How to Cut Your Bounce Rate in Half with Interactive Content

You can grow your blog in two ways:

1. Get more traffic.
2. Do more with the traffic you have.

In my opinion, you should do both even though most people focus on the first option.

Those who don’t realize they’re losing a large chunk of their traffic before it even has a chance to convert.

One of the best ways to see how well you’re using your traffic is to look at your bounce rate.

The average bounce rate across all industries is about 45%. Bounce rates just for blogs are usually higher as illustrated in the image above.

But that’s just the average. Some sites have bounce rates in the 20s, while others have bounce rates in the 80s.

If 4 out of 5 visitors leave your site immediately, there’s a problem—likely multiple problems. 

Compare that to a 20% bounce rate (1 in 5 visitors leaving without interacting). This lower bounce rate means that you would only need a quarter of the traffic of the other site to get the same engagement results.

There are many ways to improve your bounce rate, but in this article, I want to show you an underutilized way of reducing your website’s bounce rate and increasing all aspects of engagement.

The main problem is that you need visitors to take action to reduce your bounce rate. But people are notoriously passive on the Internet.

The 1% rule states that only 1% of forum users will actually post on a forum, while the rest will passively lurk:

We see the same kind of behavior on blogs, where typically about one visitor out of 100 will comment (depends on subject and article).

In fact, people behave like this in many settings, especially on the web:

News consumption is actually really passive, unless there’s some sort of virus going online, because it’s just whatever appeals to you in the fishbowl.” – Choire Sicha, The Awl

And it’s this behavior that marketers struggle to change. According to one survey, 58% of B2B marketers struggle to produce engaging content:

The reason why they struggle so much is that the Internet is a very different medium than other forms of entertainment, and most marketers are stuck in mentality of the past.

People have always consumed news passively on TV, but they had no choice in most cases other than to watch a show or even a commercial. With the Internet, there are always 100 other sites just a click away.

If you want engagement, you need to create an engrossing experience for your visitors. That sounds hard, doesn’t it?

It can be hard, but I’m about to show you how you can easily use interactive content to make your content much more engaging. If you put the tactics in this article into action, you can probably drop your bounce rate by 10-15% in most cases, or even more.

The psychology and science behind interactive content

Engagement and interactive content go hand in hand, and we’ve known it for quite a while.

Interactive education was originally studied at home and schools even before the Internet was a thing.

Let me define interactive education: Interactive education is teaching that requires participation from students.

Interactive content, as we’ll soon see, is the same thing—just swap out students for readers.

At first, researchers found that interactive teaching was effective at engaging students who were raised in hyper-stimulated environments. Hyper-stimulated environments? Does that sound like something else you know? (Hint: the Internet).

The reason that interactive teaching was studied in the first place is because the researchers determined that it led to higher engagement levels. To take it further, studies showed that higher levels of engagement led to deep learning.

Deep learning means that you’re actually understanding concepts and can use that knowledge later. Surface learning means that you’re just memorizing facts to pass a test.

Anyone who has ever studied for a test knows that surface learning doesn’t last. As soon as you finish writing the test—whoosh—that information evaporates from your brain.

When it comes to your blog posts, you want your visitors to gain a deep understanding of the topics you write about. For one, this makes you and your website more memorable. More importantly, your visitors will actually be able to apply this information and make their lives better. Guess with whom they’ll associate those benefits? That’s right—you.

Other studies of high school and university students have confirmed that interactive-engagement methods lead to better grades and retention.

One study looked at how clickers (those multiple-choice polling remotes) given to students and used during class affected students. It was found that frequent use led to deeper learning. I’ll be showing you soon how to use similar polls to boost engagement in your posts.

But interactive learning goes far beyond quizzes and polls. Studies have found that other types of interactive learning deepens learning just as much or more:

• creating case studies
• doing experiments
• student research
• team learning

Do you know what’s even more interesting? Games can be a form of interactive learning, and they work well.

Let’s get to the results, however, because that’s what you’re probably wondering about. A recent study on university students found that professors who use interactive teaching methods had double the engagement rate of other professors and had a 20% higher attendance rate.

Having a higher attendance rate in class corresponds directly to having your blog subscribers read your articles more often. Wouldn’t you want a 20% boost in your email update click-through rate?

Teaching on the web is finally being implemented, and it’s catching up with traditional interactive learning. But bloggers and marketers are adopting it slowly, so you have a chance to get ahead of the curve.

One example is Codecademy. Every lesson involves you learning a programming technique by completing a task. It is incredibly engaging and effective at teaching beginner programmers:

The reason leading blogs are sold on interactive content

Like I said, blogs are playing catch-up here, but some have already recognized the potential of interactive content.

In general, audiences can either be active or passive.

The Internet is a bit weird because users actively choose what content they’ll consume, but most of that content is set up for passive consumption.

This is why visitors don’t get as much from your content as they should and why very few ever take action.

You need to create a situation where your visitors both actively choose to read your content and also actively consume it, meaning they take some kind of action.

We’ve talked about the main benefits: your readers will learn more, and you’ll become more memorable.

That alone should be sufficient motivation, but there’s actually more to it.

You can use interactive content to learn about your readers.

For example, if you embed a tweet somewhere in your content, you can see which of your readers not only read that far into your posts but also liked it enough to share it. These are your best readers.

In addition, if you take some sort of a poll, you can use the results to learn more about what your audience thinks.

Or what about a short pop quiz? See if the majority of your audience understands what you’re teaching. If they’re not, how could it possibly help them? It gives you a chance to refine and improve your writing.

That’s enough about why you should be using interactive content. Now I’m going to show you 7 different ways to implement it on your website.

1. Social media is for lazy busy people

People love to share content as long as it doesn’t take much effort.

