Walmart made its first online sales in 2000, 38 years after the chain was founded. Sears began online sales in 1999, or 113 years after the retailer’s establishment. The partnership behind Elegance that Fits did things the other way around. They sold online for two years before opening a physical location in 2012. They say a storefront has some advantages which a virtual marketplace cannot replicate on a web browser. “People get the opportunity to come [...]
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الأربعاء، 16 مارس 2016
8 Kid-Friendly Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for Free (or Almost Free)
While most people don’t think of St. Patrick’s Day as a particularly expensive holiday, things can sure add up quickly if you want to celebrate in style with your family.
The most festive place to celebrate would likely be Dublin, Ireland, where the four-day, mid-March St. Patrick’s Day festival brings visitors from all around the world.
Plane tickets from New York City to Dublin start at $700. A hotel room would cost at least $70 per night for five nights, then there are the costs of dining and sightseeing. And, if you want to get a good view of the parade (which, of course you do, since you flew all the way to Ireland!), grandstand tickets are 60 Euros each (nearly $70).
It would be easy to spend well over $4,000 to bring a family of four to Ireland for the festivities.
But it’s not necessary to spend a fortune or travel across an ocean to have a festive St. Patrick’s Day with your family. Instead, enjoy these fun and almost-free activities with your wee ones, from joining local celebrations, to learning about Irish history, to making these crafts and recipes at home.
1. Head to a Parade
For over 250 years, Americans have held parades to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in 1762 in New York City, as the city’s Irish population grew rapidly with more and more immigrants settling in the U.S.
Continue that tradition this year by bringing your family to a St. Patrick’s Day parade near you.
The two biggest parades are in New York City and Chicago. Chicago even dyes the river green for the holiday! Chicago held its celebration last weekend, but New York is sticking to the traditional March 17 date.
You’ll find many other parades throughout the nation, so check your local newspaper for more information. Parades are generally free to watch, though you might want to spring for some green beverages and snacks afterward.
2. Learn a Little Irish History
Do you know about the 1177 Norman Invasion of Munster? Might as well brush up on your Irish history with free Irish history podcasts.
These podcasts (available on iTunes and online) feature stories about everything from Norman invasions to daily life in the medieval frontier, with categories including “The Story of Ireland” (featuring history from 800 AD to the 12th century), “The Norman Invasion of Ireland,” as well as “Modern History.”
Kids might also enjoy National Geographic’s website with fun facts about Ireland. Once you’ve all absorbed this trivia, you’ll be ready for any leprechaun-themed questions on your favorite game show!
3. Have a Pot ‘o’ Gold Treasure Hunt
Send your wee ones on the hunt for their own pot ‘o’ gold with this memorable activity that is sure to become an annual tradition in your house.
You’ll need:
- A wooden or cardboard “treasure chest” (a cardboard box will work just fine)
- Green craft paint
- Paintbrushes
- Things to decorate the “treasure chest” (glitter, acrylic gemstones, markers, stickers)
- Treats for “treasure” (gold coin candies, etc.)
- Paper and markers (to create clues)
Here’s how to put it together:
- With your kids, paint the “treasure chest” with green craft paint and allow it to dry. You can add glitter and stickers, or glue acrylic gemstones to the chest to make it more festive.
- When your kids aren’t looking, stuff the chest with treasures, including gold coin candies. Find a good hiding spot, and leave clues throughout the house, with each clue leading to the next clue. For example, leave a note about “The next clue is near Fluffy’s favorite place” and leave the next clue on the windowsill where your cat loves to soak up the sun. Leave several clues that progressively lead to the treasure’s hiding spot.
- Once everything is set, enjoy the hunt!
4. Make Shamrock Necklaces
Don’t get pinched for not wearing any green! Here’s a fun option: handmade shamrock necklaces.
You’ll need:
- Green and white construction paper
- Scissors
- Hole Punch
- Yarn
- Glitter, markers and stickers for decoration
Creating this necklace is simple:
- First, grab some green and white construction paper and use scissors to cut out several sizes of shamrocks.
- Use a hole punch to create a hole in each paper shamrock, then use yarn to string them together and make your very own St. Patrick’s Day necklace.
- Use glitter, markers or stickers to decorate the shamrocks, and enjoy wearing your necklace.
5. Create St. Patrick’s Day Carnations
This fun craft is also a science experiment — so it’s entertaining and educational.
You’ll need:
- White carnations
- Green food coloring
- Water
- Vase (or jar)
Here’s what to do:
- First, mix water with a few drops of green food coloring in a vase or jar.
- Place each carnation’s stem in the water, and predict what will happen.
- Watch over the next few hours as the green coloring spreads through the stem, and into the petals of the flower.
- Once the flowers are green, you can display these festive carnations, wear them in your hair or decorate with them.
6. Bake Irish Soda Bread
This traditional bread was baked in different shapes in different parts of Ireland, with northern regions favoring a flattened, rounded disc with four triangles, and southern regions embracing a round loaf with a cross atop it.
