The solution to affordable housing?

LAST year a Chinese company built ten 3D printed houses in less than 24 hours, and the technology could soon be used by Australians.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1JfIErK

All-female mixed martial arts group poised for week of firsts in Las Vegas

Shannon Knapp and her all-female mixed martial arts organization will have a week of firsts in Las Vegas during UFC’s International Fight Week in July.

Source Business http://ift.tt/1LqlYFJ

Snapchat CEO Promises Better, Non-“Creepy” Digital Advertising

Snapchat continues to make the case that its ads are the best way to reach the young U.S. audience, while honoring people's privacy.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1JflLEP

5 Fantastic Summer Productivity Tips for Businesspeople

I’d like to share some important summer productivity tips inspired by the Office Depot Business Solutions Center as part of a sponsored post for Socialstars #GearLove.

Sometimes, I just don’t know how I do it all. I run multiple websites, have a financial planning practice, and have a bunch of boys running around that keep me plenty busy.

Productivity tips for me are a must. There’s no way I can get through my day without implementing some kind of productivity hack.

And oh boy, in the summer?

I definitely need to utilize these tips.

It can be tempting to spend too much time outside having fun instead of focusing on work. Sure, you need to make time for things like your children’s baseball games (I most certainly do), but you also need to be strategic with your time.

Every moment of work time matters as a small business person. Here are some important summer productivity tips I’ve found helpful and I think you will too.

1. Start Your Day With the High Five™

To-do lists are vitally important for any entrepreneur. They help you get stuff done and keep you on track with your goals.

I’m a little scatterbrained throughout my day without a to-do list. It’s horrible. I jump from one thing to the next, and eventually I get everything done, but it’s pretty inefficient.

That’s why I started the High Five™. What’s the High Five™? Buckle your seat belts people, you’re about to get a whole lot done.

The night before each day begins, I write down five tasks I want to accomplish the next day. These are the most important tasks for me to get done. I’ve tried a lower number of tasks but it just didn’t seem like enough. I’ve tried a higher number of tasks, but it was just too overwhelming and I’d freeze up. Five is just right for me.

Now, do I do more than five things in my day? Of course I do! The High Five™ are the tasks that are non-negotiable – everything else can be put on the back burner if necessary.

The Office Depot Business Solutions Center has bunch of tips similar to this that can help you stay on track during the summer. Even little tips like this can make a huge difference in practice.

Start your day off right with the High Five™ and you’ll get the most important things done and feel better about your summer accomplishments. Try it out and tell me if I’m wrong.

2. Take Breaks to Avoid Overwhelm

I work hard. Really hard. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need breaks.

Take a vacation or two this summer. I already went to Jamaica with my family had a blast. I still worked during vacation, but not nearly as much as I do when I’m home.

Listen, you need breaks. Whether that’s a week-long vacation or mini breaks during your work day, you must recharge your batteries.

If you’re exhausted midday, there’s a problem. You’re probably not taking enough breaks.

Some people find it helpful to time their work using a windup kitchen timer. For example, you can work 30 minutes and then take a five-minute break and repeat. After several cycles, take a longer break – perhaps 15 to 30 minutes long.

Don’t allow yourself to burn out before your day is over. Take breaks throughout the day and discover lasting energy. And don’t forget to take longer, vacation-style breaks to enjoy the summer sun!

Here’s a great infographic with tips on how to stay productive when you’re away from the office:

3. Grab the Gear You Need to Thrive

You need supplies to thrive as a small business person. At my firm, having paper and ink is a must – we have to print out documentation for our clients from time to time.

Ask yourself: “What am I lacking that would make my small business more productive?”

Many people have found that Post-it notes are essential. They’re highly visible, you can stick them to your computer monitor, and you can even color-code them to represent various priorities or areas of your business.

Spend a couple of hours this summer thinking through the gear you need to have a more productive summer. Head over to the Office Depot’s Business Solutions Center for more organizational tips and ways to have a more productive summer! I think you’ll be impressed by what they have to offer.

4. Transcribe Everything Necessary

If your business involves having to type out a lot of information, you may want to consider a voice-to-text application. The latest Macs, iPads, and iPhones have it built in!

But sometimes voice-to-text applications don’t do a very good job and you might have to go back and correct a lot of information. If that’s the case, and you want something that yields a higher degree of accuracy, you might want to try MobileAssistant.

MobileAssistant is the company I use to transcribe:

• Blog posts
• Letters to clients
• Reminders I want emailed to me
• Responses to emails when it’s easier to talk than type
• Letters I’m going to mail

Just imagine the possibilities and how much time you’ll save this summer! Typing takes a long time – even if you’re fast at it you could probably talk faster than you can type.

Try using the coupon code “financialcents” (no spaces) and you can save 25% when you sign up for a plan at MobileAssistant.us.

5. Have Your Phone Remind You

You have a lot on your plate. The last thing you need is to forget an important meeting, forget a trip to pick up milk at the grocery store after work, or forget to get your High Five™ done for the day.

Back when I upgraded my iPhone to iOS 5, I noticed a new icon: Reminders.

Oh my, it’s a lifesaver. I can set reminders on my iPhone to remind me at a specific time to do something or to remind me when I arrive at or leave a location. It’s incredible.

If you have an iPhone and haven’t taken advantage of the Reminders app, I highly recommend you do so.

The last thing you need is to remember all the little things you have to do throughout your day. It’s distracting to keep all those tasks in your head. If you don’t write your tasks down, don’t you find yourself reminding yourself multiple times throughout your day to do those tasks? That’s seriously distracting from the task at hand.

One of the lessons I learned when I started my first business was that it’s important to dedicate some time to being efficient and create processes. Utilizing technology like phone reminders can help you accomplish that and more.

For more summer productivity tips, check out the infographic below by The Office Depot Business Solutions Center. Go enjoy your summer and get stuff done!

Source Good Financial Cents http://ift.tt/1GDkUKe

How to Tell If You Are Ready to Retire

Make sure you do these five things before stepping away from the working world.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1JeZ2c1

Marketing Day: Google Launches News Lab, Twitter Searches For New CEO & LinkedIn Ads

Here's our recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on Marketing Land and other places across the web.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1Lx6mNC

Vodka Brand’s Online Game Encourages Players to #DropThatBeat At The Right Moment

The Bacardi brand targets clubbers with an interactive game tied to the DJ culture.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1JeX9Ml

Facebook Is Catching Up To YouTube In Video Advertising Arms Race

With an estimated 2 trillion video views compared to YouTube's 3 trillion in 2015, Facebook stands to be an even stronger rival for ad dollars.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1J0HQ70

About.com Launches Sponsored Content Studio For Native Ads

Idea Studio will create brand-sponsored ever green content that users are searching for.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1BHG8YO

Google Offers Olive Branch To Journalists & News Publications With Launch Of Google News Lab

Google says it wants to collaborate with journalists and entrepreneurs to help build the future of media.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1GvRlXV

Want to Take Maternity Leave? Better Start Saving Now

Here’s a riddle: what do the United States, Suriname and Papua New Guinea have in common?

