Travel Tips That Can Make Your Adventure Memorable

At least once a year, you must go on an adventure – visit some excellent destinations, either domestic or international. This is a great way for you to unwind, have fun, learn new things, and enjoy life. Do not just work all the time. You must also allot a week or so for a getaway. Having a getaway will great help you become more productive, not just in your work but in life as well.Some Excellent Travel Tips You Must RememberPack light – Every time you go out on a vacation, consider packing just what you need. You must not pack all things in your home. Bring only those that you will need. Certainly, you would not enjoy looking into some great views if your mind is on the security of your things. With light bags, you can certainly move farther and easier – you will see more great views. You have to leave heavy jackets at home and learn how you properly launder your own clothes.Bring an umbrella – A sturdy yet light umbrella may save your trip when the weather takes a turn for the worse. Having an umbrella will ensure that you will still go outside and explore even during wet times of the year. Remember also that umbrellas will protect you when the sun becomes very harsh.Be sociable – It is indeed fun to travel with your family or friends. However, people oftentimes tend to just stay within their group rather than conversing with other travelers and the locals. If you interact with other people, you will know a lot of things like the local’s way of life, and most importantly, you will be able to create new and lasting friendships.Wake up early – Certainly, night outs are fun. But you must also remember that there is also something great about getting up early. Among the best views you can witness by waking up early is the magnificent sunrise.Be organized – A well-researched travel itinerary is fun and it will certainly help you make the most out of your own trip. But sometimes, going on a trip without a list of where to go is memorable and exciting.Keep a journal – Many people today bring cameras when they travel but only few keep a travel journal. Photos are without a doubt great; however, they do not capture your emotions and thoughts the way writing can. So apart from bringing a camera, consider having a travel journal as well.For more travel tips, check out this site.

Advantages And Downsides Of Employing A Property Management Company

Most people take property management as a vehicle when renting out a home or commercial property. It must consist of a company who has deep concern and takes full and entire management of your real estate. These companies will take a percentage of your rental money so that in this way they are able to make their profit. As there are many reasons why resort to a property management company, there are reasons too, why you may prefer to run your own rental units.Property management agency assumes full responsibility of renting off of the property owner. Their company will do their utmost effort that is required to rent a property including the advertising the listing to going to court with a tenant who fails to pay his rent religiously. For individuals who are engaged in a full-time job and own several properties, property management company then is the sole way to run your property without getting too much in a chaos from the works you are setting up. The rental homes management company then hires repairmen in between tenants to attend to any damage the house has turned to during the previous tenant’s stay. In this way you are able to avoid the risk of disappointment out of repairs and you are able to save time and efforts looking for a repairman yourself. It will be of too much advantage if you have someone representing your property because it assures prospective tenants that there will be a well-experienced manager in charge of your rental home. Everything a rental home management company does must be presented in a monthly statement with a corresponding check payment in a particular month.But along with the property manager’s responsibility on making all processes easier in running a certain rental home, there always is, money involved. About ten percent of your rent money goes to the overall cost of having a rental home managed. Well, that seems fair, but you need to consider your expenses on advertising and repairs. If renting out properties is your sole source of livelihood, hiring a team of property managers then, is not practical for you. You wouldn’t have to work at all, but in return you will be giving away ten percent of your salary that you could already save if you handled the maintenance and repairs your houses by yourself. One of the seemingly disadvantage of a property management company is that your house cannot be taken care of as much as you do, that is because they have to deal with hundreds of rental houses. Due to huge number of units to be supervised, proper care is disregarded due to lack of time.Whether or not you are willing to hire a property manager really is a big issue especially if at stake is a percentage of your rental money in exchange for less work.Hiring a property management company is really a decision based on whether or not you are willing to lose a percentage of your rental money in exchange for doing less work. If renting properties is just an extra source of income aside from your full-time career, you may not be able to give your full attention in to it that may only result to mismanagement.

12 Powerful Video Marketing Tips

Not only is video marketing one of the most powerful marketing strategies in the marketplace today, but most importantly you can start using this strategy today for absolutely free!

Why Use Video Marketing?

If you’re not already using video marketing, I highly suggest you add it to your marketing arsenal as soon as you’re done reading this brief article. Here’s a few reasons why?

