Chimp Rewriter is another tool that utilizes artificial AI and natural language NLP technologies for performing paraphrasing more professionally.

Avoiding Plagiarism – Paraphrasing

In writing papers, you will paraphrase more than you will quote. For a report or research paper, you may need to gather background information that is important to the paper but not worthy of direct quotation. Indeed, in technical writing direct quotation is rarely used.

Exactly what does "paraphrase" mean?

It means taking the words of another source and restating them, using your own vocabulary. In this way, you keep the meaning of the original text, but do not copy its exact wording.

Because of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence they think about it less than anyone else. When Americans do think about globalization, they think of the global economy as an enlarged version of the American economy.

According to Lester Thurow (1993) Americans fear globalization less than people from other countries and as a consequence spend less time thinking about it. Indeed, Americans see globalization as an enlarged version of their own economy.

The writer has used Thurow’s exact words without enclosing them in quotation marks. S/he has only substituted synonyms here and there. Even though Thurow is credited with a citation, this would be considered plagiarism.

Lester Thurow (1993) maintains that because Americans see globalization simply as a bigger form of their own economy, they are less concerned about it than is the rest of the world.

The writer has kept the meaning of the original passage without copying words or structure. Words like globalization and Americans are generic terms (i.e., terms that are commonly used for the concept they illustrate – it is difficult to find synonyms for them). Thus you may use these words without placing them in quotation marks.

What strategies can I use to paraphrase?

Use synonyms for all words that are not generic. Words like world, food, or science are so basic to our vocabulary that is difficult to find a synonym.

Like drought, excess rainfall and flooding can also contribute to epidemics of waterborne infectious diseases, in this case due to poor sanitation resulting from runoff from overwhelmed sewage lines or the contamination of water by livestock.

(Source: Shuman, E., M.D. (2010, March 25). Global climate change and infectious diseases. New England Journal of Medicine; 362, 12, 1061-1063. Retrieved from nejm.org at MIT Libraries.)

An overabundance of rainfall can also be a factor in spreading infectious diseases carried by water, usually as a result of overflowing sewers and pollution from farm animals (Shuman, 2010).

When there is an overabundance of rainfall, two situations can occur: sewers can overflow and water can become polluted by the presence of livestock, both of which can lead to outbreaks of waterborne diseases (Shuman, 2010).

(Source: Venkat Narayan, K.M., Ali, M.K., and Koplan, J. (2010, September 23). Global noncomunicable diseases – where worlds meet. The New England Journal of Medicine, 363; 13. 1196-1198. Retrieved from nejm.org at MIT Libraries.)

Researchers point out that in attempting to implement economic growth, industry is often favored over health: government may subsidize certain forms of agriculture and food production, contribute to tobacco consumption in nations where it owns the industry and otherwise promote growth of industries that pollute. (Venkat Narayan et. al, 2011).

(Source: Venkat Narayan, K.M., , Ali, M.K., and Koplan, J. (2010, September 23). Global noncomunicable diseases – where worlds meet. The New England Journal of Medicine, 363; 13. 1196-1198. Retrieved from nejm.org at MIT Libraries.)

A good paraphrase combines a number of strategies: the goal is to rephrase the information so that it appears in your words, not those of the author.

(Source: Siegel, B. (1986).
Love, Medicine and Miracles (p. 69). New York: Harper and Row.)

(Source: Siegel, B. (1986).
Love, Medicine and Miracles (p. 69). New York: Harper and Row.)

The writer had only substituted synonyms in certain places; in others the wording is exactly the same as that of the original.

Even though the writer mentions the original source in the introductory phrase, the result is plagiarism.

Although the writer has changed the structure of the sentence, key phrases have been taken directly from the original.

Even though the writer mentions the original source in the introductory phrase, the result is plagiarism.

Avoiding Plagiarism – Paraphrasing

In writing papers, you will paraphrase more than you will quote. For a report or research paper, you may need to gather background information that is important to the paper but not worthy of direct quotation. Indeed, in technical writing direct quotation is rarely used.

It means taking the words of another source and restating them, using your own vocabulary. In this way, you keep the meaning of the original text, but do not copy its exact wording.

Because of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence they think about it less than anyone else. When Americans do think about globalization, they think of the global economy as an enlarged version of the American economy.

According to Lester Thurow (1993) Americans fear globalization less than people from other countries and as a consequence spend less time thinking about it. Indeed, Americans see globalization as an enlarged version of their own economy.

The writer has used Thurow’s exact words without enclosing them in quotation marks. S/he has only substituted synonyms here and there. Even though Thurow is credited with a citation, this would be considered plagiarism.

Lester Thurow (1993) maintains that because Americans see globalization simply as a bigger form of their own economy, they are less concerned about it than is the rest of the world.

The writer has kept the meaning of the original passage without copying words or structure. Words like globalization and Americans are generic terms (i.e., terms that are commonly used for the concept they illustrate – it is difficult to find synonyms for them). Thus you may use these words without placing them in quotation marks.

Prepostseo

There are a lot of written activities and tasks for students to complete before deadlines and every time they have to come up with unique and plagiarism-free text files. You can use this tool for performing paraphrasing in different languages as it supports 8 different languages including English, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Netherlands, Portuguese and Turkish.

It allows so many extra features such as uploading the text directly from Google Drive or OneDrive on your device or smartphone. You can also simply copy-paste the text and do paraphrase.

Resources:

https://integrity.mit.edu/handbook/academic-writing/avoiding-plagiarism-paraphrasing

Top 5 AI-Based Paraphrasing Tools to Avoid Plagiarism

https://www.standoutessay.com/study-tools/free-paraphrasing-tool
]

The final paragraph, the conclusion, restates the thesis statement and summarizes the paper and its broader significance.

What is a Thesis Statement?

Writing the thesis statement is one of the most important things when it is about thesis writing. But what is a thesis statement? How to write a thesis statement? What is the thesis statement example? If you are stumbling with your thesis writing, you are at the right place.

Today’s article explains the concept of a thesis statement. A thesis statement is basically a one-sentence statement that puts the main idea of a thesis in a nutshell while explaining the purpose of the research. Ultimately, a thesis statement is the foundation of your dissertation essay upon which you construct the building of a thesis.

However, if this foundation is not strong enough, the building will be shaky. It’s tricky to write a perfect thesis statement if you are a newbie. That’s why researching properly before writing a thesis statement is recommended. Let’s understand this concept.

What is a Thesis Statement?

Starting with the definition, a thesis statement is a single sentence that describes how the writer is going to interpret the subject matter under discussion. In a single sentence, it explains what a reader should expect from the succeeding discussion. The rest of the write-up gives arguments, opinions, supporting ideas, and logic for the thesis statement.

The importance of a thesis statement can be analyzed from the fact that it carries a certain number of marks in academic writing. Not only failing to mention it but also writing a weak thesis statement leads to the deduction of marks. To avoid any kind of risk, we must learn how to write it and make it concise, clear, and eye-catching. It may be difficult to write because summing a whole essay into a single statement is not an easy task. But as a proverb says.

How to Write a Thesis statement?

Now the question pops up, Which steps do we need to take to make a thesis statement strong? A study conducted by Research prospect states that out of 5, every 3 students lack proficiency in writing skills, which is a great number. Trying not to be among those three, let’s learn how to write a thesis statement in 5 easy steps. First, we need to know that a good thesis statement is simple, concise, and adherent to the rest of the paper.