Enjoy your own crusty, golden loaf of Irish soda bread with this tasty recipe.
You’ll need:
- 4 cups flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup margarine, softened
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking sheet.
- Using a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine.
- Add 1 cup of buttermilk and egg, turning out dough on floured surface and lightly kneading.
- Make dough into a round and place on baking sheet.
- In a separate bowl, mix butter with ¼ cup buttermilk, and brush the mixture on top of the loaf. Use a knife to cut an “X” on top.
- Bake 45-50 minutes, testing for doneness after 30 minutes (then regularly afterward) with a toothpick (by inserting the toothpick in the middle — when it comes out clean, it’s done). Feel free to brush more of the egg and buttermilk mixture on the loaf as it bakes.
7. Make Corned Beef and Cabbage
This classic Irish-American dish was first created when Irish immigrants sought to find a lower-cost alternative to a traditional Irish stew that featured Irish bacon (similar to Canadian bacon) and potatoes.
Pork was very expensive in the U.S., so creative cooks substituted beef in the recipe instead. Cabbage was added as a less expensive potato substitute that absorbed the rich flavor of the beef.
People fell in the love with the dish, and it became so popular that it was a featured menu item at President Lincoln’s 1862 inaugural dinner.
For this modern recipe, you will need:
- 3 lbs corned beef brisket with spice packet
- 10 red potatoes
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into 3” chunks
- 1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges
Here’s what to do:
- Get a large pot or dutch oven and put the corned beef inside, covering with water.
- Add the spice packet and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 50 minutes per pound or until tender.
- Add whole potatoes and carrots, cooking until almost tender.
- Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes.
- Remove meat, let rest for 15 minutes.
- Place vegetables in a bowl, then cover. Add broth and slice meat across the grain before serving.
8. Prepare Irish Potato Candy
Despite not containing potatoes or being from Ireland, this simple, no-bake confectionery treat was developed in Philadelphia by Irish immigrants, and it remains a St. Patrick’s Day tradition in the City of Brotherly Love.
These delicious cinnamon-coated sweets resembles miniature potatoes and are often rolled into potato shapes and served in a “potato sack” (a brown paper bag).
You’ll need
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
Here’s what to do:
- Beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla together.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar.
- Then, mix in coconut and stir until well-blended.
- Form tablespoon-sized balls, roll in cinnamon and roll each one into a potato shape.
- Place the pieces onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and chill until set. Keep them in the refrigerator until serving time.
Your Turn: How are you planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Do you have any other kid-friendly activities to share?
Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The post 8 Kid-Friendly Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for Free (or Almost Free) appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Two building demolished on Main Street in Stroudsburg
The demolition of two Main Street buildings began Wednesday as plans for a high-end apartment complex with office and retail space to be built in their place moved forward.The buildings that once housed Bridal Locations and the state liquor store at 759 and 761 Main Street, respectively, were demolished by a small crew. Stroudsburg-based firm Dein Properties, which gained borough approval to demolish the venues in January, had originally projected the demolition to take place at the [...]
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Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/1STMjPR
Budget 2016: Tax rates round-up
Chancellor George Osborne has announced an array of tax changes in today’s Budget, so Moneywise has rounded-up the key changes below.
The announcement included two new personal allowances.
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Budget 2016: Class 2 national insurance contributions to be scrapped for self-employed workers
Self-employed workers will save £350 million a year in national insurance contributions from 2018, the Chancellor announced in his budget statement.
Under the current rules, self-employed workers have to pay £2.80 per week in Class 2 National Insurance contributions if they earn more than £5,965 profit a year, but these will be scrapped from April 2018.
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Lefties, Unite! Join This Club and Get a Free Gift
My family faced a serious struggle when I was growing up.
We had to rally and find strength in each other — but we made it through, together.
I grew up with a left-handed mother.
My siblings and I didn’t understand her plight when we were young. Like so many, we were blinded by our Right Privilege.
As I grew older, I began to understand. I watched my mother struggle with pencil sharpeners, notebooks, coffee mugs and atrocious penmanship.
And if I didn’t watch it directly, she was sure to tell me about it.
Being left-handed is hard.
But you’re not alone anymore. Now you can join the Left-Handers Club.
The Left-Handers Club
The Left-Handers Club offers resources for teachers and parents through its website, LeftHandedChildren.org.
It shares information and advice to help left-handed children through school and at home.
In association with Anything Left-Handed, LeftHandedChildren.org also offers products to address the inconveniences and annoyances faced by southpaws throughout history.
When you join the Left-Handers Club for free, you’ll get to download the signature Backwards Calendar for left-handers.
As its name suggests, this wall calendar presents the months and days of the week in reverse order, so you don’t smudge important dates with your antipodal hand.
Need more than a free wall calendar to overcome the barriers of left-handedness? If you’re headed to college in Pennsylvania, apply for the Left-Handed Scholarship!
