analytics is a long-term game: you need to constantly track your website and always be on top of the information flow. That way, you can make sure your website is doing the best it possibly can.

This a post by Ashley Williamson. Ashley is a freelance writer and an occasional tech blogger currently working for an internet provider company. Check out this website if you like to find out how she can work where ever she is. When she is not working she likes to read and travel around the World. Image Source: Google

Meet The New Nokia Lumia 925

2013-05-14T18:00:00.000+05:30

Nokia today announced the launch of their latest smartphone offering - the new Nokia Lumia 925 featuring a sleek metal-finished design (a first for a Lumia) and an 8.7-megapixel dual with an advanced PureView imaging technology that allows you to capture great images and videos even in low-light conditions.

The Lumia 925 is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and features a new 4.5-inch AMOLED WXGA display that makes viewing easy even under the sun. The phone also features 1GB RAM and 16 GB user memory and is expected to weigh in at around 139g.

A new feature incorporated into the phone is the Nokia Smart Cam Mode that allows you to capture upto 10 pictures at a time and then edit them later.

According to initial reports the Lumia 925 should be available in the European markets by the first week of June; though the exact launch date is not yet known. Moreover the availability in different markets is also expected to vary. It is also known that the phone will be initially priced at around 470 EUR.

Now Unified 15GB Free Storage Across Google+ Drive And Gmail

2013-05-14T17:19:00.001+05:30

In a move that could see you storing more on the cloud, Google Inc. recently announced its plans to unify and upgrade free store space across the three Google platforms - Google+, Drive, and Gmail to 15GB.

What does this mean?

Until now Google had separate free storage space allocations for different services. Thus, you had 10GB of free storage on Gmail and another 5 GB of free storage for Google+ and Drive. Now, the free storage cap has been unified and raised to 15GB for all the three platforms taken together. According to Google "with this new combined storage space, you won’t have to worry about how much you’re storing and where".

How does this benefit you?

This is best explained with an example. Suppose you were consuming 2GB of storage space in Gmail and wanted to share a 10 GB file on drive. Since free storage space on drive earlier was limited to 5GB, you had to pay for additional storage. But now, you don't have to shell out anything for storing the same 10GB file on Drive because your combined space consumption across the two platforms Gmail and Drive does not exceed the limit of 15GB.

Note: Businesses using Google Apps would also see their storage space jump from the current 25GB to 30GB

How Movable Ink Is Changing The Face Of Email Marketing

2013-05-14T16:21:00.001+05:30

Until recently email marketing has been pretty static; a campaign would be designed and sent off, then analysts had to wait for their targets to open the mail and interact with it before any usable data on the campaign’s success could be generated. The process paled in comparison with the fluid nature of social media campaigns, until now.

Movable Ink, a small start-up company launched by Vivek Sharma, is radically changing the nature of email marketing. Think live content, agility, context and social feeds. Should Sharma’s current success continue, we’re all entering into a brave new world.

Agile Email Marketing

In an increasingly interconnected digital world were Social Media, Virtual Desktops and Google Glasses are becoming commonplace, email marketing hearkens to the stone ages of advertising.

Movable Ink is working hard to change this with its innovative approach, as Sharma explained to TechCrunch: “Most email campaigns are run on a cycle of two to three months from conception to production. It’s very different from social companies like Facebook, which are pushing live code every day”, he believes that the Movable Ink platform now offers the same agile / speedy development process to email marketers.

According to PandoDaily the platform allows marketers to; “pull live content into emails, including social data such as how many of your friends have opened the same offer, and widgets to detect things like local weather and instant open rates on subject lines”.

Live Content

Static content is a thing of the past as the company’s system allows users to embed live content from their websites with videos opening directly in a receiver’s inbox. RSS and API feeds can also be pulled into the emails.

Context

Arguably the coolest feature of the platform is the fact that it can target offers based on a receiver’s location, even changing the content based on the weather conditions, time of the day etc (in real time). Offers can be varied according to the time of day and the platform adapts the content for desktops, tablets and smartphones.

Historic Data

Movable Ink’s agile email marketing allows the integration of 3rd party databases and audience measurement tools.

Analytics

The platform provides advanced metrics that measure engagement as well as context, offering insight into recipient's content absorption, location and views by devices.

Optimization

Movable Ink believes in offering marketers the opportunity to optimize their campaigns mid-send. Using the platform marketers can also conduct A/B split tests and simulate the context before sending the emails.