This is the most important step as the type of thesis statement pursued varies surely with the type of essay you choose. Depending on the content, there are two types of essays. So, here are two further questions! What is a thesis statement from the perspective of an expository style essay, and how do write a thesis statement for expository essays? And what is thesis statement from the perspective of a persuasive style essay, and how to write a thesis statement for a persuasive essay?

While Focusing on the title of the topic, we need to answer the question in the title while writing the thesis statement. If it’s not a question, we shall assume the question in our minds. While keeping that question in mind, the answer to the question must support our argument in the rest of the paper (in the case of an argumentative essay).

This type of essay demands an argument of the writer, his personal opinion and support for a particular point of view. The thesis statement for such an essay must either give the opinion of the writer or clearly define which side of the argument the writer supports and the reason for it.

The next part of your thesis statement will give a logical reason for "why" or "how" you support a certain side of the argument.

It usually occurs at the concluding line of the introductory paragraph but can also be located at the beginning of an introductory paragraph or even middle.

In order to stay on track and avoid shifting your focus from the core idea of the essay, keep visiting your thesis statement while writing the essay.

A thesis statement is usually 1 or 2 sentences long. Too many lengthy statements are avoided to avoid the reader getting frustrated.

Finally, evaluate the thesis statement of this article. It’s an expository one as it provides factual information and not the writer’s personal opinion or argument. It starts with the first basic step i.e answering the question of the title. Then gives a logical answer for "how".

The next part of the statement includes the summary of the rest of the information. Observing practically, it can be evaluated that the article contains no information other than the one, mentioned in the article.

Make a Thesis Statement via Mind-mapping

Mind maps are a visual articulation of your thoughts, opinions, and ideas. It helps you to contextualize your vision and draw inspiration from it to guide your direction of writing and craft the language and terminologies that will best express your vein of thought.

Mind mapping can work wonderfully to guide you in choosing an appropriate thesis statement for your essay. Mind-maps help develop an understanding of the text that you are trying to write. A visual map of ideas whether hand-drawn or done through computer software is a fun way of putting together all your ideas and assertions in one easy-to-read format.

This mapping of ideas will orient you towards the central theme or element of the essay that is crucial for you to highlight. This central idea is what needs to be communicated to the reader and therefore will determine the content and form of your thesis statement.

Why is a thesis statement important in an essay?

Thesis statements are kind of like roadmaps, laying out for the reader listener where the writer speaker is headed argument and how they are going to get there evidence. The term thesis statement is generally used by teachers and students in junior high, high school, and college, especially in English, Social Studies, and other classes in the humanities.

In academic writing, a thesis statement is generally a sentence or two that summarizes the main point that an essay, research paper, or speech is making. It is typically located at the end of the introductory paragraph(s).

Resources:

Thesis Statement: Definition, Importance, Steps & Tips!

https://www.edrawmind.com/article/what-is-a-thesis-statement.html
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/thesis-statement
]

21 Homework can also help clue parents in to the existence of any learning disabilities their children may have, allowing them to get help and adjust learning strategies as needed.

Does Homework Help or Hinder Learning?

The average American high-school classroom has an estimated 24 students. While teachers are trained to assess student learning on the spot, large class sizes can prevent teachers from checking each student’s progress in every session. When homework is treated as a formative assessment, an assignment given only as a starting point from which to deliver feedback, homework provides a crucial opportunity for teachers to fill in any gaps in their in-class assessments of student performance and identify where improvement is needed.

Homework helps students gain skills outside the scope of academic learning

Beyond reinforcing lessons gleaned in the classroom, homework is often the first task that encourages young people to develop self-discipline, an indispensable skill for further learning and for life. Homework helps students learn to meet deadlines, to work independently and create their own study methods, and yes, how to approach assignments they might not be particularly interested in.

A Duke University review of 25 years’ worth of studies on homework found a positive statistical correlation between homework and higher achievement, especially at the secondary-school level. An Oxford University study similarly demonstrated the connection between time spent on homework and results achieved. Just as one excels at an instrument or a sport through practice, so too is academic excellence achieved through practice. Veteran teachers defend homework as a vital part of skill improvement and student buy-in. Even students acknowledge the necessary role homework plays in their education, and many students report feeling more engaged in class after completing homework assignments.

Homework hinders

Finland routinely ranks at the top of the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment, yet Finland’s students do the least homework of all OECD countries. Finland’s system encourages students to play as much as they work; they are not subject to rankings, grades, or standardized tests as is common practice in other countries. With its holistic approach to learning, Finland proves that insisting students focus solely on academics during school and after is not necessarily a recipe for academic success.

Not all home environments are conducive to at-home learning. Level of education, time, and energy vary among parents, and parents at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum tend to have the least amount of each resource. Wealthier kids are more likely to benefit from homework simply because they have the necessary resources to complete it: adult assistance, home computers and internet access. However, students whose home situations may preclude them from completing homework (for example, older siblings who care for younger siblings or children who need to hold an after-school job) inevitably fall further behind. As such, homework can exacerbate achievement gaps between rich and poor students, rendering homework not only counterproductive, but a barrier to equality.

A Brown University study supported what most parents have probably already observed in their homes – that homework is a flashpoint for family stress, affecting children and parents equally. Parents have a number of valid reasons to dread homework as much as their kids do – it forces their children to keep sitting after a long, mostly sedentary school-day; it cuts into family bonding time and diminishes opportunities for kids to take on other household duties. This is to say nothing of the pressure of guiding a child on homework that a parent may or may not understand. If homework is not welcome by parents or students, it can potentially damage the overall academic experience as well as a student’s home life as well.

The Bottom Line: With teacher-led zero-homework movements making their way across America, it’s clear that the homework versus no-homework pendulum is in full swing. What’s your stance? Is homework necessary for reinforcing and building academic skills, or does it put needless strain on parents and students alike?

Too much homework can be harmful.

The Bottom Line With teacher-led zero-homework movements making their way across America, it s clear that the homework versus no-homework pendulum is in full swing. 48 Excessive homework can also lead to cheating 90 of middle school students and 67 of high school students admit to copying someone else s homework, and 43 of college students engaged in unauthorized collaboration on out-of-class assignments.

In the 19th century, German students of the Volksschulen or “People’s Schools” were given assignments to complete outside of the school day. This concept of homework quickly spread across Europe and was brought to the United States by Horace Mann, who encountered the idea in Prussia. [45]

Resources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2019/01/03/why-homework-doesnt-seem-to-boost-learning-and-how-it-could/?sh=7be7248468ab
https://www.theperspective.com/debates/homework-help-hinder-learning/
https://www.procon.org/headlines/homework-pros-cons-procon-org/
]

Do product descriptions still matter in 2018?

I bet that you’re expecting us to say that “yes, they’re absolutely necessary in all possible scenarios”. But that’s not true. In fact, there are some cases where “no description at all” actually beats “poor descriptions”. That’s because not all products or websites come equal when it comes to seducing potential buyers.

According to Oberlo, FreestyleXtreme, an UK-based ecommerce website specialized in motorcross clothing actually ran an A/B test that featured a control version (with a standard product description) and compared it to a variation that didn’t feature any description at all.

Does that mean that we shouldn’t write product descriptions? Absolutely not. In fact, most of FreestyleXtreme’s poor product description performance can be blamed on a poor page layout that pushed down most of the page’s images.

It’s not rocket science: most online shoppers compare several websites while attempting to buy a single product. That’s because online shoppers love to compare prices, shipping policies and product descriptions: they’re looking for the most relevant information out there for that same product.

