If you’re selling goods, services, or tools, the Internet is where it’s at. E-commerce tech start-ups are becoming the wave of the future, but without knowing how to maximize your conversions, you’ll end up dead in the water. From set-up costs to boosting traffic, there’s a lot to think about.
It’s also difficult to step back and gain perspective when you’re in the midst of launching your new tech start-up. You may be confused by the jargon, set-up costs, or how to gain momentum as a newbie.
Here we’ll cover a few ways to improve your tech start-ups E-commerce conversions and start making more money now!
1. Speed Matters
People’s attention span is ridiculously limited. If you don’t capture their attention in the first few seconds, they’ll bounce off your page and hop right over to your competitor.
One quick way to lose customers and conversions is by having a slow website. The good news is, there are a few ways you can improve your page loading speeds.
Move servers to countries with the most customer base
Run page diagnostics to identify issues
Improve your caching options
Remove large images or confusion functions
2. Avoid Annoying Pop-Ups
There’s nothing worse than an annoying pop-up on your screen when you’re trying to navigate a website. Most visitors close them without a second thought.
Advertisements and banners are two more eyesores that turn visitors away.
While you may need some of these features, it improves the quality of the customer experience. You want customers to be happy when browsing your site. Happy customers are much more likely to convert.
Whenever possible, remove unnecessary pop-ups and reduce the number of ads on your page to increase conversions.
3. A Variety of Payment Options
Websites have many different payment portals for customers including Google Pay and PayPal. These portals make it easier for customers to make purchases without using their bank information or fumbling for credit cards.
On the flip side, other customers prefer the security of using a credit card. Your tech start-up website should cater to all of these audiences. Multiple payment portals help attract a wider range of customers.
While this requires more integration, the cost is offset by including a wider customer base.
4. Answer Burning Questions
Quality E-commerce tech websites have a FAQ page. Here, customers can find answers about your products and services, which help convince them to convert.
It also gives them more confidence in you and your products. Include a search window to help them find their answers easily.
A live chat feature is another popular option and an excellent way to help customers in real-time. While this feature is expensive, it’s one of the best customer support methods available.
This is especially true in the fast-paced world we live in where customer support phone lines are on the decline. People prefer to open a live chat window over sitting in call queues.
If live chat options aren’t in your budget, other cheap alternatives include automated responses. Bots mimic live chats based on the keywords visitors enter.
Having a visible contact page is another way to build trust and authority. Customers feel better when they can reach you if they need to.
5. Choose Your Images Wisely
Images can make or break your conversion rates. They don’t just make your site more attractive but they help draw the right kind of attention and engage visitors. Think of who your target audience is and choose appropriate images.
For example, if your target audience includes property owners, the demographic is men over the age of 35. That means images that might appeal to teenagers wouldn’t be appropriate. Tapping into your audience’s likes will help with conversions. Property industry site Rent Round clearly does this by using imagery suited to its target audience
Make sure your images are high-quality. Low-quality images turn people off and reduce the chances they’ll convert.
6. Collect Positive Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are some of the first things people check before making a purchase. There are plenty of customer review sites online that potential customers might visit. Ask happy customers to leave you positive reviews.
You can also include these high ratings on your sales pages. These strong ratings help improve your credibility and help push conversions.
7. Utilize Social Media
Social media platforms are an untapped resource for many tech start-up websites. If you want to increase E-commerce conversions, you need a social media presence.
This includes posting regularly and engaging with followers and comments. This helps increase your credibility and boost customer loyalty. Loyal customers are more likely to convert.
The truth is, finding likes and followers isn’t as easy as you might think. Posting consistently and touching on customer pain points show visitors you’re sympathetic to their needs.
8. Create Packages for Your Customer Demographic
If you sell packages and bundles of products, you need to cater to those customers who may only want an individual product. Don’t ostracize customers by only offering one package or bundle. Think of it as offering ala carte items.
Many E-commerce sites offer basic, standard, and premium package options. Customers that choose premium packages are more willing to pay for a wider variety of features. Basic packages appeal to those only looking for a few items or services at a lower cost.
The more packages you have, the more likely you’ll appeal to someone’s budget or needs, increasing conversions.
9. Lock-In Your Customers
Many tech start-ups have subscription-based options, which helps lock your customers in for a long-term agreement.
Locking in payments over a certain period of time will help boost a steady stream of income. In some cases, people don’t even realize they still have a subscription and it may take time for them to cancel, bringing in passive for your company.
Be sure to inform customers about their payment options including cancellation fees and minimum requirements.
Monthly rolling options are another option. Even though it doesn’t provide locked-in income, the flexibility allows you to charge more.
10. Offer Free Trials
Online subscription services and other businesses can benefit from offering free trials. In fact, these are proven to increase conversions. Users can try your service for a certain period of time without paying.
If you have a quality service or product to offer, they’re more likely to convert following a free trial.
One important thing to remember when offering free trials is to also set the customer accounts to auto-enroll. This means when the free trial ends, the customer will be automatically charged. Before doing this, you need to be upfront with your customers about the timeline and cost.
Just remember that you may lose some conversions when some customers decline to enter their payment details as part of the free trial form.
Conclusion
Now that you know 10 easy ways to help improve conversions for your start-up, you can make subtle changes to help improve the customer experience and your bottom line.
Make sure your website and buying process is clear and fast. Avoid losing customers and conversions to your competitors by implementing some of these tips.
Many businesses worldwide have opted for project management improvement and AI adoption in their organizations. If you are still in doubt, discover the top 5 big advantages of AI software used for project management purposes
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is among the fastest-growing sectors that have seen the largest number ofstartups in recent years. This breakthrough technology is bringing changes to many industries where business leaders strive to minimize manual work and prioritize robotic manufacturing or assistance. The potential of AI for business enterprises is overwhelming. AI-powered tools are now a driving force for growing a business quickly as AI can be applied to any area or task. In particular, many top managers see the value of AI in facilitating project management processes.
Today AI project management software is employed in numerous organizations that need enhanced control over operational processes and effective risk monitoring. For example, medical facilities use it to improve workflow in hospitals and improve the quality of healthcare, whereas agricultural enterprises rely on AI systems to detect plight on plants and trees. But this article is focused on the major benefits that AI gives project managers (PMs) faced with the problems of poor communication, inaccurate cost or time estimates, poorly defined project objectives, etc.
Let’s look into each of these 5 common advantages that every company can get in the area of project management.
5 Ways Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Project Management:
1. Workflow management
The growing use of AI software in project management is connected to its advantages in the area of workflow management. Every PM is usually responsible for many projects and should control numerous business processes at the same time. When the workload increases, it is difficult to control risks and make sure each team member performs at the highest level. Here, the role of AI is extremely useful as an AI-powered chatbot can fulfill a part of the PM’s managerial responsibilities.