Social

The ability to embed live Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram feeds into email campaigns signifies a giant leap forward in terms of making email marketing more interactive and 'social' friendly.

The Rise and Rise of Movable Ink

By the end of 2011 the company had a staff of 5 people; they’re now employing 24 with plans to increase staff by another 36 people by the end of the year. Their plan seems feasible as they’ve managed to raise $12.3 million to date and now serve customers like Barclays, Starbucks, RadioShack and Electronic Arts.

Sharma told PandoDaily that they currently have 119 brands on board and are having to turn away prospective clients as they simply don’t have the capacity at the moment. As the company grows, so too will the quality and appeal of email marketing; advertisers will increasingly be able to tap into this new kind of marketing, whilst those on the receiving end can look forward to more relevant and engaging email adverts.

Article by Pippa Green. Pippa Green is a London-based blogger who regularly writes about online innovations. She’s currently looking into Nasstar’s virtual desktop and its potential advantages for traveling professionals.

The New Sony Xperia ZR - Shoot HD Videos Underwater

2013-05-13T13:37:00.002+05:30

Sony has announced the launch of its latest Android smartphone - the new Xperia ZR - a phone that allows you to shoot full HD videos underwater. This one of a kind waterproof and dust resistant smartphone is IP55 and IP58 compliant, meaning you can keep it submerged under 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes.

The Xperia ZR features a super-sharp 4.6” HD Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 and comes equipped with a OptiContrast™ panel which "reduces reflections and provides clearer viewing, even in bright sunlight, and creates a seamlessly black surface when the phone is turned off."

Apart from being waterproof, the phone is equipped with a 13MP camera and features Sony’s “Exmor RS for Mobile” image sensor with HDR (High Dynamic Range) capabilities for both photos and videos - allowing you to capture sharp videos and images even in unfavourable conditions.

The ZR is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 Pro quad-core 1.5 GHz processor with 2GB RAM to take care of all your processing needs.

Available in four colour options - black, white, pink and mint, The Xperia ZR will launch in various global markets from Q2 2013.

Planning Your First Blog? These Tips Would Come In Handy

2013-05-13T09:50:00.001+05:30

So you've finally decided to take in the plunge. Your first blog! - you must be excited. However for most bloggers (including me) their first blogs are not necessarily a success. For most of us, our first blogs were more of a learning curve - where we committed numerous mistakes and learned from them.

However, you don't have to be worried about going through this 'trial and error' process for help is at large. All you have to do is to follow these simple tips and you can leave your mark on the blogosphere even with your first blog.

1. Be 'Decided' on your Content

Before you create your first blog, make sure you are 'decided' as far as your content is concerned. There is no point in creating a blog and then deciding what to blog about.

2. Never Mix Niches.

This is a cardinal rule of blogging. Never think that you can write about recipes and rollercosters in the same blog and still get away with it. Every blog should be dedicated to one particular niche (or a group of related niches) and remain so dedicated for the rest of its life.

3. Domain Name is a Friend - Please Buy One.

Domain names aren't expensive - so go ahead and buy one for your blog. A domain gives your blog its very own identity, builds trust, help boost your blog's search engine rankings, furthers your monetization efforts (for most advertising platforms won't accept your blog unless it is hosted on its own domain) and saves you the trouble of having to change to a bought domain later (this can lead to a huge loss of traffic). So if you are hosting your blog on blogspot or wordpress, shun those free sub-domains and instead buy a top-level domain for your blog.

4. Content is the Key to the Lock called Success.

The only thing that can take your blog to success is the content it hosts. Remember never compromise quality for quantity for one good post can bring in more readers than 50 poor posts can.

5. Patience and Consistency go Hand in Hand.

When it comes to blogging, patience and consistency are both equally important. Blogging can be difficult at times, specially so during those initial days when the traffic is poor and even quality posts find a few readers. It is important during such phases, to keep faith on yourself and continue working hard. Remember to chase excellence, success will follow.

Thanks for reading. Good luck with your first blog.

Changing Your Feedburner Email Delivery Timings - Illustrated

2013-05-12T20:38:00.001+05:30

Today, an average person might receive close to a hundred emails every day. In this scenario you wouldn't want your email to get lost in a sea of other emails and remain undetected in a subscriber's mailbox. Herein lies the importance of scheduling your emails - to reach a person at the time when he is likely to be "most active". This greatly magnifies the chances of your emails being seen and read.

