In the old days of recruitment, you could build a client list by making cold calls over the phone.

However, this is a lead generation method that is becoming obsolete.

People now screen their calls and prefer to communicate through emails and texts.

Even sending a voicemail is unlikely to get a response.

While cold calls may still deliver a measure of success, many recruiters are aware of the need to devise new lead generation tactics.

Without question, one of the best places to generate leads is online.

One essential strategy you need to master in order to succeed in this area is: search engine optimisation (SEO).  

Understanding SEO 

You may mistakenly assume that SEO is not relevant to your recruitment business. In reality, it is a critical component of your online lead generation strategy. SEO is a tool that will attract people to your job posts while building your reputation among candidates and clients.

If you want to boost your websiteâ€s visibility on search engines such as Google and Bing, you will need to use SEO. If you are unfamiliar with what it involves, thereâ€s no need to worry. These SEO tips explain the basic concepts that will enable you to bring in new clients and candidates.

a) Keywords – Your SEO process primarily relies on you using the correct keywords. Start by making a list of the search terms that your potential candidates and clients will use in their search for a recruitment agency. One of the best tools that can help with this task is Googleâ€s Keyword Planner.

b) Onsite optimisation – There are numerous tasks involved here, such as:

• => Including keywords in the URLs, meta titles and descriptions
• => Ensuring that the website is easy to use and navigate with a fast loading time
• => Providing excellent user experience

c) Content – Well-crafted, useful and relevant content can boost your recruitment websiteâ€s ranking in the search engine results. To cultivate your reputation as an expert recruiter, you should publish content regularly but also add variety. For example, you could use various platforms such as blogs, videos or infographics.

d) Backlinks – Search engines like backlinks as they make your website look authoritative. However, always prioritise quality over quantity. Itâ€s better to have a handful of links from reputable sites than a host of unreliable ones.

SEO action plan for recruiters

Here are the five areas that will boost your SEO and help you obtain more high-quality candidates for your job offers.

1) Careers page

Make sure that your careers page is easy to navigate and provides a strong user experience. It should contain all the valuable job information that a candidate would like to know. Organise each posting and category to make it easy for visitors to browse through. If possible, include videos and images to showcase your clientâ€s team and work environment.

2) Meta titles and descriptions

It takes effort, but it is vital that you use precise meta titles and descriptions for every web page. These are the page titles and descriptions that appear in the search engine results.

For instance, if you want to create a landing page that describes an accountantâ€s responsibilities and skills, the page should also direct the readers to every job opportunity for accountants. You could write the meta title and description like this:

Meta title: ‘Accountant jobs in [location] from [company name]â€.

Meta description: ‘Find accountant jobs in [location] and apply now. New job offers are available dailyâ€.

Remember, both the meta title and description are critical to search engines and your audience. They inform the search engine about your pageâ€s content. Meanwhile, people will click on your link once they decide that it is relevant.

3) Social media posts

Content shared on social media improves the overall SEO. Therefore, you should make it easy for people to share your job posts and content on a variety of social media platforms, such as:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Your web pages should include social media buttons to enable readers to share your content without the need to copy and paste the links.

4) Mobile device optimisation

The number of candidates using their mobile phones to search for job opportunities is increasing every year. Even Google recognises this growing trend and provides higher rankings to mobile-friendly websites. If your recruitment website is not yet optimised for smartphones, youâ€d better do something about it now.

5) Recruitment videos 

Video content is now a major factor in any SEO strategy. Posting engaging recruitment videos can convince your target audience to spend more time on your website. Remember, your page rankings tend to go up when people stay longer on your site. In addition, visitors are more likely to share entertaining videos through social media, which is another boost to your SEO.

Conclusion

This article has examined some of the tactics that can optimise your recruitment website and increase its search engine ranking. However, the improvements wonâ€t happen overnight. It will take some time before you can see dramatic changes in the SERPs. Think of SEO as a marathon, not a sprint. Keep updating your web pages with new and valuable content. Before you know it, your recruitment site will be at the top of the search engine results.

Authorâ€s bio

Written by Chris Anderson, Head of Recruitment Traffic.

Related:

=> 25 Best SEO Tools For Successful Blogging

Therefore, you should take time and effort to increase your siteâ€s value.

To do this, you will need to follow the advice below.

SEO Guide No1 Tip: Use reliable software tools

There are numerous software tools you can use, but the largest search engine has two of the best:

• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console

As the name implies, Google Analytics provides vital information on how people perceive your site and how you can improve these perceptions.

Meanwhile, you can submit a sitemap through Googleâ€s Search Console. This will let Google and other search engines know about your site. It can also detect alert errors so you can fix them without delay.

Conduct keyword research 

Using the same words or phrases used by online searchers can help improve your standing in the search engine results pages. According to this advice, you should consider the value of the keywords based on user intent. For example, you should work out the most popular terms searchers will use when they are:

• Simply browsing
• Looking for good deals
• Comparing the prices of various sellers
• Buying

Once you understand their search queries, you can incorporate them as keywords for your siteâ€s content. If you want to run ads, you can use Googleâ€s AdWords Keyword Planner.

Perform page optimisation

To optimise your website and all its pages, you should:

• Use only one H1 tag per page – They denote the main headline and they often include the main keyword for that page.
• Ensure that the page title uses fewer than 60 characters – In this way, readers will be able to see the entire title in their searches. Also, as Google often displays the first 50 to 60 characters, the primary keyword should be placed at the start of the page title. Furthermore, instead of creating titles that resemble a complete sentence or even an editorial, why not make them look like a listing? You could use special characters, such as brackets or dashes, to focus on the essential information.
• Ensure your meta descriptions are accurate with fewer than 155 characters – Moz research discovered that Google removes meta descriptions once they go over 155–160 characters. Therefore, make sure you include your best pitch and main keywords at the beginning while keeping it under 155 characters.
• Make the page titles engaging and easy to read – The title should be enticing, understandable and appealing to your readers.
• Always include keywords in the URL page – Remember, page titles automatically become the URL so keep it short and understandable, and remove any filler words.