Godspeed, southpaws.
Your Turn: Have you experienced left-handedness in your life? What resources have you found to cope?
Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, attempting humor wherever it’s allowed (and sometimes where it’s not).
The post Lefties, Unite! Join This Club and Get a Free Gift appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Budget 2016: Alcohol duties frozen but tobacco duty to rise
The duty on beer, spirits and most ciders will be frozen this year, the Chancellor has announced in today’s Budget.
However, the duty rates on most wines and higher strength sparkling cider will increase by RPI from 21 March 2016.
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Budget 2016: Insurance tax rise to fund flood defences
Insurance Premium Tax will rise from 9.5% to 10% from 1 October 2016, Chancellor George Osborne announced today.
The increase is to fund investment in flood defence and resilience measures. It last rose on 1 November 2015 when it increased from 6%.
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Budget 2016: Fuel duty to be frozen for sixth consecutive year
Motorists have been given a boost as fuel duty is to remain frozen in 2016/17, Chancellor George Osborne has announced today.
The tax will stay at 57.95p per litre for the sixth successive year - it’s been frozen since March 2011.
Fuel duty is included in the price you pay for petrol and diesel.
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Budget 2016: Soft drink prices may rise from 2018
Chancellor George Osborne has today announced that from April 2018, the government will charge a sugar levy on producers and importers of soft drinks.
There will be a main rate charge for drinks with more than five grams of sugar per 100 millilitres, and a higher rate charge for drinks with more than eight grams of sugar per 100 millilitres.
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Budget 2016: Double blow to buy-to-let landlords
The Chancellor has confirmed that the 3% higher rate of stamp duty for those purchasing additional residential properties – such as second homes and buy-to-let properties – will come into force on 1 April 2016.
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Still Have Unlimited Data? You Won’t Believe What It’s Worth on eBay
A few months ago, I cancelled my AT&T service plan to transfer over to Google Fi.
Saving more than $60 per month on my cell phone bill while still using a high-tech device that exceeds my every expectation? I felt like I’d totally hacked the system.
I never thought to look back.
Then we shared the article on our Facebook page, and one of our readers clued me in to the gigantic financial mistake I may have made. (Thanks, Stephanie, for pointing out the pain in my wallet I didn’t know I had!)
Your Unlimited Data Plan Might Be Worth Hundreds on the Black(ish) Market
Having originally signed up for AT&T back in 2009, I’d been grandfathered into an unlimited data plan that’s been unavailable for years.
For $30 per month, I could use as much mobile data as I wanted, streaming videos and music and spending a truly obnoxious amount of time on Farmville. (Hey, it was 2009.)
Unlimited data plans, though elusive now, were not unheard of back then. But as smartphone usage has gotten more and more ubiquitous, the price of data has gone way up — and users who exceed their allotment have been hit with frustrating speed caps.
Many carriers have moved to a pay-per-GB model. Others offer what I can only call limited unlimited data, or unlimited data for specific usage only.
For instance, T-Mobile’s “Binge On” initiative, which allows users to stream video without touching their data rations. Similarly, AT&T has an unlimited data plan… but only for U-Verse and DIRECTV subscribers.
As a result, the truly unlimited data plans AT&T and Verizon rolled out circa 2008 have become extremely valuable.
I’m not kidding.
Although it’s expired, check out this listing, which sold for $310. This “guaranteed transfer” listing includes a SIM card and, at time of writing, is up to $879.
And a shocking 44 people are “watching” this grandfathered unlimited data plan for the iPad priced at $5,000.
Insane.
You Probably Shouldn’t Buy or Sell Your Data Plan on eBay
Although these sales aren’t unheard of, it’s hard for us to imagine that cell phone carriers like them very much. They phased out the unlimited plans for a reason.
But sellers found a loophole of sorts.
They can complete a Transfer of Billing Responsibility request, probably created for changes in familial circumstance — for instance, a son or daughter moving off a parent’s family plan to start their own with a significant other.
Buyers just need an eligible device and, sometimes, to be open to changing their phone numbers.
But if you’re not quite ready to pull the trigger on what’s definitely frowned upon (good on you!), there are lots of other ways to make a quick buck. Check out these 103 ways to make money from the comfort of your own home, for a start.
And if your data usage leaves you facing an outlandish cell phone bill, you have non-grey market options.
T-Mobile does have an unlimited data plan, but it’ll cost you $95 a month for a single device. You could also try a discount cell phone service with a free monthly plan, like FreedomPop.
Or, you can make like the rest of us and start counting those gigabytes. There’s WiFi pretty much everywhere now!
If you can’t keep your data usage down, you might need an intervention. Who knows? With the way things are going, technology-use rehab might soon be covered by insurance.
That $5,000 unlimited plan? Not so much.
Your Turn: Can you believe how much these unlimited data plans sell for?
Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She doesn’t play Farmville anymore and never uses more than 2 GB of data per month. Put down the phone and walk away slowly. She believes in you.
The post Still Have Unlimited Data? You Won’t Believe What It’s Worth on eBay appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Try BJ’s Wholesale Club for FREE for 90 Days. Here’s How
Have you considered a warehouse club membership?
It can be tough to weigh the savings of buying in bulk with a club’s annual fee. Thankfully, BJ’s is making it easy!
Use this coupon to sign up for a free 90-day membership to BJ’s Warehouse Club now through July 3.
This is a no-strings-attached freebie. Just print the coupon from the link above, and take it to Member Services in the store.
Note: You can’t use the coupon to apply for membership online, and you’ll need a photo ID when you sign up.
The Perks of BJ’s Membership
As a BJ’s member, you can save money on groceries and other household goods, with prices an average of 29% lower than supermarket chains.
You can also fuel up at its gas stations, which offer the cheapest gas in some states.
If you have an AmEx card, check out this even better deal for 50% off a one-year Inner Circle membership and a free $25 gift card.
To redeem, show your AmEx card and the code AMEX25 at Member Services before Aug. 31.
You’ll pay only $25 for a 12-month membership, plus you’ll get a $25 BJ’s gift card. That means you’ll get a $50 membership and $25 worth of products for only $25 — a pretty great deal!
Both offers are good for new members only.
Your Turn: Are you a warehouse club member? Where do you find the best prices?
Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, attempting humor wherever it’s allowed (and sometimes where it’s not).
The post Try BJ’s Wholesale Club for FREE for 90 Days. Here’s How appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Budget 2016: shock CGT cut could push property investors to set up companies
In a move to strengthen the incentive to invest, chancellor George Osborne has slashed capital gain tax (CGT) payable on gains from asset sales in the 2016 Budget.
The 18% rate currently paid by basic rate taxpayers will be reduced to 10% with effect from 6 April this year, while higher rate taxpayers will pay 20% instead of the current 28%.
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Budget 2016: Changes to the taxes we pay on goods and services
From the introduction of a sugar tax, to increasing Insurance Premium Tax (IPT), and freezing fuel duty for the sixth year running, George Osborne announced an array of changes to the taxes we pay.
Moneywise rounds up what’s been announced:
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Budget 2016: Lifetime Isa to help younger people save for property and retirement
Chancellor George Osborne has announced the launch of a new ‘lifetime individual savings account (Isa)’ to encourage young people to save for both their first home and their retirement.
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How to Leverage Q&A Sites to Generate Traffic
There are many types of sites with which you can generate traffic.
But there’s one in particular that is great for small, and even some medium, sized sites:
question and answer sites (Q&A).
These sites consist solely of users asking questions and other users answering those questions.
Because they are “natural” questions, they contain long tail keywords in most cases.
Because of that, these sites quickly amass search engine traffic in addition to their regular user base traffic.
There are hundreds of Q&A sites out there, but for this post, I’m going to focus on two of the biggest: Quora and Stack Exchange.
Yahoo Answers is also large, but it’s not friendly to marketers (links often get deleted), and I find that the quality of the questions and answers is low.
You’ve probably at least heard of or seen Quora by now. It’s about the 140th biggest site in the world:
It covers just about every topic imaginable.
Stack Exchange, on the other hand, has separate mini-Q&A sites for many different topics (mainly related to technology and education).
Like with every traffic generation method, you need a strategy when using these sites.
That’s what I’ll be giving you here: a step-by-step plan to capitalizing on these question and answer sites.
While I’m going to focus on those two here, this strategy will work for just about any Q&A site. So, if you can find a niche-specific Q&A site, you’re set.
Which businesses should drive traffic from Q&A sites? Before we get started, you need to figure out whether these types of sites can work for you.
While you can drive a significant amount of traffic to your website (thousands a month), you’ll be hard-pressed to ever generate truly huge amounts of traffic.
That means that this strategy is best for sites that only get a few thousand visitors a month. To them, this new traffic source will make a big difference.
If that sounds like you, let’s get started.
Step 1: Identify topics, categories, and search phrases
First, know that you won’t be answering the first questions you see—that would be a waste of your time.
Everything you do on these Q&A sites should be to maximize your visitors/time spent ratio.
If you’re answering questions no one cares about, you won’t get many visitors, and that ratio is going to suck.
The ideal questions to answer have a few common factors:
- They’re not very old – on Quora, the best questions aren’t more than a few hours old. The older the question is, the more other answers you will be competing against.
- They have a relatively high number of views - if they get more views than other questions, many people must be interested.
- They have a low number of other answers - the more answers there are, the more likely your answer will get buried at the bottom.
There’s one attribute that ties the 2nd and 3rd factors together.
If many people are interested in a question, why aren’t there many answers?
Because the question is difficult to answer.
It’s important to understand this because you will be tempted to dodge these questions, thinking it’s easier to do a quick answer to a simple question.