Ideally you would want your email to be there - right at the top when a person visits his inbox for the first time in the morning.

In this post we will discuss how you can change your Feedburner email delivery timings.

Step 1: Log in to your Google Feedburner account. Next click on the desired feed.

Step 2: Click on the "Publicize" tab.

Step 3: On the left sidebar click "Email Subscriptions". Next select "Delivery Options"

Step 4: On the page that opens you will find an option to change your email delivery timings. To change the delivery timings "select the desired timezone" from the drop-down menu and then "schedule your delivery timings".

Once you have selected your desired delivery timing, click on "Save" and the changes will take effect from the next time your feed is updated.

Top 5 Most Original Android Games

2013-04-24T13:53:00.005+05:30

Originality is seemingly in short supply in mainstream gaming, with shelves dominated by the usual mix of first-person shooters, adventure and sports games. Happily though, it’s a different matter in mobile gaming, where lower development costs mean offbeat ideas can be given the time and attention they deserve, and that titles that may appeal only to a niche audience have a greater chance of being profitable. Here then are the five most original games available on android phones.

5. Devil’s Attorney

While unfortunately not living up to the literal promise of the title (you’re not actually the devil’s attorney), this quirky legal sim places you in the shoes of Max McCann, a charming and unscrupulous defense attorney. The game is played as a turn-based strategy game reminiscent of an RPG, with Max able to use powerups to incapacitate opponents or increase his powers of persuasion. Winning cases gives you the funds to purchase new products for your apartment, which, in turn, then unlock new skills. While the legal sim may now be becoming a mildly familiar genre, the Devil’s Attorney earns its place in this list with its quirky characterization and frankly bizarre plots.

4. Robot Unicorn Attack

Robot Unicorn Attack resembles a hallucinogenic drug trip, with its strange combination of a side scrolling action game with rainbows, glitter and of course the galloping unicorn. Gameplay is simply a matter of timing your jumps and dashes to avoid falling into the abyss below or colliding with large silver stars. While this may not be the deepest game-play experience, it has originality in spades.

3. Splice

Splice’s general form is not unusual, being a puzzle game where you shift little blobs from one side of the screen to another. The ideas underpinning this blob switching are less conventional however, with the game asking players to immerse themselves in a microbial world and rearrange cells to form new structures. With its focus on ambient music and muted visuals, Splice is a strangely relaxing take on the puzzle game, and attempts genuine innovation within the genre’s boundaries.

2. Super Hexagon

From one mind-bending puzzler to another – but where Splice’s mood was calm and contemplative, Super Hexagon’sis brash and frenetic. Game-play wise, you’re an arrow in the middle of the screen that must then turn to find gaps in the hexagons that approach it and the longer you last the better you score. If that sounds mental, it’s because it is, but it does work as a game-play experience, albeit an infuriatingly difficult one where you feel like a Zen master if you survive for thirty seconds. Add in a visual style that means the entire game shifts from lurid orange to neon green via other similarly violent hues, and a pounding soundtrack, and it adds up to a truly unique game-play experience.

1.Minecraft Pocket Edition

By now, you’d have to have been living down a mine not to have heard of Minecraft, with the game having garnered success on every conceivable platform and even expanded into merchandise. On mobile, the formula is the same, with survival forcing you to scavenge materials so you can build structures that will enable your character to survive against the terrors of the night, and creative letting your inner Lego loving child go wild and create a full scale replica of the Taj Mahal (or whatever else tickles your fancy). Whatever platform it’s on, Minecraft is one of the most original game-play propositions in decades, having practically single-handedly invented its own genre.

Six Business Lessons From Red Bull

2013-03-29T12:41:00.001+05:30

The Red Bull Stratos mission which saw Felix Baumgartner jump room over 24 miles above the earth's surface on 14th October 2012, not only broke the world records for the highest jump from a capsule, the longest distance covered in freefall, and the maximum velocity achieved by any man in freefall, but was also the largest ever digital event on record. The mission raised the bar on how brands can activate sponsorships through social media.

Some of the marketing milestones achieved include:

* Over 9 million YouTube live streams, the highest number in the history of the media sharing site. In total, over 30 million people have now viewed various videos related to the jump on Red Bull's official YouTube channel.

* Over 3.4 million tweets posted with jump related hashtags on the day of the jump. This catapulted almost half of twitter's global trending topics.

