Growth Hacking

Reasons Why Content Creators Fail to Build a Loyal Audience

Published

2 months ago

August 9, 2019

Good content is important when you want to become an authority on a certain subject, connect with your customer base or when you want to sell something. Often times, content creators struggle to come up with interesting topics to retain audiences. However, there are other challenges that keep content creators form building a loyal audience. Here are some possible reasons.

Uninteresting Topic

Many people who read newsletters want updates or want to learn new things about the industry or product. Sometimes the developments for them are just not that interesting enough. They skim the title but don’t click on the link to read the rest of the article or blog.

Un-intriguing Subject Line

You can remedy this by enticing readers with a catchy subject line. An intriguing subject line could pique their interest so that they click the link and read your blog which is hopefully is just as interesting as the title. If you want to build loyal audiences, create content that is valuable to the reader.

No Social Media

Social media is not just useful for connecting with friends, it’s also a good platform to advertise your blog, get new readers and build a loyal audience. Whenever you have a new blog post, tell friends on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media accounts. Don’t be afraid to tell the world about your blog.

No Authority

One of the reasons why readers stay loyal is because they view the blogger as an authority figure. In order to do this, they have to trust what you write about. This means you have to give them the facts when you site statistics or studies in order for your blog to be legitimate.

Inconsistent Updates

Don’t you just hate it when your friend does not reply to your text message immediately? The same is true with your audience. They want consistent updates. If you’re in the habit of updating your blog every Wednesday evening, don’t fail to do this unless you want them to switch to other blogs.

Poor Engagement

Bloggers with loyal following have a great relationship with their readers. They respond to questions and comments and engage in discussions. Readers are curious people and that curiosity needs to be satisfied. Engaging audience helps to satisfy that curiosity and build relationships with them.

Does Not Teach Or Empower

Your content needs to teach something or empower somebody so that it has value to the reader. Sometimes readers need something to make them feel powerful, inspired or just something to brighten their day. They also want to feel like they learned something. If you have this kind of content you will have loyal readers who will share your content.

No Persistence

Loyalty cannot be built with a single post. You need to be consistent and persistent. You need to provide valuable content on a regular basis and continue to analyze your audience so that you know what they want which could sometimes take years.

Not Entertaining

Content does not only need to be educational, it also needs to be entertaining. Your audience needs to laugh, cry and feel emotion when reading your blog. Remember, you want them to come back for more and sometimes information alone won’t do it.

Robotic

Your audience needs to know that a human being is writing the blog. If you're too technical you end up sounding robotic. Use simple words that people use every day to make your content easy to understand.

Not Relatable

You also need content that the average audience can relate to. Think Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop. Her lifestyle suggestions and price range is so out of this world, only Gwyneth Paltrow can understand and afford it. As of last year, Gwen and Goop parted ways.

Not Shareable

In the age of sharing, you content might not be sharable enough to build a loyal audience. Everybody wants their friend to know about the latest in something and your content might not be making the cut. Write about something sharable and let your audience do the work for you.

No Graphics

Words, words and all words is boring. Spice up your blog with infographics and pictures. Many people appreciate inforgraphics because they can help present facts in a clear and easy to understand manner.

No Video

According to research, posts with videos get better engagement compared to those without. People love to watch videos about everything. It also makes content easier to understand and absorb.

Poor Grammar

Simply put, poor grammar is annoying. The use of "their","there","your","you're" is elementary and knowing when use them properly will be appreciated by your readers. Good grammar is also essential for good communication. How can you communicate your ideas properly if you don’t practice good grammar in your blogs?

Growth Hacking

How To Erase Your Online Identity

Published

37 mins ago

October 22, 2019

Yvonette Sanchez

So you want to go off the grid. There are various reasons why you might want to erase your online identity. You don’t like potential employers Googling you, or maybe you just want to be hard to find. Going off the grid depends on how much you put out there.

Erase or Deactivate All Social Media Accounts

Most of us have Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. Removing or deleting these accounts is the first step to deleting your online identity. Try to do a Google search of your name and chances are, the first results are the ones of your social media accounts. If you want to remove search results, set your profiles to private. It won't erase your online identity, but at least you won't show up on search engines. For Facebook and Twitter, there is a deactivate button that can erase your profile. LinkedIn has a "close your account" link. Google+ is trickier because it is tied to your entire Google account, including email, calendar, and other accounts you use Google to sign in for.

Remove Search Engine Results

Now that you've erased your social media footprint, start deleting unwanted search results. You will want to know where you're showing up so the first step is to Google yourself and bookmark the search results. You have to be patient here, because the only way to remove yourself from these websites is to communicate with the site owner directly. Drop them a quick email to ask them to delete you. These might be websites of old employers, family members who blog and mentioned you in one of their posts or donation pages you supported. This takes time, but eventually your name will be erased from these sites.You can also ask the search engine to remove the pages. Google, Google Images, and Bing have a request form you can fill out with the URL you don’t want to be indexed again. It does not always work, but it's still worth a shot.

Remove Background Check or Public Record

Information could still be out there so your next step is to check personal data by digging into databases. Some sites to check are: Zabasearch - a database for telephone numbers and addresses. Intelius – They perform background checks and criminal records. You can pay them to get results, but they can also be used so that you get the general idea by searching your name. Spokeo – is like Intelius where you have to pay to get the exact results but can be used to get the general idea of what’s out there. Pipl – aggregates searches and can be used to look for info that have slipped through the cracks.If you don’t want to go through results one by one, you can use services like DeleteMe to do all of this for you.

