Whether you’re a weekly visitor or someone who only goes once a year, almost all of us like to head to a casino every now and then for a night of entertainment. That entertainment probably includes drinks, dinner, and maybe even a show, but the real star attractions of the night are all the games which are waiting to be played inside the casino.

Most people – other than professional gamblers – consider a good night at the casino to be one in which they’ve broken even. A professional player will expect to come out in profit. A player who knows (or believes) that they’re a poor player expects to come out having made a loss. The casino tends to be the big winner on the evening – there’s a reason that the industry is currently posting record profits.

Does it have to be that way, though? Are there a few tricks that even the most inexperienced player can add to their game and increase their chances of walking away from the night without suffering any undue losses? Of course there are – and as you’ve already guessed from the title of this article, we’re here to bring them to you!

Practice, Practice, Practice

Thanks to the internet, you no longer have to step inside a casino to play casino games. You can play them from wherever you are, whenever you like. Crucially, you can play them for free. If you’re playing a certain type of casino games for the first time, you can look up the basic rules of the game, and then you can find a place to play it with no money on the line.

Many websites will allow you to play poker or other card games with zero stakes at beginners tables until you feel comfortable with the rules. For slots, it’s even easier – you can log on to Vegas Slots website, and play mobile slots whenever you get five minutes free on your way to or from work, or at home in front of the television. There are demonstration versions of several popular mobile slots online to play, or you can simply play for the minimum amount the mobile slots games allow in order to get used to the functions and features. The more you practice, the better you’ll be.

Stay Sober

One of the perks of top-class casinos is that they offer free drinks when you’re playing. Nothing feels more debonair than sitting at a table, sipping free cocktails while placing your bets. Given all the money that casinos make, and taking into account the fact that you could win a huge amount of money from them on your very next bet, you might be wondering why they’d literally give money away by keeping drinks flowing in your direction. We’ll give you a clue:- notice how they don’t make the same offer to people who aren’t gambling.

Every drink you have, your confidence grows, and your sense of logic and reason diminishes. You’re more likely to bet big. You’re more likely to overestimate the value of the cards in your hand. Simply put, you’re more likely to make bad decisions – and when you do that, you lose. Keep a clear head. You’ll perform better.

Set Yourself A Limit

Nobody likes to feel like they’re twelve years old and being given pocket money again, but sometimes it’s necessary to keep a curb on our spending. Before you head out to the casino, conduct an honest assessment of your finances, and set yourself a spending limit. Have the discipline to walk away from the games the moment this spending limit has been reached. If possible, bring someone with you who’ll remind you when you’ve reached that point!

One of the helpful side effects of setting yourself a spending limit is that you’ll find yourself making smaller bets. As you know you have a finite amount of cash to deal with and you don’t want to run out of money too quickly, you’ll place lower stakes in order to make your stash last longer.

Don’t Make Emotional Choices

There’s one well-known bluff that every experienced poker player around a table knows to look out for, and it has nothing to do with twitching, scratching, coughing, or blinking. It has to do with the size of the bet you put into play. If you’ve just taken a heavy loss and then go big on your next hand, everyone around the table knows you’re bluffing.

This is an emotional choice. You’re annoyed you’ve lost money, and so you try to win back as much as possible as fast as you can. It’s the most common bluff in poker, and any player worth their salt will know they should call you on it. They might even raise you and draw you into losing even more money. Poker requires a cool head – you should have the same betting strategy whether you’re the chip leader or you’re down to your final chips.

Spot The Dummy

Any card table has a pecking order of players. Somebody will clearly be the best player there, and somebody will clearly be the worst. If you’re an inexperienced player, you’re obviously not going to be the best player at a table unless you’ve pulled up a chair alongside a set of fellow rookies. Your job is, therefore, to identify the worst player as fast as you can. This is the person you need to call, push, and generally exploit and take money from whenever the chance presents itself.

If a few hands have passed without you being able to identify who the dummy around the table is, we have bad news for you. It’s you. You’re the dummy, and everyone else is gunning for you because they think you’re a sucker. The moment you become aware that this is the case, take your chips and get off the table as quickly as possible.

Count Your Blessings

As well as having a spending limit, as strange as it sounds, you should also consider imposing a winning limit on yourself, too. You can choose where that limit should be based on how useful it would be to you. Would you be happy if you walked out of the casino with 50% more money than you walked in with? How about 25%, or 75%?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes,’ then immediately stop when you’ve reached the magic figure. That’s the point to accept that you’ve had a lucky break, you’ve beaten the casino at their own game, and it’s time to take your winnings and run home before you’re tempted to bet all your profits and lose them!