KiMovil uses long paragraphs but adds more analysis. Amazon uses easily scannable paragraphs and less copy.

This isn’t exactly new: adding relevant information to your product pages can potentially boost your search rankings, when done properly. While we’ll cover this point later, keep in mind that adding relevant keywords can vastly help online shoppers find that relevant information they’ve been looking for a while.

Should you use the manufacturer’s product descriptions?

Whether or not ecommerce marketers should use their manufacturer’s product descriptions is a frequent question that is often left vaguely answered. In short, it all depends on what kind of products you’re selling. Let me explain that.

Firstly, ecommerce retailers sell many different products: some sell fashion, some sell hardware and many also sell services. As you may know, each product usually has a dedicated buyer persona, which means that it answers specific needs and desires for a specific cohort. Based on that simple assumption, not all buyers are looking for the same details and information: it all depends on your buyer personas.

A 4K Panel by LG, sold on BestBuy Some products require more technical information and that’s OK. Source: BestBuy

And that makes for a quite a huge difference because fashion brands and ecommerce retailers that sell unique products have no choice: they just have to create product descriptions.

As for the other ecommerce stores that sell more mainstream, ubiquitous products, those websites should aim at providing better product descriptions than their competitors.

Lastly, copying your competitors’ or manufacturers’ product descriptions means that you’ll have a vast quantity of duplicated content on your product pages. While it’s not the end of the world for big retailers (popping out thousands of products) it could vastly affect smaller websites.

What is a Product Description?

Product descriptions come in different styles depending on the writer and/or the product it talks about. They can be short and scannable or long and engaging. You could give them a serious or a funny tone. They can be placed anywhere on the product page, beside the product title and images, or underneath them.

Good product descriptions help casual buyers make the decision to buy your product by moving them down your sales funnel and improving your conversion. Bad product descriptions, on the other hand, can turn away potential customers from purchasing your product.

The difference between a good and a bad product description has very little to do with its length, tone, or verbiage. Although these elements are important, there is more to the product description.

Convey Urgency and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

Use words that create a sense of urgency for purchasing the product. Some of the most common words include “new”, “limited”, and “now”. Incorporating these words into your product descriptions can influence visitors’ buying decisions.

Tissot implements this by advertising its limited product line. The product description contains phrases like “limited edition” and “only 3,333 pieces available” to hint at the product’s scarcity, which encourages people to make a purchase right there, right now.

Pro Tips for Professional Product Pages That Sell

1. Continuously A/B Test Product Pages

This is essential as it helps you improve your conversion rate and minimize marketing costs. Knowing what works and what doesn’t makes it easier to create a product catalog that appeals to your target consumers.

The variant page is where you make changes and apply your new ideas. The goal is to see how much of a difference can be made between the two pages. Make sure to test one element at a time to obtain accurate results.

2. Easy Navigation and Seamless UX to Make the Sale

Make your CTA buttons visible and easy to click on the product page. Remember that it’s also possible to split-test your CTA button to see which layout and a copy will have a higher conversion rate.

3. Use Sensory Words

As customers cannot test your product, you must provide a detailed description of how it would feel or look in reality. You can do so by crafting copy that appeals to their senses.

Lindt has a good product example of descriptions that sell. The company uses words like “smooth” and “buttery” to appeal to your cravings for their chocolate. By describing the aroma, it entices the customer to make the purchase.

4. Straightforward Pricing (Include Taxes and Shipping)

Price is one of the most important pieces of information that visitors want to know when they look at products. Good placement and transparent numbers are key for high conversion rates.

Audio Technica displays the price directly under the product name, where it’s easy to spot. Adding a CTA button below the pricing is a nice touch as it encourages purchases from the get-go.

If your product comes in different variations or packages, make sure you add all the pricing options separately with information on how each option differs in functionality or benefits. The Samsung Galaxy page implements this method to create a personalized shopping experience.

If you provide a delivery service, make sure to include the shipping and tax fees with the first price a customer sees. Doing so will eliminate any hidden costs that leave customers with a sour taste.

Most online stores show the shipping cost and applicable tax on the customer’s shopping cart page. For example, this is a screenshot of Nike’s store cart before you proceed to checkout.

5. Add Validation With User Reviews and Testimonials

Having social proof such as customer reviews and testimonials on your product page may help you gain credibility and customer trust. They’re particularly essential for leaving a first positive impression on new visitors.

You can utilize different types of user review formats to showcase people’s opinions on your products. The star-rating system is the most common one, which gives a general perspective of your brand’s quality to potential customers.

When you’re collecting user reviews, it may benefit you to gather information about customers’ backgrounds, like age, gender, and product usage. Besides enhancing credibility, the information can provide better insight into your target customers.

For example, a couple of sport watch users may use the product for different activities – one for swimming and the other for running. The swimmer could find that the watch isn’t a good pick for diving while it’s perfect for a runner.

6. Optimize Product Pages for Search Engines (SEO)

Besides giving your customer insight into your product, your product description section provides a great opportunity for your website to rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs).

There are multiple angles to approach search engine optimization (SEO). For product pages, it’s on-page SEO. It involves adding keywords that are relevant to product descriptions and metadata.

Sources:

https://www.abtasty.com/blog/write-good-product-descriptions/
https://adoric.com/blog/how-to-write-product-description/
https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/how-to-write-a-product-description

The impact of social media on business

In all the corners of the globe, critical players in the business industry are on the constant lookout of various ways that they can use to boost their business and increase the overall productivity of goods and services. This is done under the assumption that companies that are more exposed and those that able to reduce the costs of production as much as possible, eventually yield the highest profits. With the continuous development of technology and its adoption into most business models, it has become apparent that many more channels of increasing sales and exposure have been created and are being employed in boosting business. One of the ways with the highest impacts on business today has been identified as social media. Imagine a platform that has gained so much popularity over the past couple of years that most influential people and businesses have no choice but to engage it? This has been the global impact of social media, and in this article, we are in detail going to explore some of the most significant role of social media in the business industry.

In order to understand the impact of this tool and the various ways that it affects businesses, it is crucial that we understand what it is and what it does. Many of us are already social media users, and we do not even know it. This is a platform that has converted the world into a global village that can easily communicate and share information so fast, that information can travel all across the globe in a matter of seconds. By definition, we can say that social media is the different applications and websites that enable users to create and share content or to generally participate in social networking. Through social media, content can be shared in real-time, quickly, and efficiently. Some of the information that can be shared through social media includes photos, events, videos, opinions, and other things that people and businesses considered important to them. This has ultimately altered the way people live as well as the way that business is conducted. It is also important to note that most of the great businesses and enterprises have adopted this technology and most influential companies and business personalities are signed up on different social media platforms in a bid to conduct business.

In the modern world, social media is considered as one of the most essential communication tools by both businesses and individuals. For individuals, it is employed as a tool that helps to keep in touch with friends and family. Individuals also apply this tool for networking purposes and for finding career opportunities through finding individuals from around the continent with similar interests or business opportunities. In recent times, social media has also been used for personal businesses where individuals who for example, sell different commodities, use the platforms like Facebook to advertise their products or even distribute pictures of the things that they sell.

For business, the uses of social media seem unlimited since the platforms offer so many great opportunities, that it is close to impossible to touch them all in great detail. Business owners and companies are able to reach out to their clients as well as potential customers through the use of this vital tool. They are also able to gain the attention of more people through some of the advertisements that they place on their pages. Social media is also considered as an essential piece of the business marketing strategy as it creates the much-needed link with clients, propels the level of brand awareness, and substantially boosts the business leads and sales. This is one tool that simplifies life from a business point of view, and the use of social media can have significant impacts on the way business is done. Currently, more than three billion people around the globe are connected, and your business can easily reach them through use of a different number of platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs as well as other sites that have a content based on User Generated Content (UGC) as well as user participation. Let us explore some of the most significant impacts of social media in business.