Stumped? One shocking — but true — response: We’re the only countries without paid maternity leave.

Here in the States, we have the Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires employers to offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave to new parents — but this only applies if your company has more than 50 employees and you’ve been working there for more than a year.

So the harsh reality is, if you want to have children and not go off the rails financially, you need to save quite a bit of money.

In a recent post for Get Rich Slowly, Holly Johnson discusses how much she saved for maternity leave.

Saving for Your Baby-to-Be

Based on her experience giving birth to two kids, Johnson lists three main costs you should take into account:

Hospital Bills

Talk to your insurance company about how much you can expect to pay. Johnson’s bills amounted to around $4,000 for the hospital, doctor’s fees and delivery.

And whatever your deductible is, start saving early — perhaps even before you become pregnant. “If you have a tax-advantaged health savings account, or HSA, you can even stash up to $6,650 for your family per year,” she says.

Lost Income

How much time do you want to take off? Will your employer cover any of your salary? Johnson’s employer offered her six weeks of half-pay; since she wanted to take 10 weeks off, she had to save six weeks of half-pay and four weeks of full pay before her baby arrived.

Also, be sure to check your state’s laws. Some states go above and beyond the federal law, offering “temporary disability” coverage that can help pay for part of your leave.

Baby Supplies

It’s difficult to predict what you’ll end up needing for your baby, so it’s worth putting aside some extra money for unexpected expenses (like specialty doctor visits) and supplies (like detergent for sensitive skin). To get you started, here’s a list of supplies you’ll need for your baby’s first year.

Lastly, Johnson recommends registering for useful items — like diapers and bottles, rather than clothing — to help keep your expenses down.

Want to learn more? Read the full post at Get Rich Slowly.

Your Turn: How much money did you save for maternity leave?

Susan Shain (@Susan_Shain) is a freelance writer and travel blogger who loves helping you find adventure on a budget.

The post Want to Take Maternity Leave? Better Start Saving Now appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1fu2geW

Twitter Hires CEO Search Firm, Rules Out Jack Dorsey As Dick Costolo’s Replacement

Company says it's looking for someone who can "make a full-time commitment to Twitter."

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1TIo3PX

Newcomer banks' rates continue to trump larger rivals

Sylvia Morris

challengerbanks.gif

New banks are paying far higher rates than their well-established rivals on fixed-rate bonds.

New banks are paying far higher rates than their well-established rivals on fixed-rate bonds.

Charter Savings Bank has raised the rate it pays new savers on its one-year fixed-rate bond to 2% before tax (1.6% after tax). Other good deals at 1.9% (1.52%) come from United Trust and Aldermore banks.

Newcomer banks' rates continue to trump larger rivals

Feed Copy: 

New banks are paying far higher rates than their well-established rivals on fixed-rate bonds. Charter Savings Bank has raised the rate it pays new savers on its one-year fixed-rate bond to 2% before tax (1.6% after tax). Other good deals at 1.9% (1.52%) come from United Trust and Aldermore banks. For 18 months you can earn 2% (1.6%) with United Trust new bond. Firstsave pays 2.15% (1.72%) and Vanquis Bank 2.11% (1.69%) for two years, and Vanquis Bank a leading 2.46% (1.97%) for three years. On easy-access accounts, the top rate of 1.5% (1.2%) comes from both BM Savings and the new French-bank RCI Bank. The BM Savings Online Extra Issue 17 rate includes a bonus for the first year, after which the rate drops to 0.5% (0.4%). No bonus There is no bonus with the RCI Freedom account, but you are covered by the European Deposit Protection scheme which gives you €100,000 (around £73,000) per individual if the bank goes bust rather than the UK version's higher £85,000. The top rate with no bonus and covered by the UK scheme is GE Capital Direct GE Saver at 1.3% (1.04%), available over the internet. Kent Reliance pays a higher 1.45% on its Branch Saver, but this is only available through its limited branch network. On cash Isas the best easy access rate is 1.5% tax-free from National Savings & Investments, but you can't transfer your existing cash Isas into this account. For transfers you can earn 1.49% with Barclays Instant Cash Isa Issue 1 on a minimum £30,000, or 1.4% with Nationwide Instant Isa Saver Issue 3 for smaller amounts. Best fixed rate cash Isas at 1.65% for one year come from Nationwide and Shawbrook Bank. For two years you can earn 1.85% with Kent Reliance and Shawbrook banks. This article was written for our sister website Money Observer

Best cash ISA rates this week

Best savings rates this week

read more

Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1K7pncf

Report: Global Internet Ad Spend To Overtake Traditional TV By 2020

Online ad spending already dominates in seven countries.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1LwweJt

Government to 'review' state pension age

Michael Trudeau

pension.jpg

Newly appointed pensions minister Ros Altmann will launch an independent review of the state pension age by 2017.

Newly appointed pensions minister Ros Altmann will launch an independent review of the state pension age by 2017.

In her first appearance in the House of Lords on Thursday, Altmann outlined her plan to review the state pension age in the coming months.

Government to 'review' state pension age

Feed Copy: 

Newly appointed pensions minister and former Money Observer columnist Ros Altmann will launch an independent review of the state pension age by 2017. In her first appearance in the House of Lords on Thursday, Altmann outlined her plan to review the state pension age in the coming months. "Rising longevity means that successive generations are spending longer and longer in retirement. This is of course pretty good news; however, we all know there are huge cost implications for state pensions, which is why we will have an independent review of the state pension age by 2017. "I want the review to consider not only rising life expectancy but also wider social occupational and indeed gender factors," she adds. "I am acutely aware of the disadvantages faced by women in our pension system." New approach needed However, she reiterated a promise by prime minister David Cameron that the 'triple lock' - rules requiring the state pension to increase by inflation, average earnings or 2.5 per cent, whichever is higher - will remain intact for the duration of this Parliament. Altmann went on to accuse pension providers of not doing enough to make the new freedoms available. "Too many firms are not offering the new freedoms to their customers, or imposing hefty charges, lengthy delays or exit penalties on those wishing to transfer." Altmann's speech comes on the back of a statement on Wednesday (17 June) by chancellor George Osborne that the government could introduce a cap on the exit fees charged by pension providers to customers looking to switch to a different company. "We must not allow consumer rights to play second fiddle to the interests of large financial firms. So far it is clear that competition has not always addressed consumer detriment, but ultimately it is in the interests of providers to look after their customers well. Their long-term success requires a new approach." She concluded by saying she hopes also to examine transparency of pricing and ensure firms treat customers fairly. This article was written for our sister website

Video Embed: 

What you need to know about the new pension rules

read more

Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1K7pq7J

The Best Home Insurance for 2015

If you’re looking for the best home insurance in 2015, there are plenty of national and local insurance companies that will want your business. However, it’s hard to decide which company to pick with so many choices.