There’s no such thing as a guaranteed win in a casino – but you can boost your chances of avoiding losses, and we just showed you how. Good luck in there!

If you enjoyed this article, feel free to read more about us at We Are Augustines!

Small business owners borrow around 600 Dollars each year. There are several reasons why entrepreneurs and business owners opt for small business loans.

They could be planning to expand their business or maybe simply trying to recover from accumulated losses. It could also be for the purpose of balancing the cash flows of the company for the time being.

Whatever the reason, it is obvious that small business relief provide much needed assistance to the business owners when they are in dire need.

In other words, small business loans save the day for them.

The article below will discuss a few ways through which small business loans become extremely beneficial for businesses.

Fast and Easy Availability of Funds

Usually, when you visit a scheduled bank or a financial institution for the purpose of securing a loan, you need to go through their pre-defined procedure.

This is a long process which takes up a lot of time. Moreover, you are also required to submit copies of documents that seem irrelevant.

Sometimes, the procedure becomes so lengthy that the prospective borrower thinks better of it and walks away.

There is no such problem with small business loans. Most banks and lending institutions have started facilitating their customers with online application forms. These forms are available on the organization’s website and can either be downloaded or filled manually after printing a copy.

Once you have submitted the online application form, the bank carries out its credit assessment based on the information you provided, and decides whether you are eligible for the loan.

If your loan is approved, the funds are disbursed, and immediately come at your disposal.

Small business loans offer a simple and fast procedure that allows you to get the funds in almost no time.

Easy and Convenient schedule of loan Repayment

The nature of small business loans is highly flexible. This is evident from the repayment terms and options built-in within these loans.

Banks are also business entities and thus, fully aware of the issues faced by other businesses with regard to their cash flows.

Keeping in view of these issues, banks would usually devise very easy and flexible repayment plans for small business loans.

In most cases, the personnel at the bank, studies the cash flow cycle of the borrower, and then develops a schedule in such a way that the repayments do not become a burden.

Depending on the financial conditions of the company at any given time, the borrower may increase or decrease the EMI.

Moreover, if a borrower is anticipating a big cash receipt on a certain date, they can choose to repay the loan through bullet payment.

Reasonable Rates of Interest

The interest rates charged by scheduled banks are usually lower than the ones charged by other lenders.

Since most Small Business Loans are geared towards public welfare, they have government’s backing and support. This means that their interest rates are even lower than usual loans.

For banks, the interest is the opportunity cost involved in parting with cash for a specified period of time. But, there are also certain factors that affect the bank’s interest rate calculation: the viability of the business model of the borrower. The personal credit rating and credentials of the owner / partners.

The phenomenon of commercial loan calculator is also applied to this mix, and then a rate is derived which is viable to the bank.

However, in case of a small business loan, the bank will also keep in mind the fact that a thriving business is good for the community as well as the entire economy. This may translate into a lower and affordable interest rate for the borrower.

Business Expansion and Growth

Finance is the key aspect of any successful business because it allows the entity not only to keep afloat but also to expand when the times are good.

If you are seeking to expand your business, you will need a strong and constant cash flow. You may be planning to open another outlet for your products, adding a new piece of equipment, or simply hire fresh resources — all of these actions require money.

A small business loan allows you to carry out these plans without actually affecting your business cash flows.

The bank or the financial institution will analyze your expansion plan. They may also schedule an interview with you to further understand your plans. If they are satisfied, they will approve the loan.

You can use this loan to expand your business as you deem fit. The repayments of the loan can be made from the cash flows of the new outlet or the increased sales, due to addition of new equipment.

This way, the loan does not become a burden.

No Equity Injection

If you seek a loan from venture capitalists, they would give this loan in the form of equity. This means that the lender will own a part of the equity of your business.

Technically, the lender will become a partner in your business. You will be obligated to share a percentage of the profit with him.

For many businessmen, this is not a preferred scenario since they do not want to share their profits with anyone.

Small business loans saves you from this scenario.

Flexibility

When seeking out a small business loan, the borrower has the choice of obtaining the kind of loan that suits him best.

There are several kinds of loans available that are spread over different tenures, and require repayments in their manners.

A borrower may switch from one kind of loan to another even before the loan is fully repaid.

This allows a lot of flexibility in cash flow management of the business even with the looming repayments each month.

Tax Benefit

This is an aspect of small business loans that is very beneficial for entities that are in their initial growing phase.

The percentage of business’s profits that is used for making repayments on loans is exempt from income tax.

No tax is required to be paid on the loan repayment amount. This means that your overall tax liability is decreased by the same amount, allowing you to have a breathing space while you are preparing your annual returns.

