MAKE MONEY ONLINE POSTS: 05/03/17

الأربعاء، 3 مايو 2017

Manage Your Money, You Must: 10 Money Lessons We Learned from “Star Wars”

The Force will be with us — always.

Because “Star Wars” has embedded itself so deeply into our cultural DNA, it continues to shape the way we think about life.

Over eight movies and counting, “Star Wars” has taught us about overcoming obstacles, about dealing with family drama, about friendship, about patience, about beating the odds — and even about money.

Because this is The Penny Hoarder, we’re especially interested in the part about money.

Even though the epic saga of Luke Skywalker & Co. played out a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the financial wisdom we gleaned from it applies to the here and now.

Now, prepare to make the jump to hyperspace! Here’s what we’ve learned:

1. Always Pay Your Debts — Or Else

Bingo. This is always the first one everyone thinks of.

Han Solo owes money to the giant slug-like crime boss Jabba the Hutt. When he doesn’t pay up, Jabba sends bounty hunter Boba Fett after him — basically a debt collector with blaster pistols and green Mandalorian armor.

Instead of declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Han ends up frozen in carbonite. Then Princess Leia, Luke, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca and the iconic droids have to infiltrate Jabba’s lair to save him in a sequel.

Just like with Solo, the longer you don’t pay off your debts, the bigger the problem gets. The interest piles up.

Your first step should be to figure out what you’re dealing with. Map out exactly what kind of debt you have. For example, which companies do you owe money to? Are any of your debts in collections? What are your minimum monthly payments on each credit card or loan?

An easy way to do this is to sign up with a free service like Credit Sesame. This tool shows your balance on any unpaid bills, credit cards or loans. It also offers tips on reducing your debt and raising your credit score.

2. Used Vehicles Offer the Best Value

The Millennium Falcon takes its share of verbal abuse in multiple “Star Wars” films.

“You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought,” Princess Leia says upon first seeing the starship. And in “The Force Awakens,” Rey calls the ship “garbage.”

But the Millennium Falcon gets the job done. (Did we mention that it made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs?) Turns out you don’t always need a shiny new vehicle.

Used cars are often a better deal than new ones. Consumer Reports recommends buying a car that’s two or three years old. For tips on buying a used car, go here or here or here.

You’ll need to take care of your ride, though. (The Falcon’s hyperdrive keeps breaking down despite Chewbacca’s best efforts in “The Empire Strikes Back.”)

According to a recent AAA survey, 1 in 3 U.S. drivers can’t pay for an unexpected auto repair. Consider creating an emergency fund with a high-yield bank account.

Online bank Aspiration’s Summit Checking account offers up to a 1% interest rate, almost 100 times higher than the average interest rate at most banks.

3. Negotiate the Best Deal You Can

Early in “A New Hope,” Luke and Uncle Owen are bargaining with some creepy little jawas over the price of some used droids.

When an R2 unit they’d just bought immediately breaks down, Uncle Owen aggressively questions the quality of what the jawas are selling: “Hey, what are you trying to push on us?”

The result: Luke’s family gets the best droid ever, R2-D2.

You might not have any droids, but you probably have a few bills, right? A free app like Clarity Money can automatically negotiate your bills down on your behalf. If Clarity successfully negotiates a bill for you, it charges you 33% of that savings — but only once, and only after those savings have gone into effect.

Moral of the story: Always look for leverage in negotiations.

4. “Do or Do Not. There is No Try.”

Yoda’s admonition to Luke in “The Empire Strikes Back” is probably the biggest zen moment in any of these movies.

As always, Yoda is right on target. You’re either going to do it, or you’re not. Don’t just try.

If you’re going to make financial changes, commit to them and be consistent. Don’t just try once or twice and then forget about it. Sticking to it is the key to success.

For instance, saving money is hard. Consider trying an app like Acorns.

Once you connect it to a debit or credit card, it rounds your purchases up to the nearest dollar and funnels your digital change into a savings or investment account.

Because the money comes out in increments of less than $1, you’re less likely to feel an impact in your bank account.

5. Don’t Let the Little Details Blow Up On You

The Empire spared no expense on the Death Star, don’t you think?

You’ve got to figure that moon-sized battle stations capable of blowing up planets don’t come cheap (especially two of them).

But they overlooked that pesky little design flaw that allowed the Rebel Alliance to destroy the whole thing. Whoops!

Don’t neglect the details like that, because they’ll burn you. Don’t skimp on maintenance and repairs for big-ticket items like your home and car. If you blow that stuff off, you’ll just end up paying more in the end.

Another lesson from the Death Star: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The Empire sure had a lot riding on its supercool Death Star, didn’t it?

Don’t depend on just one thing. Diversify your investments. An app like Stash will invest your money in a set of portfolios reflecting your beliefs, interests and goals. It’ll pull a specific amount from your bank account at regular intervals, so you can grow those investments over time.

6. Get Rid of Your Old Stuff

The “Star Wars” universe looks different than Star Trek and other sci-fi settings. “Star Wars” has that “lived-in” look — there’s junk everywhere. You know, just like your house.

And in the “Star Wars” movies, people make money selling that junk — just like you should.

In “The Force Awakens,” Rey is a scavenger on the planet Jakku, feeding herself by salvaging parts from ships

On Luke’s home planet of Tatooine, those jawas we mentioned earlier appear to be scavengers, too.

In “The Phantom Menace” — hey, here’s our first and only mention of the prequels! — Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi meet young Anakin Skywalker in a junk shop where he fixes things.

Meanwhile, here on our planet, a number of apps are making it easier than ever to sell your old stuff online.

To free up space and earn some extra cash, use the Decluttr app to sell your old CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, phones, video games and gaming consoles.

To sell other types of clutter, check out these other free apps:

letgo: You can sell almost anything on this app.

Bookscouter: Use this site to sell your old textbooks.

7. Beware of Scams. Know What Things are Worth.

Toward the beginning of “The Force Awakens,” a hungry Rey nearly pawns the droid BB-8 in exchange for 60 portions of inflatable food. She’s sorely tempted, but senses something is wrong and backs off.