* Jump related posts on Red Bull Stratos official page generated close to 1 million interactions. These included over 80,000 shares. Moreover the Red Bull official Facebook page generated 750,000 interactions.

* The event was listed among the top ten most searched and most watched global events of the years 2012 on Google and YouTube respectively.

Nothing was left to chance during the event. The Red Bull media house that produces, distributes and published audiovisual, multimedia and print material from Red Bull entertainment, culture, and sports projects - is used to parsing out content that can be consumed by people in any way they like. Instead of paid media, the company relied on its social medial channels and websites in addition to third party media to ensure that the content was well distributed as well as encourage conversation in a well structured manner to stoke interest before the final day of the event, generated high quality live viewings of the jump which meant that conversations went on for a long time.

The main driver for the event's marketing and business success was the impressive management of the preceding media campaign. It is unlikely that other strategies would have achieved similar success. Red Bull's business strategy provided some of the best business lessons for everybody. Below are my top six:

Have a sense of purpose and embrace it

Not only did the Red Bull Stratos mission underline the company's authentic link to extreme innovation and sport, it also provided the brand's employees with a motivation greater than selling energy drinks. According to James Whitehead, a partner at JWT - the company that, in a clever market poly send a kit bar 23 miles into space as a celebration of the fearless Felix - people prefer brands that they can have a relation with. People want the brand to be involved with them and share everything with them. Brands therefore need to acquire a conscience and a sense of purpose that extends well beyond sales.

Don't look at everything in terms of ROI (return on investment)

Go for the emotional impact. Space exploration is among the few things that appeal to some of the noblest interests: a belief in the power of science and a desire for adventure. For a certain generation, Stratos is their "I was there moment." This creates benchmark that is almost unfair for other businesses.

While other companies are still hung up on the number of YouTube hits generated, the achievement of the Stratos mission reverberates well beyond the marketing fish bowl. Red Bull has in fact blocked a number of agencies involved in the mission from speaking to the press since they don't want anyone to view the event as a marketing stunt. While the rest of the industry is obsessed with media coverage, Red Bull focused on capturing the imagination of millions thereby earning the right to speak to its consumers.

A clear message was send out: to achieve greatness, a brand has to transcend ROI.

Embrace extreme marketing

Of course not every brand can have someone as fearless as Felix to deliver such moments of greatness. However, it is hard to ignore the change of pace in the market. In2008, Honda soared to the heights of coverage with its live skydiving advertisement. However, many are unlikely to remember this ad and it will probably never grace history pages for offering anything other than a Honda P.R. stunt. Red Bull has steadily built its credibility by supporting extreme sports, athletes, and sponsoring Red Bull racing, the 2012 F1 champions. The Brand has in effect, introduced the world to extreme marketing.

Move fans with big, consistent ideas.

Red Bulls gives you wings—this we know from years of over the line advertising by the brand. Even as far as "winged ideas" can go, it isn't everyday that the sound barrier is broken by a man in a space suit 23 miles in space. More importantly, not many brands give you the chance to view the event from close quarters. Apart from the Stratos mission, Red Bull have been involved in a number of ground breaking execution including stung skating, piloting, motor sports, snowboarding, skiing, and rapids excursions. By making something about your tribe you can't help but feel something for the brand.

Be like a newsroom

Instead of buying ads from third parties, the brand films, produces, and distributes events that are so newsworthy that publishers, TV station and newspapers run them as editorials. Red Bull can also use them as digital bait for building their own channels. For instance, in addition to a one hour live coverage of the event on Red Bull Stratos website, FaceBook page and YouTube channel, traditional television also broadcasted the jump. This included The Discovery Channel in The United States and over 70 other outlet around the world. The Telegraph, The BBC and a number of other media outlets were also allowed to stream a live feed of the event through their respective sites.

A clear message was send out: brand should be treated as media and high quality content is critical in this mix.

Relate event specific social skins, websites, etc.

With a pre-existing community of over 30 million followers across various Red Bull channels, The Company could have simply relied on this base to create the buzz, except it didn't. Instead, a Stratos specific website was created with lots of content and frequently updates to please all sorts of visitors. Additionally, Red Bull also created event specific accounts on Facebook, Google +, Twitter and Instagam.