Every day, over 500 million tweets are being created. They are a maximum of 140 characters and don’t take much effort.

The more you can remove friction by integrating sharing functions with your content, the higher your engagement rates will be.

At first, there were browser plugins that made it so that you didn’t even have to visit the social network to share something.

After that, came share widgets, which are still pretty effective.

But sharing widgets are still a bit disconnected from the content and require people to both choose which social network they want to share the content on and craft a description.

But there’s a way to erase the border between content and sharing to make it extremely easy for readers to share: embedded social media.

Look at this embedded tweet on a Crazy Egg blog post:

It actually improves the look of the content. In addition, it’s at an appropriate point in the content, and readers can tweet the pre-filled message with one click.

I’m going to show you how to embed social media content from the biggest social media networks. However, if you use a smaller network heavily, there is probably a way to embed that content as well if you dig around a bit.

How to embed tweets

The simplest way to do it is to use Twitter’s embed function. This is a perfect way to showcase your tweet. It allows readers to follow you or engage with that particular tweet without leaving your website.

To start with, find the tweet you want to share. Click on the “…” button.

Once you click “Embed Tweet,” a pop-up will give you the embed code. Copy the HTML, and paste it on your website. Once you do, it will show up in your article like this:

The drawback of that method is that you’re limited to one tweet. What I prefer to do is use a plugin like TweetDis (which we use on Crazy Egg) to create beautiful custom tweets.

You can create any message and use the plugin to highlight it. A reader can then click on it to tweet it. I like to include a relevant username (e.g., @neilpatel) in the message so that I can track them.

You can also create multiple tweetable bits throughout your article.

Once you have the plugin installed, highlight some text in your article that you would like to use as a tweet, and click the icon in the text editor bar:

A window will pop up with your options:

Under the “Add” dropdown menu, pick which kind of embedded tweet you want. A “Box” will give you a full box like I showed you at the start of this section. In addition, you can also pick a “Hint,” which highlights the full sentence instead:

How to embed Facebook posts

For niches dominated by Facebook, embedding a post can get you extra comments, likes, and shares.

I haven’t found a good plugin for WordPress, so you’ll have to stick with the default method that Facebook gives you.

Find a post that you’d like to embed, then click the little down arrow in the top right corner:

Once you click the embed option, a window will pop up that gives you the HTML code you need to embed the post.

Once you put that code on your site, this is what it will look like to your visitors:

They can like, comment, or share the post, and they can also like your page without leaving your site.

You’ll notice that this procedure is very similar to embedding content from Twitter on your site. In fact, almost all social networks are the same, so just look for an embed option in a dropdown menu on a post on any other network you’re interested in.

2. Pop quiz time

Quizzes are one of the oldest forms of interactive content, right up there with simple calculators.

While some marketers may feel that quizzes have been overdone, they still work really well.

In a study of 100 million articles in 2013-2014, it was found that eight out of the top 10 most popular pieces of content were quizzes.

This was number one: “What Career Should You Actually Have?”:

Not only do people like quizzes, they also love to share them to show their friends who they are, what they care about, and, of course, how cool they are.

Coding a quiz from scratch would be fairly time consuming, but there are many quiz tools you can use.

For example, you can use Qzzr to design a quiz, which will give you an HTML code to copy and paste in your article—that’s it.

Here’s what the backend looks like:

You have a ton of options: you can create text or image answers for each question. Your quiz can have as many questions as you like.

Once you’ve set all your questions and results, you’ll get an embed code to paste on your site. Then it will look something like this to the visitor (“Which Iron Man armor suit are you?”):

To make it even easier for many of you, there are also quiz plugins for WordPress such as SlickQuiz, which is also free.

You can make the quizzes right in your admin panel:

You won’t have quite as many options, but you can still get started with testing your quizzes. When you’re done, you just use a shortcode to embed the quiz on your site:

Once your visitor completes the quiz with either tool, they will see their result and have a chance to share it on popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Now, Iron Man suits are fun but not very useful from a teaching perspective, which is what you want.

I recommend putting quizzes in the middle or near the end of the post, and using them to test your readers’ knowledge. It’s a great opportunity to reinforce a key teaching point.

Secondly, make the question and result useful. Don’t ask a basic or irrelevant question. Ask something that will force your reader to think about and apply the information in your article.

For example, let me ask you a question. Which one of these would be the most appropriate question if I were to include a quiz right now?

1. Is interactive content good?
2. Which of the following is not a benefit of using interactive content in blog posts? (multiple choice answer)
3. Is Iron Man cool?

Question 1 is too basic—you could answer it just based on the title of this post.

Question 3 is irrelevant to the overall teaching points.

Question 2, however, forces you to think about what engagement leads to. The sample answers might be:

• more return visitors
• more comments
• better search rankings
• higher time spent on page

If you’ve read and understood everything up to this point, you’d be able to figure out that “better search rankings” is not a benefit of using interactive content.

3. How to lower your form abandonment rate

At one point or another, I am sure, you’ve filled out a long form, clicked “submit,” and then gotten an error saying you missed something. What’s worse is when you have to re-enter your data.

Most forms are terrible. They fulfill the basic functional requirements and nothing else.

That’s why I really liked Typeform when I first came across it.

This tool allows you to create highly customized forms. You can ask questions or request information and incorporate all sorts of form elements. They look great and function perfectly.

Additionally, you can create forms that are engaging because you can insert them in the middle of a sentence.

Put all these features together, and you get highly interactive content whether it’s on your blog or somewhere else on your website.

Over the course of a month, Typeform records 5 million form submissions with a completion rate of 59%. In comparison, other form tools get between 3% and 28% completion rate.

Let’s look at how you can create a form.