Billions of individuals all over the world use social media for a wide range of reasons, including brand engagement. It is quite evident that more people follow brands and businesses on social media than those that follow celebrities, especially on platforms like Instagram. This is because of the fact that people are very interested in commodities and various lines of business in the industry. For businesses, failing to take advantage of this great tool is a lousy approach owing to the fact that it is considered as one of the most effective ways to reach almost half of the world’s population. Use of social media can have the following impacts in the business industry.

All marketers can testify that one of the most ideal customer traits is loyalty. Customer loyalty is the state where the consumers prefer to purchase the products of one brand over the other. Loyalty occurs when an enterprise develops a trusting and honest relationship with the consumers. Loyalty is essential to a business because it makes a significant contribution towards repeated buying by the clients, which in turn leads to more customer referrals and higher revenues. In essence, social media aids in the creation of a firm base of loyal customers as well as brand followers who will take the business to the next level.

Why Is Social Media Important for Business?

The vast majority of commerce occurred and seemed to go just fine before social media came along. So, you’re justified if you’re wondering: why is social media important for business? In order to answer that, you need to see social media not as any specific platform, but rather as a massive shift in the way humans communicate and socialize. It’s changed the way people think and act to a level that we are still discovering.

It stands to reason that the impact of social media on business would be immense, as the technologies of exchange have shifted to these digital spaces. And what do these new communication technologies enable people and businesses to do? They enable people to communicate rapidly using the vast spread of the internet. This allows greater numbers of people to be in touch more quickly and across greater distances than ever before. On the one hand, this presents an unprecedented opportunity. You can be in touch with larger markets all over the world virtually instantaneously. You can make new kinds of personal connections with customers. And you can harness the powers of virality and digital influence to accelerate your company’s reach. Indeed, many emerging companies today are largely or entirely social media entities.

There is another way to think about it that is even simpler. Think about how many people you know who use at least one social media platform. It’s almost everybody. So, why is social media important for business? Well, businesses need to engage with human beings at the end of the day. If almost all human beings in developed economies are spending multiple hours each day on social media, it stands to reason that social media is important for business.

Know Your Metrics

With that said, have analytics in place to understand the ROI of your social media marketing efforts. Some businesses place way way to much importance and sink a lot of money into created custom posts, with very little real return on their investment. If the benefit of social media for you is most branding, great – invest with that in mind. If you get a material amount of sales from your social posts, invest accordingly. The big thing is to have data to back up your efforts. This leads us into some other risks of social media.

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Risks of Social Media

While the scaling opportunities offered by social media are tantalizing, every business owner knows that opportunity is one side of the coin of technology and threat is the other. It is true and obvious that the impact of social media on business includes unprecedented new risks as well as new tools.

One primary risk is that of competition. Social media is a tool your competitors may successfully leverage to capture more market share. Conversely, we can all think of examples of local businesses that will likely never have a significant “social media presence.” These examples – the multi-generational mom & pop stores and the authentic ethnic restaurants, each perfectly adapted to fill its niche – illustrate that some businesses could potentially suffer from devoting too much attention to social media. At the end of the day, social media cannot replace an authentically satisfying experience. Notice that billion-dollar hedge fund managers and other high-powered financiers also seldom focus on social media.

This brings us to another one of the risks of social media: exposure. It was relatively easy to operate a business with some degree of discretion before the digital age. That’s harder to do now. Social media brings much more into the public eye. This can include intra-organizational conflict that disgruntled employees share. It can include an individual employee posting something inappropriate that gets shared broadly and becomes associated with the company. Ineffective use of social media by official company accounts can also be an issue. From inappropriate jokes to cringe-worthy attempts at relevance, it’s not at all unheard of for corporate attempts at positive social media engagement to backfire.

The Rise of Social Media and the Impact on Companies

The rise of social media has had a profound impact on businesses, as companies across all industries have had to factor their online presence into their business strategy. However, not all platforms were created equally, and some serve certain companies better than others.

The most significant impact of social media has been on marketing strategy, as it has been instrumental in bridging the gap between business and consumer, creating channels of communication, and helping businesses build lasting relationships with audiences. Social media, for many companies, is now fundamental in shaping their brand image, with feedback from consumers being near instant. It has also impacted recruitment practices, as well as educational and personal development opportunities within companies, as people and resources have never been so accessible.

3.96 billion people were using social media in July 2020, as 1 million new people join social media every day. This surge in online connectivity has provided companies with new opportunities to reach consumers through the creation and promotion of content. The most popular social media platforms currently include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

However, there is a significant degree of audience overlap between the platforms, meaning a company’s content creation should be adapted depending on the social media. Posting content regularly on multiple platforms is likely to keep consumers engaged, however the aim should not be to reach new audiences through these different platforms, but to reach existing audiences in new contexts. Therefore, it is necessary for companies to develop a more nuanced social media strategy, where their content output is tailored to the strengths of each app- for example, Instagram’s niche is its visual nature, whereas LinkedIn specialises in professional content.

Depending on whether the business is B2B or B2C, different social media platforms can be considered more valuable for increasing engagement and awareness. For B2C companies, Facebook is considered the most valuable platform, having the largest user rate, closely followed by YouTube and Twitter. 58% of B2C companies reported that social media has had a more positive influence on the revenue and sales than B2B companies, reflecting how social media has a bigger influence on B2C customers’ purchasing decisions.

The rise of influencer marketing has been a significant change, especially for B2C businesses, as companies increasingly turn to influencers for endorsement and to reach a wider audience. According to estimates, brands are set to spend up to $15 billion by 2022 on influencer marketing- an increase from $8 billion in 2019. This would not have been possible without social media, with Instagram being considered the most suited to this form of marketing- 79% of brands turn to Instagram to build relationships with influencers. Sponsoring an influencer’s online content is often more cost effective than launching a traditional advertising campaign, and can raise brand awareness among targeted audiences.

The most valuable social media platform for B2B companies, however, is LinkedIn. LinkedIn, having been created specifically to generate leads and increase conversions, provides a forum for business professionals and companies alike to build relationships. With over 722 million users worldwide, LinkedIn accounts for 80% of B2B leads, and more than 50% of the total social traffic coming to B2B sites. 91% of executives choose to use the platform to promote professionally relevant content, and therefore it requires a different marketing strategy than that of other social media platforms- posts should be professional, predominantly informational (rather than a constant stream of sales pitches), and relevant.

It can be beneficial for companies to take advantage of LinkedIn’s features to build relationships with target audiences; Matched Audiences specifically retarget existing consumers that have already taken action with a brand, accelerating the transition between awareness and engagement. Founding and regularly contributing to LinkedIn groups can also help build engaged communities and establish individuals and their companies as thought leaders in their field.

Both B2B and B2C businesses can benefit from boosting engagement with their audiences through their social media platforms. A brand can shape its image through its social media profiles, highlighting its values and humanizing the company through creating a human connection with consumers. It also provides a forum for companies to engage directly with consumers, as platforms such as Twitter and Facebook allow companies to answer questions and respond directly to feedback.

