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Work from Home Resources Blog: Who Reads Your Writing?

Amanda DiSilvestro
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Work from Home Resources Blog: Who Reads Your Writing?

First and foremost, you should be writing for your readers. Your content should be centered on your target audience and your aim should be toward giving advice and adding value to something your readers find on your site. However, many companies write for reasons aside from reader experience; in particular SEO. For those who are unfamiliar, SEO stands for “search engine optimization” and is a way for search engines to find content and determine where it falls on the search engine pages. The search engines use an algorithm that looks for several different components—duplicate content, keyword stuffing, doorway pages, etc.—and then it ranks the pages according to quality. 

Now every company knows that it is important to show up on search engine pages. Whether you’re starting a small business or a veteran business owner, this is a great way to drive traffic to your site. For this reason, many companies write specifically for SEO purposes. They do keyword research, write content based on that keyword, and fit unnatural keywords into an article just so the search engine bots will find the article and deem it “quality.” In some cases, there is nothing wrong with writing for SEO, but there is something wrong with writing only for SEO:

  • Search engines do not like websites that write strictly for SEO. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to catch this, and sites have been getting away with it for some time. 
  • Readers do not like sites that write strictly for SEO because the content is not catering to their needs. 
  • Your website will surely never win any awards or special mentions in the online world. Editors and other website owners don’t like when content is written specifically for SEO.
  • You will have a bad reputation. Although you may show up on page one of a search engine page, no one will want to stay on your page for more than a few seconds because there is nothing of value. 
  • You run the risk of getting penalized if the search engines do find out you’ve been writing (or even creating pages) specifically for SEO and not readers. 

What many businesses don’t realize is that it is possible to get to the top of search engines if you write for your readers. This will boost your traffic, people will want to link back to your site when writing their own content, and you will eventually find your way to the top of search engine pages. If you think you’re ready to change your ways and start writing for readers instead of bots, consider a few of these changes you’ll need to make:

5 Ways Writing for Readers is Different than Writing for Search Engines

  1. You need to write your content assuming it will be shared. 

When you write content for readers, readers will want to share this content via their social networks. This means that when writing, you need to be conscious of what you promise and what assumptions you make. If you’re writing strictly for SEO you are likely writing in generalities, but writing for your readers is more personal. You cannot say “all of the customers at my last job weren’t nearly as much fun as you” because this could get back to your old customers. You also can’t offer a great deal to some people one week and then a mediocre deal to some the next week. I think you will find that writing in this way really does use a conscious effort. 

  1. You must be completely open and honest when you have made a mistake. 

If you’re really going to focus on writing for your readers, you have to acknowledge when something bad has happened with your company. If someone has a complaint, you cannot simply keep quiet about it because that customer won’t keep quiet about it. They will surely put a negative comment on your website and share it on all of their social networks. For this reason, it is important that your content changes as things like this happen. If there is something that needs to be addressed, you will need to address it through the content on your website (mainly because it probably began through content on your website). 

  1. Variety is important when it comes to content. 

Generally, when a website is only focusing on SEO they are focused on one or two specific keywords. This can get boring for readers because the general topic of the content is so similar. When you’re writing for readers, you want to make sure you have a variety of different topics on your website. The topics can fall under a general umbrella such as “business,” but each article should be something different about business. Not only that, but it helps to have content written in different forms. For example, you do not want an entire website full of “Top 5 Things” type blogs or a website full of only opinions. 

  1. The content will not always be about you and your company.

While SEO is focused on your company, writing for readers is about being honest. Giving credit where credit is due is a great way to show that you are active in the online community. This will increase your exposure because whomever you are discussing will likely want to pay it forward and do the same for you. Even if they don’t, you have their audience looking at your content because they recognize a name or a blog you are referencing. All in all, this is a great way to connect and seem “real” to your readers. 

  1. Have a conversational and informal tone.

You don’t always have to sound informal when trying to write for your readers, but it can help. Even if your website is very serious and centered around facts, you can offer a conversational tone that will help make things easier to understand. After all, if you’re writing for readers, you want to sound like a reader. If you’re writing for the bots, well then you can sound like a robot. 

Amanda DiSilvestro is the Editor-in-chief for Plan, Write, GO. She has been writing about all things digital marketing, both as a ghostwriter, guest writer, and blog manager, for over 10 years. Check out her blogging services to learn more!

