Successful Blog

Five reasons you should still blog on your own site

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Let’s face it, you have a lot of options if you are interested in blogging.

Your pearls of wisdom can be shared on Medium, LinkedIn Pulse, Facebook Articles, or dozens of other places around the web.

It’s good to get exposure for your writing, to speak to new audiences, and to become a thought leader in your subject area. However, there are certain advantages to blogging on your own home site or domain rather than an external social network. Your website is your castle.

1. SEO

It should be obvious, but building up a deep resource of well-written articles on your own domain will help you get found by the search engines. No trickery or keyword stuffing needed, just quality content that is valuable to your readers over a long period of time.

2. Collect Email Addresses

Social networks can be a fickle bunch. In January of this year, Medium fired a third of its staff amid a strategy shift. It appears they aren’t going away for now, but there are no guarantees when you’re not paying for use of the platform. Collecting subscriber emails gives you insurance against the vagaries of social media pivoting.

3. Control the Experience

On Facebook and LinkedIn, all published articles march out like little soldiers, exactly the same format and presentation. You can inject images and text formatting, but you certainly can’t differentiate the structure or branding. On your own site, you can make your blog stand out from the crowd with great design as well as great content.

4. Cross Promote

Did you just write an e-book? Are you speaking at an upcoming conference? On your own site, you can pop in an ad or image to promote whatever you want, in context. On a social network, you might instead have an ad for one of your competitors pop up beside your article.

5. It’s Not Either/Or, It’s And

I’m not proposing that everyone withdraw into their website cocoons. The strategy I endorse is website-first, then promote and share out to the social networks that make sense. You can even republish your entire article on LinkedIn or elsewhere, as long as you include a link back to your original post (to make sure Google knows where it originated). Be sure you tailor your posts a bit for each social network, so it fits in. Don’t forget to promote your blog posts on Twitter, Instagram, and other social networks that don’t support long-form content, as long as your potential audience is there too.

Where are you blogging right now? Do you have a castle that will endure?

 

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Featured image: Johannes Plenio

If you’re not learning, you’re dying

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Summer is here, and kids everywhere are bursting out of the classroom with glee. They can’t wait to jump into the pool, play ball with their friends, and forget about the Causes and Effects of World War II.

I remember that feeling well.

But I also remember a point, a few years after college, when I realized I could just decide to learn about something. For the pure joy of understanding something new. For the happiness of unexplored territories in my brain. For the Trivial Pursuit points.

We’re so lucky to live in a time when the world’s knowledge is literally in our laps. I can use my little MacBook Air to visit the Louvre, find out what cryptocurrency is, or learn Italian.

I actively seek out opportunities like that because it helps to punch through the comfort zone of the familiar.

Although there doesn’t have to be a reason for learning new things, it definitely helps me in my work life. A richer inner life leads to richer conversations, stronger relationships, and more empathy for the people I encounter day-to-day.

Last year, I participated in a book trade through Facebook, in which you were to send a favorite book to someone on a list, and you would receive several books back from others who were participating. It was thrilling to receive a stack of books that strangers found important in some way. There was fiction, non-fiction, and several books I never would have thought to pick up on my own (The Birth of the Modern, anyone?). It was fantastic.

I dearly hope someone starts a book trade again this year. And if you’re invited into one, say yes.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you are probably a lifelong learner already. Let’s enjoy the adventure of life together!

Online Resources for Lifelong Learning

Khan Academy – I’m currently doing “Pixar in a Box, the Art of Storytelling.” This site is free, but you can donate to support their work. Lots of subjects are offered, including math, science, and humanities.

MasterClass Online – Would you like to learn comedy from Steve Martin? (Yes I would.) For about $90, you can have at-will access to classes ranging from fashion (Diane Von Furstenberg) to novel writing (James Patterson). Students get video content, workbooks, a community, and tools specific to the course as well.

Duolingo – Abbondanza! There are so many languages available for free on this engaging site that you might have trouble deciding which one to pursue. I’ve brushed up my college Spanish, and learned enough bits of Irish to make my grandmother proud.