Research carried out by the Harvard Business Review found that customers that engaged with a brand on Twitter and received a response to their tweet were more likely to spend more with the brand in a later purchase. This probability increased if the company responded within 5 minutes. Significantly, this still applied if the original tweet was a complaint, reflecting the degree to which consumers value the human connection social media has facilitated. This relationship is also beneficial in helping companies curate a successful brand image as, more than ever, they have a clearer idea of what appeals to consumers and what fails to garner interest.

Sources:

https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-for-business/
https://managementconsulted.com/impact-of-social-media-on-business/
https://www.mrgpeople.co.uk/the-rise-of-social-media-and-the-impact-on-companies/

Pre-Promotion Tasks

Most of these center around making your blog an enjoyable experience for visitors as they navigate your site. For example, making sure your pages load quickly and look just as good on desktop and mobile.

1. Email Your List

2. Add a Signature to Your Emails

3. Redirect First-Time Commenters to a Thank You Page

SeedProd is the best drag and drop landing page builder for WordPress. It comes with a ton of templates to get you started and you can use pre-made landing page blocks to customize your page any way you want.

4. Reach Your Non-Subscribers with Push Notifications

With push notifications, you can send an alert to your regular readers about new blog posts or any other updates that you want them to know. Using an app like PushEngage, you can send notifications to a subscriber’s browser even if they’re not present on your website.

The 31 Best Places To Promote Your Blog For Free

1. Your Own Blog

2. Pinterest

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3. Email List

If you don’t know how to get subscribers to your blog, the easiest way to do that is with an opt-in form that offers a freebie related to your niche. If you want some great ideas on opt-ins that work, this free list of 250 ideas is awesome.

4. Instagram

Although you can’t really promote you new blog post on Instagram in the traditional sense, I think it makes sense to add a photo to your feed for each new post and point readers to your homepage URL in your bio.

If you have a regular homepage, it should show the most recent posts in a scroll, if you have a static homepage then you will need to direct them to a specific post or the “blog” section of your website.

5. Your Blog Facebook Page

6. Facebook Communities

One of the easiest ways to get eyes on your blog post is to join groups or pages in your niche. For example, a vegan food may offer the opportunity to post a link to your latest recipe or to help answer questions.

Many groups have a “Market Monday” or similar where you can directly promote your blog. However, the best way to get your name out there on Facebook groups is to be helpful, answer questions and become a source of great information before you self-promote.

7. Twitter

If you want to promote your blog posts on Twitter, make sure to promote the same post a few times as the half life of a tweet is very short. Change up the wording and hashtags to attract new readers.

8. Mix

9. Search Engines

10. Flipboard

Flipboard is an online article site that allows you to create magazines out of interesting things to read. I love it as a personal user and have found some success with getting traffic to my site.

To get started with Flipboard, you can create an account then choose the topics that interest you. Add related articles plus your own blog posts. You can create group magazines with other collaborators to share your content.

11. Facebook Groups for Bloggers

12. Tiktok

13. Reddit

Reddit users can be a bit harsh so be warned. It can be a good place to promote your blog casually but you must adhere to all the rules of the subreddits and also make sure not to be overly self-promoting as that is frowned upon.

14. Linkedin

It’s a good idea to create a professional Linkedin profile for your blog as some brand do use it when looking for influencers. You can also promote your new content using the Linkedin status updates.

15. Snapchat

Snapchat posts only last for 24 hours so while it is not worth spending a long time creating the perfect promo post, it can be a good place to throw a quick image and URL if you have time.

16. Niche Related Facebook Groups

It’s a good idea to join Facebook groups related to your blog content. For example, if you blog about Beekeeping, you can hunt out Facebook groups related to beekeeping and use them to get ideas of what your audience wants and potentially promote your own content. Make sure to check the rules of each group first.

17. Medium

18. Yahoo Answers

One way to use this to promote your blog is to do searches for questions related to your niche and then give great, useful answers and link back to a relevant blog post that has even more information.

19. Quora

Just create a profile then search for unanswered questions on the niche that you write about. You can quickly establish yourself as an expert in your field with great, concise and helpful information.

20. Blog Comments (using Commentluv)

Every now and again I look at my Google Analytics referrals and see page views from a blog that I have commented on. Although other people’s blogs don’t strictly belong in a list of places to promote your blog, a pleasant side effect of making blog comments can be a little extra traffic.

I often comment on other blogs if I love their content or it is relevant to mine and I follow the blogger. Some blogs use a WordPress plugin called Commentluv that allows you to add your latest blog post to the end of your comment. It’s another way of promoting your content for free.

If you are wondering why someone would add Commentluv onto their site, it encourages comments on their blog which helps Google authority. It also can increase traffic as people search for Commentluv blogs to visit.

Very Important Note: I never ever add my URL to a blog comment unless the blogger has set up Commentluv which is essentially them saying, “hey, you can promote your blog here”.

How To Promote Your Blog For Free – Final Thoughts

If you have ever wanted to know how you can promote your blog for free, I hope this post has answered your question and given you lots of options for places where you can promote your blog without spending a penny!

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Boost your SEO efforts

18. Get serious about your keyword research

SEO is the process of helping your content get found on Google. In order to do that, you’ll want to devise an SEO plan. As a first step, aim to rank high in search results for particular keywords, or short phrases commonly searched by Internet users you’re targeting. For example, ‘entrepreneur blogs’ or ‘moroccan lentil stew recipe.’

To know which phrases are best for you to target, you’ll want to perform adequate keyword research. There are some top keyword research tools we recommend, such as Ahrefs and SEMrush. Once you’ve determined which phrases to use, sprinkle them throughout your content, from your paragraph text to your titles, descriptions and more – we’ll point you to a few places in the following tips.

19. Optimize your meta tags

When we refer to meta and title tags for your blog, it includes the descriptions, titles, and URL for the blog as a whole, and each of the pages, or blog posts within. This is what will appear in search engine results for your blog publication.

In order to optimize these components, put your keyword research to use. This is the top place to focus on implementing those short phrases. Do so by including your number one keyword choice in titles, descriptions, and URLs. You can customize your meta tags from directly within your Wix site’s dashboard and from within each individual blog post.

Sources:

https://www.blogtyrant.com/how-to-promote-your-blog/
https://seasidesundays.com/places-to-promote-your-blog-for-free/
https://www.wix.com/blog/2020/01/how-to-promote-your-blog/

How to Start an E-Commerce Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here’s how we make money.

Much like starting any business, learning how to start an e-commerce business isn’t always easy — but setting up, launching and maintaining sites where entrepreneurs, designers, and creators of all sorts can sell their wares is more attainable now than ever.

Ecommerce businesses — which are businesses that transmit goods, services, and funds over the internet — vary in size and scope, from retail behemoths like Amazon to Etsy craft sites. Online shopping is just one of many areas that have seen extensive growth over the past five years. According to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau , in the third quarter of 2019 alone, U.S. e-commerce sales amounted to approximately $154.5 billion, accounting for 11.2% of all retail sales in the nation.

Depending on your goals, it might make sense to start an e-commerce business. After all, without the need for a brick-and-mortar location, e-commerce businesses offer greater flexibility, affordability, and opportunity for many entrepreneurs. So how exactly do you start an online business? This guide is here to help.

Step 1: Research Ecommerce Business Models

If you like the idea of having your own warehouse full of goodies, you’re investing more up front and working with a wholesaling or warehousing (retail) model. Have a business idea for the perfect product idea or a favorite product you wish you could sell under your brand? Look into white labeling and manufacturing.