Shifting To A Contactless World

Track
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Shifting To A Contactless World

Contactless payment methods are nothing new. However, with the increased concern in social distancing contactless payments have become a popular alternative payment method compared to traditional payments such as cash and swiping a card. Contactless payment methods can also be referred to as “tap-and-go” or “tap-to-pay”. These types of transactions use near-field communications to send a short-range radio frequency to create a connection between the payment device and POS reader. These types of payments can be made with a mobile wallet, phone, or NFC-enabled card. Check out the infographic below if you are interested in learning more about the shift to contactless payment methods and how it improves the shopping experience.

Infographic created by Clover Network, a retail pos system provider

How AI Can Help Secure Your Financial Data

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How AI Can Help Secure Your Financial Data

How well do you protect your financial data? Chances are you might have concerns. With the increase in employees working remotely, there is more concern for IT security. In fact, a survey found that nine out of ten business owners believe remote employees present a security risk and half agree that remote employees present a greater risk than workers onsite. Phishing, weak or missing encryption, and misconfigured systems are all examples of cybercrime that can be a threat to organizations. Make sure to check out the infographic below for more information and ways to protect your financial data using artificial intelligence.

Infographic created by Donnelley Financial Solutions, a virtual data room provider

Why Data Backups Are Essential

Manager
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Why Data Backups Are Essential

If you operate a business and you have experienced a loss of data in the past, then you will be aware it can impact your daily operations. Indeed, even if you are a home user and you have suffered from a loss of data, then you will be aware it can often be inconvenient while you could potentially lose important data or files. This is especially pertinent if you operate a business and you need to maintain and store copies of product, financial, customer or supplier data. Furthermore, it is imperative to understand that you should take regular data backups to make sure you always have access to historical data. However, if you are unaware about the process of backup and recovery, then you should be aware to contact a specialist company that can assist you. For more information about data recovery experts in a particular area, you should think about consulting one of a number of online business directories as you will be able to identify several companies that you can contact.

a.            The main reasons to back up data

One of the most important reasons that backing up your data is essential is because hardware can often fail. Indeed, many people and organisations have a system of redundancy which will allow multiple copies of data to be stored on a variety of servers, or even on a single machine with storage redundancy. However, if you are a small or medium-sized enterprise, and you do not have the relevant in-house knowledge to implement a backup and recovery system, then you should be aware that a number of companies are available to assist you in the event of data loss. This is especially pertinent if you are looking for Perth data recovery experts that can help you recover data in the event of a hardware or software failure, an online search is all it takes.

b.           Recover your data

One of the most important factors to consider if you use information technology in your business operations is to back up the relevant data every day, so that it can be restored in the event of a problem. Indeed, if you suffer from hardware failure and you have backed up your data onto the cloud, another machine, a ray of redundant drives or even an external device then you can rest assured that you will be able to recover any lost data. However, you should also understand that data redundancy systems can be implemented on your servers to ensure that multiple copies of data exist in different locations.

c.            Use a specialist data recovery expert

However, if you have suffered from a significant loss of data, and you are looking for a specialist company to help you recover as much as possible, then you should be aware of the various companies that operate in a particular area. This is especially pertinent if you have recently suffered from a loss of data as a specialist data recovery expert may be able to access some of the lost data or give you advice about how to backup data.

  • Always backup data
  • Recover lost data
  • Contact an expert company

Therefore, in conclusion, if you are a business owner, then you should be aware that data backups are essential while you should also understand that if you have lost some form of data, then it may be recoverable to an earlier point in time or recovered by a specialist company.

The Future Of Shopping And Payments In A Post-Pandemic World

swellredshaw
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Covid-19 has quickly altered the shopping landscape. From restaurants and grocery stores to travel and entertainment industries, one of the biggest changes is in the way businesses and customers are accepting payment. With 81% of consumers being fearful for their health and others, customers and businesses are quickly embracing omnichannel payment solutions. One example of this is the use of curbside and delivery pickup. Customers would order their items in a touchless manner without using traditional payment methods. Check out the infographic below for more information on future shopping and payment trends.

Infographic created by Fiserv, an enterprise payment processing company

Why QNET is a direct selling company and not a pyramid scheme

Abigail
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Why QNET is a direct selling company and not a pyramid scheme

What’s the biggest difference between direct selling and pyramid schemes?

First, let’s try to understand what is direct selling. It’s the original social networking business model — great products and services sold through personal social networks helping people become micro-entrepreneurs.

This is how the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations describes it — direct selling is a retail channel used by top global brains and smaller entrepreneurial companies to market products and services to consumers.

It isn’t only about getting great products and services into consumer’s hands. It’s also an avenue where entrepreneurial-minded people can work independently to build a business with low start up and overhead costs.