Companies like Amica Mutual stand out in customer surveys, but they aren’t available everywhere. The best way to find fair rates on homeowners insurance is to get free online quotes from a variety of companies. This is the easiest way to understand what rates you might face.

There’s more to take into account than just price, but it’s a good starting point. I’ve included a quote tool below so you can shop around right away. Enter your zip code in the box and click “Get Quotes” and you’ll be presented with a list of 3-5 of the best homeowners insurance companies in your area. You can research policies from each provider and determine which is the best fit for your home and your budget.

Homeowner’s Insurance Comparison

Enter Your Zip Code:

The best home insurance companies will perform exceptionally well in three critical categories:

• Price
• Claims
• Coverage

Although Amica ranks highest in customer satisfaction by J.D. Power, companies like State Farm, Liberty Mutual, and Allstate also rank well in these areas and are worth considering.

There are many reputable national carriers offering similar types of coverage. To find the ideal option for you, the best way to start is by getting an online quote to get an idea of the average rates and companies offering insurance in your location.

What Does Home Insurance Cover?

The main reason you buy an insurance policy is for the coverage it provides. State Farm stands out for offering excellent coverage options, some of which include:

Dwelling Coverage: The part of your policy that helps pay to repair or rebuild your home if damage is the result of a covered loss. Critical home components like plumbing, electrical wiring, or your HVAC system fall into this category.

Liability Insurance: Helps protect your assets and cover costs associated with a lawsuit when you or a family member are responsible for injuring another person, or if someone is injured on your property. (For example, if your dog bites your neighbor.) It also provides coverage if you or a family member causes damage to another person’s property. $100,000 is a good benchmark for liability coverage, but this will vary depending on the size of your home and the assets you need to protect.

Other Structures: Covers the cost of repairing (or rebuilding) detached garages, sheds, and other similar structures.

Personal Property Coverage: Covers your clothing, electronics, furniture, and other personal property that is damaged or destroyed by a cause that is covered by your insurance. Most top insurance companies provide checklists, personal property calculators, or other resources to help you document your belongings. For example, Liberty Mutual provides a mobile app where you can upload pictures, receipts, and more.

Loss of use: If your home is damaged to a degree that you have to temporarily move out while it is being repaired, loss of use will help pay your housing and living expenses.

Guest Medical Coverage: Provides coverage for medical bills and related expenses when someone is injured on your property, but they do not want to sue you. $1,000 per person is a common level of coverage, though some homeowners choose to take out an extension for added protection.

Most of the top homeowners insurance carriers offer similar types of coverage. The best way to find the right homeowners insurance package is by comparing rates and coverage options through an online quote.

Factors that Influence Home Insurance

There are several factors that influence the cost of your homeowners insurance policy. You won’t be able to change or control many of these factors. However, identifying the characteristics you can modify and making the appropriate adjustments can help you keep your rates low. The most common factors that influence your homeowners insurance premium include:

Home’s age and type of construction: If your home is older, there’s a higher chance there will be problems with major components like plumbing, electrical wiring, and HVAC systems. New homes are less susceptible to these major problems.

Location: If you live in an area prone to natural disasters, with a relatively high crime rate, or located far from emergency services, expect to pay more for your policy.

Claims History: If you file several claims a year, you are more likely to pay a higher premium.

Risk Factors: If your home has a swimming pool, aggressive dog, trampoline, or other characteristic deemed risky, you’ll likely pay a higher premium.

Credit Score: Your credit score (whether good, bad, or average) has an impact on the price of your policy.

Deductible: The level of deductible you choose plays a role in the price of your coverage. If you choose a high deductible, that means you have to pay more out of pocket if an incident does occur. The trade-off is a lower premium. (As a side note, I recommend sticking with a deductible you’re comfortable with. If your home is damaged, coming up with $1,000 is probably manageable. Coming up with $2,500 or $5,000 is probably going to be more difficult for most of us. Remember, your insurance won’t kick in until the deductible is met.)

Coverage Amount: The amount of coverage you select will play a role in the price of your insurance.

You can’t control the location of your home, but you do have a say in whether you get a trampoline or an aggressive dog.

By choosing to minimize the risks that are in your power to control, you’re helping keep your premium low.

Choosing the Best Homeowners Insurance Company

Price

In order to get the most accurate estimate of what your homeowners insurance will cost, I recommend utilizing the online quote tools found on the insurer’s website or the comparison tool I included at the top.

To give you an idea of what insurance prices look like from some of the best insurance providers, I got a quote for a home in a Chicago suburb.

These are the monthly quotes I received:

Amica: $75.33
State Farm: $117.75
Liberty Mutual: $129
Farmers: $150

Amica came out to be considerably cheaper than the next provider in this scenario.

Each homeowners insurance company asks for slightly different information, but as I went through each online tool I used the same profile with the following characteristics:

Location: Address located in a Chicago suburb
Home Value: $315,000
Deductible: $1,000
Size: 1,900 square feet
Applicant Age: 40
Home Type: 1 story
Roof Type: Asphalt shingle
Payment Terms: Monthly

The great thing about online tools is that you determine the exact type of coverage you want, select the level of your deductible, and choose the payment terms. It might take a little extra legwork, but online quote tools really do put the power in your hands to find the cheapest policy.

Many online tools, like the one provided by Liberty Mutual, enable you to modify the coverage levels you select, so you can clearly see how changing one component directly impacts the price of your policy. (For example, you could enter a low value for your deductible, see what your rates look like, then enter a high value and see how your rates changed.)

Homeowners Insurance Discounts

All of the best homeowners insurance companies offer a variety of discounts. If you fail to take advantage of these discounts, you’re just leaving money on the table. To give you one example, if you took advantage of a multi-policy discount and bundled the same State Farm home insurance policy quoted above with an auto insurance policy, your monthly rate would drop from $117.75 to $76.50. That’s almost $500 in savings per year!

When it comes to discounts, Liberty Mutual is one of the most competitive providers.