Build links

Links on your website can increase your ranking factor. Think of links as proof of trustworthiness among search engines. You should think about building links by partnering with publishers or other sites within your industry. You could even share valuable content. For example, you could introduce yourself to a blogger who reviews your products. After the introduction, you could help each other by sharing the benefits of your goods.

You may also wish to check the competition to see how they strategise their link building. There are tools you can use for your analysis, such as Ahrefâ€s Site Explorer. You can use this tool to discover your competitors†websites and web page links. It can also provide you with insight into how your site can earn links and mentions.

Create relevant content

A comprehensive content strategy can take months to plan and execute. However, there are simple but effective ways of filling your site:

• Find out what questions your prospective customers are likely to ask – For example, although they may be aware of your products (e.g., soap), they may not understand why some are more expensive than others. Itâ€s up to you to answer this type of query.
• Provide more product value to your customers – If you sell food products, consider posting a few simple recipes on your website. This approach can open the eyes of your buyers to the various ways your products can be used.
• Find out which keywords often match a customerâ€s search queries – Once you incorporate these keywords into the search terms, users are more likely to find your website.

If you decide to write a blog post or an informational page, consider limiting the content to 500 words. Most readers want to obtain information quickly, so make sure your articles are short but clear. However, there are exceptions. You can go over the word limit if the question requires an answer that will be more than 500 words long.

Build your reputation

Similar to any other business, you must protect your websiteâ€s reputation. If possible, establish your site on social media platforms, including:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Twitter

If you want to create a well-known brand, you should register its name on suitable social media platforms. This can help protect your brand and its identity while making it easy for people to locate the site online. You can even link the social accounts to your store. However, remember to focus on the channels that can guarantee you maximum customer reach.

Other factors worth considering

Your website needs to look good on mobile devices as many people prefer to use their smartphones for browsing these days. If your content is not readable on a mobile phone, make sure you create a mobile version immediately.

Loading speed is another ranking criterion that you should never ignore. Consider using tools such as PageSpeed Insights to find out how to speed up your siteâ€s desktop and mobile versions.

SEO Guide – Conclusion

Creating a website is relatively straightforward. However, selling it for a hefty profit may take some time and effort. Remember, most people will pay the price you set if they think your website is worth that amount. SEO strategies should be your first port of call in terms of adding value to your website. Begin by using appropriate tools that can assist you in keyword research, page optimisation and content creation. Make sure you explore every possible avenue that could help your site reach the top of the search engine results pages. You may also consider consulting a knowledgeable SEO expert for help.

Authorâ€s bio

Chris Anderson is an online marketing expert with 15 years†experience in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Google Ads campaigns. As the founder of Springhill Marketing, he has helped various companies drive up their website traffic via increased sales and enquiries. His company is also a Google Partner, specialising in SEO and Google Ads Services.

Related:

=> How to turn your Blog into a money making Authority Website

=> Tips for people who think they canâ€t write.

Why You Need a Website Sales Agreement

There are advantages to acquiring existing websites.

You donâ€t have to spend considerable time, effort and money developing a site for your business or personal purpose. However, there are also some risks involved since itâ€s an online transaction involving a non-physical product.

Some unscrupulous people will sell websites offering features that are either exaggerated or simply non-existent. For example, they may present an unrealistic profit margin or a list of non-existent subscribers.

So whether youâ€re purchasing a website privately or through a platform, you could mitigate the dangers through a sales contract.

When procuring a website, you need to have a clear and detailed record of what youâ€re receiving. For example, will the sale include rights to the content, both text and images? Are there any existing problems that might affect the websiteâ€s search engine ranking? These are a few of the various concerns related to a website sale.

Since youâ€re dealing with a transfer of digital property, a written contract is an absolute necessity. Also, you have to take into account other legal aspects like intellectual property rights and seller warranties.

Under the terms and conditions of your agreement, you need to verify what kind of website you are purchasing.

Websites are classified by the following:

• Those created by developers intended to be sold or ‘flipped†and are often monetized by ads or affiliate links
• Blog, fan or information websites
• Used to restore an expired domain name
• Suitable to a buyerâ€s plan like an empty e-commerce site where the buyer can advertise his products.
• Web-based application hosted on a third-party server

If the website is a full-functional and existing e-commerce site, the terms and conditions are more extensive. You have to take into account conditions like an offline relationship with suppliers.

Often, the one intending to purchase a website has a greater incentive to produce a sales agreement. Since the sale involves a digital product and not a physical one, buyer assumes most of the risks.

The Website sales contract will require the following

1) Website Sales Agreement – A Definition of terms

Selling a website involves the use of many technical terms. So to ensure that both parties understand each other, this section is used to define what a particular word means. For example, what do you know about words like, intellectual property, domain name or ISP?

2) Terms and conditions agreed upon by both seller and buyer

Generally, this section covers the intention of the parties, the applicable laws, and warranties. Also, the part discusses the specific items that are covered by the sale like website, intellectual property right, and domain name. Furthermore, you also need to set an agreed date and time as to when the transfer of ownership will take place.

