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SEO and Social Guide for Travel Niche

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The travel niche is a fast-growing one where the web is concerned, presenting a slew of opportunities to talented writers given the wide range of people interested in learning more about the places they plan to visit.
Like any unique niche, being a travel blogger requires that you stay up on the latest in SEO, social media and other marketing tactics, helping you to rank among the best of your peers when it comes to attention from both search engines and potential subscribers.
Take your travel blogging game to the next level with this SEO and social guide for the travel niche:

The Devil is in the Details

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Before you can get down to the business of writing compelling, engaging content on the world’s wonders, you’ll need to set yourself up with the best platform to support your words. This will include focusing on a few key points:

  • Choosing a domain name. Any travel blogger worth their salt should register a top-level domain name for their website, giving it an air of professionalism along with a memorable address to get visitors to their home on the web. Try to find a good compromise between a name that clearly lets potential visitors know that travel is what you’re about, and a name that is catchy enough to find its way into their memory banks.
  • Choosing a host. Trusting your publishing efforts to someone else is as big a deal as it sounds, and this means that you should choose a host that you have reason to trust and depend on. Luckily, this trail has been blazed by millions of bloggers before you, so the web is rife with reviews on every hosting service imaginable, corporate giants and small-scale businesses alike. Take the time also to identify and cover your needs, ensuring that your host is offering the features that you require at a palatable price.
  • Choosing a publishing platform. Truth be told, this section can more or less be summed up with a recommendation of WordPress, the world’s favorite publishing platform. It’s free, trusted by hundreds of millions of people and offers every feature imaginable that a blogger could require, offset by millions of plugins that allow for even more functionality.

Determine Your Keyword Focus

Given the stiff competition that you’re up against in such a busy niche, you’ll need to pick and choose the keywords that you want to target very carefully, helping you to land the visitors best suited to the content that you’re offering. This doesn’t require scientific precision, but you will need to take the time to identify keywords and terms that people are actively looking for, using that knowledge to tailor your content to serve those needs.
The simplest way to do this is by using Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool, a handy search function for webmasters to narrow down the most popular terms being searched for among the more than three billion that take place on Google each month. This will allow you to identify some of the more narrow travel niches that are underserved, helping you to focus your content on the minute, but ever-so-important aspects of travel blogging that your readers will thank – and reward – you for.
The second aspect to keyword research is staying on top of things. While Europe may have been all the rage in 2012, it could be that current events sway the average traveler to interest in visiting Asia in 2013; when your visitor’s needs change, so should your content creation endeavors. In order to make sure that your travel focus is always cutting edge, set a weekly schedule of taking 30 minutes to use the AdWords Keyword Tool so that you can keep up with the changing tastes and areas of interest of your readers.

Great Content = Great SEO

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Even while you’re investigating and implementing the many particulars involved in properly optimizing your website for Google and friends, it is important to keep in mind that the most important aspect of SEO is good, quality content. This will encourage readers to share your content via social media, talk about it in online discussion forums and link back to it from their own websites, all crucial aspects of getting search engines to notice and reward your efforts.
Use the keywords you found by using the tips above to choose your focus and, for the sake of helping Google and friends to properly rank your blog, include those keywords in your content, but never lose sight of the fact that enjoyable, engaging and fun-to-read content is the best SEO of all.

Be the Epitome of Linkbait

One of the keys to good ranking and visibility on the web is backlinks – that is, obtaining a link to your website from another location on the internet. While there are a myriad of ways of obtaining backlinks, the best way is to encourage others to do the work for you.
“Linkbait” is often used as a negative term to refer to deliberately misleading article titles, but it also describes the ability of a writer to entice readers to get excited about their content by publishing words that generate passion. As a travel blogger, you can achieve this by provoking commentary with in-depth locale reviews, recommending destinations that are typically off of the charts of most travelers, or focusing articles on specific, exciting aspects of a given potential holiday; the possibilities are endless.