Frequent updates were posted on these dedicated accounts while the main brand websites and social media pages continued posting the normal spectrum of Red Bull events and news. This multipronged approached introduced more people to Red Bull without necessarily polluting the brand's existing channels. Since each of these channels offers different opportunities, values and audiences, Red Bull tailored its content for each.

Conclusion

In thus day of slash and burn marketing where delays in making big decisions and reluctance to commit is the norm, it hard not to notice Red Bull's scope and investment. Not all businesses have the budget or inclination to invest in ideas bigger than themselves, but good marketer should a least have the ambition to make an attempt.

Author Bio: Tom writes for valuator – click here to see their business tips. He is a freelance writer from Portland USA.

The Devil Makes Work For Idle Pixels – Do You Need A Double Headed System?

2013-03-29T11:57:00.002+05:30

Your first foray into the world of multiple displays is always an exciting event. For me, it was at university, alongside the wonders of the wonderfully pointless compiz desktop cube. Whatever its effect on my productivity, it felt incredibly cool. Since then, my girlfriend will often connect laptop to TV and indulge in gaming and Netflix in parallel. But is going double-headed really the best option for getting things done?

The first issue here is suiting the system to the task. If you’re working on something where you need to skip back and forth between your document and your research materials, then maybe going double-headed is way to go. Similarly, web designers can benefit from having their code on one monitor and the page as it will appear to users on the other. Yes, you could arrange the windows side by side on the same monitor (or constantly alt-tab between them), but having an extra screen just feels more natural; if your work is divided into two parallel parts conceptually, why not mirror that in the physical configuration of your workspace?

If you are focussing on both sides of your work equally, you will want your two monitors aligned centrally; if one screen is clearly primary and one secondary, you should have the primary one directly in front of you and the secondary one off to one side, facing towards your head (rather than pointing directly forward). It seems simple, but it’s worth spending time tuning your arrangement.In an age where the virtual is becoming increasingly dominant (with keyboards and mice challenged by the touchscreen interfaces), we should embrace opportunities to redress the balance somewhat and take advantage of space and position.

On the other hand, if your work is not divided like this, then multiple monitors can be distracting. Having your email or IM on a second screen, unless absolutely necessary, is a killer – if you must have them running while you work, you can probably rely on system tray notification icons. Similarly, having windows open that relate to tasks other than the one you’re working on right now will divide your attention and do more harm than good.

Whether you are using a single monitor or multiple ones, you may find it useful to have finer control of window arrangements than is generally found natively in your OS – Winsplit and ShiftIt, for Windows and OS X respectively, may be just what you need to allow you to work with multiple screensets. A little time at the start of a new task spent testing different configurations of windows and screens can save you a lot later. As you get more experience of analysing your own workflow in this way, this preparatory stage will get quicker and quicker.

So, much though we may love them, we have to be tough with our extra displays: on the charge of conspiracy to cause distraction, they should be considered guilty until proven innocent.

Image Via Wired.com

Affiliate Marketing Basics Explained

2013-03-28T23:35:00.001+05:30

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways of making money online. That’s not to say that affiliate marketing is easy – it takes hard work and a lot of research to be a successful affiliate marketer. However, it does have lower barriers to entry than other money-making techniques. If you have an Internet connection, you can become an affiliate marketer.

How does affiliate marketing work?

Affiliate marketers sign up to affiliate programs – either directly through the company that they want to promote, or using an affiliate network such as Commission Junction or Clicksure. They then promote the products that they think will sell well, and they get paid based on their results.

The companies that actually sell the products to consumers are called merchants. These merchants may run several different kinds of rewards for their programs, such as:

Cost Per Action (CPA): You get paid for each person you refer that performs a desired action, such as signing up for a trial account on a subscription service.
Cost Per Thousand (CPM): You get paid for every one thousand unique views of the affiliate’s advertisement.
Cost Per Click (CPC): The affiliate pays a nominal amount per unique visitor who click on their advertisement, assuming that the visitor is from a qualifying country.
Cost Per Lead: You are paid for each visitor that gives verified contact details to the merchant (e.g. telephone details handed over to an insurance company via a “compare insurance costs” website).
Commission: You are paid a percentage of each sale that you generate. This is the most popular affiliate program structure for merchants that sell physical products. Amazon’s affiliate program works this way.

Getting started with affiliate marketing

It’s easy to get started with affiliate marketing – all you have to do is sign up to an affiliate program, and start promoting the affiliate's products via your blog and social networking accounts. However, the most successful affiliate marketers spend a lot of time researching their niches and tweaking their websites.