Peace of Mind

This is a very important benefit that can be derived from a small business loan. Business owners require peace of mind in order to carry out their operational activities.

With the help of small business loans, the owner can fulfill their monetary obligations even when their cash flows are weak. They know that they will have ample cash whenever they require it for replenishing their inventory or make immediate payments to vendors.

The Final Word

There are many benefits of small business loans. Some of them have been stated above, but there are many that can be reaped by entrepreneurs and business owners in order to run their businesses smoothly.

 

Each employer seeks to hire real professionals who will make his business successful. Still, not always this is a call only for people with huge experience.

Often, students can become the fresh driving force in business, so HR managers should pay attention to hiring them. This is especially true for online business because the representatives of the millennial generation are digital natives and have many new interesting ideas.

In case you think that modern students may be busy with education and are not ready to dedicate most of the time to work – this is not true anymore. Online services can write any paper for students; this gives them the additional free time that learners are more than eager to spend earning extra money.

Working Formula

College undergraduates have their unique creative approach and unlimited desire, combined with the opportunity to learn. They can share ideas and are ready to integrate them into almost any business area. The following formula can describe the overall effect of employee motivation:

B = Q x C

In this formula, Q is the quality of the idea, and C is the commitment to the idea. B is the overall profit from the idea implementation.

If the employer works with professionals and older people, then the main emphasis goes on the quality of the idea. In the case of students, the decisive factor for them is commitment. Thus, it can be understood that their effectiveness is manifested only when they have enough free space for initiative and offering solutions to problems.

Young specialists and college undergraduates usually are not afraid of mistakes or being ridiculous in someone’s eyes. Therefore, it is easier for them to realize their ambitions. This quality is worth considering for employers. Below there are seven reasons why hiring a student or a recent college graduate would be an excellent decision.

Good Knowledge of Technologies

Modern students are keen on new and emerging technologies. They have a clear understanding of what social networks are, how to make blog popular or communicate with people to arouse their interest.

A lot of them have programming skills, so their online performance can be very high. The vast majority of companies use various types of media for their promotion, and young people could help in this area.

Desire to Work

Students and graduates are very interested in getting a good job and starting to build a career. That is why they are ready to act without any delay. They have no fear of additional tasks and do everything to prove themselves beneficial for business.

It is logical to assume that such employees will be quite valuable for any company. Under the guidance of experienced mentors, they can make the business extremely successful.

Lower Salary

As a rule, young specialists do not expect to receive a huge salary, as is the case with experienced workers. They agree to work for a minimum wage, especially if they are offered a flexible schedule. Students usually work part-time, so their salaries are significantly lower than regular employees have. However, they can be no less useful for the enterprise.

They Do Take Risks

Firstly, students do not tend to have mortgages and loans. They still can take any risks such as travel a lot during business trips gaining new experience and skills, or quickly change their specialization. These qualities make them bold and flexible, which is essential for successful business promotion.

They can also be much more active than their colleagues who have worked in the company for 10 or 20 years.

They Are Ready to Learn

Students strive to create a skills base that will later help them succeed in a career. That is why they are happy to accept any new information and quickly acquire new skills.

The Ability to Inspire

If a boss allows younger colleagues to bring new ideas into the business and realizes them at times, this can inspire other employees to take similar actions. The first job for a person is critical as it becomes the basis for gaining useful experience. Also, it serves as the first step of one’s beginning a career. Therefore, students usually try hard to achieve success. They are very proactive and enthusiastic.

Tax Credits

In some states, companies receive certain tax benefits if they hire young employees. For example, in New York, there some significant benefits for hiring people from 16 to 24 years old. Thus, in addition to getting fresh ideas and enthusiasm, employers can save significantly.

There are also specific benefits for family business owners – they can hire their teenage children and get additional tax benefits for it.

Wrapping Up

Let us share with you one useful tip as the final point.

It is worth considering the fact that there are various federal laws and rules on hiring people under 18 years of age. Therefore, carefully study them if you decide to hire a first-year college undergraduate.

Make a place for students in your company and get the best out of it!

 

Truly great e-commerce content fulfils the complex brief of increasing customer engagement, offering product information and creating a community of loyal brand ambassadors keen to spread the word about their savvy purchases. Gimmicks are all well and good, but it’s the sustainable content strategies which don’t cost the earth that garner the best results. The following companies have all hired an e-commerce copywriter who has content creation down to a fine art.

1. Field Notes

On the surface, this is just a notebook company but, thanks to a clever content and marketing strategy, it’s so much more. It’s an exclusive club for stationery addicts, with each new release being a limited run, and regular doses of complementary content.