Let’s Get Social

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Once you’ve got a site structure in place that houses a good amount of quality content, it’s time for you to get the word out about who you are and what you have to offer, and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others offer you a fast, free and user-friendly way to do this. The ever-evolving social landscape will keep you on your toes with the new opportunities it presents over time, but here are a few key ways to take advantage of social media:
1. Gather Your Readers on Facebook
With more than one billion users, Facebook is the world’s biggest meeting place, virtual or otherwise. This means that almost all of your readers are probably already active there, making it a simple thing for you to encourage them to talk about your travel blog’s content in a natural, viral way.
The easiest way to achieve this is with a Facebook fan page, providing a platform-within-a-platform for people to seek out your content and share it with friends; given the general popularity that the travel niche enjoys, you’re certain to find new potential subscribers every single time someone publicly “likes” your links on Facebook.
Be sure to be personally active on your page, engaging readers and initiating conversation and debate that will help to draw attention to what you have to say!
2. Be a Travel Tweeter
Twitter has emerged as a strong number two to Facebook, providing you with a unique way to alert interested readers about your new posts. While you’re unlikely to find yourself in deep debate about a visitor’s favorite holiday destination here, the mere volume of Twitter’s user base will help you to get noticed, quickly and easily.
3. Pinterest for Travel Beauty
A relative newcomer to the social media world, Pinterest has quickly become one of the most talked about platforms on the web. With its unique focus on the sharing of photographs, it’s a particularly useful place for travel bloggers, allowing you to link your written content with the sheer beauty of the world’s endless list of travel destinations, making it much easier to entice visitors to your Pinterest board to continue on to your blog in order to learn more about what they’ve seen.

Conclusion

Everyone loves to travel, whether in reality or only in their mind’s eye, giving you a great head-start before you’ve even come out of the blogging gate! With an eye for detail, a solid plan for success and a good effort to produce enjoyable, reader-worthy content, you’ll find your blog a trusted source for travel news and opinions before you know it!
Jessy Troy is the social media consultant and enthusiast who love the freedom of working while traveling. Her favorite destination is Paris.
Image Credits: 1, 2, 3.

3 Things You Can Do To Avoid Having Your Online Marketing Emails Marked As Spam

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email_marketingWhen you decide to go into online marketing, you will find that there are many ways of going about it. One of the most effective of these is through the use of email marketing. This is a form of marketing that has been around for quite some time, so most people do not think of it as particularly innovative. However, if used properly, it can become an effective and yet cheap method of getting your products known by other people and increasing your sales.
But for it to work for you, you would need to ensure that you go about such a campaign by understanding how to avoid pitfalls. This is because it is very easy for most people to misconstrue your marketing as spam, which means that you may end up having your domain blacklisted as a spam site. To avoid this, you would need to consider the following:
Be careful about how you generate your mailing list
How you come up with addresses for your mailing list is one of the most difficult parts of doing online marketing through email. The reason for this is that getting prime emails is something that needs people to willingly submit their addresses to your organization, something that most of them may not be willing to do.
That said, however, you should make sure that how you get such addresses is as transparent as possible. For instance, when you are using a signup form to do this, you need to give the users an option to decline having emails sent to their addresses, so that they are not forced to accept them.
Make it easy for your users to opt out
Another way to avoid having your email marketing process to be marked as spam is by making sure that you give your users an easy way to opt out of the mailing list. For instance, you can add a link at the bottom of each email to make it much easier for them to simply click it to avoid receiving any more promotional emails. If you do not provide such a link or make the process of opting out to be overly complicated, they are simply going to mark your domain as spam, since this is much easier to do.
Be careful about the wording of your emails
When you are doing online marketing through email, you also need to pay attention to how your emails are worded. These days, most email programs can read the content of such emails, and then try to figure out the probability of them being spam. If you use words or phrases that are associated with spam, they are going to automatically be marked as such, which means that your readers may not get to read them in the first place. Some of the mistakes that you may make include the use of too many exclamation marks or frequent use of words such as “free”, “amazing” and “offer”, most of which are considered to be the hallmarks of spam.
Holly Sanders is an internet savvy person. She owns a blog where she gives useful and effective online marketing tips. She is one of the leading experts on internet marketing in Nashville.