Start by creating an account and clicking on the “create new form” button.

You can either start from scratch or choose one of the many templates:

Once you’re inside, drag and drop different elements to your form. You can include text, questions, scales, pictures, or ask for answers from your visitor.

Your next step is to pick a design and some simple settings. Once you embed it on your site, your visitors will see something like this:

You can walk through actual examples here.

As as bonus, you can even use Typeform to make quizzes if you didn’t like the other options I gave you earlier:

4. Make your content fun with polls

Polls are highly related to quizzes.

You ask a question, typically with a few definite answers, and results are tallied based on input by visitors.

Polls are great when you’re trying to find out what your audience cares about or thinks about a specific topic.

The most attractive poll tool I’ve seen is ContentTools Poll. What your visitors will see is a simple poll, and when they click on an answer, they will see the results and buttons to share the results:

It is a paid tool, but you can start with a free trial.

Alternatively, there are many other poll tools out there. Two of the most popular options (both work with WordPress) are PollDaddy and Wedgies.

Almost all of them work the same. You simply type in your question and answers, and drop whichever elements you’d like into place:

After you do that, you’ll just need to copy and paste the HTML code to your website, or use the shortcode that the WordPress plugin gives you.

When your visitor clicks on an answer, they’ll see the results and share buttons as expected.

There are lots of options to create polls—that’s the easy part. The harder part is using them effectively.

Don’t just create polls for the sake of engagement. Create them so that you can learn about your audience.

For example, I could create a poll for this post that would ask you which type of interactive content you are most likely to use on your website. Based on your most popular answers, I could create further content. If 77% chose quizzes, I would create a step-by-step guide to creating quizzes. Alternatively, I could write an in-depth post about the psychology behind quizzes and engagement.

You could also use the answers to monetize your site. Once you learn which topics your audience is most interested in, you can create products around those topics.

5. Which is better: long or short content?

If you’ve ever been to Quick Sprout before, you’d notice that I like long content.

Writing longer content helps get extra search traffic, but more importantly, it allows me to go into great detail on a particular topic and include lots of examples.

It works for me, but it doesn’t work for everyone. In fact, the top two reasons why people don’t read content are related to content being too long:

Even some of my readers complain that my posts are too long sometimes.

If you want to give your readers more control over your content, you can use hypotext. Essentially, you create links in your content, but instead of opening a new window or tab, they open a hidden section in your content.

Hypotext allows you to hide extra information that only a portion of your readers might want.

When that text is compressed or hidden, only essential text will be visible on the page.

Here’s what happens when someone clicks a hypotext link:

A section expands just below the paragraph of the link clicked with all the content that you’ve hidden. You can hide:

• detailed explanations
• more examples
• more research
• pictures

The other bonus, in addition to giving readers more control, is that it also engages them. They decide for themselves if they want to learn more or explore the content deeper.

If you want to try hypotext, start by installing this WordPress plugin.

Then, when writing your article, wrap the text you want to serve as the link with shortcodes, e.g,:

[hypotext target=”your-target-id”]your link text[/hypotext]

Then, wrap another shortcode around the text you want to be hidden:

[hypotext id=”your-target-id”]the hidden text[/hypotext]

Make sure that the target name and id name are the same, or it won’t work.

6. Take infographics to a whole new level

Another type of content I love is infographics. They can still be used to drive over 60,000 visitors per year to your website.

I’m not the only one who likes them. Just under 80% of marketers use and share infographics sometimes or frequently.

Infographics are great, but there are two minor problems with them. First, they’ve saturated the web. Even high quality infographics don’t produce the results they used to. Secondly, they aren’t engaging. Infographics are typically skimmed, and then some viewers might share them or leave a comment.

But what if you could make infographics into a story that involved user interaction?

Here’s a screenshot of an interactive infographic that was created by GOOD and Deeplocal:

It shows the number of small businesses each state has. When you move the mouse across the picture of the United States, different states are highlighted, and their stats come to life.

In addition, the “home” page of the interactive infographic allows you to choose what you’re most interested in. The first option takes you to the map, but there are several other interactive screens you can choose.

This type of infographic forces people to read and explore rather than scan. I shouldn’t really use the word “force” because most people will find this fun.

Here are nine more such infographics if you would like more examples.

The catch is that interactive infographics are not easy to make, which is part of the reason they won’t be widespread anytime soon.

There’s no easy tool that lets you make them (although if you could make a good one, you could make a killing).

You can create them yourself using software like Adobe Edge Animate, but it’s far beyond my design skills.

If you’re interested in creating one, I suggest posting a job on Dribbble or a freelance platform like Upwork (formerly oDesk).

7. Choose your own adventure with videos

Video marketing is getting more popular.

People love videos because it’s just like watching TV.

The problem, as we’ve seen, is that passive viewers don’t take nearly enough action.

If you use video ads or incorporate videos in your content, you might want to think about making them interactive to improve engagement.

Most of us are familiar with those “choose your own adventure” books we read as kids—they were fun. You had a choice of two pages at the end of each page to customize your story as you saw fit.

Similarly, you can let your viewers choose their own adventure.

In a Philips video (the shaving company), there’s a short intro of a guy who had a wild night that, he says, “started with shaving.” You get to pick the style of his facial hair at the beginning of the night and see a different video depending on your choice.

For a product video, you could let your viewers choose which aspect of the product they care about (features, manufacturing, company background, etc.).

If you have a video editor (an actual human), he or she will probably already know how to create a video like this. For regular marketers, it’s not exactly easy. You’ll need to use a tool such as Vidzor or Rapt Media to create videos like the example above.

One simple option is to simply use YouTube annotations. You can use these to let viewers navigate to other videos. Sure, it won’t be as fancy as a professional option, but it’s a good way to test if you’d like to start creating interactive videos in the future.