Some of their discounts include:

• Multiple-policy Discount: Available if you have an auto, life, or other type of insurance policy with the same provider.
• Protective Device Discount Available if you have a home security system, sprinkler systems, fire alarms, or other security devices in your home.
• Claim-Free Discount: Available if you haven’t filed a claim over a certain period of time.
• Exclusive Group Savings Available if you have membership or affiliation with certain businesses or organizations. Liberty Mutual’s group savings network includes more than 14,000 employers, alumni associations, and professional associations.
• Newly Purchased Home: Available if you recently purchased your home.
• New/Renovated Home Available if you recently renovated your home.
• Early Shopper Discount: Available if you request a quote before your current policy expires.
• Insured to Value Discount: Available when you insure up to 100% of the cost to replace your home.

Take advantage of Liberty Mutual’s discounts by completing an online quote on their website.

The best homeowners insurance companies offer a high number of discounts, helping you keep your premium low. If you’re unhappy with your current policy or feel like you’re paying too much, you can always get a quote with a new provider that offers discounts that better match your profile.

Selecting an insurance company that maps to your discount profile can result in major savings.

Claims

The circumstances that surround filing a home insurance claim have the potential to make the whole ordeal quite stressful. When your home has been damaged, the last thing you want to do is go to battle with an insurance company that you’ve been making payments to for the last several years.

Based on data from studies conducted by J.D. Power and Associates and ConsumerReports.org, when it comes to filing a claim there is a clear distinction between the different insurance companies. The company that excelled in both studies was Amica Mutual.

Amica achieved the highest numerical score across all categories in the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Household Insurance and Bundling Study. These six categories measure factors like Overall Satisfaction, Price, Policy Offerings, Claims, and other characteristics fundamental to quality homeowners insurance.

Amica also ranked at the top of Consumer Reports’ homeowners insurance ratings. This study measures existing customers’ satisfaction with agent availability, the dollar estimate received when damages occur, and timely payment by the insurer.

In the event that you do need to file a claim, it’s comforting to know you can easily contact your agent, be treated fairly, and get the money you need to make repairs quickly. Ranking exceptionally well in separate studies conducted by two of the most reputable companies is a good indicator that Amica is doing something right.

(As a side note, the other insurance provider that ranked well in both studies is USAA. However, a major drawback of USAA is that membership is limited to those with military affiliation. If you, your spouse, or one of your parents have served in the military, USAA is definitely worth looking into.)

Additional Protection

In addition to the basic coverage options listed above, the policies of each major company include other types of coverage to complement the basic options outlined above. For example, Allstate also offers optional coverage for identity theft restoration, scheduled personal property, water backup, and more.

Most home policies cover damage from wind and fire, but natural disasters like floods or earthquakes almost always have to be added on as an additional policy option. If you live in areas particularly susceptible to these threats, you should look into the catastrophic coverage options offered by the provider before making a purchase.

Don’t Own a Home?

Homeowners insurance obviously won’t be of much interest to you if you don’t own a home. If you’re currently renting or making the move soon, you won’t want to miss my next article that discusses the best renters insurance companies and shows you why one is better than the rest.

The post The Best Home Insurance for 2015 appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar The Simple Dollar http://ift.tt/1garEW1

Get Paid to Shop Online: 9 Rebate Sites That Pay Up to 70% Cash Back

Rebate sites are a popular way to earn cash, points or credits by simply doing your online shopping. You’re likely going to make these purchases anyway, so why not get a little something back at the same time?

All of these sites are free; they make money by earning a small commission of each purchase you make via their direct link. Then they pass a portion of these earnings on to you.

But with so many sites out there, which one should you use? Should you go with one that offers cash-back, or one that gives points you can redeem for gift cards? What about other special deals and coupons?

To help you determine which site is best for you, here’s a breakdown of how each one works, complete with information on the types of rewards, how often you get paid, and more.

1. BeFrugal

Earn up to 30% cash back from more than 400 stores by making your purchase through this site. You’ll see your earnings in your account within a few days. Once your balance reaches $25 or more, you can request a payment via PayPal, gift card or by check (U.S. only). BeFrugal processes payments on the 15th of each month. PayPal deposits are immediate while gift cards and checks take seven to 10 days to reach your mailbox.

The great thing about BeFrugal is that if you make a purchase through their site and find another site that offers a higher percentage of cash back, they will apply the higher rate to your purchase plus an extra 25% to your account. It’s like price matching, but for cash-back rates!

For extra savings, you can also print off coupons for discounts at stores and restaurants. “BeFrugal has coupons available for over 40,000 stores, and saves shoppers an average of $27 per order,” explains the company’s founder, Jon Lal. Using a coupon or promo code doesn’t earn you additional cash back, but it does help you save money on items you planned to purchase anyway.

The site also has several handy calculators for determining whether or not it’s cheaper for you to fly or drive for your next trip. My husband and I use this calculator on a regular basis for saving money while we travel.

2. Coupon Cactus

The Coupon Cactus team offers cash-back rewards for every order that’s made through their site at participating online stores. Cash back earnings range from 1-30%, with some earnings being a flat rate of as much as $63.

Once your purchase is verified, your cash-back earnings are deposited into your Coupon Cactus account. When the balance reaches $10 or more, you can choose to be paid via PayPal or have a check issued on a quarterly basis.

In addition to earning cash back, you can browse coupons, discounts and sales at more than 4,000 stores and online retailers.

3. Ebates

Ebates offers up to 25% cash back at more than 1,200 online stores, though the average earnings are usually closer to 5%. Search the site to find your favorite store, then click the “Shop Now” link to make your purchase. Your cash-back earnings will show up in your account within 48 hours.

Ebates sends you a payment each quarter based on your account earnings of at least $5 or more. You have three options for redeeming your earnings: a check in the mail, a PayPal deposit, or a gift to a charity or family member.

You can earn a $5 bonus right off the bat by signing up as a new Ebates user or by referring a friend or family member.

4. Extrabux

When you click through Extrabux to do your online shopping, you’ll earn a commission on your purchases. The amount you earn per purchase varies from 1% to 30%, depending on the store. For example, right now they’re offering 7% cash back at Drugstore.com, 11% at Bloomingdale’s and 12% at Kiehl’s.

You’ll see your earnings in your account within one to seven days. Once your balance reaches $10 or more, and 90 days after your purchase, you can redeem your account balance. Choose from a PayPal deposit, a credit card payment (which will appear on your next statement), a check in the mail or a donation to the charity of your choice.

Two awesome bonuses: Extrabux offers thousands of money-saving coupons and discount codes, and they’ll give you an $8 reward when you join.