That’s the surest way to spot a scam: If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Whether you’re selling a droid or shopping for shoes online, you’ve got to watch out for rip-offs. Here’s how to protect yourself from imposter scams, credit repair scams, identity theft, senior scams and online mobile shopping scams.

Since identity theft remains a huge problem these days, a free service like TrueIdentity will help protect you by keeping a watchful eye on your finances. It sends alerts by email, phone or text if someone tries to apply for credit in your name.

8. Embrace the Gig Economy

When Luke and Obi-Wan need transportation to Alderaan, they basically catch an Uber. A space Uber. They pay for the Millennium Falcon to take them there.

Here on Earth, you can make like Han and Chewie in your Honda or Chevy by driving for Uber or Lyft and make extra money each week on your own schedule.

There are other entry-level ways to make money nowadays that you can do on your own time — and from your phone — thanks to the growing gig economy.

Craigslist is an easy place to sell your services under the “Gigs” section. Pay and tasks will vary, of course. And if you don’t trust Craigslist, check out TaskRabbit or Fiverr — to name just a few.

9. If the Deal Turns to the Dark Side, Cut Your Losses

Here at The Penny Hoarder, we’re always looking for good deals.

We’re always asking, Is this a good deal or not a good deal? And when we hear the words “deal” and “”Star Wars”,” we can’t help but think of Lando in “The Empire Strikes Back.”

Lando … Lando did not get a good deal.

When Han, Leia and Chewie first turn up in Cloud City, Lando tells them, “I’ve just made a deal that’ll keep the Empire out of here forever.”

Of course, the deal involves betraying his friends. Later, Darth Vader menacingly informs Lando, “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

Still later, when Vader threatens Lando further and mistreats his friends, Lando fumes, “This deal is getting worse all the time!”

That’s when he switches sides.

If you make a deal and the reality doesn’t match what you were promised, be prepared to walk away. Cut your losses and move on.

10. Sand People Always Walk in Single File to Hide Their Numbers

You see, from this we can learn that … no, no, wait. That’s not a good example at all. We learn no financial truths from that.

We’ve got nothing for you here.

Let’s try this instead. One of the most important lessons we learned from “Star Wars” is:

10. Make Sure You Have a Long-Term Plan

The heroes and villains of the “Star Wars” universe are seriously into some long-term planning.

Emperor Palpatine’s master plan takes several movies to unfold. After he reveals himself to be Darth Sidious and strikes, Yoda and Obi-Wan lay low for a couple of decades after the prequels, waiting for their chance to return the favor.

Of course, when we first meet Obi-Wan and Yoda, they’re chilling in a cave and a swamp, respectively. Apparently the Jedi Council didn’t have much of a 401(k) match.

The sooner you start saving, investing, and paying down your debt, the better off you’ll be.

A confession here: We can’t come up with any financial lessons from “Rogue One.” All we remember right now are the cool space battles.

All told, that’s everything that “Star Wars” has taught us about money over eight-movies-and-counting. Take it as you will.

Do, or do not.

There is no try.

Your turn: What lessons have you learned from “Star Wars”?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. May we all be a bit richer today.

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. His “Star Wars”-loving co-workers helped out with this post.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2qABwjg

Interns At These 25 Companies Make More Than the Average American

Internships are a mixed bag.

Some let you drink beer and travel the world, while others leave you organizing storage closets in the cold, recessed corners of the office while you fight off more than one creepy-crawly offender (all in the name of “paying your dues,” I guess).

Some internships are unpaid, while others are, well, a little overpaid. And then there are some that are downright illegal.

Either way, internships were created to be invaluable learning experiences — stepping stones for inexperienced workers looking to break into their fields in an impactful way.

But what about those internships that are also invaluable earning experiences?

Glassdoor recently released a list of the 25 highest paying internships in the U.S., and the results are… a little insane.

It turns out, the highest paid interns in the country make more than the average American worker.

Whoa, what?

A Little Shocking, But Not Surprising

Are you struggling to grasp those numbers right now? Allow me to do some calculations.

According to local pay reports from Glassdoor, the median salary for the average full-time U.S. worker is $51,350, which works out to about $4,200 a month.

The lowest paid internship on this list, which is offered by Bank of America, comes in at $4,570 a month.

And the highest paid internship on the list? That honor belongs to Facebook, at $8000 a month. That would work out to nearly $100,000 over the course of a year.

But while it’s a little shocking to see internships offering such high compensation, most of the companies included here are actually unsurprising as far as high-salaried jobs go. Also included are Microsoft (at number two), Amazon (at number five), Apple (at number six) and Google (at number eleven).

The list is mostly comprised of tech and finance giants, so it makes sense that they’re fishing for some pretty high-stakes talent with those high-stakes wages: a number of the internships at Facebook even require applicants to be pursuing PhDs.

It’s Not Necessarily Easy Money

While some internships require little more than the ability to alphabetize files or remember eight Starbucks orders at once, the ones on this list are a little more involved.

At Salesforce, which is ranked number four on the list with an average monthly paycheck of $6,450, interns “work on real projects that affect how the business runs, giving them the opportunity to make a tangible impact on the future of the company,” notes Glassdoor.

At number 17 on the list, offering an average monthly paycheck of $5,120, Adobe states that “you’ll put your smarts to work on business-critical projects with the top talents in your ﬁeld,” and that interns may very well be offered a full-time position at the end of their internship experience.

This “Diary of An Ex-Apple Intern” gives an inside look at one intern’s experience, detailing his role in the company and how he ended up with offers from recruiters from other top companies in the industry.

So while those big ol’ paychecks are certainly enticing, getting a foot in the door might be the sweetest perk of all. Being able to cite one of these 25 companies on a resume could open a lot of doors for someone just starting out in their field.

You can see Glassdoor’s full list of the 25 highest paying internships here.

Your Turn: Tell me about your first internship experience in the Facebook comments!

Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

Häagen-Dazs Free Cone Day is May 9! Here’s the Scoop on This Sweet Deal

Does it feel like summer yet? This deal might help give you that summer feeling, no matter where you live.

Häagen-Dazs is celebrating its annual Free Cone Day on Tuesday, May 9.

Take the whole family to your local Häagen-Dazs shop for a free kiddie-size ice cream in a cup, sugar cone or cake cone.