3) Important details of the sale

(a) A specific description of items sold

Would you purchase a car if it doesnâ€t include a steering wheel or tires? Similarly, a website is also composed of several components like domain name and intellectual property rights.

For e-commerce sites, you need to ensure that other related or offline information is part of the sale. Before agreeing, ensure to include the following items:

• Manuals, procedures or process accumulated in the development of the website
• Ads, content, images and their related copyright
• Database of current and even former customers
• Subscribers list
• The people working for the site like bloggers
• Licenses, permits or permissions
• Social media engagement

(b) Price

The section contains the agreed price, form of payment, and who will pay the taxes from the sale if any.

(c ) Date of complete transfer

You need to set a definite date as to when the buyer will have complete control of the website. If possible, the transfer of ownership and control should commence once the agreement is signed. If not, at least within the day.

4) Warranties and other future restrictions like non-compete clauses

If the seller provides some warranties, ensure to put those in writing. Also, consider inserting provisions that prevents them from setting up a similar one that will directly compete with yours.

For those unfamiliar with the sale of websites, consider enlisting the help of experts. You can seek the help contract review services companies to know more about the terms and conditions in your contract. You may also need advice with regards to any ‘hidden provisions†the seller may include in the terms.

********************

Attention Entrepreneur: Do You Want To Sell Your Website?

A lot of entrepreneurs sell their online business using Flippa.com. With over 200,000 buyers looking to buy your website or online business, Flippa.com is the go to place for both buyer and seller.

Flippa is especially good for smaller sites making under $100,000 per year in profit – although they do handle larger transactions.

Founded in 2009 Flippa have sold 250,000 + businesses sold world-wide. Click below to check out some current listings or to list your website for sale: Click Here

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Website Sales Agreement – Conclusion

Purchasing a website is a bit risky, but the potential benefits are worth the gamble. However, you can place the odds in your favour by writing all your oral agreements in a contract. Such a deal is crucial because itâ€s the only physical proof you have of owning a digital property. Also in case of disputes itâ€s an essential piece of evidence. Creating one is not easy since it will require expert knowledge of the technology applicable laws. So consider getting help from a contract consultant or lawyer.

~ Website Sales Agreement: Don’t Sell A Website Without One ~

Authorâ€s Bio: Kerry Gibbs is a legal expert at BEB Contract and Legal Services. BEB provides small to medium-sized businesses with legal and contractual support. They offer various legal contracts and agreements including terms and conditions, service agreements, retainers, shareholder agreements, service level agreements and many more.

They specialise in writing terms in plain English to help your business grow.

An Article by Natalie Wilson

Before you start a new blog or a new business venture with a recently created domain, you might want to consider buying one that already generates traffic.

Smart people are buying and selling websites for a living and some when launching a new business will buy an existing website in their chosen niche rather than register a new domain name. [Especially if that web domain that matches their business idea perfectly]

But buying a website does come with risk and you should always be sure of the final costs.

There are plenty of horror stories to read about, but if youâ€re looking for some advice on websites before you buy, hereâ€s what you need to know:

Where Can You Buy a Website?

The short answer is mainly online, but essentially there are 2 ways to find a website to purchase, one being much easier than the other.

Use a Website Purchase Platform

Businesses such as Midascode Ltd offer their users the aid they need to buy or sell a website. This is the suggested approach as the platform can help weigh in on your purchase and offer you recommendations. It also serves as a safer option rather than purchasing privately, which can turn pear shaped pretty easily.

Useful Links: 

Buying an Existing Website – The Alternative Web Start Up

Marketplace for buying and selling websites

DIY Sales & Business Broker Led Sales

Private Purchase

If you wanted a very specific domain because it includes your product, service or brand name, approaching the website directly for purchase is the ideal solution. This option does include more risk as you have to make sure youâ€re asking all the right questions and negotiate price on your own.

Should You Purchase an Established Website?

Depending on your circumstances and what you want to gain varies on whether or not you should buy an already known website. But itâ€s worth noting the following points to help you with your decision.

Do You Want to Change the Websites Topic?

If youâ€re looking to buy the website strictly for its name and URL youâ€re likely going to lose the websites current traffic.

For example, if the traffic is expecting an e-commerce store and youâ€ve changed it to a fitness blog they may not be interested in reading about it (so they’ll just leave the site). If you plan on doing this, make sure youâ€re not paying an inflated sum for the current traffic levels, but if you intend on keeping the topic of the site the same but enhance it, it might be worth investing in.

Is there an SEO Value From the Website

There are tools available online to allow you to measure the value of a website. Domain Authority is a tool you can use to measure the website history and this one of the most generic ways to measure websites current online value. There are also tools such as Majestic which can help you review the websites topical Trust Flow, which essential reviews it current backlinks. To further review the website, you can also investigate its current rankings, to help identify how it stands for current search terms. Another important check to conduct is to use a tool like the Wayback Machine to review the history of the site. Often, sites can be bought just to be sold, and you wouldn’t want to find out what you thought was a family website was an adult site up until 4 months ago.

Are You Buying it to Guide Users to Your Current Websites?

This takes a lot of assessment to find value in. If your an e-commerce website looking to generate more direct traffic you can buy URLs and lead the redirected traffic to your website. This will likely cost you more to do though, as the site you buy should have a lot of direct traffic, and you also need to be sure that the new traffic is going to be interested in what you offer.

Are Your Trying to Acquire a Mailing List?

Another reason to buy a website is to acquire its mailing list. If the site can provide statistics about their audience and mailing list, you can begin targeting these users to increase revenue or traffic to your current site. Itâ€s worth evaluating the response rate of the mail list too, as some lists can be spammy and lack efficiency.