The Benefits Of Using Linkedin To Promote Small Business

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linkedinLinkedin is a social network designed specifically for professional connections. lf you are a small business contemplating going online, you should add a social network like Linkedin into your marketing mix. Linkedin allows you to connect with other business leaders and professionals in your industry so that you can engage in conversation, make partnerships, enjoy mergers and strike other profitable deals.
Like any marketing avenue, Linkedin offers a unique platform that helps you promote your business and get in touch with people who can influence others and recommend your business.
1. Be smart .. Start as you intend to finish
This means once you join Linkedin, please set up your profile to be as complete as possible. including references, a professional headshot, your company details, links to your company websites and any other vital information in portraying the professionalism you want people to see. Remember, unlike Twitter & Facebook, a lot of the posts you see and discussions are by professionals in your industry. Your ability to join in with those discussions will determine the level of success you can reach.
2. Decide what kinds of people you wish to meet
lt is also important to develop a list of people and companies you want to connect to. Target these people or companies and add them to your connections. Remember for each connection you add, your network will grow and you will have the ability of adding more connections through each original connection you added. Your network and influence can grow into thousands.
3. Get the people you already know onto your Linkedin profile
A great start to networking on Linkedin is to add people who are already your customers. Simply ask your present and past customers to join you and if they liked your services to recommend you. You can gain a lot of positive reviews through campaigning with previous clients.
4. Consider your brand power
By utilizing Linkedin you have a network that you can leverage your branding. lf you have a brand, and you want to showcase it, then simply do this with your connections and groups.
5. Join Groups
The easiest way to start conversations with professionals in your industry is by joining some well respected groups. You can easily add your own voice to the discussions at hand and develop leading connections with people who are in your line of business. You can showcase your knowledge and ask leading questions which can turn into discussions. You can then add the people who reply to your connections.
6. Don’t spam
The easiest thing in the world to do is to deliver emails with sales pitches on Linkedin. This is frowned upon and rarely works. lf you want to touch base with someone,just leave them a welcoming personal note. Don’t attempt to sell your services. Instead build your relationships.
7. Add your other social accounts
You are able to add your Twitter account. Also add your other websites and blogs. This will ensure people can see a snapshot of your profile on various platforms all on one single page.
Once you have completed a company profile and added a few connections, you will begin to grow your network. Don’t be afraid to reach out and show off your credentials.
This is a guest post of Ludwing Hernandez, Young full time web entreprenuer. He like write about business promoting techniques. Follow Ludwing at Zinzz.com.

How to Become a Better Graphic Designer

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Graphic design is a huge part of working on the web, and if you want to push your business further then being able to make crisp and professional looking digital images is an incredible edge to have. Many people will choose which products they buy and which websites they spend time on almost entirely by the way they look, and if your imagery is low definition and poorly designed then you’ll damage your reputation and make yourself appear amateurish.
It’s a great skill to have then, but not one that everyone is naturally gifted with. So if you need to improve your graphic design abilities, here’s how you can get better:
Get the Right Software
When I was younger I used to play the piano, and when my Mum got me my first Yamaha keyboard I remember suddenly feeling like Rick Wakeman (if that went over your head then look up Yes on Spotify…). The point is that with the right sound effects and beats anyone could sound amazing and PhotoShop is kind of the same thing – adjust the colours, use a couple of filters, and even the ugliest picture will end up looking passable.
Learn the Features
Of course to really make the most of this though you’ll also need to know how to use the filters and the colour adjustment tools – and to do that you’ll need to spend some time watching tutorials online or getting a friend to show you. A lot of it is just tinkering and messing around, so set aside some time to just experiment and see where it takes you.
Take Your Time
One thing you cannot be when you do graphic design is impatient. If you find yourself ever saying ‘that will do’ then your site or logo isn’t going to look great. You really need to spend your time if you want to end up with something that looks professional (you think Microsoft ever say ‘that will do’ when they design Windows icons?).
Use Other Elements
If you simply don’t have time to make your image as intricate and smooth as you’d like it to, then one solution is to use another image as a resource. For instance a great way to make an abstract design is to take a photo out of a moving car and then enhance the colours/warp the image. Alternatively you can use a stock logo that’s in the public domain and then edit it to make it unique. It’s cheating, but it works.
Pay Attention to Details
It’s very important if you want your site to look its best that you pay attention to the minor details which means for instance things like the font. Often when someone designs an image they will forget that they’re using the default font and this can make an otherwise good-looking image appear very lazy. Create a check list and make sure you’ve done everything you can to make your images their best.
Outsource
Design still looking like a child drew it? Then it’s time to outsource your images and design and get it done by professionals. It might be a bit more money and a bit more time, but ultimately it’s one of the most important investments you can make for your business.
James Sax is a technology lover and an avid blogger who is currently working as SEO manager for Link Wheel SEO You can follow him on Twitter to read his insightful tweets.