If you’re lucky, maybe your server will let you get my favorite order: a sugar cone, upside-down in a cup. Because who wants to wade through all that ice cream to get to the crunchy cone?

You’ll get one scoop per guest, and you must be in line between 4 and 8 p.m.

Celebrate Free Cone Day… For the Bees???

During this year’s Free Cone Day, Häagen-Dazs wants to bring attention to honeybees.

What do bees have to do with ice cream?

Many of the chain’s fruit flavors — and even some classics like vanilla and rocky road — depend on bee pollination. The vanishing bee population could make it more difficult to grow the crops your favorite ice cream varieties need.

The Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees initiative donates money to bee conservation research and education. Last year, it installed a permanent honeybee habitat at the farm that supplies almonds to Häagen-Dazs.

So while the company wants you to “create some buzz” on Free Cone Day, all you have to do is eat ice cream and appreciate honeybees. It’ll foot the bill toward saving threatened pollinators.

Not a Fan of Free Ice Cream?

We’re not convinced you exist, but just in case…

Want to skip the line? Pay for your ice cream!

Any guests who want to purchase items can bypass the line of people waiting for free scoops. So don’t be dismayed if you’re more worried about getting your Wednesday afternoon sundae in a timely fashion than saving a couple of bucks.

As for the rest of you, we’ll see you in line!

Your Turn: What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a senior 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). Lisa Rowan updated this post.

More Companies Offer Paid Paternity Leave — So Why Do So Few Dads Use It?

Good news! An increasing number of companies are offering paid paternity leave for new fathers.

This is a really awesome work benefit that allows dads to stay home with a new baby without taking a hit to the wallet — but there’s just one problem.

Many new dads aren’t using it.

Why Some New Fathers Take a Pass on Paid Paternity Leave

Roughly 69% of Americans say fathers need paid paternity leave, so the majority of us clearly support men taking time off work after a family birth or adoption.

Why, then, do mothers take an average of 11 weeks of leave vs one week for fathers?

Some men believe that taking paternity leave will have adverse effects on their job or career, even though only 13% of men in a recent Pew Research study say they’ve experienced that.

In families where the man is the primary breadwinner, some new fathers can’t afford to use paternity leave if it only covers a portion of their salary for the duration of their absence.

“Men are concerned about how they’ll be perceived by their bosses and colleagues if they take time off, so they don’t take leave,” says Chris Duchesne, vice president of Global Workplace Solutions at Care.com.

A 2014 study by Boston College revealed that many men feel a “tug of commitment” that makes it hard to break away from work projects and deadlines to take time off with a new baby.

Why Paid Paternity Leave Is Important For You (and Your Employer)

Getting paid to stay home with your newborn is worth its weight in diapers.

Any parent will tell you that those early days of bonding with your baby are one of the most exciting parts of parenting. Those happy memories will also get you through your 5,374th night of colic and sleeplessness without having a complete breakdown.

Now, I’m not trying to scare you — that early bonding time is important for your baby, too.

“The importance of bonding with the primary caregiver cannot be overestimated,” says Dr. Mary Beth Steinfeld at the UC Davis Medical Center. ”Failure to do so profoundly affects future development and the ability to form healthy relationships as an adult.”

And when new dads take paternity leave, their employers win too.

Bank of America offers 16 weeks of paid leave and an additional 10 weeks of unpaid leave to birth and adoptive parents as part of its benefit package.

The generous arrangement is a win for both new parents and the company, according to Jim Huffman, the bank’s U.S. health and wellness benefits executive.

“I tell everyone who asks that the confidence and the comfort level parents have when they do come back to work is just so strong because they had that time with their child,” he says. “I think paid parental leave is a really great benefit to invest in.”

Convinced yet?

What if I told you that paid parental leave even benefits the economy?

“Economists have found that with paid leave, more people take time off, particularly low-income parents who may have taken no leave or dropped out of the work force after the birth,” reports the New York Times.

That means fathers who are supported with paternity leave return to work after the birth of a baby, continue to fill jobs, earn money and spend money — all things that contribute to a healthy economy.

Where to Find Companies That Support Paid Paternity Leave

The rise in paid paternity leave is a trend we hope continues.

Unfortunately, not all companies offer it as a benefit of employment — yet.

Here are a few that do:

These 13 companies offer at least six weeks of paid leave to new fathers. One even offers a whole year!

Software company Asana gives its new dads 16 weeks of paid leave

Marketing research company Nielsen offers paternity leave to employees — even remote workers

Fatherly.com has a list of the 50 best places to work for new fathers

Whether you have paid paternity leave or not, a new baby will cost a lot more than you’re expecting. Be prepared with these 12 tips to help you survive parental leave without going broke.

Your turn: Guys, would you take parental leave if it was offered by your company?

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She believes all parents should have equal time off to stay home with a new baby. No one should have to combat colic alone.

10 Cinco de Mayo Food and Drink Deals to Help You Fiesta on a Budget

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Though — contrary to common belief — today is not Mexico’s Independence Day, it’s still an excuse to celebrate.

And here at The Penny Hoarder, you know how we celebrate: with deals.

So here are 10 of the best Cinco de Mayo specials we could find… Vamos!

1. Bahama Breeze

Get your drink on with $5 handcrafted classic margaritas at the Bahama Breeze nearest you. If you’re planning ahead, this deal is valid May 1-5.

2. Moe’s Southwest Grill

Happy #CincodeMoes!

This quick-service Tex-Mex chain is offering $5 burritos all day at select locations — and if you’re one of the first customers of the day, you might even get a free T-shirt!

3. Tijuana Flats

Get three days of $2 deals on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Grab $2 Mexican drafts on Friday, May 5. “Recover” on Saturday May 6 and Sunday, May 7 with $2 drafts, plus $2 churros, tacos and chips and salsa.

4. On the Border

Drink specials abound, with margaritas on special for $5 each. To get the fiesta started, many locations will also have live music!

5. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s

Grab the pub’s Cinco de Mayo deal — two tacos with chips and salsa for $5.99 — on Friday. Tax and gratuity not included.

6. Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse

Head to the bar all week long for $4 Coronas and $5 margaritas.