Using newsletters and social-media posts to talk about the making of memories and showcase the notes and sketches that customers have published on their social-media channels, Field Notes has created a faux nostalgic feel to its brand – and everyone is invited to join in.

2. Toms

In a genius move, Toms has removed all the guilt associated with ‘treating yourself’ by pledging goods or services to communities in need, in exchange for every pair of shoes sold. Customers feel as though they are doing their bit and have no guilt about buying more shoes and becoming a repeat consumer.

Toms also maintains a solid social media presence, reposting customer pictures and encouraging the use of custom hashtags, such as #withoutshoes. The best part of all is that this costs nothing.

3. ModCloth

Turning its back on traditional e-commerce content, ModCloth sought to promote inclusivity and honest body types, resulting in look books and product catalogues with unfiltered pictures that have had no retouching.

Using social media, ModCloth has also created a customer community where everybody gets a say and can vote on new releases. Product descriptions are refreshingly straightforward, and the clothes are fun and not aimed at any one age or size, leading to customers tagging pictures in the hopes of a repost.

4. Bonobos

Procrastination is an international pastime and Bonobos tapped into this by identifying a niche opportunity to include quizzes on its clothing website. Instead of simply selecting a style and size of trouser, shoppers can now take a fun quiz to determine the best pair for them – and the results can be shared on social media, creating free word-of-mouth promotion.

A phenomenally clever technique, customers don’t realise that trousers are being sold to them, as it feels as though everything is geared towards simply identifying the best fit for them. Personal and promotional, not to mention cost-effective…

5. ASOS

ASOS has led the way in terms of influencer marketing; a very of-the-moment methodology that yields favourable results that sees social media favourites wearing the clothes and tagging ASOS, in the hopes that followers will click to buy. Embracing different body shapes has certainly helped in recent months too, as the body positivity movement has taken off.

ASOS has set itself apart from competitors with a slick and unfussy shopping platform, informal language and, unusually, no product reviews – and the gamble has paid off. Beauty tutorials and celebrity style inspiration articles are the cherry on top.

The best e-commerce content targets specific subsets of customers while seeming to appeal to everybody. It also removes the guilt associated with unnecessary purchases and welcomes customers into communities of like-minded people and savvy influencers. These are pay-to-enter clubs, with the price of admission being repeat custom, but the best content makes it feel as though the shopper is the lucky one, which is a clever trick.

 

We’ve all accumulated various office habits over the years and they can be relatively understandable – we spend roughly 40 hours a week in the same space, surrounded by the same people. Annoying manners are inevitable.

We’re not talking about the somewhat ‘harmless’ habits such as Jenny’s knuckle cracking or Dan’s loudly chewing gum, but more those patterns that actually have the potential to cause long-term damage to overall office performance. Let’s explore 3 bad office habits that you should kick to the curb straight away.

Immediately opening new emails

Is patience even a thing when we’ve just received an email!? The notification pops across our screen and fingers start twitching and minds racing. Nosiness gets the better of us.

Sometimes we read and reply immediately, which is great if not extremely uncommon, let’s be honest. The majority of us are guilty of feeding our curiosity and then going straight back to what we were already in the middle of doing, meaning the chances of forgetting to respond later on in the day is too high for comfort.

Working through lunch

This may perhaps be the most common bad office habit in the United Kingdom, if not the entire WORLD! Online recruitment agency Totaljobs relevealed that more than half of 7,000 office workers don’t take their lunch break.

We understand that you can often feel overwhelmed by your work load and the tasks that you have to complete on a day-to-day basis, however skipping your lunch break simply isn’t the answer and will most certainly do more damage than good.

The solution is simple: take advantage of what you’re entitled to! When lunch time arrives, go for a walk or eat your food in the office canteen. Give your brain some time to breathe and you’ll find yourself much more motivated and ‘switched on’ when it’s time to get cracking again.

Ignoring problems with office décor

There are too many of us that are willing to ignore issues within our office building as we believe they don’t directly concern us. In actual fact, studies show that the practicality and appearance of a working environment plays a crucial role to an employee’s performance.

Is there a desk that wobbles with every tap on the keyboard? Are the walls a murky off-white colour that was last painted in 2002? Has the roof got a tendency to leak during heavy downpours? This needs to be fixed sharpish – if you notice something, let your manager know and employees will strive.

Get a skilled decorator in to give the walls a lick of bright paint, and if you’re needing a roof repair in Newcastle or elsewhere across the North of England, Findley Roofing and Building are perfect for the job, even dishing out free roof assessments!