1. YouTube is the 2nd most visited website in the world! Although there are tons of other video sharing sites such as Viddler, Vimeo and several others, Google bought YouTube because they started to surpass them because people would rather watch a video to learn something on YouTube versus reading it on Google.

2. More video content is uploaded to YouTube in a 60 day period than the three major U.S. television networks created in 60 years.

3. The average YouTube user spends between 15 and 25 minutes a day on the site.

4. As of February 2011, YouTube has 490 million unique users worldwide per month, who accumulate an estimated 92 billion page views each month. We spend around 2.9 billion hours on YouTube in a month – over 325,000 years. And those stats are just for the main YouTube website – they don’t incorporate embedded videos or video watched on mobile devices.

The Myths of Video Marketing?

Most people avoid this powerful strategy because they have bought into 2 myths that they have heard from other people. The first myth is that video marketing is expensive.

The reason that people think this is because they think you have to go get the cameras and video editing software that cost thousands of dollars. The think that you have the professional mics, green screens and all of the other expensive equipment that they see people use. They only tools that you need to start implementing video today is….

1. A HD Camera- This can be either a Flip Cam (Which is less than $200) or you can use a Webcam which you can get for less than $40.

2. Video Editing Software- You can use FREE video editing software such as Windows Movie Maker for PC Users and iMovie for MAC users.

3. Video Syndication Tool- Last but not least, you need some video of video syndication tool so that you can automatically upload your videos to multiple video sharing sites with just the click of a button. You can use a tool called, Tube Mogul for FREE or you can use Traffic Geyser for a small investment.

12 Powerful Video Marketing Tips Revealed

As you can see, if you’re not using video marketing you’re leaving millions of dollars on the table. Now that you know “Why” you should be implementing this strategy, I’m going to now show you the “How” to effectively use video in 10 Simple Strategies:

1. Getting The Right Equipment- We talked about the right video Equipment, but for a quick recap, you’re going to need a flip cam and/or web cam, editing software, syndication tool, tripod (if necessary) and also lighting (if necessary).

2. Choose Keywords- Most people skip this very important step. It’s a must that you choose search engine friendly keywords and all that means, is that you want to target keywords that your target market is searching on Google. A great FREE Keyword Research tool you can use is the Google External Keyword Tool (Make Sure You Search “Exact Match”).

3. Brainstorm Title & Content- Make sure your title and your title is powerful, catchy, includes your keyword, the benefit of watching your video and it piques curiosity. You can also use a question as the title, for example, “Is Video Marketing Effective?” Most importantly for your content, make sure that you stay on subject, because “Relevancy” is very important to ranking in the search engines.

4. Outline Keypoints- All experts use this strategy when teaching or presenting any topic: “Tell Your Audience What You’re Going To Tell Them, Tell Them & Then Tell Them What You Told Them.

5. 15-30 Second Hook- Be sure to get straight to the point and let your audience know what value they will be getting from watching your video. You want to create curiosity and entice them within the first 15-30 seconds to watch the full video. A good statement that you could use is, “Here’s What I Will BE Giving You!’

6. Eye Contact- Look directly into the camera the entire time. Eye contact builds trust and shows confidence. People do business with people they Know, Like & Trust. And as you know, they world loves a confident person.

7. BE YOURSELF & TRANSPARENT! As I said earlier, “People do business with people they Know, Like & Trust.” Be the authentic you in all of your videos. Don’t try to be too professional if that’s not you. If you have kids, it’s OK to have them in your videos. You basically want to portray your genuine lifestyle. Proof that this works is the growing popularity of Reality TV Shows.

8. Call To Action- At the end of your video you must have a clear “Call To Action.” All this means is that you must tell them what to do next. Whether it’s to click a link, visit or blog, capture page etc.

9. Edit Video- This isn’t nothing to fancy. You may just want to put the “Call To Action” in the credits and/or caption to reinforce it.

10. Upload To YouTube- Make sure you manually upload your video to YouTube because if they sense you’re using automated software they will shutdown your account. This Is Very Important!