5. FatWallet

FatWallet wants you to think of it as your “one-stop shop” for all things online shopping, cash back and savings. When you shop at hundreds of online stores through FatWallet’s links, you’ll earn up to 25% cash back, though some retailers pay a flat amount.

View your FatWallet balance in your account at any time. If your account has reached the $10 minimum at the end of a quarter, you can request your payout as a check, bank transfer or PayPal deposit.

FatWallet also offers coupon codes to more than 1,600 stores, as well as a community forum where you can chat with other online shoppers and deal finders.

6. Ibotta

Earn cash-back rewards from Ibotta in several different ways:

• Shop online through Ibotta links to certain stores: For example, if spend $100 at Macys.com, you’ll earn $10 in cash rebates (or 10%). You can even purchase certain products from Amazon.com and receive up to a $20 rebate. Once your purchase is verified, usually within five days, the cash rebate is deposited into your Ibotta account.

• Download the Ibotta app: This app lets you submit an in-store receipt to unlock cash rebates. When you’re shopping at Wal-Mart, seeing a movie or eating at a restaurant, simply scan your receipt with the Ibotta app. The app verifies the purchase from the receipt’s barcode, which prompts a cash deposit into your account within 48 hours.

• Link a loyalty card from participating stores: Connecting your points cards from grocery stores, gas stations and local markets will earn you additional cash-back rewards. Before you go shopping, complete a list of simple tasks and then use your loyalty card or phone number at the checkout. You’ll see your rewards in your Ibotta account within two days.

Once your balance reaches $10 or more, you can transfer it to a PayPal or Venmo account. Or if you’d rather convert the cash rebates into gift cards, you can choose from Best Buy, Amazon or Starbucks.

You can earn Ibotta cash rewards even faster by connecting your Facebook account and asking your friends and family to do the same. If they join through your link, they’ll automatically be added to your “team.” The bigger your team, the more rewards you’ll earn each month, including Teamwork bonuses for completing certain tasks together.

7. MyPoints

When you make an online purchase through MyPoints, you’ll earn a certain amount of points per dollar, depending on the store. For the sake of comparison with other cash-back sites, MyPoints also includes an estimated cash-back value. For example, buying online from Macy’s earns you 5 points for every dollar, or 3.4%.

Your points will usually show up in your account within two to five business days, though it can take up to 30 days. You can redeem them for a Visa prepaid card, a PayPal deposit, gift cards or  frequent flyer points. If you choose a physical gift card, it will usually arrive within two weeks, while an “egift card” will be in your inbox within 30 minutes. You should see frequent flyer points in your account within six to eight weeks.

In addition to earning points for online shopping, you can add to your balance by filling out surveys, printing and redeeming coupons, referring friends or family members or playing games.

8. ShopAtHome

Shop online through ShopAtHome to earn cash back at more than 3,000 online retailers on everything from clothes to accessories, books, toys, travel and even groceries. The site offers up to 70% cash back, though the typical percentage is closer to 5%.

Occasionally it may take up to 30 days to see your cash back bonus added to your account, but usually it will post within a few hours. Once your account reaches a balance of $20 or more, you can request payout via a check in the mail.

9. Swagbucks

Swagbucks pays you in “Swag Bucks” when you make a purchase from your favorite store using its links. Generally speaking, you’ll earn 1 Swag Buck for every dollar you spend at participating stores. Other stores offer a flat number of Swag Bucks for any purchase.

You’ll see the Swag Bucks in your account within two to seven business days, and you can redeem them toward gift cards or coupons. The closest thing to redeeming for cash is to choose PayPal gift cards. One Swag Buck is equal to $0.01, so 100 Swag Bucks works out to $1.00. You can choose to redeem your rewards at any time, as soon as you have enough Swag Bucks to earn the prize you want. Check out our guide to Swagbucks to learn more.

Your Turn: Do you earn cash back when shopping online with any of these sites? Which one is your favorite?

Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!

Carrie Smith (@carefulcents) is a writer and business consultant for freelancers and entrepreneurs. In 2013, she quit her accounting job to pursue full-time writing and blogging.

The post Get Paid to Shop Online: 9 Rebate Sites That Pay Up to 70% Cash Back appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1Gvx8Bz

Cars We Remember: Former Hemi owner questions quickness of Buick GS muscle cars

Q: Greg, while you are an expert regarding 1960s muscle cars, my personal experience is far different from yours. I owned a 1966 Dodge Coronet with a 426 Hemi engine, and it was 100 percent stock right down to the 3:23 rear end. Perhaps I simply never encountered a 1970 Buick GSX like you mention, but every Buick GS, Olds 442, Pontiac GTO, and Chevy 396 SS I raced saw nothing but my tail pipes. I had one close race with a Corvette 427 435-hp tri-power, and I made the [...]

Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/1Ia23Zx

World Poker Tour acquired by Chinese company for $35 million

The World Poker Tour was purchased by a Chinese-based social gaming company for $35 million.

Source Business http://ift.tt/1LwfFNL

10 Ways to Make Your 401(k) Balance Grow Faster

Try these strategies to raise the value of your 401(k) plan.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1JedDEu

5 Interviewing Turnoffs to Make Sure You Avoid

These gaffes can be deal-breakers for some hiring managers.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1Conos6

The Day After: 11 Things to Do After You Publish a Post

Clicking the “Publish” button is one of the highlights of my day.

Working hard on a post and then putting it out there to help others is extremely rewarding. It’s one of the main reasons why I continue to write so much.

But it’s not the only reason…

Content marketing remains one of the most effective strategies to grow a blog—any blog.

Eighty-six percent of marketers in North America use content marketing, and 71% of marketers (overall) are planning to increase spending on content marketing. 

Creating great content is an extremely important part of any successful content marketing strategy. But it’s just one part.

If all you do is hit “Publish” and then move on to the next article, your blog won’t grow as quickly as it should.

And if you’re just starting a blog, you might not grow at all. There’s no point creating content for an audience of zero.

Paul Graham said:

A good growth rate … is 5-7% a week. If you can hit 10% a week, you’re doing exceptionally well. If you can only manage 1%, it’s a sign you haven’t yet figured out what you’re doing.

Although he is talking about business revenue, your traffic and subscribers should be growing at a similar rate. That means you should be doubling your traffic once every 4-5 months.

If you’re not meeting those growth numbers (especially early on), you likely need to spend more time promoting your content.

There are many different promotional tactics and strategies out there that you can use to promote your content in order to grow your business. It’s a good idea to try out different ones and find what works.

What I’ve found, however, is that aside from all those strategies, there are 11 things you should be doing—most of the time—the day of or the day after publishing a post.