For example, when a new project appears, the AI chatbot can automatically assign to the most suitable workers with relevant expertise. Similarly, it can supervise employee performance and detect any delays in product development. It also enables the PM to prepare reports faster because the results of the team’s work are automatically produced at the end of each sprint or development stage. As a consequence, the PM has more time toimprove working relations within a team.
2. Intelligence assistance
Another reason why more and more businesses opt for AI project management software is that it provides valuable recommendations when the PM is baffled and cannot come up with a sound decision quickly. This kind of situation takes place when a client alters their initial requirements or needs unplanned changes that were not considered at the start. The problem might require a new cost-effective solution that would allow the company to keep the project profitable. The AI chatbot, in this case, can be of much use too. It can develop a new project plan which involves minimum risk and costs. Since AI software can analyze the company’s history and previous case studies, it can offer a smart solution that complies with the company’s high-level goals and meets the client’s expectations. AI assistance is sometimes essential even when there are no difficulties in project development. The PM can just build on its recommendations during their decision-making.
3. Effective risk management
Statistical data show that 47% of projects end in failure because PMs cannot assess risks correctly before the project gets off the ground. The potential of AI, however, lets the PM conduct a deep cost risk analysis with different options and foresee how the project will evolve in diverse circumstances. The use of AI software becomes a necessity when the project is multistage and involves dozens of people in its implementation. The PM’s intelligence might take too long to manage all the calculations rapidly. In contrast, AI software provides the PM with the ability to predict all the major risks and based on that develop the best risk-free strategies and solutions. With the help of AI project management tools, the PM can track all the near-term risks throughout the project lifecycle and manage the project development successfully and without difficulty.
4. Accurate project estimating
Alongside risk assessment, many businesses appear to be vulnerable when it comes to project estimating. It is common practice when the PM makes an error in predicting the number of resources needed to fulfill a project properly and for this reason, the project cannot be completed on time. Luckily, AI project management tools rely on smart project estimation techniques that enable any PM to see clearly what amount of money and time every single project requires.
The estimates produced by AI systems are never false and provide the right basis for developing a plan, blueprint, and schedule of the project. AI tools are also appealing in terms of data processing as they can classify and categorize massive blocks of data in case the project’s cost is made of numerous components.
5. Fast fraud detection
At last, the biggest appeal of AI project management software lies in its capability to enhance information security and protect your business from cyber-risks. According to statistics, 30% of phishing emails manage to disrupt the receiver’s privacy and malware attacks cause financial losses amounting to $1 billion annually. The adoption of AI tools can be an effective solution against a variety of cyber-attacks. The AI system is designed to improve your data security and make sure your prospect’s identity is not a fake.
Similarly, it helps to stop DDoS attacks and assists in running your business smartly. The AI-powered chatbot is programmed to verify the client’s identity before making any payment or transaction. As a result, your company’s safety is not threatened by cybercriminals. By employing AI project management tools, you greatly reduce the risk of falling victim to some fraudulent schemes.
Why should you think about AI project management improvement?
The number one reason for project failures is a discrepancy between the project and business goals. It is imperative for PMs to clearly see the project objectives and realize how its implementation will contribute to business growth. The integration ofAI project management tools is what allows any PM to stick to the initial priorities and choose the right opportunities.
Companies that use AI-powered PM practices turn out to be more competitive in the global market and expand at a faster pace. They equally observe improvement in employee performance as their PMs direct their teams towards adequate goals that comply with their business objectives. Similarly, digital PM software lets PMs avoid mistakes in cost estimating and achieve higher accuracy in their predictions.
The integration of AI software in project management processes has a positive impact on workplace climate and working relationships as well. The use of AI software helps employees develop emotional intelligence. They will have more time to pay attention to emotional problems in the team and find a way to solve them. As a result, the chance of conflicts at work reduces substantially and team members achieve better communication.
Is AI worth spending?
The world of technology is growing extremely fast. By 2023, global spending is expected to reach $98 billion because every other business is currently in need of intelligent assistance and robotic mechanisms that allow for better and error-free performance. What is more important is that consumer behavior is equally changing alongside businesses. More and more customers prefer providers and retailers that can offer more convenient customer journeys and keep up with the latest innovations.
AI systems are really pricey, but their value outweighs its cost anyway. With AI tools, any company will manage to build their operational practices correctly and avert the typical risks that arise during project management. Moreover, the potential of AI seems appealing to any industry. From the ferrous industry to banking, any enterprise is bound to benefit from opportunities that AI systems provide.
Artificial Intelligence is also a lifeline for many companies that are on the verge of collapse or bankrupt. By speeding up their production processes, they can increase their output and thereby expand their customer base.
Will AI software replace project managers in the future?
AI solutions promise a multitude of opportunities to firms and enterprises, but it is not a threat to the job places of project managers worldwide. The purpose of AI project management is to assist PMs in running their projects smoothly. They do facilitate their managerial responsibilities and enable them to supervise the project implementation better.
But there are still many areas where AI chatbots are powerless like the area of communication and vision of project goals. For that reason, the adoption of AI systems is likely to empower PMs with more opportunities to prevent risks and enhance their organization skills without affecting their careers and employment rate.
We’re constantly being told how important it is to make sure our audience remains engaged online. Easier said than done though, right? Well, not exactly.
There are plenty of strategies you can implement to make sure you cultivate the kind of audience that keeps coming back and eulogizes about you to their family and friends.
A business’s growth potential relies on the enthusiasm of its customers. If you have an audience, but they couldn’t care less about you, here’s how you can win them over permanently.
Here is how to ensure you have an engaged audience online:
1. Communicate with them
Social media is the best communication tool available to brands today. If your audience isn’t engaged with what you’re doing, your efforts across social media could be a big reason why.
Talk to your followers on social media and respond to any queries they have. Make sure you’re authentic in your communication though. Too often, brands will come across too formal on social media, or attempt to connect with followers by using language that doesn’t fit their brand. This only makes them appear worse to a more savvy audience in a manner that doesn’t fit the platform. Don’t use brand speak when you communicate over social media — just be authentic and your audience will respect and respond to it.
Likewise, you should create communities where people feel comfortable to communicate with each other. These communities can grow on existing platforms such as Twitter and Facebook around your accounts or hashtags, or on specialist platforms created by your brand. This gives your community room to speak amongst themselves, growing your brand without any direct input from your own team.
Communication is often about the little things. Automated emails after a purchase, quick responses to a query over social media and little updates about how things are going in the business help to build a sense of connection between you and your audience.
2. Give them a reason to keep coming back
Why would anyone engage with your website or social channels? What do they offer that they couldn’t find elsewhere?
If your website is all about a one time purchase, then the average customer has no reason to come back to you. It’s vital that you offer more in order to engage an audience.