7. Chuy’s

Austin, Texas-based Tex-Mex chain Chuy’s starts the celebration early. Stop by May 4 for a $1 floater (a half-ounce of your favorite liquor poured over your beverage) or $1 off Corona beer. On May 5, enjoy all-day happy hour specials, plus the previous day’s drink offers. On Saturday, May 6, Chuy’s will serve $5 bloody marys.

8. El Pollo Loco

Head over to this chicken joint’s coupon page to print out deals you can use all weekend. Choose a $5 chicken tostada combo, a $5 two-piece leg and thigh combo, or $5 off a 12-piece family meal. Looking for catering deals? Take $10 off a 24-piece catering meal or $20 off a 48-piece catering meal. Talk about a party! You can show these coupons on your mobile phone, too.

9. Marie Callender’s

Stop by Marie Callender’s all weekend for $4 house margaritas and $6 “ultimate” margaritas. Home-style dishes and marg specials? Heck yes.

10. Tio Juan’s Margaritas

Stop by before 4 p.m. on May 5 for $5 house margaritas and $5 all-you-can-eat nachos. Select locations will have live bands or DJs, along with giveaways and other entertainment.

Be sure to check out your local restaurants to find more deals for Cinco de Mayo!

Your Turn: Where will you celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year?

Susan Shain is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.

CLOSING BELL: Stocks dip as media, health care companies fall; banks jump

Media companies tumbled after Time Warner said its cable advertising revenue fell. Apple slipped after iPhone sales came in lower than investors expected, but the stock recovered nearly all of its losses.

Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/2qtrwLM

Dispensary eyes Stroud location

One Bethlehem-based company is awaiting state decision on marijuana facilities.

Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/2pGf0FI

Here’s What You Should Know About the Overtime Bill That Passed the House

The U.S. House of Representative just passed a bill that could change the way employers compensate workers who work overtime.

The Republican-backed Working Families Flexibility Act would allow companies to give workers extra time off at their regular pay rate instead of paying employees time-and-a-half for any extra hours they work.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington lauded the bill, saying, “I don’t think there’s anything more powerful than giving [families] more control over their time so that they can make the best decisions for themselves and their families.”

*Record scratch*

Not so fast, politicians.

This bill isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute told The American Prospect, “Literally, this is a complete and total fraud.”

Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland says, “This legislation effectively devalues what workers can earn for the extra hours they work, undermining the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

The Problem With the Working Families Flexibility Act

On the surface, getting paid time off in exchange for working overtime sounds like a good deal. However, while some workers may prefer it to other forms of compensation, others could really get the shaft.

In fact, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, most employers aren’t allowed to offer compensatory time — or comp time — in lieu of overtime pay.

One-third of businesses do it anyway.

That means employees who would rather bank the extra money they earn working overtime than get a few extra hours or days off are out of luck.

Furthermore, this bill fails to take into account that, because employers control employee schedules, workers can’t simply take whatever comp time works for them.

Instead, access to their overtime “compensation” is at the mercy of the employer.

Opponents say the bill purports to give families “more control over their time” but has no teeth to make sure the spirit of the law is actually applied.

5 Benefits That are Better Than the Overtime Bill

If this bill does pass the Senate, employers may tout comp time as a benefit of working for their company.

But if that doesn’t impress you, here are five companies with benefits that may be of more value to you and your family.

1. Progressive Insurance offers workers on-site medical care, access to fitness centers and adoption assistance

2. Groupon gives employees unlimited vacation days

3. Apple’s AppleCare Advisors get deep product discounts (plus you get to work from home!)

4. Starbucks offers free college education through Arizona State University — even if you’re a part-time employee.

5. Etsy gives new moms and dads 26 weeks of paid parental leave

Your turn: Would you rather get time-and-a-half or comp time for working overtime?

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Until the day comes where she can be paid in White Castle sliders, she’ll take time-and-a-half, thanks.

Looking to Work From Home? This Company is Hiring Reps in 35 States

We shared this opportunity with Convergys in the past, and readers seemed to enjoy it — so, when we saw they’re recruiting again, we wanted to let you know!

The company regularly hires all over the country for three work-from-home customer support positions: sales and service (sales focus), customer service (customer focus) and technical support (technical focus).

Your hours would vary, and pay is dependent in part on your location. We recommend you ask about these details in your interview.

Convergys is Hiring Work-from-Home Customer Service Reps

Convergys provides customer service agents for a variety of client companies.

“When you call the customer service department for your cell phone or cable provider, you just might be talking to a Convergys home-based customer service and sales agent,” the company points out.

As a work-from-home sales and service rep, you’d provide customer service and sales over the phone or online for client companies.

Convergys has listings for these work-from-home jobs in 35 states.

Requirements

For all positions, applicants must have:

a high school diploma or GED

at least one year of customer service experience (plus one year of sales experience if you’re applying for a sales-focused position)

your own PC and high-speed internet service

a 17-inch monitor

quiet, distraction-free environment to work

an approved headset (upon hire)

Your schedule would vary, but make sure you’re available to work evenings and weekends.

Benefits

You’ll receive company benefits, including:

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k)

Tuition reimbursement

Attendance-based wage increases

Performance bonuses

Sales incentives (depending on position)

To apply: You can see all available positions and apply for your state here. Just search “work from home” and you’ll find all of the available remote positions that Convergys is hiring for.

Want to be the first to know about other fun and interesting jobs like this? Like The Penny Hoarder Jobs on Facebook to stay in the loop!

Your Turn: Are you looking for a work-from-home customer service job?

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).

Worried You Might Lose Your Retail Job? Here’s What to Do If That Happens

A lot of us worry that robots will steal our jobs (just try it, HAL).

The way retail industry is going, however, there won’t be any retail jobs left for robots to swipe.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the retail industry lost 30,000 jobs in March and a total of 89,000 since October 2016.

From department stores like JCPenney and Macy’s to smaller retail chains like Rue21 and Wet Seal, more than 3,000 major retail stores are expected to close this year.

Around 16 million American workers staff shops, boutiques and general merchandise stores, so a dip in retail job availability has far reaching consequences.

“Some economists say this is how the market is supposed to work,” says the New York Times. “After the recession, retail hiring was a big driver of the recovery. But now that the economy is stronger, retail workers theoretically should be pushed out into potentially higher paying jobs that offer more chances to create wealth.”