Tackle all of these bad office habits and rest assured that your performance within the work place with exceed beyond all hopes and dreams. Oh, and if you are that person who chews gum loudly or cracks their knuckles… please stop.

 

 

Making the most of your time is important if you hope to get all of your tasks done during your workday. However, some people, despite how hard they try, can’t seem to get as much done as they’d like.

Being more productive starts with identifying what factors are holding you back. Once you know what you’re up against, you can develop strategies for overcoming your productivity’s biggest enemies.

When it comes to some of the biggest culprits for why your productivity is lacking, here are some to take a look at first.

You Need To Take More Breaks

It may sound hard to believe, but taking more breaks will actually increase your productivity and restore your concentration. Studies show that people who take short breaks throughout their workday have fewer dips in their performances speed.

In addition to breaks help you work at a steadier speed, it can also help you feel more comfortable physically. Sitting at a computer without taking a break for long periods can lead to dry eye and spinal issues. So, not only will taking a break every hour or so help you focus better, it will help you stay healthier physically!

You’re Not Setting Deadlines For Yourself

Most people identify deadlines with pressure and stress. However, deadlines are a beneficial tool for accomplishing your goals.

If your job doesn’t already impose deadlines for your work to be done, then you should be self-imposing them. Deadlines help you stay on task and sticking to your schedule. Some people find great success with setting timers while they work and checking in with how much they’ve accomplished each time it goes off.

You’re Multitasking

Many people make the mistake of believing that multitasking is helping them reach their deadlines faster. However, studies show that multitasking may, in fact, hinder productivity.

Trying to balance your attention on several projects can lead to poor execution of tasks and lost time. You’re better off committing to single projects at a time and finishing them before moving onto the next.

Your Work Environment Isn’t Inspiring

Your environment plays a significant role in how you feel while you work. How you feel while you work will show in the work that you create. Try to work in a space that inspires creativity and focus.

Give yourself something nice to look at like a window, a plant, or a painting that you appreciate. You’ll find that when you feel more comfortable, you’re more willing to work harder.

You’re Being Interrupted Frequently

One of the most likely reasons that you’re not as productive as you would like to be is because you’re being interrupted regularly.

It’s important to eliminate distractions and interruptions as much as possible if you hope to stay on task.

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.

More and more homeowners are going solar because of many reasons. For one, it helps them cut their energy costs without having to compromise their heating use. Another reason is to do their part in helping the environment by reducing their carbon footprint. At the same time, doing so increases their property value and improves their home efficiency.

No matter what your reason is for installing solar at home, the benefits to go solar will do you good in terms of environmental, economic, and financial. Below are more reasons why you should go for it.

• Eliminate or reduce electricity costs

One of the main driving factors for homeowners to call and book a solar installation by plumbers Gloucester offers is to reduce, if not completely eliminate, electricity bills. Even commercial businesses do it. Electricity costs make up a considerable chunk of monthly home and business expenses, and you want to do everything to save money and reduce costs. When you have a solar panel system installed, you can generate free electricity throughout your system’s lifecycle. This way, you can depend less and less on the power grid, which means reduced costs and increased savings.

• Get returns on your investment

While the initial installation of solar panels is expensive, you shouldn’t treat them as an expense as they are a great way to invest your money. One good reason is it will help you save on electricity costs. Should you decide to sell your house, you can expect the property value to go through the roof. Because of the money you can save on your electricity bills, you can pay off your solar panel system in less than ten years and get an ROI of at least 20%.

• Get protected from the rising power costs

There are many benefits to solar panel installations, and you shouldn’t forget the advantage of hedging utility prices should they increase anytime. We’ve seen an increase in electricity prices for the past decade, and it’s about time homeowners do something about it. While they can’t control the rising prices, they can at least protect themselves by generating their own power through solar panels.

• Increase your property value

There are numerous studies that prove homes with solar panels sell more quickly than properties that don’t have them. You can also expect a better selling price as appraisers value them better because more homeowners are seeking properties with ready-to-use solar energy systems.

• Reduce your carbon footprint

Investing in solar panels is one of the best ways of helping the environment. Burning coal is still bad for the environment and unfortunately, most grids still use this fossil fuel to produce electricity. If you do your part, you can help eliminate up to four tons worth of carbon emissions annually.

Going solar is an investment you should strongly consider. If you have extra money to spare, you might as well spend it on something that will upgrade your property’s efficiency and value.

 

As an employer, it is essential to always look after the welfare of your employees. Nowadays, almost all of the world’s workforce goes through several stressful situations at work. Many complain that they either lack support from management or they are given way too much work.

Stress in the workplace is a matter that should be taken seriously. Some employers think that personal issues may cause this. However, if you investigate further, you will find that some employees are no longer happy with their work. This kind of mindset can cause negativity and poor performance.