The ecommerce business model that attracts me the most is a single product category that you supplement with affiliate marketing. You can control the content marketing and branding on a focused product and focus the rest of your energy on driving sales by monetizing traffic.

Resources On Ecommerce Business Models

I highly recommend that you take your time and learn the different business models and compare them mentally. Then decide which one best lines up with your resources and marketing strengths. Also, think about where do you want to sell. Do you want to start your own online store on Shopify or do you want to sell on Amazon? Of course, you can do both, but marketing will be different.

2 ways you can build an e-commerce website

1. Building a site from scratch

Building a site from scratch means you have to go through many steps, from designing the online store to building all the elements and putting them together into a working website. If you’re not familiar with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and don’t have much free time, you need to hire developers.

Tips for finding reliable e-commerce developers

If you decide to build a website from scratch, you need to work with e-commerce developers. Developers create custom site elements and code functions like automating e-commerce processes.

• Check their previous experience. Closely review developers’ portfolios to assess their expertise and experience in building the kind of website you need and using the best e-commerce software to do it.
• Give them a test problem to solve. Pick a feature of the e-commerce site and ask developers how they would use it to gauge their problem-solving skills.
• Look for reviews and testimonials. A good e-commerce developer or company will have numerous reviews and testimonials online. Review sites can guide you through relevant reviews and testimonials.
• Ask for cost estimation. Experienced e-commerce developers should be able to provide a detailed cost breakdown based on website functionality and other parameters in your project requirements.

• More control over your site. Some website builders turn the source code into metadata – a short description of that data – making it difficult to move the website to another host. It works great on the website builder platform, but other platforms may have trouble reading the data completely. Building it from scratch gives you complete control over your site and the ability to move it around if needed.
• Get the functionality you want. You have no limits when adding additional features to your store and customizing them to provide a specific customer experience.
• Custom hosting options. When you build a website, you can choose your web hosting provider, go the cheap and easy route, or invest a little more and get a powerful provider. With site builders, you’re stuck with their default hosting option.
• Better performance. A custom built-site has fewer lines of code than website building platforms. This can make the custom site faster and less hackable.

2. Building a store using an e-commerce platform/website builder

The other option is to use a platform to streamline the e-commerce website building process. Whether you choose an e-commerce platform or website builder, you can use pre-built website elements to assemble and launch your online store quickly.

• No coding skills required: You can build stunning websites without writing a single line of code, be it HTML, CSS, or JavaScript.
• Drag-and-drop editors for ease of use: Creating pages for your store is easy. Most site builders have drag-and-drop editors that allow you to add elements to a page layout and navigate easily.
• Ready-made features: Instead of building features from scratch, website builders give you features you can use immediately to add different functionality to your online store.
• Access to professionally designed templates: You can use pre-built templates to create a general look and feel for your store and then customize it.
• Access to customer support: Site builders offer customer support through numerous channels so you can resolve potential issues quickly.

How to set up your e-commerce site

1. Find a web host and a domain name

What is web hosting? Why does it matter?

Web hosting provides the storage space for the files that make up your website and allows users to access them online. If you use a website builder, you don’t have to worry about hosting as these platforms have their hosting solutions and handle everything from maintenance to website security. However, if you decide to work with a developer, you must find and buy a hosting plan.

Here are some tips to help you find the right hosting for your e-commerce website:

What is a domain name? Why is it important?

A domain name is your online store’s web address, but it’s much more. It’s the first thing your potential customers see when they interact with your online brand. Customers quickly remember a memorable domain name. Plus, it’s the focus of all your branding and marketing strategies.

Some examples of great e-commerce domain names are InspireUplift, Overstock, and Humble Bundle. Now that you know all the basics and the initial preparations required, you’re ready for the next step, customizing your store.

2. Customize your e-commerce website

Website navigation

Easy navigation is critical to your success as it helps site visitors easily find what they need. Some best practices include highlighting parent product categories, introducing subcategories, and adding a search bar as Waterstones did on their website.

Deliver exceptional checkout experience

The three pillars for creating your shopping cart checkout pages are clear, simple, and fast. For example, you can introduce a detailed product summary, provide only essential information, add trust marks, and provide information about available support like Best Buy does in its store.

Opt for a simple design

When it comes to user experience, online shoppers prefer a clean design to a cluttered one. They don’t want to jump through hoops to find what they need. Otherwise, they’ll jump off and look elsewhere. Use white space to highlight important sections of the page and user-friendly color schemes that Allbirds makes perfect on their website.

Leverage text and images to communicate essential information

While you can customize text and images in your online store, remember that people are there to shop or research products. Offer only relevant information and keep it clean. Don’t use unnecessary background images to distract visitors’ attention from the products as Chubbies does.

Offer only relevant information and keep it clean. Don’t use unnecessary background images to risk diverting visitors’ attention from products. For example, Chubbies follows the best industry practices on this.

Provide links to your business policies

Your website should contain relevant information on all pages. Your terms and conditions, return policy, shipping practices, and essential documents should be available through the website footer.

Brand your online store

You can easily add branding to your online store by customizing color codes. You can customize many professionally designed themes to reflect your brand colors and logo. For example, TOMS does a great job balancing its tagline with the color scheme and smart product choices.

Add products

Adding products to your online store is a crucial step. When you add them, you provide all the information to include on a product page. Adding products through e-commerce platforms and website builders is straightforward as they all have an “Add New Product” button that triggers a wizard to guide you through the process.

• Write compelling product descriptions and titles. Product titles and descriptions shouldn’t just communicate a product’s name and characteristics. They have the power to convert, and if you make common copywriting mistakes, you risk losing conversions and sales.
• Create product categories. Adding products to categories is paramount to your success. It improves your site’s user experience and helps customers find and explore similar products in a snap.
• Include product data. Besides adding product descriptions, there is another way to make your product pages more informative. You should include product data such as instructions, brochures, and images to help customers make informed purchasing decisions.
• Upload product images. It’s not enough to add product images from different angles and ones that show real product applications.

Images you should use:

3. Consider payment methods

By supporting multiple payment options, you can make shopping in your store more convenient for a broader demographic. The easiest way to manage them properly is to use the plugins. These plugins support a dozen payment methods you can add to your store with just a few clicks.

Sources:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/how-to-start-an-ecommerce-business
https://www.ecommerceceo.com/start-ecommerce-business/
https://learn.g2.com/e-commerce-website

9 Tips for an Effective Business Strategy

In this article, we will take a look at what a business strategy is, why it is important, the different strategies there are, things to think of when creating your own, and some examples of strong business strategies.

The company’s management team will implement this plan in an attempt to gain a competitive edge within a given market, delight customers, maintain effective operations, and achieve specific targets.

Within business, a business strategy is a kind of long-term image of what the leaders want to achieve. It is the direction in which the business should be steered. It is a blueprint of corporate intent and action, which is carefully thought through and flexible enough to:

A company’s business strategy, the set of actions decided by the company’s leadership, will enable them to gain new clients, compete effectively, increase performance, and reach company goals. It sets out a plan of action for how the company should operate to reach the desired outcome.

By establishing a business strategy, leaders are able to spot, evaluate and exploit relevant opportunities, to manage and adapt to threats, to use business resources and strength optimally, and to counteract weaknesses.

Business Development vs. Sales

Sales is the task of converting leads or opportunities into new clients. Business development is a broader term that encompasses many activities beyond the sales function. And while there is some overlap, most traditional BD roles are only lightly involved in closing new clients.

Business development is often confused with sales. This is not too surprising because many people who are clearly in sales have taken to using the title of Business Developer. Presumably this is done because the organization believes that the BD designation avoids some possible stigma associated with sales.