3 Design Mistakes That Kill Your Business Blog

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Many businesses are turning to blogs as an extension of their marketing collateral. Blogs are a great way to provide insight to your audience, give them an easy way to get to know you and allow them to build a relationship with you so that you can achieve brand loyalty.
Some companies have very successful blogs. They produce the content their audience wants and they have an aesthetically pleasing design that makes their site easy to navigate.
On the other hand, there are some businesses that cannot find success with their blog. Most businesses assume that the content is to blame, but oftentimes, the problem lies in the design. The following are three common design mistakes that could end up killing your blog.
1. It’s too busy.
Though you may not think that it’s fun, a busy background and busy font can make people turn away the minute they land on your blog. Bright backgrounds with bright fonts can be hard for your audience to look at. Plus, if your background is too busy, they may not be able to focus on the content, which is the most important part of your blog.
Crazy fonts can also be hard for your audience to read. If you use something other than a simple font, your audience may have a hard time figuring out the words on your blog. And along with the font, you also want to make sure that the size of your font is not too small or too big.
2. The navigation is confusing.
You don’t want your readers to simply land on a blog post, read it and leave. You want them to land on a blog post, read it, and stick around for a while perusing past blog posts and possibly even getting back to your website. This is where simple navigation is essential. If your navigation is hard to find or hard to read, your audience is not going to stick around. Don’t be cute with titles for your navigation. If the navigation is leading to a page about your company, use “About Us” as a title. If your audience doesn’t understand where a link will take them, they’ll be hesitant to click on it.
You also want to make sure that your navigation is easy to find, such as along the top or along the left-hand side. This is how most websites are set up, and this is how most Internet users expect to see a site. While placing your navigation somewhere different shows that you’re unique, it can also frustrate your audience trying to find it.
3. Your audience can’t share your posts.
The more your blog content is shared, the more traffic you’ll receive. Thanks to social networks, sharing your blog content is easy, but if you don’t have share features on your blog, you’ll never see the virality that some blogs do. When a reader lands on a blog that interests them, they may be inclined to share it with their fans, friends and followers through social media. If you don’t have a share button, they’re not going to take the time to copy and paste the URL. Instead, they simply won’t share the info, which means that your blog posts aren’t reaching as wide of an audience as you possibly can.
Jacob Smith is a business owner and avid blogger.  He created his own business blog and used the wordpress themes business layouts.

The Top Companies Taking Advantage of Cutting Edge Technology and Trailblazing into the Future