Some of the most common symptoms of lack of motivation are high absenteeism and turnover rates, poor performance and lack of employee engagement. If you think that your employees are exhibiting such factors, it is time to take action. Here are some tips for planning a successful team building event and to start motivating your employees to be more productive in the workplace.

What are the advantages of hosting team building activities?

• Help improve productivity and individual statistics.
• Promote better communication to all employees.
• It is an excellent strategy to increase employee motivation.
• Promote teamwork and camaraderie inside and outside the office

How to get started

If you are planning a team building exercise for your employees, here are some essential tips to get you started.

Set a goal

Before moving forward with the team building activity, you need to be clear about your purpose. Having a clear objective can lead you in the right direction, which will ensure that everyone who attends will enjoy it. Ask yourself how many people you will be hosting, what kind of activity you plan to have, and where and when you will be hosting the event.

Look for an ideal location

If you want your team building activity to be successful, then choose a good location. You can browse the internet for big houses for rent and other possible venues for your employees. Make sure that the place will allow you to accommodate all of your planned games and activities. If you are planning to stay for the weekend, then it must have sufficient amenities as well.

Plan transportation

If you have a significant number of people who will be joining the team building activity, it is more practical to arrange for transportation. You can opt to rent several vans or minibuses to take them to the venue. Another option is for employees to carpool to ensure that everyone will be able to make it to the team building event.

Choose a planning committee

In reality, planning, a team-building activity is not easy. It requires much effort to make it happen. That is why, instead of doing it alone, it is best to form a committee which will take charge of the event. They should take care of the food and beverages and plan the programme.

Lastly, make sure to plan your team building activity ahead of time, to avoid setbacks on the day of the event.

Image: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/05/15/11/07/african-3402716_960_720.jpg

 

Why Personalized Email Marketing Campaigns Win Customers Over

If you already have a job slaying away for someone else, a regular paycheck is at the end of that tunnel. But there’s no light in personal security by helping your boss get rich.

Maybe you work from your residence as a stay-at-home mom or dad. Perhaps you’re a recent college graduate, trying to find a way into the perfect first career in an office that barely pays you enough to make tuna pasta for supper.

Whatever your life situation, there’s a personal dream for something more.

Success Breeds Success Online through Content Strategy

Most of us want to do better but haven’t figured out a way to get there. For many, setting up a source of ongoing passive income is the ticket to financial independence and freedom to live life the way you choose. Without having deep pockets of endless cash to fund your business idea, the-next-best-thing-since-sliced-bread no doubt, how could you possibly get started?

Just do what business enterprise does.

According to a recent survey by UK accounting firm Moore Stephens, American companies dedicated 23 percent of their advertising budgets to digital marketing last year. This is a major increase from the previous year, when just 16 percent of marketing budgets were going toward attracting new customers online.

But why are these facts important to your livelihood?

It’s a clue as to where you need to be in finding a source of secondary income, right where you are at this moment—the digital space. By following some of these principles in persuasion, you could be building new relationships and creating income funnels, simultaneously.

Email Marketing Campaigns Drive Today’s Business Cycles

With more money being spent on digital marketing, it’s also increasingly important that company decision makers are getting as much return on their investment as possible. Why should you be any different?

In the case of digital marketing, one of the easiest ways to make sales efforts more effective is to work on improving your email marketing.

The right email marketing campaign strategy can mean the difference between effective outreach and a project that stalls before it can get out of the gate. By making sure that email marketing campaigns are as personalized and customer targeted as possible, you can feel confident that your digital marketing investments are money well spent.

This post outlines everything that marketing leads, business decision makers, and sole proprietorships like you need to know about the beauty of personalized content and what it can do for email marketing strategy.

Making Things Personal: Why Personalized Email Content Works

Many of the benefits of email marketing are well-known and straightforward: communicating important information to clients or creating opportunities to contact them again are just a couple of email marketing tips.

If you haven’t done email marketing before, have confidence in knowing that you likely already have many of the business tools needed to make a go of it.

• You get emails
• You open emails
• You read emails
• You send emails

That new, secondary source of income is ripe with possibilities when you use the right email marketing strategies. Even if you currently don’t own a business, the very characteristics that corporations utilize to strengthen their digital content strategies live in the personal emails that you, as a consumer, receive and send.

Here’s why.

Master Unique Personal Content Strategy

Think about the last email you wrote and sent to someone you know: a friend, parent, coworker or sister. The content was about something or someone that held your interest and you thought it would do the same for the person you shared it with.

What about the last email you received and opened? Something in the subject line intrigued you enough to click and see the content inside.