That sounds good in theory, but what does that look like in practice for jobless retail workers with bills to pay?

I’m glad you asked.

What to Do If You Lose Your Retail Job

If you lose your retail job, don’t panic. You got this.

First, check the news to see if the retailer is filing for bankruptcy. If so, you may be entitled to wages and benefit payouts. Consumerist has the scoop on what to do if your retail employer is filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Next, you need to make some cheddar to cover your bills. Here are five ways to bring in cash until you land a new gig.

1. Apply for a work-from-home customer service job with companies like Amazon or Cigna.

2. Keep an eye out for seasonal retail jobs. You never know when a temporary gig could become permanent.

3. Scratch your itch to help people by freelancing for Care.com.

4. Think about ways to take your retail experience to the next level by applying for higher-paying retail positions.

5. Ditch the retail industry altogether and consider a career in one of theses 13 high-salary jobs instead.

While you’re waiting for your dream job to come along, check out these 32 legitimate ways to make money from home.

Your turn: Are you worried about losing your retail job? Do you have a backup plan?

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. If she ever needs a retail jobs she’s heading straight for Sephora.

New Harley-Davidson store at Crossings in Tannersville

Biker chic has found a home at the Crossings.Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson opened a store at the Crossings Premium Outlets in Tannersville that will feature men’s and women’s fashions and accessories.The 3,000 square foot store, with a diamond-plated décor, is located next to the Nautica Factory. It opened in April and carries more items than tubas in an Easter parade.Owners Jim and Linda Schlier said the Crossings had approached the couple to [...]

Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/2oYfvxH

Catch ‘Lego Batman,’ ‘Trolls’ and Other Kids Movies for Just $1 This Summer

Regal Entertainment Group wants to make things a bit more animated this summer.

If you’re feeling stuck and searching for cheap things to do with your kids while they’re on summer break, head to a participating Regal theater on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning June through August to catch one of 18 awesome animated kids movies for only $1 per ticket.

The movies are a part of Regal’s Summer Movie Express promotion. Regal will donate a portion of the ticket sales to the Will Rogers Institute, which funds medical research for cardiopulmonary diseases.

Head to Regal’s website to find a participating theater near you and see the schedule. All showings begin at 10 a.m, and theaters will play two movies each week. (Both movies will play on both Tuesday and Wednesday.)

You can purchase tickets in advance or at the box office.

What Movies Can You See at Regal for Only $1?

Here are the movies in the 2017 Regal Summer Movie Express lineup.

Week 1

Kung Fu Panda 3
Ice Age: Collision Course

Week 2

Trolls
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

Week 3

Monster Trucks
Penguins of Madagascar

Week 4

Rio 2
The Boxtrolls

Week 5

The Secret Life of Pets
Sing

Week 6

Kubo and the Two Strings
Ratchet and Clank

Week 7

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie: Sponge Out of Water
The Adventures of Tintin

Week 8

Happy Feet 2
Cats & Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

Week 9

Storks
The Lego Batman Movie

Your Turn: Which movie are you — I mean your children — most excited to see?

Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She doesn’t have kids but will likely find a way to go see “Rio 2” anyway.

A Great Day with the Kids… on the Cheap

Over the past few years, my wife has been working hard to earn her masters degree in education in order to become a better educator. She’s a passionate educator and comes home almost every day bubbling with ideas for reaching students, even after years of teaching the same subjects to a revolving door of America’s youth, and I admire that passion and focus that she brings to the table.

However, in the process of chasing that masters degree, there have been many weekend days in which I’ve been alone with the kids (she often has classes on Saturdays that fill up much of the day, as her program is designed around people who are continuing their professional lives while working toward a masters). It’s been up to me to plan many, many days with the children on my own over the past few years. Typically, she and I would balance those responsibilities, but with her coursework, the planning has fallen to me.

Some days, of course, I give the kids a great deal of open-ended free time. A child’s time doesn’t have to be – and shouldn’t be – entirely structured, and if I ever feel like their lives are becoming too structured, I make sure to give them an open-ended day to do as they please. The only thing I encourage them to do is to try to make or do something cool that they can talk about at the dinner table that evening. I leave it up to them to devise it and execute it, and it usually has good results. I mean, who doesn’t appreciate an art show or a dramatic poetry reading or a book review at the dinner table?

Sometimes, though, I’ve chosen to spend the day with them, and that often means coming up with something to do together. Typically, I want it to cost very little, so my activities of choice are almost always free ones or extremely low cost ones.

What follows is a list of some of the best low-cost things I’ve done with my kids on those Saturdays when their mother has been away at class. I used that restriction for a few reasons, the biggest one being that these are things that a single parent could actually pull off with three kids. I didn’t want to include things that would become logistically difficult for a single parent, so I’m just restricting it to things that work with one parent but can easily include both parents for a full family day if one so chooses.

I’ve been keeping a list of these ideas since my wife started her masters program, and now that it’s winding down, it feels right to share this list. I’ve grouped some of the specific activities together as we’ve done variations on the same thing many times, but there’s still a robust list of things to do and try.

Choose from among these options and mix and match them to meet your needs and the needs of your family. These options are widely varied in terms of content and time and what’s needed for everyone involved, so I’m pretty sure you can find at least one or two ideas that will click with you and your kids. All of these work easily with one parent and three elementary-aged kids and will definitely work with smaller numbers.

Make a food item that they like completely from scratch.

In the last couple of years, we’ve made bread (basically flour, yeast, sugar, and water) from scratch, pasta (eggs and flour) from scratch, pickles (cucumbers, water, and salt) from scratch, sauerkraut (cabbage, water, and salt) from scratch, and many other such food items from scratch. We start with the most basic things we can and then work together to transform them into a tasty final product. We’ve produced delicious garlic breadsticks, homemade pasta that we used in a lasagna, tons of pickles and sauerkraut, pickled eggs, jellies, zucchini bread… all kinds of things. The goal here was to get the kids as involved as humanly possible in the process (with my only labor contribution being in the form of touching up certain steps), learning about what goes into a lot of common foods, and producing something for supper that’s really inexpensive.

Go geocaching.