But simple questions get tons of answers.
Expect to put some serious work into your answers to these difficult questions. It might take you 15-30 minutes sometimes to answer them, but if you get a few hundred visitors (or thousand), it can be worth it.
I’ll walk you through the steps of finding these questions on both sites.
Finding great questions on Quora: To start, go to your profile. There will be a section called “knows about,” where you can describe your areas of expertise.
In the text area, start typing major keywords (e.g., “marketing”, “SEO”, “jewelry”, etc.) that reflect your niche.
Quora will suggest relevant and popular topics. Choose them, and press “add.”
The more topics you add, the more potential questions there will be to answer, but keep the topics relevant.
Once you’ve done that, click the “Answer” link on the top toolbar.
That generates a list of questions that fit the topics you just chose.
The annoying part about Quora is that you can’t sort the questions.
By default (the only option), the questions are sorted based on an algorithm that considers the posting date and the number of other comments and views.
Your only real option is to scroll through them.
Take a look at the above picture to see what information is available for each question.
As you can see, it’s not perfect, but it’s a good start. For each question, we can determine:
- the number of answers
- when the question was asked
- the number of people following
You can find more useful data inside each question. If you click on any of those titles to go to the question page (with all the answers), you’ll see a “Question Stats” box in the right sidebar.
That box will show you the most important stat we’re looking for: views.
Typically, the views will correspond to the number of followers, but not always, so you should check both.
Now that you know what we’re looking for and where to find it, you just need an efficient process to identify which questions are good.
Here’s a good start:
- screen out questions that were asked over a day ago
- screen out questions that have zero followers or fewer than 100 views (this does not apply to very recent questions, of course)
- screen out questions that already have over 10 answers (you could go lower)
This will leave you with a few good questions to answer. These questions will:
- be recent
- have a good amount of interest
- have little competition (more on this later)
Most Q&A sites are similar: Some Q&A sites, like Stack Exchange, are easier to use for this purpose.
Like I said before, Stack Exchange consists of a ton of mini-Q&A sites divided by topic.
You can find one that’s relevant to your niche using the dropdown menu at the top:
All sites on Stack Exchange can be sorted by tags.
If you click on a tag, you’ll get a list of questions that have been marked with that tag.
That’s not very different from the process we used above. However, you now have the ability to sort these questions by a few different filters:
You can see the filters on the top menu above.
Additionally, Stack Exchange sites show you the number of views right on this page.
You should mainly use the “votes,” “newest,” and “unanswered” filters.
The “votes” filter will sort all posts with your tags according to the number of votes those posts received (indicating interest).
If you see a post with thousands of views but very few answers, you may want to add one. Even if a post is old, it’s likely still getting views from search traffic if it’s this popular.
You’ll want to spend most of your time sorting by “newest.”
You can either jump on questions with no answers yet that you think might get more popular or stick to questions that are a few hours old that already have a good number of views.
It depends on how much time you have available to answer questions.
Step 2: Here’s how to structure answers for maximum effectiveness
Now that you know how to find good questions to answer, the hard work begins.
On most Q&A sites, including Quora and Stack Exchange, answers are ordered by the number of “upvotes” you get.
In theory, the best answer should rise to the top.
This means that your answers have to be the best.
However, you also want to be able to drive traffic to your website.
There are three main methods to do this, but they all hinge on one key criterion of question selection:
Only answer questions related to content you’ve already written about.
Otherwise, there won’t be a natural way to drive traffic back to your site.
Method 1 – A brief answer with a link to a post: Once in awhile, you’ll get lucky and come across a question that you’ve addressed almost perfectly in a past post.
For example, when someone on Quora asked whether content marketing was effective and whether it was worth spending time on over SEO, I had to answer it.
I already had a post that answered this question exactly.
That made my answer simple but credible.
I did provide a brief answer, but I was able to point the person asking the question to a more detailed answer.
In cases like these, your link will fit the situation perfectly, and it won’t seem like you’re trying to jam it in there.
Method 2 – Reference posts in your answer: Most of the time, questions will be on related to your past content issues.
In this case, you’ll have to provide a detailed answer on Quora itself.
It takes a lot more work, but if it gets you a few thousand views, it’s worth it.
As far as the linking goes, just put in 1-3 links to your closely related content whenever it makes sense. You won’t get an amazing click-through rate, but you’ll still drive a good amount of traffic.
Here’s an example of an answer by Eli Rubel, where he cleverly slipped in a link to a blog post about measuring results:
Method 3 – Recommend your product directly: You need to be careful not to spam these sites with promotional links and answers, but if you sell a product, you’ll occasionally get the chance to recommend it directly.
The key is to do it in a transparent and authentic way.
Start with a disclaimer saying who you are. Here’s an example answer:
The key thing to keep in mind is that your answer still has to be valuable if you want it to get upvoted.
So, if someone asks for a product that lets them do “x, y, z,” make sure you explain in great detail all the ways your product helps them accomplish those tasks.