Some Final Notes:

Site Ownership

Make sure you confirm you are speaking and buying the site from the webmaster. Too often does money get exchanged and the new “owner” actually paid the wrong person and the website cuts them out of the website. Youâ€ll likely have little evidence to prove you legitimately bought the website, which is another reason you should use a buy or sell website platform.

Learn About the Websites Assets

The domain isnâ€t the only thing you might be able to gain, as mentioned mailing lists, access to experts in technical due diligence and web developers for example may have already been bought and paid for, so these could also help the further advancement of your new acquisition.

Stability

If it is a high-value website, itâ€s worth digging into profit or traffic projections along with access to the websites Google Analytics so you can view the data first hand.

The Buying Process

You can scare off most hustlers with a simple phone call, so asking for as many details as possible before you pay will help legitimise the transactions. Making sure you follow the steps above will assure you that the website you are gaining is ideal for your future progression.

An Article by Natalie Wilson

Social Media Apps You Have To Consider For Your Brand

Itâ€s always helpful to know what social media sites are around when in business. In todayâ€s generation, it can be argued that social media is a prime driver and leader in gaining awareness and traction to your website. Engaging in particular social media sites means you help to maximise the size of your brand, increase social engagement and achieve the goals you have set for social media.

When choosing the right social media sites to engage with, itâ€s not just about how popular it is, but itâ€s also whether it fits your business. Does it target the right audience? It is in line with your business area? Are they sustainable? To help you out, here is a lowdown on what social media sites you need to know about right now.

Facebook

Considering it birthed back in 2004, Facebook was the popular social network around that time. Over time itâ€s gained over 2.23 million average users a month. There are millions of businesses that are using active Facebook pages and they continue to actively promote their business through this platform. This makes it a rather easy choice if youâ€re looking to promote your business on social media.

Set up and login is relatively easy on Facebook, and there are many features that you can utilise to ensure that you gain the right reach to your audience. Images, live videos and stories are all available which help to get your brand out to your relevant audience. The Facebook algorithm prioritises content that is considered engaging and interaction worthy.

YouTube

This video sharing platform is the leading runner of its kind. YouTube has users watching an endless amount of hours of video content daily and earns millions of subscribers. You can easily create a YouTube channel where your videos can be uploaded to. They can then interact with the videos by liking and commenting on the videos that you upload.

Youtube is currently owned by Google and is also considered a search engine for video content. Therefore, it might be worth reading up on YouTube SEO too. This will help you to maximise your optimisation in the best way possible for YouTube.

Instagram

Instagram is a sharing platform for videos and photos. There are several features in the Instagram app which allow you to upload photos and videos, share a live video and add to your personal Instagram Story. IGTV is a new feature in which businesses might have a particular interest in due to the longer content videos that it allows you to upload.

For businesses, you can set up an Instagram business profile which will help you to track your analytics for your account as well as schedule Instagram posts in advance for later posting.

Tumblr

Tumblr can be considered a microblogging platform that allows you to share anything from text and photos to videos and audio files. Users of the platform share pretty much anything in a media form to gain exposure.

With an average of around 500 million visitors a month. Thereâ€s no surprise that many businesses may consider Tumblr as a platform for exposing their business. If you wish to know more about Tumblr and how it can be used for marketing purposes, hereâ€s a starter guide for you.

Twitter

For the latest news in sport, entertainment, politics and more, Twitter is the social network for it. The selling point for Twitter is that it thrives for real-time news and information. The timeline focus on Twitter enables you to keep up to date with live news as its occurring.

Itâ€s also considered an important platform when it comes to customer service. Itâ€s estimated around 80% of customer service requests happen on Twitter. This is mainly down to the exposure thatâ€s generated on the platform and the heightened pressure for businesses to resolve the problem before it escalates to other potential users.

LinkedIn

LinkedInâ€s purpose is now considered a professional social media site for businesses and leaders in the industry. It allows experts in the field to share content and grow networks to help enhance their personal brand. Itâ€s also a platform to help businesses to provide knowledgeable insight that can help them to increase their authority within their industry. This helps to attract talent and gain exposure for their company.

Snapchat

Established in 2011, Snapchat is still considered a relatively new social media network. Itâ€s a multimedia sharing app which allows users to share videos and photos between friends as short snaps. It was the original birth for the stories format which migrated to other social media platforms at a later date. In particular, Instagram took up the feature which has seen Snapchatâ€s growth become hindered from a marketing perspective.

It still continues to add features to help brands expose their reputation, including the ‘Discover†feature which provides users with news articles and stories that may be of interest to them.

Medium

Medium is considered an online platform for publishing articles, with a social media element to it. The majority of articles on Medium are free but there is also certain publication which can only be read by paying members.

Where businesses utilise the features of Medium is blog posting where businesses have the ability to republish their blog content and grow their reach with each publication.

To Conclude:

The social networks outlined above are just some of the social media platforms that you should be considered when building and growing your business. As mentioned earlier though, there are considerations to be made on whether or not the social platform that you choose is suitable for your business. Where Twitter might be suitable for the industry and content that you produce, it might not necessarily make it suitable for a platform such as Snapchat. Itâ€s all about analysing the tools you have in front of you and determining whether the platform is suitable. It can be said that social media sites such as Facebook have features and an outreach that would make it suitable for most businesses to choose and publish their content on.

Author Bio: Natalie Wilson is a freelance writer for many different business publications. With a range of knowledge in the business sector, she is currently researching brand development and what makes brands unique. With the Northern Powerhouse growing stronger, she has enjoyed researching different brand design Manchester city centre and hopes to look into other Northern cities during her research.