Nowhere is this practice more prevalent than in professional services. Accountants, lawyers and strategy consultants do not want to be seen as “pushy sales people.” This titular bias is firmly rooted despite the fact that developing new business is an important role of most senior members of professional services firms.

Since so many clients want to meet and get to know the professionals they will be working with, the Seller-doer role is well established in many firms. The preference for Seller-doers also tends to discourage firms from fielding a full-time sales force.

As an alternative approach to leveraging fee-earners’ time, some firms have one or more Business Developers on staff. In the professional services context, these folks are often involved in lead generation and qualification, as well as supporting the Seller-doers in their efforts to close new clients. In other organizational contexts, this role might be thought of as a sales support role.

The result of this confusing picture is that many professional services firms call sales “business development” and make it part of every senior professional’s role. They may also include some marketing functions, such as lead generation and lead nurturing, into the professional’s BD responsibilities.

How to Create a One-Page Strategy

You can’t deliver on your strategic plans if you aren’t crystal clear on what exactly you want to achieve and, in turn, what areas of your business you need to focus on to achieve those aims. Having spent many years working with companies and governments big and small to develop successful strategies, I believe the most valuable strategy tool is a clear and concise one – preferably a single-page document that absolutely anyone in the company can easily understand.

To help businesses create their one-page strategy, I’ve developed the SMART Strategy Board. It’s divided into six simple sections, which form the six critical areas that every business strategy should cover.

In this section, you need to set the scene and provide an overarching context for your strategy by laying out, in simple terms, exactly what your business is aiming to achieve. A good way to do this is by including your purpose and ambition statements. These are two different statements, fulfilling different jobs.

Your purpose (or mission) statement should be a brief, simple statement that neatly encapsulates why your business exists. As the name suggests, it answers the question, “What is our purpose?” A mission statement is usually intended for internal use. It communicates your company’s intentions, motivates internal stakeholders, and defines what success looks like for your company. It should include your target audience, what services or products you deliver, and what makes your offering unique.

An ambition (or vision) statement defines what the organisation wants to achieve in the future, it spells out the destination of where the company is heading. Available to both internal and external stakeholders, a vision statement sets out your ambitions in an inspiring way. A good vision statement should inspire employees to perform at their best, inspire customers to choose you over your competitors, and inspire shareholders to invest in the business.

This section is about understanding your customers, specifically: what you already know about them, what you don’t yet know, and what you need to find out if you’re going to successfully deliver your strategy.

First you need to set out who your target market is. For example, are you targeting a particular segment, geographic region, or demographic? Define exactly what you need to know about the target market in order to improve your chance of success.

Next you need to clarify your value proposition, which means what you offer your target market. Essentially, you need to define why customers will choose you. Is it because of quality, innovation, customer service, price, or something else?

In this section, you need to clearly set out the company’s financial goals and ambitions. What is your business model? How will your strategy generate revenue? What are your specific revenue goals? What about profit, cash flow and growth goals? Also, you should consider how you are going to finance your strategy. It’s vital you have the funds to properly see your strategy through.

Here you need to carefully consider your operations or the things you need to focus on internally and be really good at if you’re to be able to deliver your strategy. This section is divided into two: partners and core competencies.

Start by defining which partners, distributors, suppliers or other parties are vital to delivering your strategy. Do you already work with these partners or do you have to create the relationship from scratch? If you already work with them, is the relationship healthy? If you don’t already work with them, how will you go about forming that relationship?

Then look at your internal competencies in terms of the competencies your organisation needs to execute the strategy successfully. Define whether there are any gaps in your competencies and, if so, how you intend to fill them. Also look at which systems and processes need to change or be improved if you’re to achieve your goals.

The aim of this section is to define exactly what resources you need if you’re to execute your strategy properly. This covers IT systems and data, infrastructure, people, talent and cultures; and value and leadership.

This means you need to carefully consider a number of questions. For example, what IT systems and data are you going to need? What infrastructure – property, machinery or plant – are you going to need? What are your requirements in terms of talent and people? Do you have the right people and, if not, how will you go about finding them? Do you plan to train your current staff or recruit new people? And finally, what are the key culture and leadership deliverables that will allow this strategy to succeed?

Sources:

https://connects.world/business-strategy/
https://hingemarketing.com/blog/story/business-development-strategy-a-high-growth-approach
https://bernardmarr.com/how-to-create-a-one-page-strategy/

25 cold calling script templates and cold calling tips

Cold calling is a sales technique where a salesperson makes first-time calls to leads who have not expressed interest in their product or service before. Even though the lead might not be aware of the salesperson’s brand, a good cold call is made to someone who is likely to have an interest in or benefit from the product – specifically a lead who fits the rep’s ideal buyer persona.

1. Provide your prospect with options

There are two ways companies work with us. We can either help them find salespeople for a percentage of the base salary, or help them train new salespeople with our online, on-demand, virtual sales training programs that teach them how to take prospects from curious to client. Which one would you want to hear most about?

2. Working with gatekeepers

Hello, my name is James. I was wondering if you could help me. I looked on the [COMPANY] LinkedIn page but I couldn’t find your name. Are you usually the person who answers the phone? I’d feel much better if I knew your name before I asked for a favor.

3. “A friend sent me”

4. Leaving a voicemail

The reason for my call is I have an idea on how to possibly help you improve the troublesome process of recruiting employees, especially nurses. I wanted to see if it would make sense for us to have a quick conversation to find out more about it.

5. Use a hyper-personalized opener

6. “I don’t have time”

I understand this may not be a top priority right now, or perhaps you don’t see the value. Several people have said the same, but once we had a brief discussion they were thrilled to learn more. Give me two minutes of your time and I promise you’ll be clear on whether or not this is a good use of your time.

Here, you’re acknowledging their time is valuable while explaining the next step takes only a little investment. The two minutes it takes to make an informed decision is usually worth it.

7. Ask leading questions

8. Becoming a familiar name

These days, a multi-channel approach can help you build familiarity and turn a cold call into a warm call which will eventually become a prospect who moves through your sales funnel.

9. Voicemail follow-up

10. The detail-oriented follow-up

Great! As I mentioned, we help [PERSONAS] like you generate [RESULT]. As agreed, this is a quick two-minute call to see if we might be a good fit. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions to understand more about your needs and see how we might be a fit to work together?

This isn’t a full discovery call. You’re simply resuming the beginning of the sales process. You adapt to your prospect’s schedule while adding as much value as possible.

9. Family/medical leave

Hi, you’ve reached [staff member name]. I’m/They’re currently out on leave. Please connect with [other staff member name] who is filling in while I’m/[staff member] is out. Their number is [other staff member’s number]. Thanks.

Hello, you’ve reached the voicemail for [staff member name]. I’m/They’re out of the office and will return on [return date]. If you need to reach someone before then, please call our main office line at [office phone number].

Hello, you’ve reached the voicemail for [staff member name]. I’m/They’re out of the office. If you need to reach someone before I/They return, please call our main office line at [office phone number]. Thank you and have a great day.

Every business voicemail greeting should be tailored to fit your needs. The examples above can easily be modified and tweaked to align with your office. It is a good practice to have consistency among greetings so providing a template for your team members is helpful.

Reduce the amount of time you and your team spend on the phone (and fretting about your business voicemail greeting) by working with HBW Leads. Their insurance and technology experts will deliver exclusive, double-verified leads to help grow your business.

