Monday, 7 July 2014

Increase Blog Revenue with Native Advertising from ContentClick

When you’re in the early stages of launching an online business, one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish, and obviously one of your top concerns will be monetization. How will you make money from your site? How will you advertise? How will you manage to maintain a great user experience without sacrificing ad dollars? All of these questions present a source of contention for many advertisers, publishers, and bloggers alike, but with new native advertising technologies coming to the forefront of digital marketing, it’s getting easier and easier to earn extra cash from your site without forfeiting user experience.


Take Content Click for example—a brand new native advertising widget created by Digitalbox that just received $1M in venture capital funding. Content Click is an easy to download free widget that advertisers, bloggers, and publishers, both large and small, can insert into their sites and almost instantly start earning extra cash.


“Digitalbox operates in a truly exciting arena, the world of digital marketing, said Sir Robin Miller, Non-Executive Chairman of Digitalbox. “Our latest initiative, ContentClick, is a real first for the team. They have developed a product that enables bloggers, as well as small and big publishers alike, the ability to earn additional revenue via our intelligent content marketing widget.”


The way Content Click works is by utilizing its proprietary algorithm to “mine” editorial data, which enables the software to model consumer intent and serve highly targeted, relevant, quality sponsored content to readers. According to Content Click, “Initial results have witnessed CTR’s (click-through-rates) that far exceed advertising industry averages and significantly increase engagement with advertisers’ brands.” - in short, this means you can focus on creating quality content for your site, then letting Content Click place relevant content within your site that your audience would be interested in. Similar media and advertising is currently seen on many of the major news and entertainment sites.


ContentClick Questions


Along with the high CTR’s that have been reported by Content Click’s native advertising widget, another benefit of using a product like this is that it’s incredibly easy to install, manage, and customize. You can easily sign up for the widget from Content Click, and once you’ve been approved you can build the ads that work best for your site and instantly start earning more money.


When it comes to startups and new online businesses, making the numbers work can be a head-splitting task, but with a native advertising solution, it can at least be done a little easier. Of course, native advertising probably won’t be able to fully support your business (unless you’re simply running a blog), but it can help generate some extra cash for your site, which is a great start. So if you’re looking to pull in some extra revenue from your blog or publisher site, or you an advertiser looking to appear in front of a new audience, it may be worth giving a native advertising product such as Content Click a try.

Friday, 4 July 2014

Simple and Effective Ways On How to Be Productive Bloggers

how to be productive and not waste timeIt’s tough when you’re hours away from a deadline and you still don’t have anything great written.


Bloggers have one of the hardest jobs in the world because writing isn’t always easy. It becomes even more impossible if you don’t feel inspired. But it doesn’t matter what you’re feeling because you need to meet your deadlines otherwise you’re toast.


Obviously, writing isn’t the only thing you do in a day. You could be holding a regular 9 to 5 job or write for various clients. You could also be a stay-at-home parent who needs to attend to the kids and household chores. There could be a gazillion things on your plate other than blogging and that makes it even harder to stick to deadlines.


That’s why you need to work on your productivity.


Problem is how to be productive can be very hard to do. With all the distractions surrounding you how do you get anything done?


To write something worth your readers’ time you must give it everything you’ve got. That means pack it with as much info as possible. Write in a voice and style that’s captivating and endearing to your followers.


Go about your day with an open mind. Be conscious of every little thing so you can record everything that happens. Ideas are everywhere, remember that and inspiration can strike unexpectedly. These things will often be the basis of an awesome post. It has worked well for me many times that’s why I always take stock of things that happen around me.


Be a sponge. Open your senses so you are aware of all that’s happening. These will help you blog better.


Since ideas are everywhere you have to be prepared to take note. Sometimes you have to be ready to write right then and there.


Ever experienced that rush when an idea strikes and you feel it’s enough to write your blog post? These moments are fleeting so you need to be prepared to write. That means have a pen and paper or a tablet with you all the time.


Once I was struggling to find a blog topic the entire day. It was a futile effort. Then in the afternoon I headed to the bank to take care of the bills. As I was standing in line, with at least ten people in front of me, it hit me. Luckily I had my iPad with me so I started typing.


I finished the 700-word blog post even before I got to the counter. Problem solved.


Music is soothing. It’s relaxing and could just be what you need to clear your mind and let the thoughts flow. It can hone your focus and encourage the right words to flow from your brain to the fingers.