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What is the future about? What is it going to look like? It’s a sweeping and broad question and of course not one that can be easily answered unless you count divination among your hobbies. However while specific answers may not be forthcoming, what we can assume with confidence is that it’s in the hands of businesses and industry. It’s capitalism that drives the technology industry forward, and it’s consumerism that decides which developments stay and which go.
But of course this is always going to mean that some businesses move further ahead than others. And there are definitely some risk taking organizations out there that are happy to take more of a leap into the unknown and blaze a trail for the rest of us. So right now, which are those companies and which technologies are they using to provide something completely new and game changing?
3D Printing Companies
3D printing companies like Shapeways and the other big digital manufacturing firms are truly liberating for inventors and entrepreneurs and put the manufacturing process in the hands of ordinary people. If you’ve ever had an idea for a simple product that you think could sell, or if you’ve ever wanted to make something for your own amusement, then all you need to do is to choose your service, upload a 3D CAD file, and then have it moulded by digitally controlled lasers in your material of choice. It’s fitting then that every order from Shapeways currently comes with a free label that reads ‘Made in the Future’.
POD Publishing
Lulu is essentially Shapeways for publishers, the idea here being that you can upload a .doc file, and then have books printed out as and when you need them bound in all manner of ways and with all kinds of options. It means anyone can publish a book and make money from it, and anyone can see a publication with their name on it on their bookshelf. Companies like Lulu and Shapeways are likely to be great blueprints for the way business operates in the future, and they’re likely to help more and more entrepreneurs strike out on their own and take on the big businesses.
RJDJ
RJDJ makes apps and this already puts the company at the forefront of a young but booming industry. However what these apps do is what makes them truly unique and even more cutting edge. RJDJ’s niche is in sound, but not just in normal sound but ‘augmented reality soundscapes’. Their flagship app for instance works by recording the sounds around you in the earphones and then echoing those back to you in a distorted, enhanced or warped manner. This creates an incredibly surreal experience that makes you feel like you’re in a dream state while turning the world around you into music. Another app attempts to induce dreams in an ‘Inception’ like manner by getting you to sleep while listening to those soundscapes. Incredibly unique uses for multiple technologies.
OnLive
‘The Cloud’ isn’t really new news any more, but still very few companies have really begun to take advantage of its full potential. OnLive is one such organization that allows you to play top end PC games your smartphone by literally streaming them from another server. The experience isn’t perfect – the resolution and framerate drops occasionally over all but the quickest connections and the touch screen controls on most devices are a little frustrating (though it works for PCs too), but the concept is still likely to be the way we consume media and play games in the future.
Sara Brown is the author of this article. She works for Berkeley Sourcing Group, that is well known for their quality services in the overseas manufacturing business

An Introduction To Content Marketing

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How does content marketing work anyway? If you have been asking yourself this question, then you have come to the right place. Content marketing is done by creating and sharing quality information for free. The content can be in form of articles, videos, newsletters or eBooks. The content that you create should be related to your blog’s niche or the product you are promoting.
Content marketing works in various ways including increasing traffic to your blog and in building trust with your visitors. If you use it effectively, then you will generate traffic from other sites and also the search engines. You will know how this will happen by reading this article.

  1. Promoting Your Blog: You can easily use content marketing to promote your blog. The first thing that you need to do is write quality content and then submit them to various websites. There are some sites that will accept your content and when you submit the content, you will be allowed to insert your blog’s URL. The person who will read your content will visit your blog by clicking the link on your article.
  2. Search Engine Rankings: Writing quality content will help your blog in ranking higher in the search engines. Search engines have started using content to rank websites and blogs. Therefore, with a good content marketing strategy, your blog’s page rank will increase. You will start getting free organic traffic and this is one of the good ways of how content marketing works.
  3. Increase the number of Return Visitors: The other way is that content marketing helps in providing valuable information to the visitor. Several bloggers use content to provide free information to their blog visitors. Therefore, the visitor will always come back for more information. This is good because the blogger will never lose most of their visitors because most of these visitors will join their email list so that they can get updates from the blogger.
  4. Building Customer’s Trust: Content marketing also works by building the customer’s trust. When you providing quality content to your visitors, they will trust you and they will buy your products or the products you recommend. The customer sees that you are providing high quality information, therefore they will know that your products contain more quality information.
  5. Readers Get Information they needed: Your blog visitors will get the information that they were looking for. When you use advertisements to promote your products, the reader will not learn anything. When you are using content marketing, then you will take your time to create the content and you will produce useful information. Your readers will read them and learn something. If you are using videos, then your readers will be entertained and you can easily convert them into buyers.