Is there a common trait all successful entrepreneurs share or is it more about individual personality?

When you study a small selection of the twenty-first century’s most prolific entrepreneurs, you’ll notice 8 similar traits that stand out in each of them.

Learning from The Best

By isolating common traits found in those who have been successful on their own entrepreneurial path, itâ€s possible to incorporate such mannerisms into our own entrepreneur mind-sets. After all, if it works for Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos then it must be worth a try!

1. Successful Entrepreneurs Are Passionate

Without a doubt, all successful entrepreneurs have passion and plenty of it.

Itâ€s this passion that inspires them to create their own unique product or service. This passion is obvious in their work and the results they derive. With this passion comes a belief they’ll be able to offer something unique, or they can do something better than anyone else.

Without passion, there’d be no drive or motivation. Passion is a huge reason why they became entrepreneurs in the first place. It gets them up in the early hours of the morning and pushes them to work firmly through late hours of the evening to succeed, without veering off course.

2. Successful Entrepreneurs Are Determined to Succeed

Almost every successful entrepreneur has, believe it or not, experienced some form of negativity regarding their chosen path. However, they’ve also chosen to ignore pessimistic comments, lack of confidence and the sheer hate of those around them. Likely using it to their advantage.

The successful entrepreneur has become determined to prove others wrong and works hard to achieve the last laugh! Many say what they’re doing goes against the grain, but this only fuels them to reach that end goal. Where most people say it will never be done, a successful entrepreneur buckles down and through sheer determination, proves otherwise.

3. Successful Entrepreneurs Are Self-Starters

It goes without saying that all successful entrepreneurs are self-motivated. They’ve had to be from the very beginning of the entrepreneurial journey. There’s no employer breathing down their neck or micro-managing at every stage of their work. They are that employer!

Successful entrepreneurs make an extra concerted effort because they understand no one else is going to do it for them. When successful entrepreneurs encounter a problem, they’re fully responsible for solving it themselves. This dynamic trait often makes them a force to be reckoned with.

4. Successful Entrepreneurs Are Confident

Successful entrepreneurs need a huge amount of confidence to make their way in any industry. The confidence to speak up, promote their cause and sometimes work on what many feel is impossible requires an inner confidence. Above all, the confidence to believe in their own abilities goes without saying.

Assurance gives a successful entrepreneur the ability to move forward and continue going it alone, even when the going gets tough because they donâ€t stop to doubt their efforts.

If you want to see a great example of healthy entrepreneurial confidence, follow Elon Musk on Twitter.

5. Successful Entrepreneurs Are Not Afraid Of Failure

Almost every successful entrepreneur has encountered failure. Whether big or small, understand that failure is an essential component of the entrepreneurial route because it’s all about taking risks. These are not careless risks, they’re definitely calculated, but the successful entrepreneur knows when to take them and when to hold back.

More so they fully accept the fails that may arise when such risks donâ€t go according plan. The difference is they have at least tried and aren’t wondering what if? Successful entrepreneurs take their failures on the chin, scrutinize them, learn from them and then move on, job done.

A great example is when Steve Jobs was fired from his own company in 1985 only to return in 1997; subsequently turning it into one of the worlds most profitable businesses.

6. Successful Entrepreneurs Have A Vision

Successful entrepreneurs often have a vision only they can see. At times this vision may seem to others as madness, or completely unattainable. But thereâ€s no denying that the most successful entrepreneurs are usually the ones who spot the opportunity others have either overlooked or deemed undeserving of their time.

A huge part of being a successful entrepreneur is having an unquenchable curiosity. This curiosity can only be satisfied by attempting to recreate their vision and staying ahead of current markets. At the same time not being afraid to act upon those ideas.

7. Successful Entrepreneurs Respect Their Peers

Contrary to popular belief, successful entrepreneurs are people persons! Though the mainstream image of an entrepreneur is solitary and going it alone, the most successful entrepreneurs know that to achieve their objectives and the greatest of success, they must work alongside and with others.

They build effective and long-lasting relationships. These entrepreneurs realize a solid support team and network of contacts exponentially increases their chances of accomplishment. In fact, most entrepreneurs will need to build their own team at some point in time, and the most successful of them will have their full support every step of the journey.

And if you’re looking to team up with talented designers, developers or marketers, definitely check out AwesomeWeb.

8. Successful Entrepreneurs Continually Evolve

The successful entrepreneur never stops learning.

Whether it be formal education, vocational training or hands on experience, every opportunity is a chance to enhance wisdom. The most successful usually have a thirst and a hunger to learn as much as they can. Knowledge gives them a head start and an advancement in the industry because they know that with knowledge comes power.

Arm yourself with as much information about the goal you want to achieve, and then read everything into it, test everything available to you and work on expanding knowledge upon the areas you didnâ€t initially know much about. The entrepreneurial path is a constant learning curve for all those who effectively navigate it!

If you look closely, you’ll notice each of these traits relate to one another. If you possess all these core characteristics, you’re that much closer to emulating the success of those before you.

Success by choice, not by chance!

-David Aston

Author Bio: I’m David Aston, Entrepreneur and Founding Nomad of AdventureHacks, Inc. My mission is to inspire adventure on the ground, in the water and through the air!

Using a phone for doing business never gets old. In fact, thousands of business deals around the world are being closed right now over a phone call. You can do it too, but it requires that you know the correct phone etiquette for closing a business sale over a phone call.

It is so important that you follow the correct phone etiquette for any business transaction. This is especially true if you are selling something to your customer over the phone. Having a business sale over the phone can prove to be a difficult task, but it can also be very rewarding too.