11. Syndication Domination- Last but certainly not least, upload your video to your video syndication tool of choice and syndicate it to multiple video sharing sites with a click of a button.

12. Wash & Repeat- You don’t want to just do this strategy for a week and quit, like most people. Success is all about taking MASSIVE ACTION over an extended period of time. I challenge you to do this 12 step process for at least the next 90 Days and I guarantee you’re going to see MASSIVE RESULTS and become a Video Marketing Master!!!

To learn more about video marketing, read below and click the link for more information.

Is Working for Yourself Really the Key to Freedom?

Let me cut straight to the chase on this subject folks:I believe that working for yourself is not only the key to freedom but the only way to real freedom.Let me explain where I am coming from on this:Even if you love your job, earn buckets of money and wouldn’t want to work for yourself, being an employee means you will never have true freedom.Here’s why:You are always dancing to someone else’s tune. Someone else dictates when and how long you work, what hours you are free for your family, how many days holiday you can have, and so on. That isn’t real freedom.So, if being employed isn’t the route to real freedom, is working for yourself?Well, as I have already indicated the answer for me is a huge yes. Working for yourself gives you the opportunity to have real freedom because you call the shots. You get to set things up exactly the way they suit you – work and lifestyle on your terms – real freedom.Now, whether folks who work for themselves actually turn being self employed into true freedom is a different matter altogether.So what is the reality?Whilst working for yourself can, and should, be the route to real freedom the sad reality is that many people are peddling the hamster wheel of work life as fast and as hard as their employed counterparts.Why is this?The reasons for this can be many and complex. However, there is a common theme in many cases – the business owner isn’t behaving, acting or operating in the way that successful business owners do. The point is this:If you are working for yourself and you don’t have the Business Success and Lifestyle Freedom you want there is only one reason – YOU!Sound harsh? Maybe it is. But remember this:It is you who have created how your business operates and performs. If it isn’t delivering what you want, it is up to you to make change so that it does.So, I invite you to take a step back and take an audit of that is really going on for you if you feel like a slave to your business.What can you do to ensure you are on the path to making your work life give you the freedom you really want?Remember, as a self employed person you have the key to freedom in your hand. Use it wisely.

Taking Online Photography Courses to Improve Your Photography Skills

If you are interested in photography and you don’t have enough time to study in photography school or institute, online photography courses are presumably one of the best ways to improve your photography skills. There are hundreds of photography courses online that will offer you all types of results. You can learn many kinds of photography skills such as how to master underwater photography, wedding photography, fashion photography, and so forth.Following an online photography course can be affordable and helpful. With this comes the benefit of being able to learn not only so many things about photography but also anything related to it such as the photography equipment. You will be introduced to all kinds of cameras, lenses and other stuffs. Online photography course will encourage your passion confidence to feel like a true professional and receive the admiration and respect of all your friends and family. You can also create an income from it.However, before you start looking at online photography courses, here I give you two of the basic rules of photography from the experts which probably help you before signing a certain online photography courses. The first thing you should know is composition. This is the single most important factor in the creation of any stunning image. Getting the composition right will be the make or break as it was of that perfect shot. The second one is the rule of thirds. This simple method is the same method that has been used by many of the great masters of painting throughout the centuries and is talked about in detail by Leonardo Da Vinci. The idea is to create your image so that you have key elements on or near to any number of these intersection points as possible. Covering three of the four points will make an ‘L’ shape. This is a very popular and widely used composition form. Well, you can also find another basic rule that will help you to get acquainted with your new hobby in photography.I assume that it is well worth considering a photography course online can quickly improve your skills. By following easy to follow guidelines, I believe it can fast track you to make professional looking photographs that will impress your family and friends.Check out my other articles about photography here! http://digital-photography-software.org/

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Marketing and Promoting Scientific, Legal or Technical Products or Services