If you have a smartphone, just download a geocaching app, look for a location near your home that has several geocaches in a concentrated area, then head there as a family and find several geocaches. Geocaching is basically real-world treasure hunting, where the treasures are often small tubes or little boxes with a log in them and occasionally a neat tchotchke or two (which you can swap out with our own little item for someone else to find). It’s a great way to spend a few hours exploring and noticing the details of the world around you.

Play a game against their collective brainpower.

One activity that’s proven to be popular time and time again is a collective board game. We’ll get out something like a chess set. On one side of the board is me, while the three kids collectively manage the other side. You get two full minutes to make a move (though I usually make them faster than that). They collectively try to beat Dad. I encourage them to talk out their moves and I’ve found that listening to what they’re planning usually gives me some tips as to what to think about. We’ve reached a point where the games are competitive and their collective brainpower makes some good choices, and they absolutely revel in the idea that they’ve pushed me into a corner.

Make a creative work of some kind.

For example, we might spend a few hours writing a surprisingly long story. I’ll just keep feeding them questions that are meant to encourage them to add depth to characters and to events and then we keep layering them into the story. We’ve made short films using a smartphone camera and whatever props and costumes we could find around the house. We’ve made photo collages out of magazines. The goal is to make something that’s meaningful to everyone involved.

Go sightseeing near your home.

Sure, you might be intimately familiar with the highlights of your city… but your kids aren’t. Take them to everything that people flock to see about your local area. Let them see the beautiful architecture, the public art, the amazing gardens, the wonderful views. My kids have been to the Des Moines Art Center. They’ve taken the Capitol Tour. They’ve enjoyed the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. They’ve seen the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. They’ve explored almost every inch of the State Fairgrounds. They’ve seen the bridges of Madison County. They’ve visited virtually every park and nature area in Polk County and the counties surrounding it. Those are things that people go out of their way to see when visiting central Iowa and my children have seen most of them. What free things do people see in your area? Have you taken your kids there?

Design and implement a volunteer project together.

Look for something in your community that stands out as something that needs to be fixed and then spend a day together fixing it. We’ve done this several times. We spent an afternoon picking up trash in local parks and depositing it in trash cans. We’ve pulled weeds out of the flower beds in a few parks. After a stormy Friday night, we went on several trails near our home for the purpose of a nice nature walk but also to clear all of the limbs and debris from the trails. We even spent a day going door to door asking for clothes donations for the clothing pantry – we put out notes the week before at a bunch of houses, then went door to door to collect unwanted clothes the following weekend and took them to the pantry. The fun here is letting your children identify something in the community that sticks out at them as something bad that’s fixable and then working with them to cultivate a way to fix it or at least improve it.

Do a ‘wandering walk.’

This is probably our single favorite thing to do on a nice day. We simply go to somewhere new for all of us (or at least for the kids), park the car, mark it on my phone’s map app so we can find it again, and then just simply wander. We constantly discover new things, like Little Free Libraries or hidden little parks or trails that go down to this amazing beach next to a creek or this crazy walkway that goes over the interstate. Once, we found ourselves in the midst of a protest. Another time, we came upon what appeared to be a meeting of the local homeless community in a park. Almost every time, we come home with several crazy stories from our wandering. We just wander around in whatever spontaneous direction we choose until someone suggests that they might be getting tired, stopping whenever we see something interesting.

All of us have enjoyed all of these activities, even as our children have gone from barely beyond toddler aged to our oldest being a middle school student. The exact variations of each activity have certainly changed over the years, but the core of it has been the same – they’re all fairly open ended activities that center around spending time together without spending money together.

You don’t need to open up your wallet to spend a great day with your kids. You just need to open your heart and give your time and attention.

Related Articles:

The post A Great Day with the Kids… on the Cheap appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar http://ift.tt/2qF4ZYM

OPENING BELL: Losses for tech and materials companies send US stocks lower

Early losses for Apple and other technology companies pull major indexes lower.

Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/2qz1jZo

Crazy Ways to Get Hired: 5 Unusual Job-Hunting Tactics That Actually Worked

Despite a better economy, it’s still tough to get a good job. The unemployment rate for young college graduates is over 8%, reports the Economic Policy Institute. But the underemployment rate is closer to 17% percent. Flipping burgers part-time to pay off your debt from that bachelor’s degree is no fun.

It’s time to get the position you really want — but how? If the usual means have failed you, you might want to try something new, and maybe even some tactics that are “a little bit out there.” Consider the following crazy ways to get hired that have actually worked.

1. Advertise on Google

Alec Brownstein ended up on CBS News for his job hunting technique. It started when he was Googling the executives he wanted to work for and noticed there were no paid ads in the results. Figuring that, like everyone else, executives probably Google themselves from time to time, he opened an AdWords account and bought the top spot for several names.

When Ian Reichenthal, the creative director at Young and Rubicam, Googled himself, he saw Brownstein’s ad. He called, set up an interview — and hired him. The ad cost just 15 cents, and although Reichenthal said it was Brownstein’s “great portfolio” that got him hired, it was the ad that got him the interview.

2. Advertise on a Billboard

Adam Pacitti was working at a game arcade after graduating with a degree in media production. After losing that job, he sent out 250 applications with no success.

So he spent months of work on a “multi-platform viral advertising campaign with full social media integration,” and rented a billboard. He says, “People liked the billboard, mostly.” It read:

I Spent My Last £500 on This Billboard.

Please Give Me a Job.

EmployAdam.com

Soon, his job hunt made the news on radio, TV and in newspapers all over the world. The hashtag “#EmployAdam” made the rounds on Twitter as well. After fielding 60 job offers, he’s now a viral producer (naturally) for projects at Seachange.

3. Put That Resume on a Beer Bottle

Kelly Taylor wanted to be a brewmaster in a pub, so he put together a resume and applied for the next best thing — an assistant brewer position. But his wasn’t an ordinary resume.

“For my interview, I brought a bottle of a home brew I made in my apartment and put my resume on the bottle as a label,” he said. He got the job that day and was promoted to brewmaster within a year.

Taking the beer-bottle-resume to the next level, Brennan Gleason of British Columbia spent seven weeks brewing a new beer called “Résum-Ale,” according to a Huffington Post article. Gleason was just months away from graduating from the University of the Fraser Valley, and had been assigned to do a self-promotion project.