Codecademy – If you’d like to be a bit nerdier, Codecademy offers simple courses for various coding languages. I can vouch that it’s user-friendly; I did the HTML/CSS course a couple of years ago and it was a great foundation.

eHow – Escaping the bounds of traditional courses, eHow includes “how to make bacon jam,” and “how to make a round towel.” Each mini-tutorial is contributed by members of the site, so quality can vary, but in terms of browsing around to find something interesting to learn, it’s gold.

What are you learning right now? Please share your resources in the comments, too, so we can all learn along and live life to the fullest.

 

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

 

How Bloggers can Succeed with the Power of Technical SEO

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By Ted Chong

 

The vast majority of online experiences start with a search engine.

You probably don’t need another person to tell you about the tremendous benefits of ranking on Google search results.  Many bloggers however, place too much emphasis on content and neglect the technical aspect of SEO.

Anything with the word “technical” sounds scary – we can attest to that. However, nobody said it had to be! Embracing the technical aspect of your SEO might be one of the best business decision you’ll ever make. It lays the foundation of any content or links you built for your blog by making it easier for Google spiders to crawl your site.

Here’s the good news: WordPress is wonderful for helping to boost your technical SEO. It’s one of the best content management systems in terms of SEO. It offers many useful plugins that can help support and improve your SEO while serving as an effective guide.

One great example is Yoast, which is known as the most comprehensive and stable SEO plugin that exists today for users. In fact, leading sites like SearchEngineLand and WooCommerce use it. The best part is that it literally makes technical SEO idiot-proof for the layman.

It doesn’t mean that you can ignore the technical aspect of a website simply because you use WordPress. There are other tools outlined in the infographic below that can help you give that extra boost to your technical SEO. However, in the world of SEO, change is the only constant. Therefore one has to ensure that his  website’s technical SEO is always updated. For example, most recently, the use of interstitials is said to raise a red flag with Google. Webmasters who are not in the know could risking getting penalized.

Bloggers using WordPress often find problems in these areas:

  • erroneous sitemaps
  • duplicate content
  • malware
  • lack of mobile responsiveness
  • sluggish site speed

These problems make it difficult for search engines to crawl and rank your website, and create frustration for users as well. On top of ranking poorly, you might even be penalized by Google for failing to adhere to their guidelines.

For example, if your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, 40% of visitors will abandon it. Simply put, the greater the loading speed, the greater the abandonment rate. Your page loading time is also part of Google’s search ranking algorithm! That’s even more reason for you to buff it up.

If you’re unsure about how to start, worry not. Google provides help and guidelines for WordPress users, including tips on how to be more mobile friendly, here!

If we’ve piqued your curiosity, check out the infographic below for a detailed explanation to help boost your site’s technical SEO.

For more elaboration and recommendation of technical SEO best practices, visit https://icecube.asia/technical-seo-101-getting-website-ranked-google-infographic/to find out more.

 

About the Author:

Ted Chong runs Ice Cube Marketing, a digital marketing agency in Singapore that helps local small businesses acquire leads from channels such as Facebook and Google.

See full infographic below:

technicalSEO

 

Filed Under: SEO Tagged With:

Types of Commercial Real Estate Leases: Finding the Right fit for Your Business

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By Kris Lindahl

Commercial real estate leases are vastly different than those used for residential properties. While a residential lease is typically a pretty straightforward matter with the tenant being responsible for the rent, as well as any utilities, commercial real estate leases are typically determined by the type of commercial business. Four of the most common types are outlined below.

1. Gross Lease

Sometimes also referred to as a full-service lease, a gross lease is one in which the landlord is responsible for paying for the insurance, taxes and maintenance of the property. In most cases, the landlord collects a fixed amount from each tenant and pays the expenses noted above from it. Many gross leases also contain escalation clauses that build in rent increases over time in an effort to offset the higher landlord costs that are projected in the future.