These same simple ideologies apply to a business scope as well, but with some fine-tuning.

You might be wondering how one can take a personal email and convert it into a successful business email marketing strategy. Personalized email content based on truly knowing your customer base, their needs and wants, on subconscious and conscious levels, can offer so much more.

Tell them what they want and need. Then convince them of it by telling a story they can relate to. Then repeat.

Epic Fails Happen If You Forget to Follow Through

No matter how talented you may be in the art of persuasion, consumers rarely act on the first instance of exposure to a certain product, service, or event. Today, people are much more discriminating about the content they see and go to great lengths to search the competition, and verify the validity of any business.

Before the internet of things came to be, businesses relied solely on traditional means of marketing to get the word out about what they do, how they do it and the benefits to existing and potential customers. Back then, on average, 18 marketing impressions were needed for a consumer to act.

Today, there are more media channels to tout your marketing initiatives. But the same premise for content success holds true. Keep your messaging consistent and maintain your commitment to delivering a complete campaign.

Commitment and consistency are one of the 6 Principles of Influence founded by Dr. Robert Cialdini that support both marketing and sales in what it takes to get a consumer to say “Yes”. If you create content strategy that includes preset email drip campaigns sent to consumers on a regular basis, this is the follow through that keeps you and your business brand top-of-mind to the recipient. In addition, over time, the consumer will subconsciously expect to receive your messages in the email inbox.

Should your email happen to be delivered to them at the right time based on where they are emotionally, psychologically, and financially, the consistency you provided has already set their commitment in motion.

Target Multiple Customers

The right email content strategy allows you to efficiently generate content that appeals to clients of all ages, beliefs, and backgrounds. This allows your customers to feel like their needs are acknowledged without forcing companies to painstakingly create individually tailored marketing campaigns for each client.

Speak your customers’ language by matching their tone in speech and lifestyle. This can be done by the words you use and how you use them. Visual cues (images and colors) also help create the story you want them to absorb.

Why is this so important? A personalized email marketing strategy is highly focused on meeting clients where they live. When customers feel seen instead of sold to, they are far more willing to make a long-term connection with a brand, even if the company brand is you, the person.

Build Customer Relationships

Targeting customers based on their wants and interests isn’t just a matter of efficiency. It’s also the first step to building real relationships between you and your customers. People respond positively when they feel that their needs have been accounted for. The more personalization you incorporate into your email marketing strategy, the more likely your messaging will ring true with your customers at a deeper level.

Leverage Quality Content

You’ll need to spend time, energy, and resources developing relevant and interesting content. Whether it’s through a bunch of blog posts or a full playlist of videos to share, why not send users directly to the content most relevant to their needs? In your email marketing, include a link to your blog, or a screenshot of a video you’ve posted on your YouTube channel. They feel like you’ve done them a service, building trust, and you’ve driven engagement on your website. It’s hard not to see this as an absolute win.

Solidify Your Brand

By making your email marketing strategy more personal, you also create opportunities to demonstrate to your clients that communication and customer-first attitude are essential parts of your brand. In fact, it’s everything. Each interaction with potential customers builds an impression of your brand. A strategic email marketing plan can make sure those impressions are consistently positive.

Send a Message: What Personalized Email Content Looks Like

Don’t mistake emotional language with personalized content. Your goal is to build a connection with customers, yes, but there’s more to it than that. You are also tasked with making content as accessible and easy-to-consume as possible. The more you make life easier for your potential clients, the easier it is to communicate the features and benefits of your brand.

So what exactly should personalized email content look like? Much of the answer to this would depend on the preferences of your customers, but here are a few basic principles to follow when revising your approach:

• Be friendly, then get to the point – A relaxed greeting goes a long way. Try to avoid dry language and instead use the type of words you might in a casual conversation. Once you’ve said hello, start communicating the point of your message immediately. No one wants to read an email from a stranger for very long.
• Be casual, not over familiar – Be sure to keep it simple, approachable, not corporate, otherwise, that’s a quick way to lose a potential client’s interest. You also want to keep your sentences crisp and paragraphs short. It’s easy to scare off your intended audience with an overbearing wall of text.
• Be helpful, offer more value – Once you’ve introduced your brand and made a connection, you’ll want to seal the deal by directing them to continue reading your email, or visiting your website, or a social media channel. You can do this by including a link to your site or by directing visitors to other information assets, building even more added trust for customers.

What happens when email marketing gets too impersonal?