Here is a complete tutorial on creating annotations on YouTube videos:

Your viewers should see clickable annotations pop up on the video at specified times:

It’s up to you where those annotations direct them to.

Conclusion

Interactive content is a huge opportunity that’s still in its infancy. If you ever wished you discovered something before everyone else adopted it, this is it.

You probably noticed that not all types of interactive content is easy to create. I don’t recommend you try to create all of the types at the same time. Pick one or two that fit well with your audience and website, and focus on perfecting those.

What you should see, once you start creating interactive content your readers are interested in, is a much lower bounce rate, higher time on page, and a significant bump in the number of shares and comments you get.

Now, I have a challenge for you: pick one type of interactive content, and brainstorm a few different ways you could create content for your website with it. Then leave me a comment below, letting me know how you plan to use interactive content in your content strategy.

Source Quick Sprout http://ift.tt/1O6wDnr

7 Signs You Picked a Bad Retirement Spot

How to tell which retirement locales you should avoid – and which ones may be a good fit.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1O6sq34

How to Follow Up on a Job Application Without Being Annoying

How to be effective – but not pushy – when checking your application status.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1dW0Bxh

Questions About 529 Plans, SUVs, Emergency Funds, Washing Machines and More!

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. 529 plan thoughts
2. Feeling stuck
3. Underwear that doesn’t disintegrate?
4. 770 plans?
5. Traveling with just a carry-on
6. Studying philosophy
7. Reliable SUV suggestion?
8. Advisor conflict of interest
9. Planning for second career
10. Emergency without emergency fund
11. Reducing humidity on the cheap
12. High efficiency washer questions

Later this summer, our family is going on our big vacation of the year. What’s our big vacation? Camping!

That’s right, our family’s big vacation is to simply head northeast from our house into northern Wisconsin and simply camp for a few days. The location we’ve picked is fairly close to where my wife’s sisters live, so they will be joining us for some of the camping.

This is going to be a very low cost vacation – and that’s a good thing. Last year’s vacation, which involved a bunch of stops in the southeast United States – was quite expensive, so we’re alternating it with an inexpensive trip this year and a fairly inexpensive one next year (we’re probably camping again, but this time in Canada).

Here’s the funny part: our children are basically as excited for this trip as they were for the one last year, even though the bill is about 80% less. Honestly, I’m about equally excited, too.

This leaves me wondering whether the cost of last summer’s vacation was really worth it at all. I’m hoping that posterity gives us a real clue in that regard.

Q1: 529 plan thoughts

What is your opinion of 529 plans? I’m thinking of opening an account for my 2 year old daughter. I’m confused about how much money to put in her account? Do you have any suggestions?
– Stella

I think that 529 educational accounts are a really good idea for parents. The only (slight) caveat I have with such accounts is that the money is earmarked for strictly educational purposes, so if that child’s life goes in a direction that does not require educational funding, that account will either just sit there or else it will be hit with extra taxes when you make withdrawals.

To me, that small drawback is worth it. 529 accounts allow you to save money for educational purposes without having to pay taxes on the earnings provided that the money is used for education. In other words, if your child ever has educational expenses down the road – and that absolutely includes college tuition and textbooks and supplies – the money in that account can help them with no tax worries.

There is no “right” amount to put into the account, so don’t worry about that. Every dollar helps. Just come up with an amount that works for you. If your child is young and you’re planning on paying for about a third of their college expense at a public university, for example, you’ll probably get there with $250 a month. If that’s too much, don’t sweat it – every single dollar will help.

Q2: Feeling stuck

For the last four years, I have worked as an assistant manager at Staples. I’m paid adequately and don’t have any debt other than my student loans.

The problem is I feel like I am stuck. I would like to do something more than assigning duties and taking care of keeping an office supply store running. I don’t want to be doing this in five years.

I have tried to find new work related to my degree (computer science) but the jobs in this area are really limited. I am hesitant to move because all of my family and friends are within about a 40 mile radius so I would be all alone.

What can I do? Any advice would help.
– Emery

I think the first thing you need to think about is what specific kind of change you’d like to see. Rather than simply saying that you want “change,” think about some of the specific things you’d like to see differently. Think of what your life would be like in five years if things went well and then think about what’s specifically different about your life now and in that picture. Those are the changes you should be considering.

Once you’ve figured out some options, go through each one of them and ask yourself whether or not that change would be a positive thing for you. Will it impact your work life? How? What about your social life? Your family life? Your personal time? Your environment? Are those changes good or bad?

The thing is, you don’t know the outcomes of many of these questions because they fall outside of what you can control. So, don’t worry about the things you can’t control. Focus on what you can control. For example, you’re the one who chooses where you work. You’re the one who chooses who you interact with and what you spend your time on. You choose where to place every ounce of your time and energy.

Talk to positive successful people you know. Who do you know that’s consistently positive about life? Who do you know that has pulled off something challenging and difficult in their life? Talk to those people. Tell them about the changes you’d like to make and ask for specific pointers.

Once you go through all of that, you’ll be ready… or far, far closer to it than you are right now.

Q3: Underwear that doesn’t disintegrate?

I usually buy underwear at the local department store in a multi-pack, whatever is at a reasonable price. The problem is that after about 30 washings, they start to fall apart. The elastic starts to fail and some of them rip and I have to trash them. Do you have any suggestions for underwear that will last for longer than that? Preferably a lot longer?
– Dave

I went and looked at the men’s underwear offerings at my local Target after receiving Dave’s email and, after examining the multi-packs, I concluded that they averaged about $3 each for the offerings there.