Have you ever been listening to the radio or watching television when an egghead or brainiac starts talking about the great new technology product that his/her company has developed? Did you keep listening, or did the featured egghead get bogged down in too many complicated scientific big words and concepts making you change the channel as fast as possible. You know you may have just missed out on finding out about a great new product or service that could save you thousands of dollars or extend your life by 100 years. But you and the thousands of other potential customers and clients will never know because you changed the channel.It is important to recognise that scientists, lawyers, engineers and technologists don’t always make the best spokesperson for the promotion of a product in the media. A good technical communicator will be able to cut through jargon and explain in simple terms, concepts important to promoting a product. Many science and technology companies send a press release before they prepare their strategy for an effective media campaign. There are 3 main mistakes that companies make when approaching the media to promote a new scientific or technical product or service.Mistake #1 – Using complicated Scientific Jargon and conceptsMistake #2 – Failing to prepare a technical sales communication planMistake #3 – Using only one media channel to promote the product or serviceAvoid Using Complicated Scientific Jargon & ConceptsYour potential customer or client needs to be able to understand quickly what the product or service is, and how it will benefit them. No point showing up for your media opportunity and losing everyone on your first sentence. For example, if you are a company who has developed a new water filter for use in the home, don’t lead with technical information like this;”The new water micro-filtration system has a 1 micron sediment pre-filter in a superfine polypropylene cartridge and a 0.4 micron carbon super block, superior post-filter with heavy metal removal technology.”While this technical description might be important to the functioning of the product or create a point of difference, this information does not help your target customer make an informed choice about the product and how it relates to them. Instead, you should use uncomplicated words and refer to concepts which are aimed towards your target customer’s level of understanding. For example;”Our new in-home water filter will give you unlimited clean and clear water guarding your family against all kinds of bacterial and chemical contamination.”To provide the best chance that media will pick up your press release, you need to be able to share information about the benefits of filtering your water and provide some education for viewers or listeners about common contaminants in unfiltered water.Effective Technical Communication relies on PlanningBefore you can address the last two mistakes that I have listed, it is essential to identify a good technical communicator either inside or outside your company. Engaging a specialist technical communications consultant is both efficient and cost effective. Your specialist consultant can also assist in other areas by working with you to prepare an integrated scientific and technical sales, communication and promotions plan and provide training and education for your scientists on effective communication techniques for writing and the media.

Protect Against Creeping Project Scope

Fighting project scope may sound like a fresh breath campaign but it’s more important for project managers who find themselves going over budget and missing deadlines. A little preparation goes a long way (but we can’t promise minty fresh breath when all is said and done).
A Daily Record article promoting a project management training course is just an advertorial but it does provide good insight and thoughts on dealing with the issue. As the article points out, “Managing project scope has a lot to do with establishing limits and defining what needs to be done by who from the beginning, and scope creep only occurs later when these restrictions are exceeded.”
Project scope needs to be set when the project is defined – and not while in the midst of the project. ” Managing project scope has a lot to do with establishing limits and defining what needs to be done by who from the beginning, and scope creep only occurs later when these restrictions are exceeded. The term applies to situations in which additional work is added to the project without corresponding changes to budgets or schedules and this takes a toll on resources, finances and time the project team are able to devote,” is the advice given.
Scope creep is an odd phrase but it has a major impact. “In fact, many failures in project management can be attributed to scope creep and its associated problems, and the ability manage this problem is vital for project managers. There are many reasons for its occurrence too, as sometimes it is the project manager’s fault when requirements are not properly outlined, or the client has allowed extra work to be done without addressing the situation,” the article advises.
MBO Partners, a provider of management services, says on its website:

The early signs of scope creep are visible long before there are scope changes. Warning signs of scope creep include:
Project is vision-oriented but without clearly defined, measurable tasks and/or deliverables
The project does not have a clear business case
Lack of strong executive support
Stakeholders are not involved or supporting the project
Internal project manager lacks experience dealing with size and/or complexity of project
Actual work takes longer or is more complex than initially identified
Issues are not being resolved or require a project change in order to close
So, what can be done to tackle the problem? “Project managers must thus be clear about what the client should expect from the service their organization is providing, thus eliminating confusion later in the day, and specific about the benefits they can expect to enjoy on their end. Without this, the expectations of the client may begin to exceed the actual ability or intentions of the project team and this will inevitably lead to scope creep when these two ideas collide,” the article says.
Of course, some scope creep is inevitable. “Changes are something that happens in almost all projects, and the ramifications of these changes are what a project manager needs to track and manage so as to avoid scope creep from negatively impacting the overall quality of a project. Communication and planning are key here, with a mutual understanding reached between the client and project manager vital to managing shifting requirements and circumstances,” the article concludes.
Project management consultant Shelly Doll, writing at TechRepublic.com, says not all project scope creep is bad. “For in-house software development, additional features could give your product the edge over your competition. But, that edge is lost if you release a month or two late. Regardless of the perceived effects of scope creep, cost is the bottom line. By controlling your cost of development and by delivering on time, your project can be a success, without compromising flexibility in production,” she says.