Point out honestly where your product is strong as well as where it’s weak because readers will appreciate it.
While these questions don’t typically get as many views as others, they can lead directly to sales, which makes them much more valuable.
Step 3: Track and modify your approach
The final thing you need to do is track your results to determine whether answering questions is worth your time.
Overall, this is a simple 2-step process.
Fair warning: your first 5-10 answers probably won’t do very well. You’ll quickly learn what does and doesn’t work on the Q&A site you chose to start with.
Track (1) the time you spend on each answer and (2) the number of visitors you get from that time (even better—conversions).
You can track views directly on the Q&A site, but views to your actual website are more important.
In Google Analytics, go to “Acquisition > Overview > All Traffic > Referrals” in the left side bar:
You’ll get a list of all the different sites that referred visitors to your site, hopefully including your Q&A site:
Next, you can click on that site in particular, and you’ll see a list of the pages that it sent traffic to:
Give each post at least a week to see what kind of traffic it is driving (both immediately and on a consistent basis).
Once you have a sample size of at least 20-30 questions, you have enough information to determine whether using Q&A sites is an effective traffic generation strategy for your business.
It usually will be if you’re good at picking questions and getting top answers, but in some industries it will be harder than others. That’s why you need to measure and evaluate your results.
Conclusion
Q&A sites present a huge opportunity for marketers looking to grow smaller sites—even if using them isn’t scalable.
I’ve shown you a simple but effective 3-step process that works on almost any Q&A site.
If you’re still with me at this point, chances are that one (or more) Q&A site might be a great traffic driver for your business.
Start by using this process to answer at least 20 questions, and adjust the process from there if needed.
If you still have questions about how to drive traffic using Q&A sites, now is the time to ask. Leave your questions below in a comment, and I’ll try to answer them.
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The Dance Between Your Present Self and Your Future Self
Almost every choice I make in my life boils down to a choice between my “present self” and my “future self.” Over the last decade, the single biggest change I have made in my life – the one that has triggered my financial turnaround and launched a new career – was simply choosing my “future self” more and more often.
So, let’s step back and take a look at what that means, starting off with a couple of examples.
Let’s say I’m at the grocery store and I have a grocery list in my hand. I’m wandering down a particular aisle and I spot a delicious snack on the shelf. It’s not a particularly healthy snack, mind you – let’s say it’s a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos.
My “present self” thinks, “Yum! I can afford it, too!” If I listen to that approach, the bag of chips will wind up in my cart, then in my cupboard, then in my belly.
My “future self” thinks, “Those seem tasty, but they’re massively unhealthy and they cost $4 for that bag. Don’t really need ‘em.” I’ll walk on by, keep the money in my pocket, and avoid eating a few unhealthy snacks over the next few days.
Or, let’s say I’m considering buying some laundry detergent.
My “present self” thinks, “Man, I don’t wanna be here. Let’s see – there’s Tide. I know what Tide is. I’ll grab that bottle and get outta here.”
My “future self” thinks, “Hmm… there are a lot of brands here. The store brand here is pretty good and the price is good, too. What’s the container that gives the cheapest price per ounce? Ah, there we go.” (This actually only takes about five seconds longer than the “present self,” by the way.)
Or, let’s say I’m talking to friends about something we can do together.
My “present self” thinks, “Going out to a movie sounds like the funnest option. Let’s do that!”
My “future self” thinks, “Going out to a movie sounds like the funnest option, but none of the other options sound too bad, either, and they’re cheaper and allow us to talk. Let’s have a potluck dinner this time.”
To put it in simple terms, my “present self” is always thinking about the most enjoyable thing to do right now. My “present self” skips exercise. My “present self” rushes through work. My “present self” binge-watches House of Cards. My “present self” snarfs down most of a large pizza or half a bag of Doritos and washes it down with ginger ale (my sweet and bubbly beverage of choice).
On the other hand, my “future self” thinks about which option will create the happiest and most enjoyable life down the road. My “future self” is the one that convinces me to go on a long walk. My “future self” makes a healthy dinner at home. My “future self” tries to do good work. My “future self” works on building positive relationships. My “future self” is the half of me that’s working toward financial independence and working on trying to make my life as healthy and long-lasting as possible and working on having a lot of good relationships to fill those years.
Almost every decision and every situation involves a battle between those two mindsets. Do I do what my “present self” wants and choose the option that brings the most momentary pleasure? Or do I do what my “future self” wants and choose the option that builds a better life down the road?
The truth is that when I step back and look at the big picture, outside of the situation of that moment, the “future self” side of things is almost always the best choice. The “present self” option usually gives a burst of pleasure that’s better in the short run, but that burst almost never lasts. However, the benefits of the “future self” choice tend to last and last and last. The impact might not be big in any given moment, but if I make enough “future self” choices, I’m going to build a really nice life.
There are a few principles I go by when it comes to that dichotomy.