If you want to increase your business sales over the phone, you should follow the business phone etiquette tips listed below:

1) You must always maintain a positive tone when speaking.

When talking to customers over the phone, you must make sure that you maintain a friendly, enthusiastic tone with your voice. You need to develop a positive tone in your voice so that your customers can feel comfortable. Your voice should be something that will soothe their ears so your customers wonâ€t be annoyed with you when talking on the phone. Always control the pitch and timbre of your voice and avoid speaking in an annoying or exaggerated voice.

2) For Best Phone Etiquette – Always be sincere.

Your customer might be calling you because they have concerns with your products or services and theyâ€re reaching out to demand some answers from you. No matter what your customerâ€s mood is, you must politely listen and answer their questions all the time. Make your customers feel that they are your top priority. This way youâ€ll have them coming back for your products or services in the future.

3) For Best Phone Etiquette – Talk as clearly as possible.

When you speak to your customers on the phone, you must say your words very clearly. Donâ€t use complex or slang words. You donâ€t want to confuse your customer with overly complicated vocabulary or disrespect them by using unprofessional words. Also, avoid using filler words like “um”, or “ah”. These words might get your customers annoyed. If this is new to you, practice the words you are going to use when talking to a customer over the phone.

4) For Best Phone Etiquette – Donâ€t talk too fast or too slow.

Talking very fast will only make you stumble with your words. Talking slowly, on the other hand, can make your customer feel annoyed. Itâ€s better if you can talk at a normal pace where you can correctly pronounce each word that comes out of your mouth.

5) Take a deep breath before making a call with a customer.

Having shallow breaths when talking to a customer over the phone can make you sound tired. Now, you donâ€t want your customer to feel like you are not enthused when talking to them. You must always sound happy and very willing to answer their call. To help you out, practice your breathing by taking a big, deep breath before picking up the phone. This should allow you to breath normally during the phone call.

6) Always listen to your customers.

Now, you want to be listening attentively to your customers first before you start talking. You must treat your customers like theyâ€re your top priority, and in order to do so, you must listen to them attentively. Focus on what your customer is talking about over the phone call. Stop anything that you are doing and put all your attention into the phone call. You donâ€t want to make your customers repeat what they just said because it means that you donâ€t care about them. Remember that customers hate being ignored. If you fail to listen to them even once, they may get frustrated and hang up.

7) Donâ€t interrupt a customer while they are still talking.

If your customer is still talking, donâ€t even attempt to interrupt them. This is especially true if the customer is complaining about something. Just let them talk and listen to them attentively until they are finished. Situations like this tend to happen from time to time, so you need to teach yourself how to properly deal with complaining and angry customers.

8) Always address the customer by their name.

Donâ€t make up names for your customer. Always address them by their true name. This is to show that you really value them as your customers.

9) Use a professional greeting.

Be sure to use a professional greeting when speaking with customers over the phone. Donâ€t just say “hi” or “hello”. Address your customers correctly by using their titles like, “Good morning, Doctor Johnson. How may I help you?”.

10) Introduce yourself properly.

Your customers must know who are they speaking to over the phone. You need to introduce yourself properly. If you are calling for your company, donâ€t forget to mention its name as well. Be sure to include your position so that your customers will know that they are speaking to someone who is credible. Keep your introduction short and general⎯no need for many specifics. Also, if thereâ€s someone from your company whoâ€s going to join the call, make sure to properly introduce them to the customer as well.

11) Donâ€t forget to say thank you.

Even at the start of a business phone call conversation you must express your gratitude to your potential client. Thank them for having the time to talk with you and for allowing you to explain what the call is all about. Tell them that you wonâ€t be taking too much of their time and start immediately with your business presentation. At the end of the phone call, thank the client again for listening to you and for taking the time to talk with you. You must always express your gratitude⎯regardless of the outcome of the call. By showing gratitude to your client or customer over the phone, you are showing that you are sincere with your business proposition. This could actually help you in convincing them to close a deal or do business with you.

Having proper phone etiquette is absolutely essential for effectively communicating with current and potential clients and customers. While steps like these are easy to implement, improving your teamâ€s phone etiquette is something that should always be a focus, and should be consistently be improved on over time. The communication experts at Fone Dynamics know that a phone call can make or break a deal and by following these tips and improving your phone etiquette, you can boost business sales.

Author Bio: John Taylor

John is a long-time professional with over two decades of experience in analytics and communications technology. He works as the Senior Data Analyst at Fone Dynamics, a leader in call tracking, voice, and SMS communication. When John steps out of the office, he loves to spend time with his family and bike riding.

The Secrets of writing amazing content

Your website is a gateway for potential customers to interact with your brand, business, and ideals. Whether you sell services or products, your website needs to show potential customers what your brand represents, and why they should care.

Content is equally important on your website even if you arenâ€t selling anything. If you want to be taken seriously as a brand, itâ€s essential that the content you produce is engaging, interesting, and of course, accurate. So you can produce the best content possible, itâ€s essential to use online tools, and learn from the experts.

Learning from Marketing Experts

There are many online resources that help you establish your brand online. Websites like Kissmetrics, for instance, offer regular updates on how you can improve customer acquisition and make the most out of the content you produce. Their websiteâ€s blog has really detailed information about producing quality content, and can be an invaluable tool for a variety of websites and businesses.

When you learn from experts online, youâ€re obtaining knowledge that has been gained through years of trial and error. Other writers will have spent years studying the algorithms used by search engines, and the ways in which readers react to different kinds of content. This is the advice you canâ€t afford to miss.