A gross lease is the ideal choice for industrial properties, as well as single- and multi-tenant office buildings. Accountants, attorneys and some types of consultants would also find a gross lease to be a good fit. Prior to signing a contract on a gross lease, however, it’s a good idea for the tenant to be able to project their rent expenses in the future given the presence of the escalation clauses and avoid any surprise rent increases.

2. Triple Net Lease

A popular commercial real estate lease option that is often found in use for those retail and industrial properties that have multiple tenants, a triple net lease works for the landlord when renting to those businesses whose expenses fluctuate widely. The bulk of the expenses associated with operating the property is placed squarely on the tenants.

Because businesses such as manufacturing plants, auto repair shops and other commercial ventures that are utility-heavy and/or tend to be harder on the structure, the triple net lease is the ideal choice for the landlord.

Tenants, on the other hand, need to be more vigilant about their expenses to ensure that their costs don’t spiral out of control. Tenants that rent space in older buildings might find that their utility and maintenance bills are higher because the building needs to be renovated due to its age.

3. Percentage Lease

A percentage lease could be the ideal fit for those commercial tenants whose sales fluctuate a great deal depending on the time of year and other economic factors. This type of lease works by the tenant paying a base rent, as well as an additional percentage that is determined by their monthly sales volume.

Ideal for a retail business that must rely on much of its sales around a season such as the holidays or summer to stay solvent, a percentage lease doesn’t mean that the landlord is entitled to all of the company’s earnings. In fact, because the landlord only gets a percentage of the sales volume once a certain threshold is met, this type of lease is ideal for businesses located in a mall setting or whose sales vary over time.

4. Modified Net Lease

The modified net lease can be described as a compromise between a triple net lease and a gross lease. It leaves more room for negotiations between the tenant and landlord with the maintenance expenses typically being split between them in some fashion. Utilities are another aspect of a modified net lease that is likely to be split between the two entities.

That being said, with a modified net lease, the tenant is typically responsible for paying taxes and insurance, along with their rent. Modified net leases are a popular compromise for those commercial businesses that have high expenditures for utilities. Older buildings that require more and higher maintenance costs are another good candidate for a modified net lease.

The above overview of the most common commercial real estate leases gives tenants a starting point when finding a good fit for their business. Reading over a proposed contract carefully before signing provides clear expectations for both parties.

 

Author Bio:

Minnesota real estate broker Kris Lindahl’s “All In” approach to life is key to success in his career as a leading real estate professional. His energy and devotion are a perfect fit for the lighting-fast pace of today’s real estate industry.

Find him at https://www.krislindahl.com/ or on Twitter @krislindahl.

 

Featured image via Flickr CC: Travis Wise

Technology, the Future, and You

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by Amy Blankson

For those of us born before 2005, I’m sure you can think back to a time in your life that was not lived side by side with technology. When you had to go down to the library to look something up instead of searching for it on Google. When you had to make plans with your friends in advance of showing up somewhere. When you had no idea how many steps you had taken that day or how many times you asked a girl named Alexa a question.

The younger generation, on the other hand, spends an average of six-plus hours per day on their phones, literally changing a quarter of their life experiences from what we have known in the past.

With technology living in tandem with human beings, supporting nearly every function of our busy lives, the question now being asked is, are we happier? Would we be better without technology? Where are we heading?

These are some of the questions I ask in my new book, The Future of Happiness (April 2017, BenBella Books), which outlines several strategies for balancing productivity and well-being in the Digital Era. When people ask me these questions, I respond with some of these ideas:

Is technology making us happier?

Knowing that technology is here to stay, we need to learn how to live with the complexity of technology, not escape from it, but that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our well-being. That is not the price we pay for having access to information.

That being said, in order to live in harmony with technology, we must make a conscious effort to focus on what’s most important in our lives and to not get distracted.