Choosing the best products

One mistake that new affiliate marketers make is trying to sell too many different products. This waters down your efforts, and means you end up with hundreds of sales pages that don’t work. Focus on one product at a time until you find the “formula” that works in your niche, then expand gradually to offer more products.

Test and Track

Another mistake that affiliate marketers make is to assume that once they’ve found that magic “formula” they’ll never need to worry again. You should never stop learning, testing, and tweaking your websites. Consumers' taste and preferences change, new products get launched, and new affiliate companies with better commission structures appear on horizon.

Sign up for a Google Analytics account and use it to track your visitors and referrers, and see what’s going on with your website. Keep trying new things – you may be surprised what you learn.

Diversify your promotion efforts

Don’t just rely on your blog or website for promoting your products. Use social media, experiment with PPC marketing yourself (assuming the affiliate allows it), and start a mailing list to promote your products. The more traffic streams you make use of, the greater the number of potential conversions you can earn.

This article was written by B. Frisby on behalf of Clicksure; find out more about them over at their support site.

5 Reasons Why Windows 8 Works Best on Laptops

2013-03-13T12:51:00.002+05:30

Windows 8 is here, and it represents a radical departure from Microsoft's previous operating systems. The entire system has been designed from the ground up, and is this time geared towards users of mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. The new interface features big, colourful buttons presented in a touchscreen-friendly format, and many of the main functions can be carried out via swiping or tapping the screen, so long as you have a laptop with a touchscreen.

Laptop users may worry that because of Windows 8's new focus, its functionality on notebooks and desktop PCs may have been sacrificed. Thankfully, however, this is not the case; indeed, it can be argued that Windows 8 actually works better on laptops than on mobile devices. Here are 5 reasons why.

1. It makes the most of your laptop's hardware

Ever since the resource-hungry Windows Vista, Microsoft have been working hard to make their operating systems more efficient. Windows 7 was a big step forward in this regard, and Windows 8 continues this trend, using significantly less memory than Windows 7. The upshot of this increased resource optimisation is greater responsiveness and faster boot times. In other words, even people upgrading to Windows 8 on a previous-gen laptop will benefit from increased speeds, and new laptops with Windows 8 pre-installed will be among the fastest on the market.

2. It offers even more functionality than on tablets

Windows 8 was designed as an 'everywhere' operating system, meaning that whether you're using a tablet, laptop or other device, you'll get the same basic experience using it. The laptop version of Windows 8 is extremely versatile, thanks to the presence of a more traditional Windows 7-style desktop interface that allows users to perform tasks in a way that is more familiar. As well as this, the new tablet-style start screen successfully manages to translate touch controls to a mouse/keyboard input – for example, using the mouse wheel to scroll instead of swiping. It may take a little bit of getting used to, but using Windows 8 on a laptop is just as easy, if not easier, than on a mobile device.

3. Security

Because of the greater degree of control users have over every aspect of their system, the need for comprehensive security features is paramount on laptops. Microsoft have realised this, and Windows 8 offers a variety of safeguards on laptops, including the standard Windows Defender software which protects against basic threats, as well as a System Reset feature which allows you to set your laptop back to factory condition. This means that if you sell your laptop on, you know that your data will be safe.

4. Shortcuts galore

Laptop users have a wealth of keyboard shortcuts literally at their fingertips, and Microsoft have taken full advantage of this fact with their latest operating system. The keyboard has been re-purposed to provide a quick, intuitive user experience. If you want to search for anything from the start screen, just start typing and the results will come up immediately. Other shortcuts like using Alt+Tab to switch between apps quickly make for a seamless experience using your keyboard. Combine this with the various touchpad/mouse shortcuts (such as hovering the cursor over the left hand side of the screen to choose the app you want to bring to the front) and you've got a user interface that is just as easy to use as any touchscreen.

5. Many Windows 8 laptops also work as tablets anyway

If you absolutely have to have a touchscreen interface, there are solutions available. The best laptop for someone who wants the functionality of a PC combined with the portability of a tablet would be a hybrid such as the Lenovo Ideapad Yoga. The Yoga and other laptops like it feature either folding or sliding designs, allowing the device to be converted to a tablet whenever you need to. For somebody who wants the best of both worlds, a Windows 8 laptop/tablet hybrid offers everything you could want.

Image courtesy: LifeHacker.com