Direct selling in numbers — 160 year old industry, nearly $200 billion global industry, more than 120 million people involved in approximately 100 countries, 25 countries are billion dollar markets.

So what is network marketing? Network marketing is an important component of direct selling through which distributors expand their business by building a network of direct sellers.

But isn’t that a pyramid scheme? This is a common misconception. We’ll show you how you can tell a genuine direct selling company from a pyramid scheme. Legitimate direct selling companies deliver quality products or services. Genuine companies invest significantly on research and development to provide exclusive, innovative and high quality products to meet the lifestyle needs of people across the globe. Pyramid schemes either have no real products or offer low quality or worthless products.

Distributors for direct selling companies earn commissions only on sales of products and services. In a pyramid scheme, there’s no financial return unless you’ve successfully recruited others into the company.

Direct selling is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Any company that promises you an easy way to get rich quickly, especially through membership building, is probably a pyramid scheme.

Legit companies make it clear that success in this business is only possible through consistent hard work. Nothing worth achieving comes easy.

Direct selling companies provide a comprehensive training system. Genuine companies care about helping people build a long term business. They support distributors with not just knowledge about the products and business, but also leadership training, personal development, and mentoring programs. Pyramid schemes have a short shelf life before they go bust.

Direct selling companies provide business tools to support their distributors. A genuine company will equip you with all the marketing and sales tools you need to promote your business. They also offer robust customer support to help their distributors. In direct selling, you work for yourself but not by yourself. Pyramid schemes do not offer any kind of support and rarely, if ever, interact with members.

Legit direct selling companies have proper policies and procedures, and a code of conduct for their distributors. Genuine companies believe in achieving strong, long term growth and stability by creating a culture of professionalism and ethics. Any breach of their policies is dealt with strictly.

In a direct selling company, everyone has an equal opportunity to make money. Pyramid schemes don’t work unless somebody loses. Only the people at the top or those who came in early can make money. In a genuine direct selling company, it doesn’t matter when you join. You could even earn more than your sponsor if you put in the work.

Still wondering if this is legit? Let’s see what these prominent public figures have to say about this business.

Richard Branson — I’m a tremendous believer in network marketing, and I’m a great believer in entrepreneurs. I think all the future jobs in the next 20 or 30 years will be created by network marketing entrepreneurs and other entrepreneurs around the world, starting off from scratch or starting off very small and making a real difference in the world.

Tony Robbins — When you’re in network marketing, you get to do what you do best. You can do something that’s so simple. You can find a product or service that you love that you know has total integrity, an organization that’s great. You can align with that, and you don’t have to worry about supply chain. And you have to worry about accounting. And you have to worry about all the elements that really make a business scope.

Bill Clinton — Your industry gives people a chance, after all, to make the most of their own lives. And to me, that’s the heart of the American dream.

The biggest need in every sector of the economy is intellectual distribution, the dissemination of information about products and services. Direct selling is the most efficient method for the distribution of intellectual information that will improve your life. It’s the ideal model that allows anyone to reach out — Paul Zane Pilzer, American economist, former White House economic adviser.

Now that you understand what a legitimate direct selling company is, here are some facts about QNET — legacy of 20-plus years, business presence in 25-plus countries, customers in 100-plus countries, over 30 brands of high quality products and services offered, year round trainings, events, leadership camps, webinars available, robust compensation plan with rewards and incentives tied to product sales, multilingual business tools and customer support, strong focus on building a professional business.

Job Searching After a Workplace Injury

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Job Searching After a Workplace Injury

Injured workers may still search for a job while they collect workers’ compensation benefits. Since workers receive these benefits on the basis that a work-related injury kept them from working, it may seem counterintuitive for them to simultaneously search for work and receive benefits. But, due to the requirements dictated by the Workers’ Compensation Board, workers must continue to search for employment so that they can maintain these benefits.

Applying for Workers’ Compensation While Employed

Employees may be nervous that filing for workers’ compensation while they are employed will provoke and offend their employers. Even if someone is so hurt that they cannot safely perform their job, they may avoid getting their benefits so that they do not ruffle feathers or get fired. However, employees should know that filing for workers’ compensation is not a fireable offense.

The employer’s insurance company, not the employer, is responsible for the worker’s medical treatment. Employees should feel empowered to apply for compensation even if they are currently working. When they stop working, however, in order to retain their compensation they must remain “attached to the labor market.”