This doesn’t mean having a wide range of products, but rather being able to sell them something extra. Give them alternative content, upsell unique products and create an environment in which something new and interesting may appear at any time.
After the initial sale, you need to establish a channel of communication that instantly draws them back in once you have something you think will spark their attention. If you’re just throwing products up on your website and giving customers nothing else to entice them with, then don’t be surprised if you don’t build an engaged audience.
When it comes to this strategy, the tried and tested methods are often the best. Loyalty schemes continue to be a successful outlet for companies looking to retain customers, because of their low cost and space for creativity. A unique loyalty scheme landing in their inbox can pique a customer’s interest and quite often lead them back to your website, especially if the shopping experience was pleasurable.
Think about how you can expand upon the little moments that set your website apart from your competitors and give customers and reason to choose you over them. Often the smallest change in strategy can do this, so don’t be afraid to do something slightly more out there instead of the usual.
3. Create quality content
Content drives traffic on your website. The quality and frequency of your content can be a huge factor in determining how engaged your audience remains in your brand and website after initial contact.
Work on a content strategy that engages with the audience and encourages them to interact. This can be as direct as asking a question, or something more controversial that may start a debate.
As long as there is engagement centered around your content you will see an increase in return. Creating content that sits apart from the kind you would usually create is a great way to spark increased interest.
If you generally write blogs, think about producing video content or an infographic. Often, visual content is more shareable and helps to expand your reach and subsequently engagement. It’s vital you don’t create flat content that doesn’t lead anywhere, but instead make something that demands an emotional reaction.
Content leads into social content, as the more you make the more you have to post across your channels. While you’re making your content ask yourself “who would enjoy this?” and “how they’re likely to engage with it, if at all?”
4. Harness the power of data
If you want to get more technical, successful re-engagement is a case of being smart with the data you have available to you.
Pay attention to the customer data you have accrued over the lifespan as a business, such as how they found you, what they did on your website and how frequently they’ve returned. This information will help dictate your future strategy and expose the weak points in your existing one. Customers who are signed up to your newsletter will give you a clear idea of what your most engaged followers and customers like about what you do. While heatmaps and bounce rates can help give an indication of what keeps visitors engaged and where they drop off.
This isn’t just a case of the products or services you offer being up to par, but the whole experience of engaging with your website and brand as a whole. The data will indicate what elements of the experience users find value in. If you can fine-tune your strategy around these moments you will grab them in a more substantial way.
Conclusion
Like trying to engage with a person in real life, understand that building a relationship will take time and it’s important to not do anything that will ultimately push them away. Take your time to establish a strategy and build slowly, until your website and brand is something that naturally retains the interest of visitors.
Are you trying to get more traffic to your blog but nothing works for you? Writing a good article is only the first step before a tough content promotion. If you want to drive traffic to your blog you need to have a strong marketing strategy. You can’t just wait when your article ranks high on Google and brings traffic boost organically. So, here is the list of the best blog promotion websites you can use to share your content and drive traffic to your blog.
Facebook
One of the best places to share blog content is Facebook. This social media network has 2.37 billion active users per month, which means that it is pure gold for sharing new content. Nevertheless, Facebook algorithm is changed on a regular basis and it is not so easy to get massive organic reach. But there is a number of ways to get noticeable there:
Create engaging content on your Facebook business page
Share your blog on Facebook groups
Share your blog on your personal profile
LinkedIn
If your content is business-related consider sharing in on LinkedIn. There is a number of LinkedIn groups where you can share your articles. Just make sure you are not spammy and consider the group rules and users’ interests.
Twitter
You can hardly ignore Twitter for sharing content. Twitter can boost your blog traffic considerably if it is properly used.
Consider Twitter to engage with other bloggers and influencers by mentioning them in your tweets or commenting on their posts. This will make your content more shareable and bring more exposure.
Instagram
Though Instagram is not a content sharing website it is a perfect channel to build your personal brand and notify your followers about your next new blog.
Put to the link to your blog in bio.
Use IGTV and stories to tell more about new articles. Add some call to action and explain why your new content is worthy of reading.
Pinterest
Pinterest is a visual social media network where people find inspiration together with useful content. Most bloggers use Pinterest as a primary channel for getting traffic.
Pinterest is an extremely effective way to get thousands of page views a day. Here is how you can use this channel to get traffic:
Share Pins linked to your website
Join Pinterest group boards to get more shares of your pins
Use Tailwind Tribes to share pins
Quora
This is a website where people search for answers to the questions they are interested in.
How can you use Quora to get more blog traffic?
Search for questions in your niche and provide an in-depth answer referring to your blog content. Make sure you are spammy. Do not just leave the link with the text “read more details here”. Be specific and helpful. In this case, your answers will get more upvotes and reach more people who are likely to visit your website.
Reddit
Reddit is a highly active community that can bring huge traffic to your blog. You can find a number of subreddits in accordance with the topic or niche and share your content there.
It is highly important to follow the rules of each subreddit, otherwise, you will be banned and won’t have a chance to publish anything there.
Medium
Medium is a platform for bloggers where people share their stories and business tips.
Medium has an active community and sharing an interesting story will give you all the chances to get a traffic boost to your blog. Use Medium as an additional channel of your blog promotion.
YCombinator
YCombinator is a startup community where you can share news and blog content. Submit your link related to the niche and get upvotes from other users.
EzineArticles
EzineArticles is a website for expert writers and bloggers to share content in order to gain exposure and get more traffic to their blogs. It is highly popular and totally free to share.
HubPages
HubPages is a community of writers and bloggers to share personal stories. To submit a story to HubPages you need to create an account, fill in your personal information and start writing your very first article.
Additionally, this platform gives an opportunity to earn rewards for ads.
OpenSource
OpenSource is a community of developers and tech gurus. If you have a blog related to the information technology niche and want to promote it, consider this website to share links to your expert articles, and you will find much support there.
Bloglovin
Bloglovin is a perfect platform for bloggers to gain followers and increase traffic. Just sign up and add your blog. Every time you have a new article published your followers will get an email notification.
MySpace
MySpace is a community of music and video fans discussing trends and news in this niche. You can also use this website to share links to your blog and get some additional blog traffic.
Mix.com
Mix is a content sharing platform that is highly used by bloggers to promote their articles.
All you need to do is to submit a link and add some tags. You can also follow other people and engage with the audience.
GrowthHackers
It is a community of marketers who share growth hacks and marketing tips. If your blog is related to this niche consider using GrowthHackers to attract more readers and get an additional traffic source.
Plurk
Plurk is a website for bloggers to share articles as well as save the links you like. It is like a social media for everyone to exchange interests through content sharing. Make sure to use it for your articles sharing as it gives an opportunity to make your content more noticeable and get more blog traffic.