Now, the single best men’s underwear I’ve ever tried in terms of combining comfort and lasting a long time is Ex Officio. Here’s an example of their boxers at Amazon. I have several pairs of these that are still in very wearable shape and, by my back of the envelope math, I’ve washed them each about eighty times or so. I anticipate that they’ll last for at least twenty more (and probably more than that).

The catch is that they’re expensive. These things cost $15 per pair. Now, $15 for, say, 100 wearings adds up to about $0.15 per wearing. However, the $3 multipack underwear from Target last for 30 wearings, which means they cost you about $0.10 per wearing.

Even though these underwear have lasted for a very long time, the Target cheap underwear are still cheaper.

So, how/why did I acquire mine? They were a gift from my wife, and I think that’s the perfect route to go with something like this. They’re probably not a purely cost-effective purchase, but they will last a very, very long time and they’re quite comfortable, so they might make a very nice personal gift from the person in your life that you love.

If you’re buying them yourself, stick with the cheaper ones from the store. If you’re getting one or two pairs as a gift, go with Ex Officio, as they’re very long lasting and comfortable. Spouses, consider this as a good “frugal but still special” gift for your husbands.

Q4: 770 plans?

What is the scoop on a 770 plan? A friends mom raved about it, but i smelled a scam.
– Darrell

A 770 plan is just a specific flavor of life insurance. Like other such policies, you buy it from an insurance company and as long as you keep making payments, the “cash value” of the account will grow at some specified rate and, in the future, you can borrow against that cash value tax free.

There are a bunch of catches that are easy to overlook. First of all, you have to repay that money you borrow, and it comes with an interest rate. Another problem is that the guaranteed return on your money is pretty poor – it’s usually better than a savings account, but not much. Another problem is that there’s going to be a commission attached to it which is going to devour your money for the first year or two. Yet another problem is that if you ever decide to stop paying in and want your money out, the surrender charges are usually quite high (they want to keep that money, after all).

It’s great, I suppose, if you never look at any other investments in comparison to this. It’s probably not bad once you’ve been in it for a decade or so and have finally built a balance. Starting out, though? I wouldn’t touch one with a ten foot pole.

Q5: Traveling with just a carry-on

I just heard you on the radio! You made a mention of traveling for work by just using a carry-on for four or five days. How did you do that? Can you give me some details? I can’t imagine traveling for work for more than a day trip with just a carry-on.
– Anderson

Glad you heard me! I pop up occasionally on local radio programs here and there. Honestly, I don’t specifically remember this conversation (I really hope it actually was me and not another personal finance writer), but I did travel for work using just a carry-on many times in the 2004 to 2006 time frame.

My primary tactic was shown to me by my boss during those years. Rather than folding his clothes, he rolled up everything to maximize space in his pack. He would use his clothes as padding for any harder objects he might be carrying, essentially keeping all of the clothing on the outer edges and forming something of a “pocket” in the middle for carrying other things.

Once he arrived at the hotel, he would immediately unpack everything and, in the first evening on site, iron everything as needed.

He would not take a sports jacket with him. If he needed one on site – which was rare for either myself or him – he would buy one on site, then fold it up and ship it back before his return trip.

This practice has worked well for me on both business and personal trips ever since.

Q6: Studying philosophy

I’m really interested in how you’re studying philosophy on your own. How are you doing it? Can you give me some advice on how to get started, as this is something I’ve also dreamed of doing before.
– Daniel

I got started by looking at the online notes and materials for a bunch of college classes on philosophy, particularly those that served as a broad overview of the subject. I then emailed a few different professors on the subject and made it clear that I was not a student, but that I wanted to start my own self-directed study of philosophy and wished to know their suggestions.

Some sent reading lists, but most suggested that I pick a single volume overview of philosophy, read it very carefully, look up things I didn’t immediately understand, and also keep a running list of any topics (and books) I was curious about for further reading and then follow each of those branches in turn.

Their most common suggestion was Bertrand Russell’s The History of Western Philosophy, which is where I started. This does a great job of covering everything up until the early 20th century. From that book, I wound up with a giant reading list. For 20th century philosophy, I actually started with the Wikipedia page on 20th century philosophy, looking for general overviews of topics but more importantly looking for source books and documents to read (that’s actually one of Wikipedia’s strengths on the better-written pages – they usually serve as a great source for a reading list).

So, right now, I have this giant list of philosophy books to read and I’m knocking them off one at a time. I’m glad that I read a general background on philosophy first to put them in a bit of context.

As I read, I have a notebook open in front of me. The purpose for it is for me to take an idea I just read and re-express it in my own words. I’ve found that this has done wonders for my ability to pick up and understand what I’m reading, though it does make the reading much slower.

Q7: Reliable SUV suggestion?

I’m considering buying a late model used SUV, simply because I need something that can simultaneously haul two adults, two kids, and gear in various amounts consistently in the local area. I am completely unfamiliar with SUVs as I have exclusively bought and driven compact cars in the past. Do you have any recommendations for SUVs with a reputation for reliability and no other hidden problems?
– Stephen

Based entirely on my own experience, I cannot speak highly enough about our 2004 Honda Pilot. We purchased it off of Craigslist several years ago and have not had a single issue with it of any kind beyond normal maintenance issues. It has never broken down on us. It has never had a problem doing anything I’ve asked of it, including hauling five children regularly to martial arts practices, towing a pop-up camper, and taking seven people on a multi-state trip with all luggage on board. I’ve been thrilled with it.

Looking at the statistics from recent Consumer Reports surveys on customer satisfaction with their car purchases, I’d say that the usual “bang for the buck” recommendations still apply. Year in and year out, Honda and Toyota do well on these surveys.