These are the best ways of how content marketing works. If you want to be successful with content marketing, then you need to learn how to do it effectively. Empower Network has all the training and tools that you can use to take your content marketing skills to the next level. You can also use this marketing strategy to promote their products and earn 100% commissions.

Eric Welke is an online entrepreneur and internet marketer.  His blog can be found by going to EricWelke.com.

Startup Hiring Tips: Use Creativity and Technology to Find the Right People

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Hiring new employees for any startup can be a real challenge. Dipping into the gene pool and trying to pluck out the best and brightest to bring on board can present a problem depending on the size of your company. Smaller companies need people who can fill many roles. Many startups are lean and mean with little or no extra time to spend reviewing resumes, interview countless applicants and come to a consensus as to who is right for the job. Time may be scare but in a world of technology and innovation here are some creative ways to streamline the hiring phase.

Corporate Culture Conveyed Through Craigslist

Craigslist can be a powerful tool to bring potential team members into the company. Unemployment is around 10% making the sheer volume of potential employees hunting Craigslist for a new job very large. The key to getting the right people for your company and not simply getting overly qualified individuals can be done with a creative advertisement. Take a look at what category the listing may appear and pick the best one. One look at the front page of Craigslist and you will see one of the largest categories is for jobs. This may seem simple but it should not be overlooked.
Next create a listing that sells your startup’s culture. One easy way to convey cultural identity is through a few pictures of the office and maybe even the team. You will notice on the job listings pages that almost none of the advertisements have an attached picture. Pictures can set you apart from the rest and may weed out people who might not fit in well with your company.

Use Registration Forms to Screen Applicants

The resume is essentially useless when it comes to making a decision about hiring. It serves as a great way to start a conversation but leaves too much to the imagination when it comes to the true identity of a person. The real test for a potential hire is how effectively they can communicate. Communication skills are magnified 10 fold in a small startup because everyone talks to everyone. There is no room to hide in a small office space filled with “startup minded” people. Using phone interviews can be effective in testing communication skills but unless you record the conversation chances are you will forget the meat of what was said and simply be left with you impression. If you capture the ideas in writing then it may serve you and your team better while making a decision. Try using a online form, like a registration form, that you can customize with a few questions to really test the communication skill and style of your potential talent. This will also prove them in their writing ability. Make no mistake; everyone must be able to communicate both verbally and by the written word to succeed in a startup.

The Bottom Line

A startup should always be in the hiring phase ready to snatch up the best and brightest. If you always have your feelers out then you and your team of highly motivated, work 60+ hours a week at any cost, will find people you need to prosper. Using creative Craigslist ads and simple technology, like customized online forms, finding the right people just might not be so hard.
Jared Jaureguy is a Technology Consultant who has helped many startups implement the best use of technology to achieve their goals. You can follow Jared on Twitter @JaredJaureguy.

Benefits of Adding a Subscription Component to Your Website

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Advantages for Vendors

Building a subscription website or adding a subscription component to an existing website is a rapidly growing trend, offering vendors a host of benefits, including the opportunity to increase revenues exponentially. Subscription models allow you to establish long-term relationships with customers as opposed to settling for a one-time purchase. They offer predictable monthly or periodic revenue with the ability to add new goods or services to an existing plan. Moreover, online subscription models build brand loyalty, the type of commitment made possible by solid customer relationships.

Advantages for Customers

Online subscriptions offer customers the opportunity to receive ongoing content or promotions from your company and to subscribe to a service rather than buying outright. Typically subscribers have a clear understanding of or interest in the goods, services, or support services you are offering. Accordingly, they often prefer thelow up-front and more manageable costs inherent in monthly or periodic payments (as well as the ability to renew, upgrade, or cancel their subscription).

Any Business Can Profit from a Subscription Model

The recurring revenue stream provided by online subscription models benefits small and large businesses alike. In fact, startups in the software-as-a-service (Saas) segment of the industry are seeing profits increase at an up-to 6x growth rate. As a result, more and more businesses are adding a subscription component to their website or even changing from a single point-of-sale model to a subscription model, with the goal of capitalizing on a sustained and long-term predictable income.