Scoop.it
Scoop.it is a content curated platform. It covers a number of categories and you can promote almost any topic.
Scoop.it is highly used by bloggers, so you should also give it a try.
Tumblr.com
Tumblr is a powerful platform for bloggers. It has highly engaged users and can bring huge traffic to your website. Important thing here is to be interesting, bring value and actively engage with other people.
Getrevue.co
Getrevue is a publishing platform that can be used to create issues and send it to your email list. It also gives an opportunity to cross-publish content across other platforms.
Enetget.com
Enetget is another social media platform that gives great opportunities to distribute content and attract readers. You can also serch for articles, engage with other users, create and join different groups and participate in discussions.
List.ly
List.ly is one more awesome platform for blog articles promotion. It is a place for making lists and most bloggers use it as a social bookmarking website.
Sprackle.com
Sprackle is a search engine and an advertising platform. It allows content sharing, adding blogs and promoting blog articles.
Triberr
It is a great blogging platform to promote new content. Triberr provides all the social media features for collaboration with other memebrs. Just add your blog and your articles will automatically appear there every time you write a new post.
Diigo
Diigo is another social bookmarking tool that is used for content promotion. You can join different groups in accordance with your interests and blog niche to share new articles there and increase your blog traffic.
ManageWP
ManageWP is a community of WordPress fans and all the content shared there is related to the theme of WordPress. Consider this website for your WordPress-related articles and get a chance to boost blog traffic by attracting more readers to your blog.
Msnho.com
Msnho is a b2b platform for manufacturers and suppliers, but it can also be used to get additional links to your blog. The website is free to use, just create an account and start adding blog entries there.
Email Newsletter
Subscribers are the most loyal readers. They already know about you and expressed the desire to read your blog on a regular basis.
If you are collecting emails on your website use this channel to notify subscribers about new content. If you still don’t have this feature on your blog I would recommend you implementing it asap.
WireFan
WireFan is a sport and entertainment website. Its content also covers such topics as business, lifestyle, technology, and science.
It is a totally free platform to share links, so you can also consider it to promote your blog.
Mogul
Mogul is a company that provides tools for companies and individual growth. It is also another website to share your content – everything from videos to photos can be promoted there.
Pearltrees.com
Pearltrees is a website for sharing content. If you want to boost blog traffic just create an account there and start sharing.
Moreover, you can add different topics collections and share your content in accordance with the interests of your audience.
SlideShare
SlideShare is a business social media network from LinkedIn. This is a website where content is shared in the form of presentations.
It is a powerful tool you should consider for your blog. Just repurpose your article creating a presentation from your content and share it on SlideShare.
Slashdot
Slashdot is a website where you can share your content for free. You can submit your story with a link, all the submissions are reviewed and can be either approved or declined.
BizSugar
BizSugar is a community of small business owners and entrepreneurs who exchange their expertise. You can share your content by signing up for the Mastermind community.
SiteProNews
It is an article sharing website where bloggers promote their content. You can promote unique content as well as articles that have already been published elsewhere.
I would recommend trying this website for guest posting to attract more readers and get links to your blog.
Conclusion
Blog traffic depends not only on the quality of the content you are writing, though it is one of the most important factors of a successful blog. Once you finish with the next article consider sharing it as much as possible and you will see the difference. As far as you can see there is a number of high-quality blog-promotion websites to boost your blog traffic.
While startups are commonly associated with San Francisco and Palo Alto, other cities are emerging as hubs for new businesses to thrive in. Different cultures and environments shape their entrepreneurial ecosystem, with each one being unique and having something new to offer. If you’re looking to put up a new business and try your hand at entrepreneurship, consider these five cities to base your company in.
Atlanta, Georgia
Big companies like Home Depot, Coca Cola, Delta, and UPS have history finding their footing in Atlanta. Aside from these corporations, however, several tech startups have also found their place in the Atlanta Tech Village – a coworking and community space that was ahead of the game upon its founding in 2012. This city is known for its inclusivity, where women and POCs have found their niche. It’s become a preferred destination for international companies for its time zone and access to some of the world’s busiest airports.
Cincinnati, Ohio
In recent years, Cincinnati has seen the birth of startups like Lisnr, known for device connectivity through sound waves, which led the company to be ranked No. 22 in CNBC’s Disruptor 50 in 2018. Founder Rodney Williams claims that this is the place to go if you want access to every top investor in the community. Its smaller market also means that you have more opportunities for growth especially if your idea is novel and unique. It likewise attracts a number of Millennials and was placed in the top 15 US cities where they choose to live. Famous hiring platform Tilr was also launched in Cincinnati.
Miami, Florida
While Miami has a reputation as a go-to place for entertainment and a favorite spring break destination, with the likes of South Beach and Little Havana, it’s now recognized for its startup culture. One big reason for this is that it has become one of the top cities for coworking spaces, which have become the preferred working location for many startup entrepreneurs. In fact, the Miami Herald reports that even large corporations are turning to these spaces as they “promote collaboration, support various work styles, and infuse a sense of fun with features like a ping pong table and shared kitchen space”. With the city becoming such a dynamic place to work, Industrious explains how Miami is now home to many Fortune 500 companies, as well as serving as the Latin American headquarters for over a thousand multinational corporations. The increasing number of coworking spaces and multinational companies has made Miami one of the best places to launch a competitive startup. In fact, local startups recently managed to raise $808 million in the span of a year.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Business costs in Charlotte are one of the lowest among major US cities, with costs standing at 12% below the national average. Funding by VCs amounted to $881 million between 2015–2017, which was 590% higher than the previous three years. Unicorns like bills payment processor AvidXchange were also born in the Queen City. Entrepreneurs can also expect to receive support from the local government, as well as schools, and even nonprofits like the Carolina Fintech Hub.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City has been nicknamed “Silicon Prairie” for its startup culture. Leading entrepreneurship and venture research community organization the Kauffman Foundation has become an arena for new tech companies like Google Fiber. Since Kansas has been known for its strong community, startups here have found a way to blend innovation and kindness in their pursuits. Freely Given Movement, for one, is an enterprise that tells stories and supports causes through their custom-designed apparel with these beneficiaries gaining a portion of the profit.
Almost every person can find at least one introvert’s feature that is similar to his own.
Either you don’t like seeing unknown phone numbers calling to you, or you could feel uncomfortable in the crowded place, or maybe, you enjoy being alone for some time.
Nevertheless, true introverts really suffer a lot, because the modern world dictates its own rules of a successful living where everyone strives to be in the center of attention, wants to be loved by the society and enjoys being carefully followed.
Introverts hate being in the center of attention. They go through hell every time they have to ask unknown people something and almost are ready to die visiting a party.
But in fact, introverts have more strengths, than weaknesses. They can be good leaders and can easily build any business they want.
And I’ll try to explain my point.