First, the perfect is the enemy of the good. I’m not too hard on myself if I choose to listen to my “present self,” which I certainly do quite often. Instead, I simply try to listen to my “future self” as often as I can. If I’m not perfect about it, it’s no big deal.
Sometimes, I’m going to end up making choices that I regret. I’ll think back and realize that I wasted an afternoon on nothing at all or that I ate a bunch of terrible food or that I didn’t exercise. That’s okay. It’s just a reminder that I need to listen to my “future self” a little more.
Second, I think about “future self” choices when I’m doing other things. I’ll often think through situations in my life and the consequences of my various possible choices in those situations when I’m doing things like driving to pick up my kids from soccer practice or loading the dishwasher or walking to the library.
The purpose of this is to both consciously and unconsciously reinforce the benefits of listening to my “future self” more often. I find that the more I think about things like this, the more natural it becomes for me to just choose the “future self” option. I often don’t even consciously think about it.
What does that actually look like, though? Some of the time, I think through what I need to be doing to build a better future. I’ll think about the state of my physical fitness and what I need to do to get to where I want to be. I’ll think about our financial state and what I need to do to get us to where we want to be. I’ll do that with almost every aspect of my life.
At other times, I’ll think about specific life situations that I find myself in. I’ll think through my last grocery store visit and ask myself whether or not the “present self” choices I made were really worthwhile (usually, they weren’t). I’ll even go so far as to visualize myself shopping at the store and imagine what a better outcome would look like (avoiding the chips aisle, for example). I’ll think about going to the bookstore and then think about how I could have decided to go to the library instead. What this does for me is that it “trains” my mind to make better decisions in those moments.
Third, I try to do things to improve the quality of “future self” choices in the moment. In other words, I work to remove potential obstacles that might cause me to choose the “present self” option.
For example, I keep a small duffel bag around with exercise clothes and everything I would need to go get some exercise in it, ready to go. That way, if my “present self” is arguing on behalf of spending the next hour playing Factorio instead of exercising, I no longer have the “excuse” of needing to find all of my stuff.
Another great example comes from our deep freezer. We have piles of meals made in advance out there, which is a perfect response to my “present self” wanting to be lazy and go out to eat instead of making a meal at home. I basically make it as easy as I can to make a meal here.
Fourth, I think about the benefits that are in my life thanks to my “future self” choices in the past. The truth is that my life is pretty good and, while some of it is luck, much of it has to do with having made a lot of good “future self” choices over the years.
I’ve chosen to work on hard things instead of easy ones. I’ve chosen to spend less when it would have been easier to spend more. I’ve chosen to give up some hobbies because they didn’t bring me any lasting fulfillment and use that time instead for other things that build long-term fulfillment.
Those things seem like small choices in the moment – and they are. They often seem like less fun choices in the moment – and if you look just at that moment, they often are less fun.
The thing is, though, that they each add a little bit of something positive to your future when you do make those hard choices. And if you do them often enough, they add up to some pretty big things.
They add up to a better job and a better career path. They add up to having money in the bank. They add up to feeling pretty good each day when you get out of bed. They add up to having a deeper understanding of the world because you spent time learning hard things. They add up to lots of good personal and professional relationships.
Together, those things add up to a pretty good life, and it all comes down to listening to your “future self” just a little more often each day when you’re making choices. Sure, your “future self” might not be encouraging the “fun” option, but he or she is offering up an option that will make things better over the long run. Much better.
Good luck.
The post The Dance Between Your Present Self and Your Future Self appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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When Should You Get Your First Credit Card?
I got my first credit card when I was an 18-year-old college student.
It was a department store card from Sears and I didn’t charge a huge amount. But being a college student, I didn’t have a lot of money and I didn’t always make my payments on time.
It didn’t ruin my credit forever, but it definitely created some hiccups along the way, especially when I got my first full-time job and was trying to buy a car.
So, when my daughter wanted to get a credit card before her freshman year of college, my answer was an unequivocal “NO.”
Some of her friends were getting credit cards, but their parents were co-signing and planned to pay the bills.
After my own credit card experience, I didn’t want to set my daughter up for trouble.
When Should You Get Your First Credit Card?
The first credit card can be a financial education opportunity, but can all too easily backfire.
It may build credit, but parents footing the bill can also build bad habits.
“It’s like saying, even though it’s your credit, I’m being responsible for you,” says Greg Pang, vice president and financial advisor at Capital One Investing.
Students who take on the responsibility of a credit card too soon may exercise poor judgment in spending due to inexperience, have trouble making payments or only be able to make minimum payments.
When you make minimum payments, “you’re not building credit, you’re ruining credit and charges are amassing,” Pang says, emphasizing that to build credit, you have to pay off your credit card bills in full.
Parents can help by educating and guiding their students based on their level of maturity.
But even the most responsible young adults would be wise to hold off on getting a credit card during the first two years of college, recommends Theodore Daniels, founder and president of the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development.