Types of Website Subscription Models

Nowadays, everyone seems to be subscribing to something. The notion of receiving services or content one enjoys (or depends upon) on regular basis is highly appealing. In general, there are two ‘archetypes’ of subscription models – those which are used primarily for monetization and those which drive traffic. If you are thinking of introducing a subscription component ton your website, consider the following types of online subscription models:

  • Freemium Model: Websites offer free content but add a “subscribers-only” link, providing paying subscribers exclusive access to premium features (such as archives or special promotions).
  • Newsletter Model: Access to a digital or print newsletter is provided to subscribers only.
  • Membership Model: A user-driven, content-based model wherein paid members enjoy access to a library of information on topics related to your business. Membershipsubscriptions create an online community of users who share a common interest or passion.
  • Magazine Model: Subscribers gain access to issues of a print or digital magazine related to your website (the magazine should be issued with regular frequency and be easily downloadable as a PDF, viewed in HTML, or stored in a closed document format).
  • Blog Model: Readers who subscribe become part of a community and are welcome to post comments. While originating as ‘personal soapboxes,’ blogs are increasingly being used by businesses as part of their online strategies. Blogs can introduce a new product, announce upcoming events, get news out publicly and quickly, or share company news/information. Many bloggers also use their blog to boost visibility by announcing speaking engagements, books deals, work in other publications, and more.

To capitalize fully on a subscription model for your website, consider investing in subscription management software, designed to help you manage all aspects of the platform – including billing, managing recurring payments, providing multiple credit card payment options, and canceling/upgrading/changing plans.
Businesses are increasingly adding a subscription component to their existing monetization strategies.
Eldad Ben Tora has Over 12 years of experience in the strategy and development of products for social and commercial platforms with strong emphasis on product positioning, strategy and design. Our great eCommerce Service can provide all the subscription services tools you need, allowing you to capitalize on the technology and enjoy the expected increment in revenue.

Beyond A Pretty Face: What Graphics Mean For Your Site

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When it comes to web design, people are pretty much over being wowed by graphics. In fact, good graphics are more or less expected of any professional site. If you’re working with a firm that provides graphic design, you’ll want to discuss with them the value of graphics beyond making your site look better. This includes such things as:

  • Functionality
  • Accessibility
  • Branding
  • Look and feel
  • Usability

Good graphic content on your website can go far beyond making your website look pretty. In fact, if you’re working with an SEO firm, they’ll let you know that there are elements of your graphic content that need to be optimized for the search engines, as well as for the human eye. Putting this all together can get a bit complex, but here are some of the basics.

Accessibility, Functionality and Usability

When you’re working with a firm that handles graphic design, you may be surprised to find out that there are some concerns that go into graphic design that you hadn’t thought about. For instance, if you had the idea of making a red logo with green lettering, a good graphic designer would warn you off from this. People who are colorblind will not be able to read your logo. This addresses accessibility and usability.
Graphics should be clearly visible and should not distract from the rest of the content on the site. This is important for users. If the graphics make it harder for them to use the site, they’re likely to see it as a very unprofessional site or one that completely disregarded their needs from the start.
Some graphics are functional. For instance, image sliders may be provided with links that allow people to click on the image and go to an article. If the firm you find has SEO services among its offerings, though make certain that the graphics and the accompanying materials are set up in a way that ensure that the search engines can properly decipher and index whatever content goes along with that graphic.

Branding and Looks

Graphic design firms can do wonders for your branding efforts. If the company that does your graphic design is good, they’ll be able to redo existing logo so that they look more modern and attractive and will be able to come up with compelling new logos they give your business a branding edge.
Graphics are much more than things to look at. In fact, some of the most useful sites out there also have great graphic content. That graphic content tends to make it easier to use the site, easier to understand what each of the different functional elements of the site do and, quite simply, make the site look more professional. Talk to the company that handles your web development about good graphic design for business websites and how it may contribute to the overall success of the site that you have designed for your business.
Article provided by Division [1] Web Design, a web design, software application and web development company. To read more articles click here.
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