Email Marketing for Bloggers

What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is one of the best strategies you can use for growing a profitable blog.

A list of names and email addresses of people who signed up to receive updates and promotional emails from you is called an Email List. As a blogger, you will be collecting emails using opt-in forms on your blog. When you use email to promote your blog and services to your email list, it is called email marketing.

Why Should you Use Email Marketing for your Business?

According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing yields an estimated 4300 percent ROI, says entrepreneur.com.

Most new bloggers are slow to adopt email marketing because they think it is a slow and time-consuming process. Most would change their mind if they knew email marketing was the best way to connect with, and retain, customers. You get to land directly in your reader’s inbox and no other channel can get your business more visibility. People may not check their social media sites every day but they will certainly check their emails. With the prevalence of smart phones, people tend to check their emails several times a day. In fact, it is likely the first thing every person checks in the morning.

When you post on social media sites, you have to compete with other content to be seen. Moreover, social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest can change their algorithm any time, which might limit your reach.

For example, Neil Patel mentions on his site (neilpatel.com) that on June 2016, the Organic Reach of a Facebook Page fell to a mere 2%. My friend’s DIY blog was hit severely by this update and her traffic plummeted overnight. Her Facebook page with 500K followers would reach only 10,000 people each time she made a post and only 200 of them clicked through to her blog. That is when she started to focus more on building an email list. She now has a list that is 50K strong. Every time she sends out an email, 30% of the people open it and 15% of them click through to her website. For example, just one email she sent out brought 6300 visits to her Crochet Baby Blanket Roundup post and earned her $150 in ad revenue in just one day. The bigger your list, the more revenue you can generate from it.

Recommended Article: 13 Free Crochet Baby Blankets

The saying “never put all your eggs in one basket” is not just true for your finances, but for your business marketing as well. Your email list is the only audience you will never lose to changes in ranking systems, which can plunge your traffic overnight on other channels.

How to Build an Engaged List

Your email marketing efforts will fall flat if you don’t have an engaged list. You have to warm your list and form a connection with them. The best way to do this is to write on a personal level. Start every email with a personal story but keep it short. People are more likely to buy from someone they know and trust. Be that person. For example, I have been sharing my struggles during this pandemic with my audience and that has really helped strengthen my bond with them. Write to them like a friend and not a salesperson. Do not sell in every email. Only 20% of your emails should be sales emails and the rest 80% should provide value to your readers.

Another way to engage your audience is to ask a question. I asked my audience what their biggest struggle was with managing money. If people respond to your emails it can increase your open rate and your emails are less likely to end up in their spam folders.

You can also ask questions that help you plan content for your blog. Ask them what they would like to see on your blog. The responses can give you valuable insights for future blog posts. When you publish the content they requested, it will help foster an even greater bond with your readers.

Formatting your emails properly is also key to the success of any email campaign. Make your links big, bold and easily clickable. Most people check their emails on mobile devices and a tiny font can make it harder for them to click. When you link to your new article, link to no more than 3 related articles. Stuffing your email with links is not a good marketing practice.

How Often to Email your List

Not emailing your list for a long time will make them forget that they even signed up for your emails in the first place. So, do not make that mistake. You have to email your list at least once every 2 weeks. Weekly is what works for most bloggers. If you don’t have new content to share every week, you can share old posts that are right for the season, roundups, or even some valuable tips for your audience. After emailing my list for a year, any week I don’t have a new post, I just resend an email I sent last year. This can save you time and help keep your audience engaged. You probably would have added a lot of new subscribers in a year and your old subscribers might not even remember posts you shared a year ago. You just have to make sure the blog topic is still relevant.