These simple but effective tactics will guarantee a minimum satisfactory level of blog growth if done on a regular basis.

Let’s dig in…

1. Answer all comments

Getting people to comment on your blog posts is hard.

You might see my Quick Sprout posts getting hundreds of comments and think otherwise, but I’ve only been able to get those after years of hard work.

If your blog gets fairly low traffic, a few comments can be the difference between more people commenting or clicking off the page.

Why do you want comments? Not all blog owners care about getting comments on their posts, but I do.

Comments are great for many reasons:

• They make your blog look more authoritative (social proof).
• You get feedback from the people you care about the most (your audience).
• It gives you a chance to interact with your readers on a more personal level.
• They can give you more unique content on your page, which can increase search traffic.

And the downside? There really isn’t one.

Even though I typically get at least 100-200 comments per each post I publish, I respond to almost every one as soon as I can. Since most comments come within the first 24 hours of posting, that’s when I block off time to respond to them.

On top of all those benefits I just listed, there’s one more if you have a small blog. If you can get five comments on a post, you instantly double that to 10 if you reply to all of them. As a result, you instantly get more social proof.

If the initial commenter replies back to your comment, you’ll have another one to add to your total.

But besides numbers, the biggest reason to respond is to keep the comments coming.

I am sure you’ve stumbled across those articles with hundreds of comments with no responses from the author. That looks terrible.

It discourages you from commenting on that particular post as well as on any other posts by that author. What’s the point of commenting if the writer might not even see it (or answer your question)?

2. Dominate your topic

I am a huge fan of creating definitive guides.

It’s much better to go narrow and deep on a topic than broad and shallow.

My goal is to create a resource that can and should be mentioned every time that specific topic comes up somewhere on the Internet.

For example, I believe that “22 Gmail Plugins That All Content Marketers Need to Know About” should be mentioned in any article or conversation about Gmail plugins. Not only is this list comprehensive, but it’s current and it’s quality.

The problem is, not all these conversations happen on the day you publish. They are going to take place on an on-going basis.

So, I need a way to monitor these conversations. Once I see that someone is talking about Gmail plugins, I can link to the post, which I honestly think will help them.

Monitoring method #1: Google Alerts

There’s no company that tracks more of the web than Google, and Google Alerts has been a useful tool for marketers for many years.

Here is how to use it.

Set up alerts for the main keywords of your article. Note that if you put the keywords in quotation marks, you will only receive alerts for that exact phrase. This is useful if you’re getting a ton of irrelevant results.

Start by going to the Google Alerts homepage and entering your keyword. Click on “Show options” to set an alert frequency and any other parameters you’re interested in.

It’s best to respond to new mentions as soon as possible, and for that, you would need to choose the “as soon as it happens” frequency. Obviously, this isn’t practical for most people, so choose the shortest frequency that makes sense to you.

After that, click “create alert,” and you’ll get email summaries of any conversions about your topic.

Here’s what the results would look like for a “Gmail plugins” alert (no quotation marks).

Once I get the results, I can go to those articles and leave comments such as:

“This is a great list of Gmail plugins. In particular, I’m a big fan of [plugin #1] and [plugin #2].

I actually just compiled a really thorough guide of Gmail plugins of my own. I think you might find some of the ones not mentioned here useful. Take a look if you get a chance: [URL].”

If you leave the comment early enough, it’ll drive some good traffic, and you’ll have another relevant backlink (although not that strong) to diversify your backlink profile.

Monitoring method #2: hashtag mentions

Blogs and news sites are typically great sources of conversations that you can join. Additionally, social media sites such as Twitter are easy ways to drop your link naturally.

Google will pick up some Twitter mentions and include them in your Google Alert results, but I still prefer a Twitter tracking tool for more reliability and advanced features.

There are many Twitter tracking tools, but most are paid. For a free option, check out Warble. Essentially, Warble will monitor any hashtags or keywords that you enter in an alert and send you a daily email with a link to the results.

Create an account, and then click on “setup a new alert.” Then you can enter a keyword, a specific user (e.g., “@neilpatel”), or a hashtag (e.g., “#gmail”).

Once you set up the alert, you’ll get an email each day with a link to a page like this:

I could respond to any of these with an appropriate Tweet and a link to my article. Be careful, however: if you go overboard, you could get your account suspended for spam. While responding to these, make sure to interact normally with your feed and Tweet out like you usually do.

3. Schedule for success

I’m going to share a revolutionary tactic with you. Are you ready?

Share your post on your social media accounts.

Okay, I lied. Not so revolutionary.

While it’s basic, it’s also an important part of a successful social media strategy.

After you’ve published your article, add sharing it on your main social networks to your to-do list. I recommend using a tool such as Buffer to do it automatically, but it’s up to you.

On Twitter, you should share it more than once the first day, but you should also share it a few times throughout the next few weeks.

Scheduling your sharing activity is crucial because it’s easy to forget. However, it’s important to share your new posts in order to drive traffic to your website and gain new followers on each social platform.

4. Email the world

I’ve been continually telling you to build your email list. One of the main reasons why you need to do this is to promote your new posts.

The subscribers on your email list already like you, and you know they already like the topics you write about. They are the ideal people to see your post first.

I email my subscribers shortly after posting a new article, whether it’s on Quick Sprout or NeilPatel.com.

It’s a very simple template that I use every time, and it works. I include three different links that all go to the post. First, I introduce the post, then I include a short excerpt before signing off.

You’ll also notice that I use the postscript (P.S.) to bring awareness to the Quick Sprout tool (and therefore my services). Alternatively, you could include a call to action (CTA). For example, you could ask your readers to comment on the new post or share it on social media.

Feel free to steal this simple template if you’re stuck.

Once your email list reaches a decent size, this email will drive a decent chunk of traffic and engagement to any new post. How would you like to have 10+ comments before you even start promoting an article?

5. It’s time to call in favors

You might not even realize it, but you likely do favors for at least a few people every time you publish a post.

When you mention and link to someone, it can send them small bits of traffic and also help build their personal brand and increase their search engine rankings. Most site owners know this by now.

The problem is that unless they monitor their content mentions very carefully, they might never realize that you linked to them.

The solution is obvious: tell them about it.

Most unsolicited emails suck, but what about an email from someone saying they liked your work enough to link to it? That’s awesome.

And since you did them a favor, it’s much more likely that they will do you a favor.

After you tell them that you mentioned them, ask them to check out the article and share it with their followers if they think they’d enjoy it—no hard sell needed.

Not everyone will share it, but many will. Obviously, the more recognizable your site is, the more likely others will share it.