Delete Email Accounts

If you really want to stay off the grid, you will need to delete your email accounts. You can usually find instruction on how to delete your email account and profile by following instructions given by your email provider.

Be Anonymous

The Internet can be useful, but if you don’t want more records of yourself on the web, you can become anonymous by making fake accounts. You can join social media again by using a fake identity. This way, you remain anonymous but can still use the web. If you want access to email, you can create one with a different name with Gmail or Outlook. You can also use a pseudonym for services you need.Do not expect immediate results if you want to erase your online identity. Going off the grid cannot be accomplished in a day. Chances are, there will still be info about you even if you thought you've deleted everything and you will just have to learn to accept that.

Growth Hacking

How To Keep Your Desk Organized and Not Be The Laughing Stock At the Office

Published

3 hours ago

October 22, 2019

Yvonette Sanchez

Don't let your messy workplace become the laughing stock of the office. If your clutter is getting in the way of productivity, perhaps it is time to clean up your act in order to get work done. If your work area is cluttered, you don’t have space to work. Messy desks have no room for creativity. Luckily, we found ways to help you organize your desk that will make it the envy of your co-workers. Check out these tips.

Inbox and Outbox

We have email inboxes, but somehow never use real life inboxes to organize our daily clutter. Inboxes are a great way to keep your desk neat and organized. You can make your own inbox or buy one at the office supply store. All incoming paperwork should be placed in the inbox and work done filed in the outbox for easier sorting. Now that you have somewhere to put stacks of paper, you should have a clear space on your desk to get other work done.

Trashcan

One of the great ways to minimize desk clutter is by having a trashcan nearby. If you have to get out of your desk to throw things in the trash, you don’t do it because you feel lazy. However, if you have a trashcan within reach, you can easily throw away garbage and other stuff you don’t need and keep your desk neat and organized.

Designate Cleaning Time

Depending on how much clutter you churn out, you can schedule cleaning time to once a day to once a week to keep mess to a minimum. During your designated cleaning time, organize your desk, throw away clutter, sort your inbox and outboxes, and wipe down any dust or dirt that may have accumulated on your desk. Don’t limit cleaning time to your desktop. Check your drawers for unwanted and unsorted items too. Even if you're a neat freak, a good rule of thumb is to clean it before you leave.

Personal Knickknacks

Your desk should have a good balance of work and personal quirks. It's perfectly fine to give your desk character because you have to work in it. Photos of the family, a memento from a great vacation or trinkets can provide inspiration throughout the day. But, don’t overdo it. If you have to put up personal stuff on your desk, limit it to 3 items to keep your desk organized to help you keep your focus.

Prioritize

Papers on a desk does not only make it look messy and unorganized, it also makes it hard to prioritize projects. Messy desks can also back up work, which can be bad for personal and company productivity. To organize your projects and desks, sort work into: important/urgent, urgent but not really important, important but not urgent, and not urgent not important. You can use vertical file folders for organization and help keep paper off your desk.Keeping your desk neat and organized is easy and does not take a lot of time. Aside from better productivity, an organized desk can keep stress at bay.

Business

Memobottle Raises Over $30,000 On Kickstarter In Under 10 Hours

Published

2 days ago

October 20, 2019

Aaditi Tamhankar

Jesse Leeworthy and Jonathan Byrt, the entrepreneurs behind Memobottle, designed a reusable plastic water bottle with a mission to decrease the use of disposable plastic water bottles and create a more sustainable society. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia they often saw heaps of disposable water bottles littering the beach. They decided to create a beautiful and reusable alternative to these disposable bottles. Their creations feature stylish design and durable construction to make them a solid accessory for everyday use.The Memobottle features a flat, flask-like design that fits in pockets, bags, and purses. The bottles are made of durable Tritan plastic, are BPA free, and dishwasher friendly. They are suitable for hot or cold liquids, and are freezer safe. Coming in three different sizes, Memobottle is a convenient and sustainable alternative to plastic water bottles. Their

Kickstarter campaign's success enabled them to sell the bottles in two new sizes. The slim Memobottle is a tall, elegant addition to a bag or purse. It holds 15 fluid ounces of water. The A7 Memobottle is the most compact. It holds 6 ounces of water and is perfect for kids and people on the go. Their existing A5 bottle holds 25 fl oz and retails for $36.Memobottle also has fun accessories like desk stands, lids, wrist straps and cases. Desk stands come in two dimensions and are copper plated. Lids come in matte black, copper, and stainless steel. Wrist straps and cases are made of leather.Their Kickstarter campaign is donating 1% of the money to a charity called water.org that seeks to increase access to clean drinking water in parts of the developing world. 1 in 9 people do not have access to clean drinking water, and in developing countries without access to safe water and sanitation, women and girls spend an average of 6 hours a day collecting water. They are unable to attend school and stay trapped in a cycle of poverty. Water.org provides small loans to these families to enable them to access water easily and break the cycle of poverty.The mission, philosophy, and high quality products have made the Memobottle Kickstarter a resounding success with it raising over $45,000 of its initial $30,000 goal in just a few hours.