“The first year of college is very tough in terms of getting organized,” Daniels says. “Students should establish a base and not have to worry about the pressure of having to work to pay for a credit card.”
How to Get Your Toes Wet
In the meantime, students can test the financial waters by using a debit card, either prepaid or one tied to a checking account.
If a debit card is tied to a checking account, Pang says parents can help by monitoring their child’s account to see if they’re disciplined enough to keep money in it.
The student will also get budgeting practice, so they don’t overdraw their account.
Pang also recommends parents spend some time explaining how to make a budget. He advises parents to have their child write down every penny they spend for a period of time.
“What most young people do is just go and swipe the card or go to the ATM and pull out cash and they never write it down,” Pang says.
“If you’re not writing it down or monitoring it in any way, you have no way of knowing exactly what you’re spending. The banks try to make things easy, but it also makes it easy to forget our responsibilities.”
It’s easy to overdraw a debit card tied to a checking account, resulting in bank fees that can easily overwhelm a student with limited funds.
For those needing more practice and experience, a prepaid debit card might be a better option. That way, there’s still an opportunity to practice budgeting — but no chance of overdrawing an account and becoming engulfed in fees.
When It’s Time to Get That Credit Card
Daniels says college students should be ready for a credit card by their junior year, and should definitely have one by the second semester of their senior year to build credit.
Once the first credit card is in hand, “use it only for educational purposes and emergencies, not for casual spending, food and entertainment,” Daniels says.
“Do not charge more than a third of your credit limit and pay consistently as agreed.”
This ensures a good credit report, which can impact things such as buying a car, interest rates on a mortgage, even applying for a job.
More employers than ever are taking a look at credit reports during the hiring process, even for internships, Daniels says.
“A person’s credit report is an indication of his character and judgement,” Daniels explains. “Do you do what you say you’re going to do? Studies have shown that usually people who have bad credit exercise bad judgement.”
Learning to budget, developing good judgement and responsibly managing credit card debt are all educational opportunities, and parents play a significant role, Pang says.
“A well-educated young adult that spends a lot of time with the parent learning, discovering, realizing, will be successful,” says Pang. “With no education, it’s a rude awakening.”
Exercise Self-Control
After telling my daughter about my early experiences with credit, she agreed getting a credit card probably wouldn’t be the best idea right now.
Or so she said.
After she came home for Christmas break, a credit card statement arrived at my house in her name. She succumbed to an offer to “save 10% with a new account” with a store credit card — the kind I’ve learned to avoid.
But her balance is zero, and she told me she doesn’t plan to use the card much.
I’m ready to do my job of encouraging self-control, good sense and reminding her that mama won’t pay the bill.
You Turn: When did you get your first credit card? Will you encourage your kids to wait to sign up for theirs?
Robin DeRosa is a freelance writer in Northern Virginia who is responsible for the financial education of three teenagers, one a college freshman.
The post When Should You Get Your First Credit Card? appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Stuck in Traffic on Your Commute? Here’s Why You Should Get Used to It
When it comes to the banalities of everyday life, few things are worse than commuting.
Whether you’re on a train, bus, or — worst of all — in your car in traffic, it feels like the most gigantic time suck.
You’re either wasting precious minutes/hours of productivity, or precious minutes/hours of relaxation and fun.
And it’s getting worse: The average American commute has increased to 26 minutes, The Washington Post reports.
Wondering how many years of your life that adds up to?
You may not want to know…
How Much Time You Waste Commuting — and What to Do About It
In 2014, more than 139 million workers commuted an average 26 minutes each way — a nearly 20% increase since 1980, according to The Post.
That means Americans spent a collective 3.4 million years commuting in just 2014, the report says.
“With that amount of time, we could have built nearly 300 Wikipedias, or built the Great Pyramid of Giza 26 times — all in 2014 alone,” The Post reports. “Instead, we spent those hours sitting in cars and waiting for the bus.”
Yuck.
So, how does that break down individually?
If you’re driving the average 26 minutes to work each way, you spend nine days each year commuting, The Post reports.
After 40 years of that, you’ll have spent an entire year of your life in traffic.
Horrified?
I certainly was. But don’t lose hope…
One of the best solutions is something we frequently discuss on this blog: working from home.
Here’s how to convince your boss to let you work remotely — even if it’s just one day a week.
If they’re not amenable, or you can’t do your job remotely, start looking elsewhere. Check out these 100 companies hiring remote workers, or start your own side gig.
Because we all know there are infinitely better ways to spend a year of this short and precious life than stuck in traffic.
Your Turn: How long is your commute?
Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.
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5 Reasons You’re Losing Online Customers + 5 Easy Fixes
By Wes McDowell If you’re running your own business, your website should be the hub of all of your marketing efforts. It should be pulling prospects in, and keeping them there long enough to convince them to become a customer, growing your business in the process. Unfortunately, for many businesses, this just isn’t the case. […]
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