Defining “Attached to the Labor Market”

When a partially disabled worker receives workers’ compensation benefits, the Worker’s Compensation Board requires him or her to prove he or she has stayed “attached to the labor market.” If he or she is not working, the employee must make an effort to find work that matches his or her education, training, experience, and physical limitations, or show other ways that they are pursuing a profession. Some ways a worker can prove his or her attachment to the labor market include:

  • Attending schools for a new degree
  • Attending training programs
  • Applying to several jobs a week and keeping a record of the interview processes

A lawyer can tell his or her client when to should begin searching for a job, but it is almost always a necessary part of maintaining a workers’ compensation claim.

Light Work: An Alternative Arrangement with a Current Employer

Aside from receiving workers’ compensation benefits while searching for a new job, there are other ways an injured employee can get back on his or her feet. Employers may offer “light work,” or tasks that are not as physically taxing, as a substitute for the work that caused the injury. This might be an entirely different job at the company, or work modified to protect the employee’s health and safety.

An employer would have to make this option available, and a physician would have to approve it. However, light work is an excellent way for an employee to stay at a company while collecting benefits.

Though it may seem like a contradiction to search for work while collecting benefits designed to help people recover from injuries that make them unable to work, being attached to the labor market is how recovering workers maintain their workers’ compensation claims. If an employee is still working, so long as he or she experiences an injury at work, he or she should feel empowered to file a claim. In many cases, the employee will leave his or her job and search for another.

Safe Cycling: 5 Tips For Accident Avoidance

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Safe Cycling: 5 Tips For Accident Avoidance

Safe cycling requires more than just wearing a helmet and following the law. With the very little physical protection that bicyclists have, the risk of getting hit and seriously injured by cars always exists. Cyclists should prioritize avoiding being hit whenever they are on the road. The following tips help cyclists avoid dangerous accidents.

1. Avoiding Busy Streets

Although cyclists have equal rights to use the road as other motorists, they face a significant risk of being struck by a car when riding on highways and major roadways. Many bicycle-car collisions occur on busy, crowded streets in urban areas. It is best for bicycle riders to take roads with fewer and slower cars. The slower a car moves, the more time that the driver has to see a cyclist.

If cyclists learn the routes well and plan carefully, they can get to most places by traveling through neighborhoods and other areas with less traffic. Consequently, they will only cross busy streets rather than travel on them.

2. Using the Whole Lane

Motorists see cyclists more quickly when they are riding in the middle of a lane. It is safest for riders to take the whole lane or ride a bit to the left. That helps prevent motorists from making right turns or pulling into or out of driveways across the path of cyclists. The behavior also prevents cyclists from being hit when someone suddenly opens a door of a car parked on the side of the road.

Taking the whole lane also forces drivers to wait behind a cyclist or make a lane change to pass rather than passing the cyclist too closely within the same lane on a narrow roadway.

3. Riding With the Traffic Flow

People should ride bicycles with, not against, the traffic flow. Riding on the left-hand side of a street, against traffic, can seem like a good idea because the cyclist can see the vehicles passing him or her. It is, however, a terrible idea for several reasons:

  • Drivers making a right turn from a side street, parking lot, or driveway are looking for traffic on their left and not their right. They can easily plow into the cyclist riding the wrong way.
  • In a car vs. bicycle accident, a collision occurs at a greater relative speed if the bicycle is moving toward the car.
  • Riding against traffic flow is against the law.

Some research has found riding against traffic to be three times more dangerous than riding with traffic.

4. Being Visible

Cyclists should enhance their safety by being as noticeable as possible during the day and at night. This can be achieved by:

  • Wearing highly reflective clothing
  • Having reflectors and lights on the bicycle
  • Using a rear flashing red light when riding at night

5. Avoiding Texting and Listening to Music

No matter how heavy the traffic may or may not be on the road, riders need to listen for car horns, sirens, people yelling, and other sounds from the surroundings. Riding while listening to portable music players prevents riders from hearing their surroundings, thus threatening their safety. They should, therefore, not wear headphones while riding. Talking on a cell phone or texting is equally risky. Such distracted bikers can swerve onto oncoming vehicles and trigger auto accidents.

How To Find A Partner For Your Tech Company

Chavez
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How To Find A Partner For Your Tech Company

Many people are really excited about the idea of starting a tech company. Yet, it is not possible to know everything there is to know about running a tech company. You may need a partner for your tech company. Even great tech pioneers need partners of some kind. Steve Jobs had Tim Cook, for example. All over the business world, there are tales of great partnerships. 

First off, let’s say you have no tech skills, but have a tech vision. Steve Jobs couldn’t code, and Airbnb’s founders don’t have any coding skills either. Bringing on the right people into your tech company will help make up for any deficiencies you have. 