For Website Great Content – Enlist the Help of Researchers, Proofreaders, and Editors

As well as learning from marketing experts, you can enlist the help of writing and research professionals who can assist you in the creation of quality content. If you need assistance with research, you can enlist professionals from UK Top Writers to help you find the material you need.

If you have already written your content, these same professionals from UK Top Writers can assist you in editing your content, and finding grammatical or factual errors. By enlisting professionals like these, you can ensure that every single word on your website is right.

Keep Your Readers Happy

Readers will only return to your website if they enjoy the content you produce. For this reason, itâ€s important to craft copy that people actually care about. Ask yourself what is good about the story your writing, and how you can add an entirely new angle. By adding additional information not found anywhere else, youâ€ll be providing an extra incentive for people to visit your website.

If youâ€re not sure about what your readers want in the future, consider asking them. Through social media, you can set up polls where you ask your readers directly what kind of content they love both. Not only does this give you an important insight into what your readers want to see, but it also shows potential customers that you really care about what they think. This is essential for any brand that wants to continue expanding while keeping loyal customers happy.

Understand the Importance of Social Media

So you have great content, but your readers arenâ€t finding it. The solution is simple – social media! As much as search engine optimization has a huge part to play in helping people find your content, your social media will be able to direct people who are immediately interested in your brand to your website.

If youâ€re unsure about how social media really works, or you need assistance with PR, there are many online tools you can use. A great example is The Content Factory, a website which connects you with social media marketing, PR, and content writing specialists.

Remember Formatting

Not only is the content you write important – the way you present it is essential too. When a reader is presented with a huge block of text, it looks daunting and tough to read. However, if you split up your content into subtitles, and then use lots of bullet points, you make it significantly easier to read.

Ensure that you break up the content you write, and provide hyperlinks to your sources. You can also make use of images and graphics, which is another essential tool for making content look easier to read and understand.

By taking advantage of all the online tools available to you today, and considering these five tips, youâ€ll be able to entice new customers and keep your readers consistently happy.

How to do it!

How not to do it!

Social media, in the years since its development and rise to popularity, has become a mass tool for anything from marketing your new business, to creating a personal page for your dog and their daily activities.

Donâ€t be fooled by the range of prospects that social media provides and immediately discount its power.

Social Networking Sites, such as Twitter or Instagram, are incredible tools for getting the message youâ€d like shared with the world, out to the world, and faster than ever before.

Creating a successful online brand for yourself is one of the first key steps in maintaining a simultaneously satisfying start to your personal goals when it comes to social media, as well as reaching and connecting with your target audience.

However, with all of the variety that is present online, and the constant shifting in preference for specific topics, products, and people, starting a successfully operated page for yourself may conflict with allowing yourself to maintain your own personality and beliefs while online. Observing the way that trends shift, people lose interest, and audiences wain, may make you desire to start fresh and parrot those brands that have suddenly obtained mass success from being ahead of audience trends.

In reality, jumping around from subject manner to subject manner, changing your entire brand appearance, and only sticking to trends without maintaining the message that your started your project with, will not lead to success; it will confuse your audience, making it more difficult for them to connect with you as a person or a product.

The key here, is balance.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BRAND YOURSELF

Imagine that yourself as an entrepreneur. You have a new product that you really want people to like and buy so that you can gain some recognition and potentially make a fair profit. When going about crafting a successful social media based brand and profile, you have to first establish a couple of foundational aspects in order to maintain character, consistency, and creativity (the wonderful three Câ€s). Without these three incredibly important aspects, you are never going to be able to keep clear what the message is that youâ€re trying to get across, what you want your audience to take from your work, and how you are able to connect with that audience by maintaining a certain level of relevance and trend in order to encourage more people to be enticed by what youâ€re trying to get across.

ESTABLISHING CHARACTER

In order to properly execute this first step, youâ€re going to have to start with a bit of soul searching. Whether youâ€re looking to develop a new line of clothing, advertise for your new restaurant, or simply sell yourself as a marketable employee for a job prospect, you have to know your skills forwards and backwards, and what makes you different enough to get the followers you need to grow your brand.

You can start by asking yourself a variety of questions that could lead you down the right path to a solution on becoming socially savvy:

What am I primarily interested in?

Is your page for a social movement, business, or personal brand use?

What makes your page different from the millions of other pages that people stumble across in their newsfeeds on a daily basis?

What makes your page worthy of a follow, like, share, or comment?

What kinds of fresh content are you providing, that wonâ€t just become the “digital junk” people scroll past in a quest for cute cat videos?

Once youâ€ve established an answer for these questions, you can establish the character youâ€re attempting to craft on this profile, get a niche you think will stand out, and start moving forward in your endeavor.

MAINTAINING CONSISTENCY

Great. You have a character that youâ€re trying to get your followers and potential followers to buy into. Youâ€ve gained a solid footing in the community of, let’s say, deep fried oreos and donuts. Your quality photographs of beautifully decorated donuts is going completely viral, and celebrities across the country are re-posting and liking your stuff, urging everyone to get their hands on one of your products.

Everything is going great, so of course, youâ€re reveling in your success, and scrolling through your own Instagram explore page to see that the new rage is all about kale salads and detox smoothies. Immediately, you run a couple of quick searches to confirm your worst fears: donuts are out and detox is in.

Obviously, you panic.

Everything that you sell screams the opposite of what the new “trending” idea is, so your first thought is to buy a juicer, throw away all of your deep fryers, and compose a new method and branding for your store.

In this moment, stop yourself.