Introverts vs Extroverts
All our actions are driven by inner energy. The main difference between introverts and extroverts lies in the source of this energy.
Introverts get energy spending time alone and lose it when they are among people for a long period of time.
While there is an opinion that introverts are shy people it is not really so. Introverts’ problems are connected with the necessity to socialize. And the only reason why introverts don’t feel comfortable among people long is that they need to recharge being alone with their thoughts. There is a quote by Charles Bukowski that describes introverts the best, – ‘People empty me. I have to get away to refill.’
As for extroverts, they recharge while socializing and feel the lack of energy after spending too much time alone.
Extroverted people boost their energy by communicating with other people. They are the stars of public meetings and socializing is a breath of fresh air for them.
Can introverts become extroverts?
How an introvert can become an extrovert is one of the most popular questions on the web. A great desire of introverted people to get extraverted characteristics is connected with the necessity to be in an active social position today. If you want to succeed in business you need to develop your personal brand, show up in videos, be an active speaker, and run effective communications.
So, can introverts become extroverts? No. By saying ‘no’ I mean that introverts cannot change their nature and one day just start getting energy from being in crowded places. Being alone with own thoughts is a genuine way to recharge for them.
But introverts can develop extroverted skills and this is how:
Become a leader and help other people to achieve results in your niche
Introverts feel comfortable among people they know. Taking an active leadership position in a team will give an opportunity to develop new habits of mentoring others, and as a result, public speaking.
Leave your comfort zone
Take challenges and leave your comfort zone in order to develop new extraverted traits. If you hate networking visit one event and take initiative in communication during this meeting. If you don’t like public speaking try this skill during the next business event.
Find extroverted leaders
Create a list of people you follow who are extroverts. Define what you love the most about them and what characteristics you would like to develop yourself.
Push yourself to spontaneous actions
Introverts are deep thinkers and spontaneous activities are not their cup of tea. What if you give it a try?
Plan your networking activities beforehand
If you are planning to visit an event learn the list of visitors, find these people on social media and say hi before the meeting. This will give an opportunity to feel more energized for some time.
Why introverts succeed in business
1. Introverts generate ideas that solve problems
Do you know where a startup starts? It starts with the idea.
But there are millions of ideas generated every day and only tens of them can be really worthy of attention.
The problem is that it is not enough to have any creative ideas. Your future product should be valuable, go in pace with time and help people to solve problems.
Introverts are creative thinkers. Besides, they have a passion for deep analysis of everything that happens in the world.
And that is the reason why introverts have more successful ideas for startup projects.
They not only create ideas but analyze them. They can easily find the root of the problem and focus on its solution.
As a result, startups created by introverts are more likely to succeed.
2. Introverts run effective communications
Starting any startup requires networking and active collaboration.
Social obligations are a real challenge for introverts. They hate being involved in public speeches, cold calls, and overcrowded meetings.
But! Fortunately, there are so many ways to avoid calls and meetings but stay in touch and run discussions.
And that is where introverts win.
Introverts think first, talk later. They run effective communication paying more attention to analysis and staying focused on details. They are perfect writers and researchers. In such a way, any collaboration can be even more productive.
According to Carmen Nobel, a Harvard Business school professor, “An introverted leader is more likely to listen to and process the ideas of an eager team”.
Introverts have more influencing power than anybody else. They never talk a lot, but when they make a decision, it is always well-thought-out.
Introverts are proved to be strong CEOs. Here is the list of top leaders and celebrities who are introverts:
Mark Zuckerberg
Bill Gates
Marissa Mayer
Barack Obama
Guy Kawasaki
Tom Ford
Steven Spielberg
J.K Rowling
Mahatma Gandhi
Hillary Clinton
You definitely know these people, don’t you?
So, leadership is another strong quality of introverts opening a door to successful entrepreneurship.
10 best side hustles for introverts
Blogging
One of the best decisions for introverts is starting a blog. Introverts are thinkers and can easily analyze and structure tons of information. This skill gives an opportunity to generate fresh valuable content that is highly important for a successful blogger.
Design
Introverts are creative people. People who like spending time with their thoughts have a good imagination. Additionally, introverts have their own perception of the world and it helps them to create unique designs and develop their own style in work.
Web development
Web development is a highly profitable way of making income online. Actually web development is a perfect side hustle for introverts as a computer is everything that a developer needs to work and get the results.
Freelance writing
Content creation is a part of a digital marketing strategy for any business. If you love writing and feel inspired creating quality content consider taking freelance orders.
Online surveys
Online surveys don’t bring lots of money but you can make some extra cash daily doing this job. Just keep in mind that some online surveys have regional restrictions and are not available for all the countries, so you need to check if your country is on the list before starting to work.
Virtual assistant
Most successful virtual assistance businesses started from doing virtual assistant jobs. You can be an assistant to a blogger, or find companies that don’t have their own marketing department and need professional help with social media.
Translating
If you know at least one foreign language consider translation as a profitable side hustle. Select a niche you would like to work in and find companies that can be interested in translation services.
Digital marketing
Targeting manager, social media manager, content strategist, or SEO specialist – it is only some jobs for introverts that can bring a regular income.
Online tutoring
Start a tutoring business from home and you won’t need to visit classes anymore. Use Instagram or YouTube to deliver quality content and attract new clients.
Handmade
If you love creating something with your hands handmade is a perfect niche. Fortunately, nowadays there are no problems with getting clients for your products – just open an online shop on Etsy.com or sell products on Instagram.
Sum up
If you are an introvert and suffer because of that, stop doing this. You have so many strengths that entrepreneurship is definitely your cup of tea.
Just one advice I followed one day:
Start believing in yourself and you’ll feel stronger and more confident.
In conclusion, I would like to share one of my favorite videos for motivation. Enjoy it!
Instagram seems to be the perfect platform to become popular and to promote your business. It seems like all you need is just making beautiful photos, adding some text, liking, commenting and voila – you have 10K followers and hundreds of requests from brands to pay you for advertising. Perhaps it was in such a way a long time ago. But how can you make money on Instagram today? In this article, I will walk you through Instagram trends 2020, the biggest mistakes of first-time Instagram bloggers, an actual guide of how you can start a blog on Instagram and key ways to make money there.
Instagram stories are about engagement and high interest in the relevant content. Showing the real life without filters is a big trend. Bloggers and brands who show up in the stories will have more influential power in 2020. Additionally, followers’ interest in stories is caused by a limited time of such content availability. It brings more value and engages the audience.
As a result usual Instagram feed will attract fewer readers unless you post evergreen content there. Visiting your page for the first time people will watch your stories rather than reading long posts.
Instagram stories are watched with a sound on. People want to hear the voice behind the video. It increases the emotional connection and attachment to the speaker.