A study involving 8 to 11 year old kids showed that music helped increase verbal IQ. Writing is talking without your mouth, so it’s a legit solution on how to be productive as a blogger. Go try it.


Distractions are the number one productivity killer. How in the world as you supposed to write when someone doesn’t stop talking to you or calling your attention to mundane stuff? How about constant noise from kids running around or the blaring TV screen?


If you have a room or any space where you can shut yourself in even for juts a few minutes, go there. That moment of silence will bring you clarity and focus to finish your blog post.


A study from the University of Minnesota found that individuals with messy desks are more inclined to think outside the box and be more creative.


Creativity is important in blogging. The more creative you are the better chances of appealing to a wider audience. Plus it makes your posts really fun to read. But this doesn’t mean you must be a slob. Just leave it a little cluttered.


You can’t write about something you have very little (or no) knowledge. That’s why it’s said time and time again that reading makes good writers.


Reading will enrich your mind. It will help you talk about something properly. You will be able to provide sound judgment or make valid claims and even offer useful tips when you know what you are talking about.


Once you are ready to write, go somewhere private and clear your thoughts. If you plan to get through the whole thing without glitches, you must be in the right mindset.


Get rid of anything that’s bothering you. For the next few minutes, don’t think of anything other than the work in front of you.


It can be hard to do especially when your mind is racing in all directions but you have to force yourself to focus just on your writing. Take a few minutes to concentrate on your breathing, turn up some music, and do anything that relaxes your  mind.


One of the hardest things in writing is to ignore your inner editor. How many times have you found yourself stopping in mid-sentence to go delete something and rewrite? I think all writers struggle with this and it’s a real time-waster.


For you to finish a blog post on time, you must master the ability to write non-stop. Ignore the inner editor in you–no matter how hard it is–so you can actually get something done. Your productivity will suffer tremendously if you give in each time you feel something doesn’t feel right.


Yes, you’re bound to make mistakes (misspell something or commit a grammar and context error) but writing non-stop is beneficial in a way that it allows you to take advantage of the moment. You will be able to say what you want and need to say completely.


And since inspiration is fleeting, you won’t have the same momentum a few minutes later. And if you constantly go back to edit your work, the momentum will flounder and you’ll find yourself thinking of what to write.


Just write and don’t worry about the mistakes. You’ll have plenty of time later.


So what about you?


Feel free to share in the comments below.

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

What Should You Consider When Looking for a Business Credit Card?




For a lot of people who are trying to put up their own company, having a business credit card could be of great assistance. This helps them in separating their personal accounts from the accounts of their business and conveniently allows them to manage the company’s finances.





It also provides the company with numerous benefits, especially with matters of financial organization. But with numerous banks offering several varieties of credit cards along with their corresponding perks and advantages, many offers can become so appealing to the regular businessman that often it may seem too puzzling to choose.





Don’t Get Easily Tempted





No matter how tempting offers may come, what you must always take in mind is to never sign up for the first credit card that would seem catchy. As appealing and as great offers may sound, a smart businessman should always remember to consider all options available and to evaluate each credit card and its corresponding package.





Remember to match the credit card’s benefits with the nature of the business that you run. How the company makes use of the credit and to the type of services that the company offers should all be well thought-out. For the credit card to be truly useful, it should cater to the needs of the company.





Picking a Credit Card That Caters to Your Company





Different credit card packages offer different benefits. Choose which benefits your business would most likely be able to use and would most likely contribute to its growth. For example, if your business entails you to do a lot of traveling to conduct your transactions, then a credit card that offers free mileage points could very much save you a lot of money. Sometimes such travel benefits may also come in the form of other privileges such as discounts from partner airlines.





On the other hand, if you run a business that would often require you to make large purchases, then it would be best to sign up with a credit card that has cash back offers for items bought. In this way, the more you buy the items that your company needs, the more you are actually able to save money for it.





Aside from this, other benefits that credit card packages may offer may include discounts from affiliated outlets such as shopping centers, gas stations, restaurants, and even shipping. All of which are usually very useful in running different types of businesses.





Remember that business credit cards exist to make life easier for the business owner. But in choosing a package that would best suit your company, never make rash decisions without going through all your different options. Set in mind the services and nature of your business and how these credits could assist with its operation.





Although choosing a package that would best suit you and your company may seem baffling at first, but as long as you know which basic qualities of your company you should prioritize and the corresponding services that the credit card package can cater then you are right on track to opening an account that could give your business much of the financial assistance that it would need.