With his degree in graphic design on the way, and his beer ready, he put a bit of his portfolio on each bottle and sent six-packs of his home-brew to several Vancouver design firms. He landed a job as the creative director for Techtone, a digital marketing agency.

4. Use Cupcakes With QR Codes

Katie Oldham had an elaborate plan for getting noticed by prospective employers. She set up her website and had cupcakes made with an “edible icing QR code on top.” Then she found contact information for key people at the magazines where she would like to work. Next, she prepared cards explaining the QR code, her goal, and how to contact her.

When someone scanned a cupcake with a smartphone, they’d be directed to her website. The rest of her plan was supposed to go like this:

Whilst enjoying the amazing cupcakes, they can have a read through the website, which has what I am looking for (summer internship) and sections for my CV, Personal Statement, links to Scarphelia here, and examples of work that I have done online and in journalism… They are so wowed with my creative and cheeky way of applying for work experience that they call me straight away and invite me for an interview. Or at least… that’s the plan!

She went to London to hand-deliver the cupcakes — and landed an internship at Cosmopolitan, according to a later report on WiseBread.

5. Make a Video Game Resume

Alexander J. Velicky went to incredible effort to get a job with Bethesda Game Studios, reports Forbes. He spent 2,000 hours creating a mod called “Falskaar” for “Skyrim,” one of Bethesda’s most popular games. Among other features, it added 25 hours of play time.

Velicky explained that, “The best way to show Bethesda Game Studios that I want a job there and should be hired is to create content that meets the standards of their incredible development team.”

His scheme didn’t work as planned, and no job offer came from Bethesda. But according to Game Spot, the popularity of his mod did lead to a position at Bungie, the developer of Destiny, Halo, Myth, and other games.

Other Unique Ways to Get a Job

Not all crazy stunts will get you hired, and it can be difficult to know just how far to go. To help you get a better feel for what to try and what to avoid, let’s look some of the creative and crazy things people have done in an effort to get hired, according to Forbes.com.

What Worked

Putting a resume on a chocolate bar

Climbing on a roof an employer was fixing to ask for job

Repairing a company’s equipment during an interview

Sending a message in a bottle

Asking to be interviewed in Spanish to demonstrate fluency

What Didn’t Work

Back-flipping into the interview room

Sending a fruit basket to the interviewer’s home

Dressing as a clown

Sending a lottery ticket to the interviewer

Giving the interviewer a tarot reading

Finally, at DoktorSnake.com, you can pay about $265 for a “Good Job Spell” that “Helps you secure the perfect position.” It comes with a “lucky voodoo mascot.” No word on how effective the service has been for users, so you might want to pass on that one.

Your Turn: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done to try to get a job? Did it work as you’d planned?

Steve Gillman is the author of “101 Weird Ways to Make Money” and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com. He’s been a repo-man, walking stick carver, search engine evaluator, house flipper, tram driver, process server, mock juror and roulette croupier, but of more than 100 ways he has made money, writing is his favorite (so far).

17 Facts about Search Psychology You Should Know

People are predictable.

They have a set of observable behaviors that can be analyzed and assessed in a scientific manner.

And when you get right down to it, marketing is all about psychology.

Understanding what makes consumers tick and what compels them to buy is your ticket to maximizing your ROI.

And it’s no different with SEM.

Get inside the heads of search users, and you can mount an effective strategy that can not only bring in leads but also get a sizable portion of them to convert.

In this post, I’d like to go over 17 specific facts about search psychology that will shape your campaign.

1. Search queries reflect user intent

Okay, so this may not be exactly a groundbreaking statement.

Of course, search queries reflect a person’s intent.

But allow me to elaborate.

The majority of consumers are in one of the four phases of the buying funnel: awareness, research, decision, and purchase.

Basing your keywords and content around one of these four phases should enable you to be more effective and hit your mark.

2. People have inherently selfish motives

Let’s be totally honest.

We’re all selfish to at least some extent.

Now, I’m not suggesting all search engine users are terrible people, but at the end of the day, they want to know what’s in it for them.

The only reason they’ll click on and explore your content is if it provides genuine value and gives them what they need.

Make sure you don’t make it about your brand but, rather, about your audience.

Having this mindset will help guide you when deciding what type of content to create and your overall approach.

3. Long-tail is the most common search method

Using long-tail keywords is one of the older SEO strategies.

Arguably, it’s one of the few practices still relevant today.

I’m sure you’ve heard that long-tail keywords account for roughly 70% of all searches.

It’s true.

But why am I telling you something you probably already know?

It’s because most people perform natural-sounding, longer search queries rather than shorter, disjointed ones.

Not only does this strategy decrease your competition level for keywords, you can better satisfy search engine users.

This brings us to our next point.

4. Most people use conversational search queries

Remember Google’s Hummingbird update a few years ago?

Its main emphasis was to tweak Google’s algorithm to make search results better match user intent.

This was the first solid piece of evidence that Google was evolving and becoming more “intent-centric,” attempting to understand the underlying meaning behind keywords.

This, combined with an increase in mobile voice searches (20% of mobile queries were voice searches in 2016), means one thing.

More and more search users are using a conversational tone.

And this trend is only going to continue with digital assistants becoming more and more popular.

Here’s an example.

Rather than searching for “oil change Portland,” a person would be more likely to search for “where can I find an oil change in Portland.”

This is an important thing to keep in mind when structuring your keywords.

Using long-tail, conversational keywords “scratches the itch” of many search users.

5. Readers love “sociolinguistics”

Sociolinguistics is defined as

the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of languages use on society.

In layman’s terms, this simply means writing while using words and phrases you would use in everyday life.

It’s a technique I’ve based most of my blog writing on.

I approach it as if I’m having a conversation rather than being a journalist.

And it’s totally worked.

Using sociolinguistics is a proven way to establish trust and get people to like you.

This keeps readers happy, which keeps search engines happy, creating a virtuous cycle.

6. Visitors want every page to be a landing page

There’s an article from Search Engine Land I really like.

It’s about devising a psychology-based SEO strategy.

There’s one section in particular that really resonated with me. Here’s a screenshot:

I think this is an interesting way to look at it.