Often, because coding skills and other tech skills are in such high demand, you will be competing with a wide array of probably better funded startups. Not only will you be competing with other startups, you will also be competing with giant tech firms like Alphabet (who own Google), Facebook, Salesforce, and others. 

In the early stages of your tech company, you will not have the funding necessary to compete for talent with salaries and benefits. Whatever salary and bonus package you offer can and will be easily beaten elsewhere.

The instinctive response is to offer equity. But if you aren’t a great company to begin with, equity isn’t worth anything. Nobody wants a share of nothing.

Yet, going without a partner who has the skills you need to turn your vision into reality, will hamper your growth and potentially kill your dream before you have even turned a profit or made a single product.

Turning to cheap options just to get by is no solution. Competition is fierce and a bad product won’t get you anywhere. Indeed, it may permanently turn off potential funders of customers and users. You don;t want your brand permanently associated with sub-standard products.

A lot of your success will depend on your vision. When Steve Jobs convinced Tim Cook to leave Compaq for a near-bankrupt Apple, he was persuaded by the strength of Jobs’ conviction and the breadth of what Jobs wanted to achieve, Cook says on a rational basis, staying at Compaq, then one of the largest firms in the world, was the smart play.

Many people whom Cook spoke to as he sought advice, told him he would be a fool to join Apple. Not only was Apple nearly bankrupt, morale was at an all-time  low. 

Without Jobs’ vision, Cook would have never joined Apple. Cooke left a great company to join what he himself thought was a mess, because he felt the chance to do something great was too big to pass by.

As the leader of your tech company, you need to infuse your vision with passion and make your vision as big as you can dream. People want to do great things. Offering them the chance to sign on a tech company agreement that has the promise of making history can make up for all the deficiencies that you have. 

How To Start A Tech Company

Chavez
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How To Start A Tech Company

This is one of the most exciting eras in tech. Tech stocks are flying, tech startups are transforming the world as we know it, while we watch. Many entrepreneurs are, understandably, excited by the prospect of starting a tech company. Here, we will explain just how to start a tech company.

First, forget the idea that this will be easy. This will involve a lot of hard work, sacrifices and overcoming of obstacles. 

You will need to develop a great piece of technology at a time when competition is fierce. 

Starting a tech company is for the brave. 

If you have it in you, read further. 

Product-Market Fit

Innovation is the heart of technology. It doesn’t matter how brilliantly structured your business is, how beautiful your company logo is, how wonderful and inspiring your mission is. You need a great product. Building a great tech product is the most important thing. 

Greatness is measured by how snugly your product meets the demands of the market. This is known as having product-market fit. Marc Andreesen, the great tech investor, has called product-market fit, “the only thing that matters”.

Andreesen realised that in the tech world, quite obviously, there were success stories, stories of failure, stories of incredible success, stories of abysmal failure and also stories of just-plain-average. Not everybody makes it. Not everybody stinks. Results are mixed.

The second thing he realised was that inasmuch as there was a range of success and failure in tech, there was also a range of quality of teams, products and markets. Some teams are staggeringly talented. Others seem to have patented incompetence. Some products are amazing, others make you wonder how they were not laughed off the white board. And as for markets, some are gargantuan, and filled with life and yet others, just comatose.

Andreesen asked himself what the most important ingredient for success was. If you had only one thing you had to get right, what was it? What was that one thing that linked all the great success stories. The answer was obvious: product-market fit.

By product-market fit, Andreesen meant the coincidence of a great product with a market hungry for that product. It is possible to have a great product and no market. Leonardo da Vinci invented the tank before anyone was really interested in tanks. Having a great product without a great market may make you a visionary, but it does not drive revenues.

Impressive, easy-to-use, feature-rich, highly extensible, polished products alone do nothing for you.

Great products need great markets. When we think of markets, we are talking about the size of the market, how fast it is growing in terms of customers and users.

Now, when starting your amazing tech holding company, the temptation is to say that a great team is what you need. Many tech people instinctively say this. And intuitively, it makes sense: bring the brightest minds together and surely they’ll create the best products? Many engineers will, in turn, say the product is the most important thing in a tech startup. However, the truth is, product-market fit determines a tech company’s success. Having a great team or a great product is nothing without product-market fit. Leonardo da Vinci invented the tanks hundreds of years before one went into mass production. Genius isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Products without markets don’t earn revenue. Product-market fit is the only thing that matters. Get your product-market fit right and you are half ways to success.

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