Test and refresh your greeting

If callers frequently fail to provide the required information, adjust your message to ask for it more clearly. And listen to the feedback you asked for. This is a perfect opportunity to hear firsthand what callers think of your message. Make adjustments to get your greeting right.

It’s also a good idea to periodically check your voicemail message and make sure it still aligns with your business goals and clientele. You may also listen back after a few months and enhance your greeting so customers can leave a voicemail that aligns with any changes your business has undergone. For example, if someone has left the company, you could remove their name from the voicemail greeting.

Follow up on your messages

Surveys indicate only 33% of respondents listen to voicemails left by business contacts—these people are leaving a lot of opportunity on the table, and you’d be surprised at the impact that simply staying on top of voicemail can have on your business.

Take time to listen to messages, call back if necessary, use your cell phone if you’re out of office, and take care of anything actionable mentioned in the messages rather than letting your mailbox fill up. This sort of attention to detail can go a long way toward building a good reputation and company image.

Voicemail services may be a dying tradition for big companies, but that just means your small business has even more opportunity to own the space. Consider your audience and brand voice, record a short and professional message that covers all the bases, and watch your reputation for responsiveness skyrocket.

If you need a powerful and flexible phone system that includes great voice mail and answer service features, take a look at the Frontier Business phone service . Frontier offers advanced, scalable phone solutions and a VoIP service for small-business owners that takes customer service seriously.

Sources:

https://www.pipedrive.com/en/blog/cold-calling-scripts
https://www.hbwleads.com/blog/business-voicemail-greeting-scripts-you-can-copy-and-use-today/
https://go.frontier.com/business/guides/business-voicemail/

How Many Work Hours In A Year?

Research Summary. Americans work longer hours than most people in the Western world, but there is a discrepancy between work hours in the year and the average amount that people actually work.

In each 28-year cycle (the length of time it takes for the calender to repeat), there are 4 years with 2,096 hour hours, 17 years with 2088 work hours, and 7 years with 2,080 work hours, averaging out to 2,087 work hours in a year

Knowing how many hours you work annually can help you identify whether your work-life balance is healthy and understand how much money you’re making for each hour you put in at the office.

But how do you calculate the number of hours you work in any given year? Below we discuss how to calculate this number and the extreme importance of understanding this number for your personal wellbeing.

How Many Work Hours In a Week?

The average American works 34.4 hours per week. Those between the ages of 25 and 54 work an average of 40.5 hours per week. If you are an hourly, non-exempt employee, you must be paid time and a half for every hour of overtime you work. Any time worked in a calendar week over 40 hours is considered overtime.

As we mentioned above, knowing the number of work hours you work per year directly impacts your well-being and job satisfaction. Knowing this number can help you in several different ways.

Financially, understanding the number of hours you work will help you calculate your annual income. If you are an hourly employee, understanding the number of hours you’ll be able to work in any given year will make it possible to calculate your take-home finances for the year.

Understanding how your salary is divided among the amount of yours you actually put into your job every year will give you a better idea of the actual amount you’re making per hour. This can be used to your advantage when asking for a promotion or increase in salary.

Understanding the number of hours you’re working doesn’t just apply to finances, however. Knowing the number of hours you put in during a year helps you plan for activities and events outside of work. By understanding how many hours you need to dedicate to work, you can better plan your free time.

We know that working too many hours means less productivity and efficiency for any employee, so understanding if your balance is off can be important in identifying too heavy of a workload or too light of a workload.

Importance of knowing how many work hours there are in a year

• Calculate your hourly salary- You can find out how much you are making per hour if you are a salaried employee working more than 40 hours per week. The hourly salary can easily be calculated by dividing the total annual salary by how many work hours per year you put in. Make sure that you exclude any holiday and paid leave from this.
• Plan for other activities- If you wish to make time in your life for other extracurricular activities such as volunteering, exercising, or any other hobby, you need to know how many hours you dedicate to work. This can help figure out how much time you can devote to other activities without it affecting your personal or work life.
• To calculate the annual income: Estimating the total annual salary becomes easy when you have an idea of how many work weeks are in a year. This can help you plan out a budget for yourself and plan all your spending accordingly.
• Assess your work-life balance- Finding out how many hours you spend at work can help you find out if you need more vacation time, reduce the work hours and take off time for yourself on the weekends. It is important to disassociate from work to ensure that you are not overworked, and your productivity is maintained. Find out if you have a healthy work-life balance by calculating how many hours you spend at work every year and how much time to devote to yourself.

• Calculate your weekly hours- The first step to find out how many work hours in one year is to calculate the number of hours you work on a weekly basis. Know how many hours you work daily since this number would vary from person to person. Add up the hours that you work in a week, and you will have an estimate of your weekly hours. Use this to further calculate the number of hours you work in a year.

• Multiply this number by 52- The next step is to find out how many total numbers of hours you would work in the year if there were no vacations or holidays. This can be calculated by multiplying the average number of weekly hours that you calculated by 52.

• Calculate your paid time off hours: Now, you need to find out the time spent on paid time off (PTO). Your company could include all the paid time off under this or divide it into sick leaves and vacation leaves. You need to include both these figures to find out how many PTO hours you get.

For instance- If you generally take five sick days and get three weeks vacation time (15 days), the total paid time off days you get is 20. Now you need to multiply this with the number of hours you work on a daily basis to get an estimate of paid time off hours you are getting.

• Calculate your paid holiday hours- Also, calculate the number of paid holiday hours you get by multiplying your daily hours with the number of paid holidays provided by the employer.

• Add your total time off- Adding the PTO hours and paid holiday hours will give you an estimate of the total time that you are getting off. For example, if you get 150 hours as PTO and 50 hours as paid holiday hours, the total time that you get off is 200 hours.

• Subtract total time off from annual hours- The final step requires you to subtract the total time off from the figure you estimated in the second step, which was the number of hours you would work in a year in the absence of any paid holiday.

Formula

If you wish to find the answer to how many hours do I work a year, the method is relatively simple. The formula used to calculate the number of work hours per year is quite simple. The answer depends on how many hours the employee puts in every week and the number of holidays they get.

How to find out the number of hours worked?

Every country has different notions of productivity. A lot of developed countries have now regulated overtime hours. The answer to how many hours does an average person work varies in every country. Average working hours per year in various countries are as follows:

Work-life balance has a significant effect on the personal and professional wellness of any employee. People with a healthy work-life balance have a lesser chance of having burnout or being victims of chronic stress. They come into work with a happy mindset, which boosts their overall productivity.

This not only influences the mental but physical health of the employees as well. Devoting time to constructive activities turns the employees into more well-rounded individuals.

Everybody places a different level of importance on work-life balance, but you need to know how many work weeks per year are put in by you in order to evaluate this balance in your life.

In conclusion

Your annual salary depends on several factors- the number of days in your typical work week and your hourly rate being some of them. Finding out how many hours do you work in a year will help you find out the exact hourly pay that you are receiving. It also helps evaluate the balance between work and life that you have and whether you need to change that for your personal or professional well-being.

You can also use this to make time for other activities of your liking and lead a more well-balanced and articulate life. Being aware of how many hours does the average person work will help you find out if you are giving in more hours to work and whether you need to dissociate from work to take time off for yourself.

Source:

https://www.zippia.com/advice/how-many-work-hours-in-a-year/
https://www.interviewkickstart.com/career-advice/how-many-work-hours-in-a-year
https://www.publicspendforum.net/blogs/psfeditorial/2021/04/04/calculate-full-time-equivalent-work-hours-year/