We typically reserve a single section of our website as a designated landing page.

But part of sound search psychology is addressing visitors’ pain points at nearly every stage of the buying journey.

This means the content you create should always be highly relevant to what the anticipated pain points would be for a particular keyword.

Answering the three questions posed by Search Engine Land will help guide your content creation and ensure you’re consistently hitting your target.

7. Screw clicks—focus on sales

Traffic is great.

Of course, you want to reach the highest possible ranking and crush it.

But the results are going to be only marginal if you’re getting clicks but barely any sales.

Here’s a screenshot of another quote from that same Search Engine Land article:

Many marketers get so wrapped up in getting a massive amount of traffic that they fail to see the big picture: getting actual sales.

That’s why I suggest putting a lot of emphasis on conversion optimization rather than strictly focusing on increasing the rankings.

8. More content is generally viewed as better content

If you’ve read my posts on either Quick Sprout or NeilPatel.com, you’ve noticed I like to stick with the long-form format.

But why?

Well, for starters, there’s an undeniable correlation between a higher word count and higher ranking.

In fact, a recent article from Backlinko found that “the average Google first page result contains 1,890 words.”

And longer content also gets more shares.

I think there’s a general perception that longer, more robust, and image-centric content is of higher quality.

And here’s the deal.

I doubt many of you read my posts word for word.

If I think about it too long, that makes me sad. Ha-ha!

But I’m not offended. Most readers simply scan. It’s just how people read on the web.

With longer content that requires people to scroll down, the readers’ brains subconsciously think, “Wow, this must be great content.”

This translates into more shares, more backlinks, and ultimately improved SEO.

You don’t necessarily need to be the biggest expert or even the most original, but as long as you can go more in-depth, you can usually create the perception of quality.

That’s why I’m such a fan of the skyscraper technique.

9. Most people value fresh content (and so does Google)

Let me ask you a question.

If you’re a content marketer searching for content marketing statistics, would you be more likely to click on an article that was written in 2017 or 2005?

Odds are it would be the former.

I certainly give preference to more recent content.

And in the Internet world, five years ago might as well be 25 years ago.

Of course, there’s a place for evergreen content, but what I’m trying to say is that freshness is definitely a factor in SEO.

Consistently creating high-quality, engaging content plays a huge role in getting website visitors, inbound links, leads, and indexed pages.

Here’s a specific stat from Brightseed that shows the power of consistently creating fresh content:

10. Headlines heavily impact buying decisions

I think we can all agree headlines are important.

How important?

According to direct response copywriter Ted Nicholas, “73% of the buying decision is made at the point of the headline.”

If you can nail the headline, you’ll bring in leads.

11. People tend to prefer headlines with odd numbers

I found this phenomenon pretty interesting.

You might think most people prefer headlines with nice even numbers like “The Top 10…”

But this isn’t the case.

According to Backlinko,

a study of 150,000 headlines revealed that odd-numbered headlines have a 20 percent better CTR than headlines with even numbers.

That’s substantial.

If you noticed, the headline for this post is “17 Facts about Search Psychology You Should Know.”

Not “10 Facts.”

The simple little hack can help your content stand out and perform better in search engines.

12. People prefer short URLs

I’m sure you already know about the importance of optimizing your URLs for SEO.

You’re always better off using a descriptive URL, like http://ift.tt/2pHOrSM instead of http://ift.tt/2p5AeLc.

But here’s an interesting stat:

Marketing Sherpa found that short URLs are 2.5x more likely to attract a click.

I myself tend to gravitate to short, succinct URLs rather than longer, uglier ones.

Try to condense your URLs as much as possible so that they capture the essence of your content in the fewest words possible for more clicks.

13. People share content that supports a cause

Getting readers to share your content drives more traffic to your site and can directly impact how your content ranks in search engines.

But what motivates readers to share?

Are they more inclined to share certain types of content over others?

Well, a survey from The New York Times Customer Insight Group found the following:

As you can see, the number one reason why people share content is because it supports a cause.

While this may not be necessarily relevant to your brand, this data gives us a good idea of the types of content that people value, and it can help guide your efforts.

14. Images make it easier to process information

Okay, so we had to touch on the topic of visuals at some point.

So, here we go.

I’m not going to blab on about the importance of incorporating visuals into your content.

Instead, let me provide you with some key stats from The Next Web:

The bottom line is that using images makes it much easier for readers to process information and helps your content resonate with them.

Visuals also make it easier to explain the benefits of your product or service, which can be a factor in building stronger rapport with your audience.

This can ultimately translate into more shares and better rankings.

15. Pro images get more shares than semi-professional images

Allow me to piggyback on my last point.

Images are important.

But you don’t want to use just any type of images.

According to a study from Marketing Sherpa,

pro images received 45% more Facebook shares than semi-professional photos.

In other words, using those cheesy stock photos probably isn’t a good idea and is going to negate the impact of your posts.

Although the study from Marketing Sherpa analyzed Facebook shares, I think it’s safe to say that this phenomenon can be applied across the board.

That’s why I try to maintain fairly rigorous quality standards with the images I use in my content.

16. Search users crave a great UX

An article from Vizual Archive states that today, an overlap between design/usability and SEO is much bigger than it was in the 90s and early 2000s.

I believe this to be true.

By following correct SEO fundamentals, like including rich meta descriptions and title tags and organizing content in a logical manner, you’re improving the UX and SEO at the same time.

17. Personalized CTAs outperform generic ones

Last but not least, let’s talk about CTAs.

Let’s say someone landed on one of your blog posts through Google, read through your content, and now has some level of interest in your product.

According to some fairly exhaustive research from HubSpot, personalized CTAs convert 42% better than generic CTAs.

Rather than saying something like “click here” or “share this post,” aim for a more specific, targeted CTA like “share these content marketing tips.”

Conclusion

Crushing it at search is largely about putting yourself in the shoes of your audience.

Understanding their behaviors and patterns is the key to creating content that resonates with users while satisfying search algorithms.

This should make it easier to build trust and rapport with human readers, which should translate into a ton of good things like more shares, backlinks, etc. that will improve your SEO.

Can you think of any other psychological concepts that affect SEO?

Source Quick Sprout http://ift.tt/2qyCEEi