5 Easy Ways to Refine Your Blogger Outreach Emails |Getentrepreneurial.com

June 23, 2015June 22, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Just like an outreach email should be easy to look at and digest so is this blog post!

1. Type with a purpose

Before you send that outreach email, peruse the blog, hone in on what you are asking for of the bloggers you’re pitching and what you are willing to give to them for their time and awesomeness.

Emails that are super short and to the point have the best response rates because, let’s face it, we are all slammed and time is too precious to read a lengthy email!

The first sentence of your email should state who you are and why you are reaching out.

2. Don’t overdo the subject line

When inboxes fill up, it’s common practice to delete a bunch based on subject lines. Something that is over the top or too “salesy” are the first ones to be clicked in to oblivion.

Try asking a simple question or having a conversational subject line like “Your latest post on xyz pain point was awesome” or something as simple as “let’s collaborate” is more effective that over thinking it.

The Future of Messaging: How to Text Without Data or Wi-Fi | Inc.com

June 23, 2015June 22, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Forget having directions, tickets, or our checkbook with us. Our lives now seem to revolve ensuring that Wi-Fi will be there wherever we may roam so we can open our digital wallets, Google map it, or have our tickets scanned. When there is no Wi-Fi, our biggest fears come to life.

There is hope, thanks to some inventive technologists and entrepreneurs who have designed a solution that goes beyond data and mobile network requirements. (Yep, you could all text without a data plan.)

Yes, some of us have iMessage if we use iPhones and iPads, which means we can forgo that unlimited texting plan on our smart phone bill. However, we are all still slaves to Wi-Fi or have memorized how fast our data plan is chewed up with every ping.

But, another iOS app is rapidly changing how teens are texting through their Apple devices, and soon it will do the same with those with Android systems.

5 things to consider before you quit your job and go to grad school | Mashable

June 22, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Do you have some vague plans to go back to school at some point, and get more education? Can’t go wrong with another degree, right?

Well, no. In fact, that’s actually a pretty dangerous assumption.

Getting an expensive degree without knowing exactly what you’ll be getting out of it is a quick way to rack up debt that won’t necessarily help you achieve your goals. So, before you (possibly) get yourself in a lot of trouble, here are five questions to consider before applying to school, again.

1. What are the requirements, and do they seem interesting to me?

First things first, are you even interested in additional studies? You never want to get a graduate degree solely because you don’t like what you’re doing now or because you don’t know what you want to do next.

10 Skills That Are Hard to Learn But Pay Off Forever | Entrepreneur

June 19, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The best things in life may be free, but that doesn’t mean they won’t take time, sweat, and perseverance to acquire.

That’s especially the case when it comes to learning important life skills.

In an effort to ascertain which talents are worth the investment, one Quora reader posed the question: What are the hardest and most useful skills to learn?

We’ve highlighted our favorite takeaways.

Accountant vs. Bookkeeper: Small Business Financial Differences | Business News Daily

June 18, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Given the many problems small business owners encounter every day, recording and understanding the sales and expenses and other basic business data should be easy enough. But understanding the accounting needs of a business is not always so easy. Consider the difference between bookkeeping and accounting. Is there even a difference?

There is, and the difference is simple: bookkeepers record a company’s day-to-day transactions; accountants tell them how to do it, and then the accountants periodically make sense of all the information by turning it into useful reports .

How To Create Successful Employees |Small Biz Trends

June 17, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Imagine you hire some employees, show them to their workstations, and leave them to it. What do you think their chances of success would be? I’m thinking pretty low. And yet, this kind of thing happens every day.

Employers hire people mostly for skill set. With this practice can come the belief that the person is ready to roll on day one.

So, once they’ve filled out all of their paperwork and been shown where the bathrooms are they are let loose to do their job. The result is usually less than stellar performance and everyone ends up unhappy.

Hiring is the first step to future success. The second, and equally important, step is onboarding. Onboarding should include a couple of activities that set the new employee up for success.

Here Are the 12 Best Facebook Marketing Campaigns From the Past Year | Adweek

June 16, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Ice Bucket Challenge was the past year’s best use of Facebook marketing, according to the social network, which just announced its ad award winners. It’s no surprise the viral campaign got so much praise—Mark Zuckerberg even participated.

Zuckerberg was one of the millions of people to douse themselves in ice water to raise awareness for ALS in what became a powerful moment for online marketing. The best part was that it cost the ALS Association no money to generate all that attention—440 million people saw the videos.

The lesson was not lost on Facebook, which is holding it up as an example of how to use the platform for maximum impact.

This year marked the fourth Facebook Awards, which are timed to coincide with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—starting next week—where the ad world assembles to honor its top creative work.

Eight Ways Goofing Off Can Make You More Productive | Forbes

June 15, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

One of my colleagues used to head to the men’s room and brush his teeth every time he felt a surge of writer’s block. He swears it did the trick. Another exits the building and walks around the block to clear his head. I sorely miss the mid-day yoga sessions that Forbes offered in its old offices in Manhattan. After an hour of downward dog, shoulder stand and corpse pose, my body was relaxed, my mind was clear, and I attacked my work with new energy.

A growing body of research suggests that the longer you keep your rear end in your chair and your eyes glued to your screen, the less productive you may be. Getting up from your desk and moving not only heightens your powers of concentration, it enhances your health.

Where Does Your Money Go? |Getentrepreneurial.com

June 12, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When setting up a payments system for your business, it is important to do your research. Not only is it critical for you to get paid for your products and services, you also need to know how each potential option affects your bottom line. Interchange plus pricing and tiered or flat rate pricing both have their benefits, but it is also smart to understand how each works so you can make the best decision for your operation.

Interchange plus pricing is traditionally reserved for large companies and has the lowest possible costs for accepting cards as a form of payment. Fees applied to transactions are upfront, with rates determined on a per-card basis. Tiered pricing is the most common form of pricing for credit card processing services. This is also known as “bucket pricing,” and prices are usually high enough to cover fees.