Here’s a basic template you could use:

Subject: I featured your work

Hi [name],

I love the work you do on [site name]. In particular, I was blown away by [title of content you linked to] when I was researching my latest post.

Since it was so good, I had no choice but to mention you and link to the post. Just wanted to give you a quick heads up and say thanks for the great supplementary resource.

If you get a chance, I’d love it if you gave the article a quick read and left a comment with your thoughts. Here’s the link: [post URL].

I think you’ll love it.

I’d also really appreciate it if you shared it with your followers—if you think they’d enjoy it.

Best Regards,

[Your Name]

Try to keep it fairly short and to the point, no longer than that template.

To make this tactic really effective, start researching topics more thoroughly in order to create data-driven posts. Not only will this make your content better, but it will give you more people to reach out to.

I have one warning for you, though: Don’t just link to people so that they might share your post later; link to them because they have a genuinely useful resource that some of your readers will appreciate.

Finally, if they do share it or leave a comment, follow up with them! Send them another email thanking them, and find a way to continue building the relationship. It could be as simple as telling them they can ask for a share or a comment from you whenever they want, or you can simply link to them again in the future.

6. Join the secret society of blog owners

This tactic is mostly for newer blogs that are struggling to get readers and comments for their new posts.

When you’re staring at a big fat zero comments, or even just a few, all you want is a few more for the reasons we discussed before.

I’ll let you in on a secret: you’re not the only one.

In fact, most blog owners are in the exact same situation as you are. What if you developed relationships with five or so bloggers in your niche? All of a sudden, you all have 10 comments (five from each blogger plus five of your own) on any new post. You could even add more bloggers if you wanted variety.

It’s a very powerful, simple, and underused tactic for newer blogs.

Here is how to implement it.

Step #1: Find them

We’re really good at finding the most popular blogs in our niches, but no one really searches for unpopular blogs.

You can find them in a few ways.

I recommend starting by just Googling “top [your niche] blogs”:

In most niches, you’ll find a few monster lists of 50+ blogs. These lists always contain the most popular 10 or so blogs, but many of the rest will be lesser-known that were just included to make up the numbers and attract a few links.

The good news is that these are exactly the sort of blogs we’re looking for. Avoid any obviously popular blogs, but check out any that you don’t automatically recognize:

In this case, I didn’t recognize “Experience: The Blog,” so I went to check it out.

We’re looking for a blog that:

• is active, with at least one post a month
• has an average of fewer than 10 comments per post
• is run by one author (that you can connect with)
• features good content

In this case, I think the Experience blog is a pretty good fit. It gets a few comments, but not many, and the most recent post was published a week or so ago. It’s also run by a single person.

This is simply a process of trial and error from this point. Go through as many blogs as you need to until you find as many blogs that satisfy the above criteria as you’d like (at least five).

Another option is to use Alltop. It’s a directory of websites sorted by niche and topic. Although it’s supposed to just contain “top blogs,” it contains pretty much every blog submitted to it.

Start by finding your niche using the navigation menu, or search your main keyword (e.g., “marketing”) in the search bar:

Once you’ve found a relevant section, you simply need to go through the blogs one by one to see if they match the criteria.

Just click on the names of each site to visit them:

Finally, if both of those methods failed to return enough results, you can do a simple Google search for “[your niche] blog.”

The most authoritative ones will, of course, come up first, so skip at least a few pages to find less popular blogs.

I skipped to the 9th page and immediately found a decent target:

Step #2: Post a thoughtful comment 

Now that you have your list of blogs, it’s time to add some value to them. If a blog has a very recent post (within the last day or two), comment on it. If it doesn’t have any recent posts, wait for the next one.

Think about what you’d like to see in a comment on one of your articles. Most likely, it’ll:

• be long (at least 50 words)
• be specific (not just “Good post”)
• recognize the effort that went into the post
• add value to the article if possible 

Here’s a good comment from Maham on a previous Quick Sprout article:

Honestly, I get hundreds of great comments such as this on every article. You guys put a lot of thought and effort into your comments, and it shows.

When posting on these other sites, just pretend you’re commenting on a Quick Sprout article, and you’ll be fine.

Step #3: Get in touch

At this point, you’ve added some value to your target’s site. In many cases, the blog author will reply, and some will even go to your site and comment on your most recent article.

Either way, you want this to be an on-going relationship. 

In a few days (anywhere from two days to a week), send the blogger an email like this:

Subject: A win-win situation for [blog name]?

Hi [name],

You might recognize me from my comment on your article a few days ago (this one: [article title]).

From what I’ve read of your posts, I really like them so far. It’s a shame they don’t seem to be getting the exposure they deserve.

I was wondering if you’d be open to trading a few comments with me.

In short: send me an email after you post a new article, and I’ll be happy to leave a thoughtful comment on it. In return, I’d appreciate it if you could do the same on my blog: [your blog URL]. 

More comments for our posts should entice other readers to chime in, which will go a long way to grow both our blogs.

Please let me know if you’re interested.

Thanks for your time,

[Your Name]

Again, not all will want to do this, but you can probably find at least five out of an initial list of 20 or so blogs.

7. Post to aggregator sites

One of the best types of sites to post your content on are the ones that are actively looking for content to discuss. Aggregator sites serve as a community where links can be submitted to be voted on and discussed.

The most widely known aggregator site is Reddit, which contains subreddits that act as individual aggregators. 

These types of sites don’t exist in all niches, but if you can find one or two quality ones in your niche, you can funnel a lot of good quality traffic from them.

Step one is to find aggregators in your niche.

Everyone should start with Reddit. Type some of your main keywords into the subreddit search (one at a time) until you find a relevant subreddit that has at least a few thousand members.

Treat each relevant subreddit as its own aggregator site. It’s possible to submit your posts to more than one subreddit.

Aside from Reddit, here are some other popular aggregator sites:

• Inbound.org (Inbound marketing)
• Hacker News (Startups and computer science)
• DataTau (Data science)
• Product Hunt (Product creation)
• Biz Sugar (Small business)
• Lobsters (Technology)
• Boxnutt (General)

Most aggregator sites focus on business and technology subjects.

Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to find these types of sites in most niches. This is because most aggregator sites are controlled by editors and site owners, so you can’t actually submit your own content.

The bright side is that there’s a subreddit for just about everything, so you always have at least one you can submit to.

Here’s the key: While you could just register a new account and post a link to your post, there’s a good chance that you’ll get flagged for spam. The more effective strategy is to first join the community and contribute to it here and there for a few weeks before promoting your own content.

You should post your links to your own content 10% of the time maximum. That’s the only way to build up a good reputation and be protected from being banned on these types of sites.