2. You are unique
The number of bloggers who copy each other and use Wikipedia for their content will decrease. People follow natural and unique people. Perfect beauty and successful success is not a trend anymore. People want to see uniqueness. You don’t have to be like other successful influencers if you want to achieve success on Instagram. You have to be different and tell your own story.
3. Messengers
Instagram messenger will become more popular. Instagram users, as well as brands, will communicate with clients using bots, text and voice messages.
4. Micro-blogging is growing
Bloggers with small communities of 10K-20K followers have more trust and influence on their audience. New bloggers are closer to people, they care more about their reputation and what to advertise.
The micro-blogging trend underlines the fact that there is no need to be BIG if you want to be effective and have your own community.
5. Tik Tok style
The Instagram content format will have more from the Tik Tok style. Tik Tok App has over 1.5 billion downloads showing real people in real life. Music, stickers, masks, video effects used in Tik Tok will be integrated into Instagram content 2020.
6. Explore section
Instagram considers users’ interests and interaction, types of profiles people visit
The better quality your content will be and the more interests of your target audience you consider the better chances you have to reach even more people on the Explore section.
7. Gamification
Challenges, flashmobs, and elements of games are a big social media trend of 2020. Gamification warms up interest to personalities and brands. People like to be a part of the story and feel their impact on the results.
How to start Instagram blog
Here is a step-by-step guide for everyone who decided to start an Instagram blog:
1. Decide on the Topic of Your Instagram Blog
Focus on what you love, your hobbies or spheres of interest. Very often starting bloggers select some trendy topics to write about having no expertise in them. As a result, the texts in posts are not interesting, a blogger is not inspired and finally quits the game.
The theme of your Instagram blog should give you an opportunity to develop yourself, inspire to learn more and share the information you’ve learned.
2. Learn The Competitors
Follow popular bloggers with similar areas of interest. Pay attention to how they communicate with their audience, which posts are more popular and which are not very successful. Analyze.
3. Define Your Target Audience
Try to imagine and describe your target audience: who is this person, what his interests and problems are, how you can help him to solve the problems.
4. Be Unique
Instagram is considered to be one of the more popular social networks with millions of business pages covering different themes. It is hard for the users to absorb all this information and remember who is standing behind the scenes of this or that Instagram page. Create your unique style, be creative or just different from all the others. People should start associating you with the topic you are writing about. In this case, you have all the chances to get successful.
5. Create Quality Content Regularly
The first impression is important. If you are writing interesting texts, your Instagram page visitors could never notice it because of your page look. Create your own visual style. Spend some time for editing photos and make them look professional.
6. Tell About Yourself
Do not forget that Instagram is a social network and people love talks. If you are promoting a business or a product on Instagram tell your followers who are standing behind this product.
Never try to be good for everyone. Do not be scared to show your opinion, even if it is different from anyone else. People will love and remember you for your personality.
7. Change
The more you will experiment the better. Try some different approaches you never tried before. Always develop and change yourself. Leave your comfort zone and you will see the results.
8. Promote
Even if you are a super talented and super cool blogger nobody will know you without promotion. Invest some money in advertising. Create and promote giveaways, ask for reposts from your friends.
9. Do not quit
Remember at the very beginning of this post I told you that Instagram blogging is hard work. If it was that easy everyone would quit their jobs and start making money with blogging. There is not a secret button “to get success on Instagram”. You need to make efforts and invest time if you want to see the results.
How to make money on Instagram
There are lots of ways of how you can make money on Instagram. I would like to share with you the list of the most effective and popular business opportunities you can have on Instagram:
Become a brand ambassador
As far as you already know microblogging is getting more and more popular on Instagram. It means that big brands will collaborate with small bloggers more and you have more chances to make good income advertising other brands.
Sell your own products
If you have your own brand or your hobby is handmade you can start using Instagram as a platform for your sales.
Become a tutor and sell online courses
Tutoring on Instagram is highly popular. If you are a teacher of English or math you can share basic information for free. This strategy will attract more people to your personality and increase your hourly rate as a tutor.
Sell coaching / consulting services
There is at least one thing you are better at than anyone else. Start selling consulting services on Instagram helping other people to master the skills you have experience in.
Sell your own book
If you are an author you can promote your own book. There are so many successful authors on Instagram who boost sales of their books. Think about engaging activities like making live streams while signing up your books for your clients.
Sell professional offline services
If you are a photographer you can start an expert blog with professional advice on how to make better photos. Additionally, this strategy will promote your expertness and the number of clients.
Why you need a personal brand for Instagram success
Most people associate the word “brand” with business. But nowadays the “brand” has a considerably wider meaning. A doctor, speaker, sportsman, entrepreneur, you and I can be branded.
People trust people. They would rather buy from a well-known coach than from a company providing the same service.
The biggest mistakes of starting Instagram bloggers
Money as the key motivation
You will not start making money on Instagram from the first day, week and even month. Be prepared to work HARD without any rewarding. That is why start with what you have passion about.
Need everything and now
Do not wait to get amazing results very fast and for free. Thousands of followers will not come from anywhere. Get ready to invest your time, money, efforts, creativity, imagination, skills and everything you know and do not know.
“Successful success”
Stop writing fake positive texts about the ideal world around you. People are not interested in such content anymore. We live here and now. Show your natural feelings, people around and interests.
Making money on Instagram is not as simple as it may seem (sorry if your life will not be the same after reading this):
If you want to make money on Instagram you should start a successful blog and build a tribe of people who will be ready to buy whatever you sell them.
Instagram blogging is hard work. You need to know how to take photos, write engaging texts, collaborate with other bloggers and promote your page.
Inspiration to make new posts can disappear at any moment, one day you will have a bad mood or feel depressed and have no desire to create interesting content. Your followers feel that and stop liking and commenting on your posts. As a result, you’ll have less organic reach.
Sometimes, you will see negative comments on your posts and you should know how to react and respond in such cases.
And finally, you will be lack of time. You are always busy with your regular job, family, educational courses, home staff, etc. And you also need some time to rest. And how can you start your Instagram blog with all that stuff?
Conclusion
At the very beginning, you can be very inspired making cool photos and writing awesome texts. But after some period you will see only several followers, a couple of likes and maybe one comment on your post (from your friend 🙂 ).
What’s next?
Looking at your competitors who are extremely popular with tons of likes and attention, you are getting more and more upset.
“Why are they so popular and I am not? I am doing the same. What is the secret there?”
It is simple.
Do not compare your beginning stage to somebody’s mid-stage. You do not know how much time and effort your competitors invested to get such results.
Not so long time ago I was new to blogging and knew nothing about its promotion. Also, I still don’t consider myself a pro blogger. I am rather an entrepreneur who has a passion for business ideas, coaching clients and everything related to business start. So, I am more CEO than SEO specialist 🙂
Nevertheless, when you are serious about your blog (and I am serious, believe me), you need to learn all the new things in the shortest period of time in order to get the results. And I dived into the world of search engine algorithms and backlinks “fairy tales”.