So, if you’re looking, I can personally speak quite highly of the Honda Pilot, and I wouldn’t really hesitate to give a nod to a Toyota Highlander either. That’s where I’d start my search.

Q8: Advisor conflict of interest

My wife and I have been looking for a financial advisor. We have several questions related to an inheritance that feel like they are “above our pay grade.”

The biggest concern we have is conflicts of interest. How can we ever be sure that a financial advisor is giving us honest advice or is just trying to convince us to pick up a product that makes more money for them?
– Daniel

Here’s what I would do. I would go to a fee-only financial advisor. I would ask that advisor all of the questions you have, gather his conclusions, and pay his fees. I would not have that advisor directly manage my money in any way.

Then, I would take that person’s specific investment recommendations and do my own research. I would look at the specific investments they recommended, then compare those to similar offerings from other companies. I am a big fan of Vanguard’s offerings and would always include them in a comparison, but you may find that other ones come out on top. Sites like Morningstar make this type of comparison pretty easy.

That way, you can take the advice the advisor gave you without buying into the specific products that the advisor recommends.

Q9: Planning for second career

For the last fifteen years or so, I have been making corporate training videos of all kinds while my husband is a graphic designer that used to work for a marketing company but is now a consultant/freelancer. We have been developing an idea for a Youtube channel that uses both of our skills (still in the planning stages) that has made us both more excited about our work than ever before.

We would like to plan ahead for the possibility that this is successful and that it can eventually employ us both full time. What steps should we take now before we’ve invested any money in this project?
– Karen

Honestly, I would consult a business lawyer. There’s not enough information here for me to even wager a guess as to what you should do, as I don’t know your financial state, the type of videos you’re thinking of producing, the risks involved, or anything else.

A good business lawyer will walk you through all of this, assess the liabilities you may have, and find the right kind of business structure for you.

For example, it is likely that your potential liabilities are pretty small, especially if you’re not just making marketing videos to sell products but just making content for entertainment purposes. On the other hand, if your business is centered around a multi-level marketing hook, you may wind up in FTC trouble, which can be a big problem.

Contact a good business lawyer in your area. He or she will get you on the right path with this project, far better than I ever could.

Q10: Emergency without emergency fund

So, I took your advice and started building an emergency fund. My bank started transferring $100 a month into my savings account for that which is good. I watch my checking account balance like a hawk so this isn’t going to cause me to overdraft or anything.

Anyway, that was two months ago and then a week ago the brakes gave out on my Honda so I took it to a repair place and the bill was $700. I had no choice but to put it on the credit card and thankfully I had enough available credit to cover it.

Should I empty out that emergency fund to pay down $200 on this credit card bill or leave the money alone?
– Claire

That’s a really good question. If I were in your shoes and I were pushing up against my credit limit that tightly, I’d probably take the $200 and pay off some of the credit card so that you have a bit of breathing room on there. I’d still keep building the emergency fund, though.

The best thing you can do is find ways in your life to make room for bigger credit card payments. I don’t know what the specifics of your spending look like, but there are almost always ways to cut back more without increasing misery, and you can channel that money toward getting rid of that credit card debt.

Another approach is to just go through your closets and sell off the stuff you have that you’re not using on Craigslist or through a yard sale, then use that money as a “burst” payment toward your credit card debt.

Regardless, you need to start hacking away at that credit card debt. A situation where you’re near your limit and don’t have an emergency fund is a very fragile one.

Q11: Reducing humidity on the cheap

We live in a small apartment that gets incredibly humid in the summer like “the walls are damp” kind of humid. I’ve looked at dehumidifiers but they run like $200. Any ideas for reducing the humidity for less than that (say $50 or less)?
– Alice

Honestly, a dehumidifying unit is going to be your best bet. Nothing else you do will come close to what it can pull off.

However, if you’re looking for some cheap options, your best bet would be to go to your local hardware store and buy some DampRid, which will dehumidify the air to a certain extent. It works well for a while, but as damp as your home is, it will gradually stop working within a few weeks (if it even lasts that long). You can get big tubs of it for $20 or so which should last you for a while, though.

If it’s less humid outside, keep your windows open as much as possible. The humidity inside and outside will balance out.

Q12: High efficiency washer questions

I am about to replace my washing machine. We have been using an old Maytag model that has lasted about 20 years. I am interested in buying a high efficiency washer because it will save energy and water but the cost is higher up front. Are there any other “tradeoffs” that I should consider?
– Kelly

The biggest thing I’ve noticed with a high efficiency washer is that the loads take longer than they do in a “normal” washing machine. In our normal washer, a load finishes in about 25 minutes – even a giant load finishes in about 35 or so. In a high efficiency washer, this can take an hour or more.

Another problem is that you simply can’t do giant loads in a high efficiency washer. The machine is designed for smaller loads, so you simply can’t do as much laundry per load. That’s not a big deal for a single person and it’s still far more efficient to do three high efficiency loads than two big regular ones, but it’s worth noting.

I probably wouldn’t recommend one for a large family unless they’re very patient and very diligent with doing lots of smaller loads. For a single person or a couple without kids, they are a reasonably good idea.

I actually wrote an article for the Christian Science Monitor a few years ago about the break-even point on a high efficiency washer as compared to a normal washer and concluded that it takes about seven years of normal household use to break even on a typical high efficiency washer. Take that for what you will.

Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.

The post Questions About 529 Plans, SUVs, Emergency Funds, Washing Machines and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar The Simple Dollar http://ift.tt/1CA5ice

The Dark Side of High-Yield Investing

The payouts of junk bonds and REITs may be generous, but they come with unique risks.


Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1Hq1Xv0

Silvio Calabi: Honda’s HR-V makes a lot out of little

The first four-wheeled Honda I ever saw was in the late ‘60s, in Montreal. Back at home, some of my friends were already zooming around on Honda 50s, and an ad agency was assuring us that “you meet the nicest people on a Honda.” (A Honda motorcycle, of course — quite a change from Marlon Brando and the Wild Ones.) In a sea of full-size Detroit iron, that tiny yellow two-door car, with its rear window like a skindiver’s mask, stood out. It was a Honda [...]

Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/1L2as3i

Reach Your Maximum Potential With Intent Data

Are you using intent data as effectively as you could be? Columnist James Green breaks down the hurdles marketers face in using intent data to its full potential.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

Source Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips http://ift.tt/1Tx3Tay

Cut the Price of Your Next Beach Trip in Half

If you're going on this classic summer getaway, you can trim costs with these tips.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1RtS2fT

The Simple (But Effective) Way I Taught My Son About Credit

Try this money lesson the next time your child begs for a new toy.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1RtS1IB

Do's and Don'ts of Shopping for Skin Care Products

From moisturizer to sunscreen, when should you skimp and when should you splurge?

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1CALF3v

Iran Deal, Greek Bailout Send Oil Prices Tumbling

The prospect of striking a deal with Iran on its nuclear program, coupled with the bailout for Greece, is causing a drop in oil prices worldwide.

Source CBN.com - Finance http://ift.tt/1dVQpVK

Win $100,000 in This App Design Contest, Even If You’re Not a Developer

We already know that creating a popular app can help you earn $6,000 a month — or even $10 million. But creating an app often takes coding skills the average person might not have. Now, even the non-techies among us have a chance to design an app and win $100,000 in prize money.

As part of its Small Business App Challenge, a tech company called Appsbar is offering $100,000 to the person or company who creates the best app for Android, iPhone or Windows using its free app-development platform. The idea is to make it easier for small business owners to design and launch apps to support their work.

“It’s always been our mission to empower small business and level the playing field for mobile app development,” the company’s founder and CEO, Scott Hirsch, told PRNewswire. “This opportunity to earn $100,000 reinforces our commitment to that cause.”

How Does Appsbar Work?

The platform helps small and medium-sized businesses develop and distribute mobile apps. It focuses on smaller businesses, such as “mom-and-pop” stores and This Free App Will Pay You to Tell Your Friends About New Music, which may lack the technical skills and know-how to program or code their own apps, as well as the budget to hire professionals.

The tool is also popular with community and nonprofit groups. For example, several parents have created apps to coordinate their kids’ soccer and softball schedules. Instead of hiring programmers to custom-build an app for their specific needs, they simply use a free template to create an app that meets their needs.

The app builder is easy to use, and you can even create an app directly from your Android, iPhone, Windows and even BlackBerry smartphones and tablets.

Win $100,000 With Your App

To enter Appsbar’s Small Business App Challenge, you must be a legal U.S. resident aged 18 or older who develops an app through Appsbar’s platform.

You’ll be eligible for weekly prizes, such as iPods, tablets, laptops and flat-screen TVs. Judges will select these weekly winners based on a number of factors, including creativity, practicality, innovation, number of downloads and other factors.

When the contest closes on November 4, 2015, a “celebrity panel of judges” will select the official Grand Prize Winner from the group of weekly winners, and the winning app’s designer will take home $100,000.

Though the judges have not been named, Appsbar notes these individuals have “backgrounds in technology, pop culture, business, philanthropy and more.”

How to Enter

The hardest part of entering is probably coming up with your app idea. The rest is easy!

Sign up with Appsbar and create an app using their free platform, which the company says should only take 20 minutes or so, unless you’re adding a lot of forms, menus and other data-heavy options. After you’ve created your app, publish it on one or more app marketplaces like Google Play, the Apple App Store and Appcatch.com. That’s it: As long as you’ve used Appsbar to develop your app, posted it on an app marketplace and listed it as free for users, you’re entered to win.

After you submit your app, Appsbar will review and optimize it. This process typically takes three to five business days, and then your app will be ready for sharing. You’ll want to get as many downloads as possible, so be ready to fire up your Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook accounts to publicize your app.

The contest won’t accept group submissions, and you can’t use any kind of automatic program to develop your entry. Read the FAQ and the fine print for more details.

Good luck!

Your Turn: Have you considered creating an app? Will you enter this contest?

Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The post Win $100,000 in This App Design Contest, Even If You’re Not a Developer appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1UUm4Zm

Survey: Shoppers’ Use Of Social Media Drops, But It Remains Vital To Those Who Use It

Other tools -- search engines, coupons, retailer emails, etc. -- have more overall users, but people who use social media to shop are more apt to be swayed by that use, Epsilon survey finds.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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

How Teens Can Make Money Blogging

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blogging journey. My mom requires each of us to do a project for high school. Something that will help us develop real life skills and make a difference in the world. I decided to do a website, but I wasn’t sure of my topic. After listening […]

Source The Work at Home Woman http://ift.tt/1HX3Tyu

LV= launches low-cost online-only pensions advice service

Mark King

pensionplanning.jpg

The retirement income market is hotting up with the launch of a highly-competitive online advice service from LV=, costing as little as £199.

The retirement income market is hotting up with the launch of a highly-competitive online advice service from LV=, costing as little as £199.