Consider this: when you’re flipping through Facebook, posting pictures on Instagram or using any of the apps on your phone, stop and ask yourself, ‘is this making me happy?’ If you don’t know the answer to that question, create a trial period for the app that you’re using. If you feel happier or more productive after a month of using the app, make a mental note of your progress and continue to use the app.

If the opposite is true, you know what to do. Toss it out like yesterday’s newspaper. Life is too short to be wasted on apps that are not contributing to our overall well-being.

When it comes right down to it, technology is merely a tool to help us, not the answer to all of our problems. It is up to us whether or not we will allow technology to control our lives and our happiness. We all have the innate power to control technology so we can continue to live positively and productively.

What can we do to maintain a well-balanced technology diet?

In order to maintain a satisfying level of happiness and well-being in the Digital Era, it is important to consciously curate the amount and quality of technology consumed every day.

There are several strategies you can implement to find the right level of technology consumption that does not affect relationships or productivity in other areas of your life.

Establish tech-free brain breaks throughout your day to help your brain recharge, whether it’s right before bed, taking a phoneless walk on your lunch break, or playing with your kids. When interacting with others, close your laptop, and take your earbuds out to say hello when someone walks into the room.

Establish hard-and-fast rules for your use of technology and model digital citizenship in a way that makes sense for you. Not only will your life become more productive, but as you start to form good tech habits, it will create a ripple effect for those around you, especially your kids.

Beyond these ideas, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that you have the ability to change your mindset. Just like Dorothy had the power inside of her all along to go back home to Kansas, you have the innate power to shape the future of technology and your happiness. You are welcome to let technology run your life, but just as simply, you are allowed to take control of your technology. Our devices can have a positive effect in our lives, but only if we allow it. As Shakespeare once said, “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

To learn more about strategies that can help you be more productive and happier with technology, click here to order The Future of Happiness.

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Amy Blankson is a happiness expert on the forefront of testing new technologies to foster well-being.  Amy’s upcoming book, The Future of Happiness: 5 Modern Strategies for Balancing Productivity and Well-Being in the Digital Era, (BenBella, April, 2017), brings her years of experience in happiness research and consulting to deliver a roadmap for those feeling overwhelmed by the wave of technology. She has a BA from Harvard and a MBA from Yale School of Management. She has been called upon by the likes of Google, NASA, the US Army, and the Xprize Foundation to consult on positive psychology strategies.

 

 

Real Influencers Don’t Call Themselves Influencers

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In this brave new world where every marketer is turning over rocks trying to find “influencers,” there’s an easy way to separate the wheat from the chaff.

If someone promotes himself/herself as an “influencer,” they probably won’t be able to do you any good.

You should really be looking for a smart person who happens to have influence (or perhaps “Whuffie” according to Tara Hunt).

Self-described “influencers” used to go by other names…guru, ninja, rockstar, thought leader…it probably dates all the way back to when Caveman Urp tried to tell Caveman Ack how many tribe members were using his new square wheel.

So how do you identify a person with influence, as opposed to an “influencer?”

Here’s my checklist, to help you get started:

  • Acknowledged credibility within a certain subject area – Look for some type of external endorsement that the person is an expert (if you want to know about middle school fashion trends, go to a middle schooler).
  • Lots of engagement (two-way, not just one-way) – Lots of followers is not enough; they must be able to motivate the followers to engage (and hopefully purchase). Look for comments, replies, likes and conversation.
  • Great communication skills – You don’t want someone representing your brand if they can’t write or speak with authority.
  • Systematic curiosity – Find someone who demonstrates a thirst to learn; those are the people who usually share their experiences too. Think Tim Ferriss.
  • Track record of successful recommendations in the past – You want to work with someone who commands trust and respect that has been earned over time. It’s not enough that they make recommendations; it’s that they make recommendations that are valuable to their audience, over and over.
  • No focus on “influencing”, focus on something else and the influence is incidental – If they have #influencer in their bio, walk away.

Are you working with influencers? Have you seen success with that strategy? Please share your insights with us!

 

 

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Featured image via Flickr CC: FaceMePLS