This time I would like to share with you the list of the most useful and free SEO tools for bloggers who are new to SEO promotion but who are ready to take this game seriously and would like to rank number one on Google. All of the resources I collected are free and easy to use.
Let’s start!
Best Free SEO Analysis Tools
Website audit tools
1. GTmetrix – website speed analysis
It is extremely helpful when you would like to get your website performance audit. I love it because it is well structured and presents a very detailed report.
This is a true game-changer tool for me. Since I am not very good at SEO it saved my time and made my blogging journey easier.
So much value in just one SEO tool. It shows all the backlinks of your competitors, keywords ideas, backlink opportunities for your blog and a regular keyword monitoring. Additionally, you will get weekly SEO audits of your blog and do not have to spend time monitoring everything. I highly recommend giving it a try!
It is a very useful tool from MOZ that gives an opportunity to check such metrics as DA (Domain Authority) and PA (Page Authority) for any website. Additionally, it finds and highlights all the links on the webpage differentiating them be the following types – Followed, No-Followed, External and Internal.
I should mention this tool because it is a must-have for everyone starting a blog. Everything you need to know about your traffic, target audience and its behavior, marketing campaign effectiveness, ads, etc. etc. etc. can be found in Google analytics.
It is a very cool tool giving an opportunity to analyze monthly traffic as well as traffic sources. I love it because it has a browser extension and traffic can easily be checked.
It is another great keyword analysis tool. It can be added to your browser as an extension and will always give you the information on search statistics.
What I love about this service is that there is no need to go anywhere to find the information on keywords. Just add an extension and get the data on search volume, cost per click and competition. Magic!
It gives an opportunity to find the keywords popular on different platforms, such as Amazon, Bing, Youtube. It’s very convenient and easy to use for any SEO beginner.
It is another keyword searching tool you shouldn’t miss. It was developed by Neil Patel and got popular among the SEO starters for its simplicity in use and the value it provides.
Number one grammar and spelling checking tool. I know that some bloggers order proofreading service before publishing an article. I think this tool is a perfect proofreading service checking not only mistakes but also providing syntax recommendations for your content.
Check if the content is original and plagiarism free. It is a very useful tool for bloggers who accept guest articles from contributors or order content from content writers.
If you need to create a name for your blog or a new business idea this tool will be just perfect. Just enter a keyword associated with your business and you will get a list of names together with logos ideas and domains.
A great variety of templates can help with any design you want. It will be useful to those who are familiar with Photoshop, Sketch, Illustrator or Adobe XD.
This is one of the best tools for making a social media design, digital products, and blog posts pictures. Free, user-friendly and tons of creative templates.
This is my favorite photo stock. The images can be filtered according to styles, categories, themes. All the photos are free for personal and commercial use.
All these tools helped me a lot with my blog content quality and improved my ranking on Google. I hope you take most of them. Don’t forget to bookmark this page and use all of these free SEO tools and content generating resources.
Social media algorithm updates are a true pain for marketers from all over the world. They should thoroughly follow each official announcement not to miss important changes that need to be implemented in business marketing strategies.
One of the most SHOCKING news of 2018 was the change of the Facebook News Feed algorithm that was announced by Mark Zuckerberg and published on the official Facebook page.
The main goal of Mark Zuckerberg’s “Fix” Facebook mission is to provide more engaging and higher quality content to the users.
As Mark Zuckerberg said, “Our goal is to reach a point where the ads are as relevant and timely as the content your friends share with you.”
But what are the Facebook algorithm changes in 2020? Let’s dive into the details step by step.
2020 Facebook algorithm explained
So, let’s decide how Facebook algorithm works today that bring so many discussions around:
1. Engaging Content Win
Facebook users see more posts from their family and friends. The new Facebook algorithm is aimed at making the social feed more engaging rather than just “exploring”.
What does it mean for business pages?
According to Facebook algorithm, posts with content from friends will have higher priority and overlay business content in the feed unless there are active discussions under such posts.
Here is what official Facebook rules say: “With this update, we will also prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people. To do this, we will predict which posts you might want to interact with your friends about, and show these posts higher in the feed.”
It sounds not very promising for the marketing world and leads to the necessity to reconsider the Facebook brand’s promotion strategy.
The Facebook news feed shows even less public content including videos and different types of publishers’ posts.
It means that Facebook business pages suffer a considerable decrease in organic reach.
Mark Zuckerberg stressed, that this change concerns not only Facebook News Feed but all the products of the Facebook company. News Feed is just the beginning of the major changes in the social media marketing world.
As a result, posts with just a few or zero likes and re-posts will become invisible in the feed.
This is how the algorithm impacts organic reach:
Less visibility of external links
For, example, if you use Facebook just to share your blog articles and inform fans about fresh content on your blog, don’t waste your time now. Your fans will hardly see your posts in the feed.
Fewer videos views and no gifs
As far as you already know Facebook is now focused on engaging content. And videos refer to passive experience since users just watch it and switch to the next post.
As a result, users see less 1-minute videos and entertaining “funny” gifs in the feed.
Important! You won’t see organic reach decrease if you make LIVE videos.
Post comments will value more than post likes
It means that posts with comments are prioritized against posts with likes only. Actively commented posts will have the reach and go higher in the feed.
Long comments value more than short ones
Posts with long constructive comments are prioritized against the ones with short comments.
Posts should make people talk with each other rather than with your business. And that is the main message.
Probably business pages with content having thousands of shares won’t see much difference in organic reach.
But what to do if you are a small business who has just started doing the first steps in order to meet more customers?
But even if you don’t have much success on Facebook, all any algorithm changes don’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t consider Facebook for your marketing activities.
Be more creative and careful about what you are planning to post. You should try to predict if your content is interesting to your fans and how they can react to it.
So, let’s go through the steps you should consider if you want to bypass the Facebook algorithm.
How to beat Facebook algorithm in 2020?
Let’s have a closer look at some key factors that you should take into account planning your marketing strategy in order to boost your business rankings on Facebook:
1. Stimulate meaningful interactions
One of the most important steps is to focus on creating content that results in discussions. The more comments and replies to comments your post will have the higher rankings it will get in the feed.
Also, you should stop scheduling your posts on Facebook. This is really important.
The Facebook algorithm identifies the type of content you are posting. If your posts are just regularly scheduled links, Facebook will hardly show it to your fans. As a result, using Facebook for informing purposes only, your Google Analytics will never show you the expected traffic results.
Solution: Control everything that happens under your posts.
Imagine yourself as a party coordinator who is responsible for the general mood of the guests and is always there to answer any questions.