LV= launches low-cost online-only pensions advice service

Feed Copy: 

The retirement income market is hotting up with the launch of a highly-competitive online advice service from LV=, costing as little as £199. Customers will be able to access the insurer's qualified financial advisers during the process, who can recommend income solutions "from across the market" for people ready to convert their pension into an income. Customers can access an "online income shaping tool" for free, that will generate a report spelling out the products on the market and their pros and cons. From that point, customers can choose between two price levels. For £199 they can access a detailed "personalised regulated advice recommendation on the most suitable products for them". LV= says this could include buying an annuity, using income drawdown, deferring taking action, or a blend of different income solutions. It includes a discussion with a financial adviser to talk through the recommendations. For a further £499 LV= will also complete all the required paperwork, contact existing pension providers and organise the payment of any tax-free cash. The service, called Clear Online Retirement Advice (CORA), aims to make advice "more accessible and cost effective", clearly aimed at people who might not feel the government's free Pension Wise guidance service goes far enough – but who might not wish to pay the sometimes hefty fees charged by independent financial advisers. John Perks, managing director of LV= Retirement Solutions, said: "Financial advice helps pension savers make the most of their funds. However, we recognise that there are many retirees who do not plan to see an adviser before they access their pension. "To ensure that middle Britons approaching retirement do not miss out we have changed how advice is offered. CORA has been designed to help demonstrate the value of advice to those who would not typically seek it. "By making the advice available online it means that pension savers can access valuable information from the comfort of their homes, whenever it suits them, safe in the knowledge that our expert advisers are on hand to help. "Making those approaching retirement aware of the choices the pension freedoms afford them will ensure that they make an informed decision about how they take an income from their pension. For some an annuity will remain the best option for them, for others it will be drawdown, however many could benefit from mixing and matching solutions to achieve the level of income and flexibility they want in retirement." The service is available at http://ift.tt/1dVwoyw.

read more

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

Women in their 60s see car insurance bills rise fastest

Laura Whitcombe

carcover.jpg

Women aged 66 to 70 who share their car insurance with a spouse have seen their premiums rise faster over the past three months than all other UK drivers, new research shows.

Women aged 66 to 70 who share their car insurance with a spouse have seen their premiums rise faster over the past three months than all other UK drivers, new research shows.

The average premium for an annual comprehensive policy for this group of motorists has risen by 17.5% to £220, up £33 from three months ago.

Women in their 60s see car insurance bills rise fastest

Feed Copy: 

Women aged 66 to 70 who share their car insurance with a spouse have seen their premiums rise faster over the past three months than all other UK drivers, new research shows. The average premium for an annual comprehensive policy for this group of motorists has risen by 17.5% to £220, up £33 from three months ago. The cost of the average UK car insurance policy rose 3.6% to £600 over the last quarter, according to the analysis by Confused.com. Over the past year, drivers aged 59 and above have seen the biggest spike in premiums at 7.8%, with the average premium among them reaching £384 in the second quarter of 2015, compared with £356 a year earlier. Meanwhile, premiums for the UK's youngest drivers (aged 17) have fallen to an all-time low. At £1,869 a year on average, they are now 50% less than they were in the third quarter of 2011, when they stood at £3,729. Over the past year, the cost has fallen by 6.4% and by 1.7% over the past three months. Overall, men are still paying more for their premiums across all age groups. While the cost has been rising for both genders recently, the average male driver's premium is now £627, while the female's is £566. The £61 gap between the two premiums in the second quarter has risen from £27 two years ago. On a regional basis, drivers in the East and North East of Scotland have experienced the biggest spike in premium costs across the UK, with bills rising by 9.2% over the past year. Dundee's drivers have been hardest hit, with a 15.3% bill hike. Motorists in Manchester and Merseyside and the North West region are the only ones to have seen premiums fall in price, but the dip is very marginal at just 0.5%%. Steve Sanders at Confused.com said: "We've seen insurance premiums fall steadily over the last few years, which has been welcome news for motorists, however it looks like the end of the road for continuing price drops. "Despite enjoying a brief reprieve in the first quarter of 2015, market movements in the last 12 months suggest consumers should prepare themselves for price rises to continue for the rest of 2015. The last time we saw this sort of premium change pattern we were at the beginning of three years of consecutive comprehensive premium increases."

Video Embed: 

Buyers' Guide - Car insurance

read more

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

Dress Up Like a Cow for Free Chick-fil-A on July 14

What would you do for free food?

If “dress up in a cow costume” is something you’d be willing to add to your list, then get your outfit ready, because Tuesday, July 14, 2015 is Chick-fil-A’s National Cow Appreciation Day. It’s a clever play on their “Eat Mor Chikin” cow campaign, and it can net you free food if you’re willing to look a little silly.

There are plenty of free food days out there, from national days observed by a number of chains to chain-specific days created as a tie-in with certain products. But this has to be one of the most fun free food days, by far.

How to Get Free Chick-fil-A

On July 14, anyone “fully dressed as a cow” will get a free meal of their choice, including entree, side item and beverage. You can see the full list of meal options here.

“Fully dressed,” according to the promotion’s FAQs, means dressing like a cow from head to toe. You don’t need to rent a full cow costume; a cow-print shirt, pair of pants and hat would do the trick, or you can glue some black construction paper dots onto an all-white outfit. But you can also get as creative as you desire by painting your face, crafting a cow mask or adding a fun touch like a cowbell around your neck. DIY lovers can even download a range of free patterns and templates here to get started.

Only feel like wearing “partial cow attire”? Walk in wearing a cow-themed accessory like a hat, scarf or sneakers and you may still be able to get a free entree (sans side and beverage) at the manager’s discretion.

The choice is yours, but what’s the fun in engaging in partial silliness and getting a partial freebie? Get your full moo on and grab yourself a whole meal! Plenty of other customers will be doing the same, so you won’t even look out of place.

Your Turn: Have you ever participated in National Cow Appreciation Day? Will you be participating this year?

Kelly Gurnett is a freelance blogger, writer and editor who runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. Follow her on Twitter @CordeliaCallsIt.

The post Dress Up Like a Cow for Free Chick-fil-A on July 14 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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