Remember that there’s always a fine line between making content more personal and getting unprofessional, risking a client relationship. This reminder goes double for industries that deal with sensitive topics, like funeral homes or addiction treatment centers. Getting too personal can turn ugly real fast. That’s why it’s best to avoid sensitive or emotionally charged topics when putting together your messaging for email marketing content.

What Is a Buyer Persona?

Another important component of designing effective email marketing strategies is to incorporate buyer personas into content development. Buyer personas, also known as “marketing personas,” are basically an archetype that represents one of your key customer groups.

When trying to establish who your buyer personas are, ask yourself “Who is my email audience?”

For a company that sells fitness accessories, for example, buyer personas could range from “Vanessa”, a college athlete looking to improve her performance, to “Cindy,” a stay-at-home mom trying to stay in shape.

In this scenario, a company would design content that appeals directly to “Vanessa” and then utilize that content anytime the brand engages with a college athlete. Likewise, stay-at-home moms would be personally targeted with content developed to appeal to “Cindy.” So what types of information should a company use to leverage into a personalized email marketing campaign?

Demographic Info

This type of information includes a potential customer’s age, location, status, gender, and employment. Marketers use this information to design advertising campaigns on a regular basis, and much of this information is available publicly through specialised online tools like Google Analytics. Not all customers that share demographics are identical; however, this is part of the puzzle.

Psychoanalytic Info

You’ll also want to get information about customers’ personal preferences, whether that be their ideology and values or simply their personal interests and hobbies. Collecting this type of information is a bit more difficult and it will likely fall upon you to track down customer data. Conducting surveys, via email, are a great way to build an understanding of who your clients are and what they like (or not).

Getting Started: Finding Support for Personalized Email Marketing

Collecting relevant demographic and personal data, organizing that information into segmented buyer personas, and presenting it all in an attractive way to your customers is a huge undertaking. That’s why it makes sense to learn as much about the process as possible and to develop a detailed, long-term digital marketing strategy. To this end, it might make sense to bring in some expert help, especially if you’re serious about building a successful passive income stream through an online business.

About the Author:

Jenny Stradling is the CEO and founder of Eminent SEO, an experienced, full-service digital marketing agency with a passion for making the Internet a better place. Jenny’s goal is to rid the digital landscape of poorly designed websites and unethical digital marketing practices. She works toward this goal personally, one client at a time. By leveraging decades of combined experience and a proven system for generating qualified leads, Eminent SEO ensures you’ll receive the best service possible.

 

Investing is an important part of building wealth. The sole purpose of investing is to increase your disposable income and earn way more. Below are 5 low-risk investments with high returns.

High Yield Savings Accounts

If you’re looking for a safe way to invest, consider a high-yield savings account. With these accounts, the return is the nominal interest rate of the funds you have deposited.
This strategy only requires opening an account and depositing your funds. You do not have to work hard for this investment. The best savings accounts offer great interest rates at no cost.

Before opening an account, you must find a reputable bank. Look for quality customer service, easy access and provision of online account management.

Drop-Shipping

It’s almost identical to affiliate marketing. However, users sell certain products directly to their clients. You can sell products without meeting your inventory requirements by managing the buying process. Despite the complexity of the implementation, the return on investment is much higher than that of the associated company. If it works, you can also do international e-commerce.

Laundry Service

Another great idea is laundry service. You can visit apartments and distribute flyers to with information about your service. There are few washing machines in the built area of the UK. You can take this opportunity to make good business with the laundry service. You can work with prepayment laundries to provide existing customers with a “delivery option.” It takes a small amount of capital to start, but it works well.

Start a Blog

If you really want to make money online, create a blog. Blogging is one of the simplest and most sustainable sources of income. As long as your blog is set up in the right way and it addresses the right audience, you can get as much passive income from your blog. This offer can complement your earnings.

Some may find it difficult to create a blog, but it’s pretty easy to understand the specific steps to follow. It all starts with the decision to choose a niche and choose the right domain name. From there, you need to market your content to give it a larger audience. Stay consistent and watch your blog grow.

Email Marketing

If you’re interested in online marketing, set up your email software and create magnets that you can use in your sales channels. Then, create the list. It is often said that every subscriber pays about a euro a month. If you have a list of 10,000 subscribers that means you can earn about £10,000 a month. You just have to provide value in every email and sell it, which is a very achievable goal in no time.

There are many ways to include people in your list. For example, you can create eBooks, lists, and cheat sheets. However, you can also upgrade content, such as PDF articles with other resources and a series of four-part training videos. Think about your audience and then provide them with better service.

Investment is by far the best option to go for when seeking financial security. We’d all want to achieve financial independence and become our own bosses. This, however, is a journey but with these investment ideas, you are better placed at beginning your own personal journey towards financial security.

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.