2. Create engaging content
Mari Smith who is well-known as a number one Facebook marketing expert has recently advised, that in order to attract more people to your brand it’s necessary to talk with the users.
How to create engaging content on Facebook:
Add thought-provoking questions to the posts. Focus on the opportunity to spark discussions;
Create contests and giveaways;
Comparison posts usually result in active comments;
Share contradictory facts;
Create motivational videos;
Ask your fans for help
It is time to start thinking outside the box, be creative and risky in content creation.
3. “Go Live” as often as you can
It is a boom time for Live videos. Use this opportunity to boost your business.
Live video effectiveness is growing because such content is engaging and attracts more attention.
Think about some ideas to talk with your Facebook fans about and start creating live translations as often as you can. Once a day will be just perfect!
Who knows, maybe soon Facebook will become the next BIG video streaming platform? If you are an active Instagram user you can use both platforms for streaming.
Here are some live streams ideas for your Facebook engaging content:
Make streams from conferences and events;
Go live to answer the most frequently asked questions from your clients;
Share your success and failures;
Present new product or service;
Bring value educating your audience, tell something useful
4. Ask your Facebook fans to set “See First” for your page
Despite the changes with the news algorithm Facebook users still have a chance to set the priority for the content. If you can communicate this message to your Facebook fans, they will never miss a post from you.
There are three basic steps to set “See First” function for the content:
1. Find the page you would like to see first
2. Click on the “Following”
3. Click “See First”
That’s all!
These simple steps will make the posts from your Page to have a higher priority.
5. Consider paid advertising
New Facebook algorithm values engaging content and gives it even more reach in the promotion. It was proved that a similar advertising budget will give different results to the content with comments and likes and the one without any interaction.
When you get a post that causes organic interactions and goes viral try to promote it and you will see how it will boost your rankings.
Regardless of all the algorithm updates, Facebook gives great opportunities for boosting your business on this social media platform. Try to bypass Facebook algorithm by creating meaningful and valuable content for your audience.
Focus on being creative and analyze your target audience more. Learn what your clients like, what their interests are and use this information to be unique and engaging. Start a conversation, always reply to any comments and talk to your audience.
Being able to set goals effectively doesn’t mean becoming a magician that makes all dreams come true. However, living without any goals is like building a house without a plan or traveling without a map. Our life is full of events. Every day we plan something new. Every minute we want more and expect more. Our opinion can be changed in seconds. So, it is highly important not to go astray as our fast rhythm affects everything that happens to us daily.
Do you know the feeling when you think that you know what you want, and you can even imagine the picture in your head, but the results are not satisfying at all for a long time?
I’ve gone through so much this year, but what have I achieved?
If you don’t understand how to turn your dreams into an action plan and achieve all of your goals this guide is perfect for you! Let‘s go.
Think big
Thinking about the goals we usually think within a maximum of a year. But all the successful leaders and the greatest CEOs like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg have achieved results due to having a bigger picture and long-term planning.
Answer the following questions:
Where do you want to be in 5 years?
What do you want to achieve in 10 years?
Although these questions may sound like a cliche, they are worthy of thinking about.
Do not limit yourself even if you think that something is impossible. Setting a long-term goal means to listen to your true desires, to what makes you happy in life.
Keep balance
What does it actually mean keeping a balance while setting new goals? Let me show you an example.
Say, all you want now is getting financial freedom and making $10k a month. Lots of people have a dream to travel the world and buy everything they want without worrying about regular payments. So, you work so hard to achieve this goal that you forgot about everything else – your family, friends, self-growth, getting new emotions and just being happy. As a result, suddenly you start getting health problems, then your family relations get worse, you don’t have any inspiration and energy. Only depression.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Keep balance by setting goals for every aspect of your life. Only this approach will help you to support your inner resources and harmony making you even more effective and result-oriented.
Activities – professional growth, business, work and career, education, self-development;
Soul – emotions and impressions, spiritual development, hobbies.
It is perfect when each of the spheres mentioned above plays the same role in your life, i.e. your energy is distributed between all the segments. Try not to ignore any of the spheres, even if you think that everything is ok with it now and there is no need to make new plans.
Be consistent
Stay focused and do not spread yourself too thin – that is the background of an effective goal-setting strategy.
Always start with setting long-term goals and move to short-term ones. For example, planning your day, first look at your weekly tasks and then decide what needs to be done today.
So, this is how you can set your goals effectively:
– Big goals
– Long-term goals
– Short-term goals
– Monthly Goals
– Weekly Goals
– Daily Goals
Write Down
You may think that there is no need to write down anything because you are aware of what you want to achieve. But writing your goals down is a very powerful and effective tool!
Goals that are written down allow finding any solution faster.
Writing down your goals will help you to analyze the results in a year. You will understand what you planned to achieve a year ago and how many changes happened during that time.
Once your goals are written down your brain starts automatically searching for new opportunities to achieve them. And it is not the magic but proven fact.
Set SMART Goals
SMART is a goal-setting technology that is highly used in business and management. SMART means the following: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.
Let’s look at each of the criteria in more detail to understand how this technique works.
Specific
Setting SMART goals means being specific. Sometimes, this is the most difficult task as in most cases we don’t realize what we want. And, at the end of the day, we do not achieve the results expected. So, in this case, we should clearly understand what is our “expected” result.
Stop being a dreamer who wants “to become successful and one day achieves something in life”. Unfortunately, such a position will lead you to nowhere.
Make sure each of your goals has a specific result. If the goal is too big, consider breaking it into subgoals.
If your goal is to lose some weight and be in a better physical form, then specify your desirable weight and how many kilometers would you like to be able to run for a particular period.
Also, what is more important here, you should identify what will make you understand that your goal is achieved. Be as specific as possible.
Achievable
Your goals should be inspiring, not scary.
It is ok if your goals cannot be achieved now because they require time for self-growth. But make sure your goals are achievable and lie in the zone of your personal growth.
Simplify. A too-big goal may seem unattainable, so you need to break it down into smaller steps.
Remember, that a goal is achievable when you understand what steps need to be done to get the results.
Relevant
Why do you need to achieve this or that goal?
Will it make you happier?
Will it help you to live a better life?
Think about your life and how it could change once a specific goal is achieved.
Is this goal useful? Is it worthy of time and energy spent on it?
If all of your goals are highly important, let’s move on to the next criteria.
Every plan should have a deadline. Set time limits for your goals.
It is not necessary to be as specific as possible here. Also, consider the possibility of achieving the goal in this period of time. Time frames allow you to control the progress and analyze the results.
Conclusion
Setting goals effectively is a skill to learn. There are many tricks and approaches to setting goals that will be achieved but only practicing it will help you to find your ideal technique.
Do not ignore the role of setting goals effectively. Do it regularly and soon you will notice how your plans turn into reality.