Yes, the trend of what people believe to be the next great thing is not currently in your favor, and your social page reflects something that may not be at the top of the charts right now, but that does not mean that you need to scrap every post, change all of your ideas, and become a brand new style of page.

The reason your initial success was gained was BECAUSE of your quality of donuts, and the specialization youâ€ve established in the deliciously non-nutritious fried food industry.

Scraping the brand you have and seeking out a new one will lead your original followers to potentially un-follow you and seek their fried food elsewhere.

Changing ideas and jumping around all the time makes your followers not want to follow you anymore, simply because they canâ€t keep up with what youâ€re trying to say. Stick with what you got, it will go better for you in the long run.

BE CREATIVE – But don’t be a dumb marketer!

Just about everyone recognizes these classic click-bait tactics

“CLICK HERE FOR INSTANT FOLLOWERS”

“YOU LIKE PUPPIES? CLICK HERE!”

“SHE DID WHAT? YOUâ€LL NEVER GUESS!”

These pages may win some people in with their foolishly ambiguous titles and language.

But these tactics quickly get found out!

By all means, you want people to notice your well written article – but what ever you do, don’t use Click Bait to do it!

If you are looking for the perfect way to drive your audience nuts and canâ€t think of anything, look no further than an annoying click bait title. Itâ€s not creative, and it wonâ€t bring you the brand success that you think it will. Sure, you may get a lot of original clicks, but nothing drives someone more angry than clicking on a click bait title and finding a post that has relatively nothing to do with the title and that theyâ€ve been tricked into wasting moments of their life on a page they really didnâ€t actually care about.

If we return back to the donuts example, and you have your heart set on selling the best donuts in the world, cultivate posts that show your audience that you have the ability to do it.

Learn about photography and editing software to make your photos the best that they can be, show people your brand, your specializations, and where your heart is.

A lot of really good photos can be taken on recent smartphone cameras, and edited with fairly cheap applications you can download onto those phones. Check out these Apps!

These days, thereâ€s no excuse for your feed not to be creative and specialized and crafted with an artistic level of care.

People get tired of being bombarded with ad after ad, and seeing photos that lack a certain depth or creative quality. Do your donuts justice, and take good pictures of them. Artsy pictures. Pictures even the donuts themselves would be proud of.

WHAT IT MEANS TO STAY UNBRANDED

Youâ€re probably thinking that the title of this section appears as if it is going to undo everything that was mentioned in the previous section, simply because it sounds like it would be counter-intuitive to move backwards after establishing a foundation for a brand. If you know your product, your audience, your goals, and youâ€re maintain the creativity that you need in order to keep all of them interested, this should be all wrapped up neatly and tied together; all this new knowledge pack safely away for your journey into being a successful social media star. But in all this talk about making sure that you cater to your audience, while maintaining your brand and your ideas, you cannot forget to also maintain yourself.

Sure, social media is a massive concept when it comes to keeping it updated frequently and making the best content, but all of this can become overwhelming. Not only do we as brands, because yes, you yourself are a brand that you are maintaining on a daily basis, in the real world, but we also have to keep up with an online persona that may be starkingly different from the one that we choose to maintain offline. Sure, you may love making galaxy painted donuts, but that is not the only thing in your life that you put  value on. There is so much more to a person than just one idea, passion, or hobby.

Believe it or not, your audience knows and wants to see that too.

So while branding yourself for the public is wonderful, thereâ€s a couple of things to remember about staying rather UNBRANDED, and quite human in the process.

You are always going to be your most important advocate. If you need to take a break from being online or caught up in the digital world of branding, marketing, and likes and comments, you are allowed to do so. As soon as you close your computer or shut your phone off, the digital world fades for a little while. Your audience of followers will thank you for it when you come back revitalized and ready to get back into the swing of things.

Offer your audience glimpses into your life that make you a human being. Yes, youâ€ve established an online persona that contains features and elements that you are trying to get your audience to enjoy, but remember that they know that you are a human being just as you do, and thatâ€s something they want to see too.

It makes you relatable, flesh behind a glowing screen. If you can connect with your audience on the most fundamental level humans can connect, through compassion and relatability, your brand will be twice as successful too.

Understand that not everyone will love what you are posting, commenting, or trying to put out there. Do not get caught up in the idea that you have to please everyone in order to be a success, simply, you have to be yourself, and nothing more, nothing less.

Social media is becoming more and more of a daily part of our lives, intricately winding itself into our portfolios for work, resumes, and general livelihood. In the end, as important as itâ€s become, we cannot forget that underneath that digital persona is a real person who is striving to thrive and be successful just like anyone else. The tools we use and the legacies we leave in trying to be successful in our attempts to make something worthwhile are only matched by the notion that we are individually unique in our brands and in our brains.

The key is balancing them both.  

Author Bio: Vanessa Frances has spent the last two years of her life in charge of the Instagram account @ProjectHeal, a nonprofit dedicated to providing treatment grants to those suffering with eating disorders, which she has helped to obtain a massively successful audience. She is the author of the book “laundry”, an active blogger for a variety of digital news organizations, and a junior ambassador for ProjectHeal.

You can contact her at vanessa@theprojectheal.org or her Facebook Page.

Do you dream of selling your blog or online business?

But not sure how to go about it? Or how to get the maximum value for it?

Then this will help…

=> How To Sell Your Website For Top Money

An awesome article by our good friend Clinton Lee

Fact is, most website valuations are based on dated and flawed thinking.

Thinking that leaves the entrepreneur out of pocket!

But knowing this will make for a much more profitable exit.

Warmly,

Barry Dunlop

Managing Director

Midascode Ltd

Selling A Website Made Easy