If you’re new to aggregator sites, refer to my Beginner’s Guide to Marketing on Reddit. The principles in it apply to Reddit and all similar sites.

8. Post to forums

Prior to using this strategy, you need to identify niche forums and become an active member.

If you’re new to a forum and post a link to your site, you will be banned. In general, you should have at least 50 posts before even thinking about dropping a link. 

But once you’ve spent the time building up a bit of a reputation, forums can be a great source of high quality traffic. They are composed of people who care enough about your niche to make an account and regularly discuss the topic. 

Not all niches have a forum that is active enough to justify maintaining an active presence, but most do.

Once you publish your post on your blog and do the other steps in this article, head over to any forum that you are active on. 

The days of being able to post a link by itself are long passed. People are on the forum because they want to learn and discuss on the forum. If you just post a link, you’ll get reported for spam and have your account banned. 

Instead, you need to give so much value that forum readers would be impressed enough to take further action to learn from you. 

Create a thorough summary of the post and format it according to the forum’s capabilities. Put effort into this step. 

Then, post the summary in a new thread. Either before or after the post, you can include a sentence along the lines of:

“I originally published this information on my blog, but I thought I’d make a summary just for you guys. If you want to read the full version, click here [insert link].”

There’s no tricking or manipulation going on here. 

Here’s how Brian Dean did it three years ago when Backlinko wasn’t the powerhouse it is today:

One final note is that if people comment on the thread, you need to reply. Not only does this make your submission look even less like spam because you’re actually trying to help forum members, but it also keeps your post bumped to the top of the forum. This will lead to more views and eventual visits to your post.

9. Take advantage of groups

Groups are similar to forums in a lot of ways but typically have more relaxed rules. Because there are no post counts, your reputation in the group is based more on your recent contributions than some join date or post count. This means that you can be active for a week and build a solid reputation.

These are some of the groups you can join:

LinkedIn Groups

Start with LinkedIn groups. First, you’ll need to find the best ones to join.

To do so, search for your niche in the main search bar at the top of the page, but make sure to select “Groups” in the dropdown menu to the left of the search bar:

Get as specific as you can as there are a ton of groups out there.

What you’re looking for are 5 to 10 quality groups to join. While there are some excellent groups, there are also a lot of groups that predominantly consist of people spamming that content.

What you should look for is an active group. Every submission should have at least a few comments or likes on it. That’s how you know that it is moderated and that the members are actively engaged.

Here’s what a bad group looks like:

The first three posts I saw in that group had exactly zero comments and likes. If you posted your content here, you’d be lucky to get a visitor. 

But there are good groups out there if you dig a bit. I found a group where all of the first 10 posts had at least one comment or like. Some had much more:

That’s the kind of engagement you’re looking for. It’s obvious that there are real people in this group. 

Facebook Groups

The other good source of groups is Facebook. Most quality groups will be private, which means that you won’t necessarily get accepted into them. Just like on LinkedIn, there are many groups that are full of spam and are a waste of your time. 

To find groups, search your keyword using the top search bar, and then filter your results by “Groups”:

Just like with LinkedIn, you’ll have to go through each group to see if it has good levels of engagement. Look for at least a few hundred members. 

The good thing about both LinkedIn and Facebook groups is that they are both designed for sharing content. It is expected that you’ll share your own content. 

At the same time, you are expected to share your content appropriately. Making three straight posts with links to your website is not appropriate. Spend a few days commenting and liking submissions from others, and then occasionally post a link to your own posts. 

Ideally, you should stay active all the time so that you can post your article links the day after you publish.

10. Get easy links with roundups

Link roundups are great ways to attract links, traffic, and commenters to your website. They work so well that many blogs do them once a week or once a month. 

The problem with link roundups is that it takes their creators a lot of time to find great content to showcase.

What you’re going to do is create a win-win scenario for both you and bloggers who regularly create link roundups. 

Step 1: Find link roundups

Luckily, roundups are pretty easy to find with Google.

Search for “intitle:roundup” + [your keyword]:

Most likely, you’ll be able to find several ongoing roundups in the first 4 or 5 pages. 

At that point, you can keep digging into those pages or try a slightly different keyword to bring up different results. 

In most niches, you can find at least 20 regular roundups. In niches such as Internet marketing, you can find many more.

Step 2: Reach out to roundup authors

Once you’ve compiled a big list of roundups, it’s time to reach out to the creators. If you want to increase your chances of success, start by commenting on a few of their posts.

It’s extremely important that you frame the email in terms of the benefit to them, not to you.

Here’s a sample template:

Subject: Weekly roundup on [site]

Hi [name],

I stumbled across your weekly roundups a short while ago, and I love how much effort you put into including only the best posts of the week. I know that must take a ton of time.

I hope it’s not too forward, but I just published an epic post that I think would be great for a future roundup. It’s a [length] word guide on [topic] that is incredibly detailed and actionable.

Can I send you a link to the post?

Best Regards,

[Your Name]

If you get a positive response, just send over the link and say thank you again. Once they trust that you can actually create really high quality content, you can email them in the future after publishing a post and get an almost guaranteed link.

11. Start monitoring rankings

Did you forget about SEO?

Assuming you’ve read my post on incorporating long-tail keywords into your content, you should be aiming to get some traffic from the search engines. Granted, it may not happen immediately, but you still need to track your rankings to see if you’re making progress.

If you don’t already have a rank-tracking account, head over to Pro Rank Tracker to create a free account.

After you publish a post, go to “Add URL”, and put in your domain name and the main keyword(s) you targeted in that post.

All you need to do is add it for now. Come back in 2 to 4 weeks to see if your ranking is improving. 

Within a week of my publishing the post about Gmail plugins, the post was ranking on the first page for “Gmail plugins,” which gets about 320 searches per month in the US.

If your post isn’t on the 2nd or 3rd page after a month of being published, you’ve probably chosen a keyword that is too difficult to compete for given your current domain authority.

In this case, you should edit the article to target an easier keyword. It’s better to get a larger portion of a small search volume keyword than zero percent of a high volume keyword.

Conclusion

I’ve given you 11 things to do on the day of or the day after publishing a new post.

Even if you do nothing else but these, your blog will still grow. But I also highly recommend you try advanced promotion tactics if you’d like to speed it up by a lot.

Like I’ve told you many times, the key to your success lies in consistency. You need to make a list of tasks and complete them every single time you publish a new post. That will be the difference between success and failure 6 or 12 months down the line.

Before you go to work, leave me a comment below and let me know what kind of promotion you usually do after you publish a post. As a bonus, let me know what you’re going to do now that you’ve read this post.

Source Quick Sprout http://ift.tt/1dZmNXK