 Image credit: Unknown The average water bill for families has been rising over the last few years. Using less water is not only better for the environment, but it can be better for your finances too. If you want to lower your water bill at the same time as being more environmentally friendly, you can work to use less water in your home using some of these easy tips.
Store water If you can store water for future use in a water tank or have a well drilled by adam drillers, then you can always have water at home. Water from a tank can be maintained at a set temperature, so you need less energy to bring it to temperature. A properly insulated tank can save you both energy and money, so you can use less water having to leave the tap running while waiting for the water to warm up. Eat seasonally A lot of water has to be used to rear animals who will be used for meat and dairy products, and to harvest a lot of crops. If you eat less meat and dairy products, you won’t be contributing to this large use of water. Eating less meat and dairy can also be good for your health and good for the environment. The meat and dairy industries are huge contributors to global warming, so using less is a good thing to do. Eat vegetables that are in season. They need less water to be force grown than out-of-season fruits and vegetables, and you’re also lowering your carbon footprint by eating food that doesn’t need to be shipped in from long distances. Try to minimize food waste at home too. A lot of water is used to produce food, so you shouldn’t waste it by throwing out good food. Steam your vegetables Steaming rather than boiling vegetables uses a lot less water, and can also hold onto more of the flavor and nutrients in your food. If you do choose to boil your vegetables, save the water when you’re done and use it as a stock for soup or to water your plants. Time your gardening right The best time to water your plants is in the early morning or late evening. By watering at these times, the water you’ve used won’t immediately evaporate in the sunlight or the heat, meaning you need less water to soak the plants. Water the soil, and not the top of the plant, so the water will go straight down to the roots, where the plant needs it. Saving water is an important thing that we all should make an effort to do. Reducing the water you use can help you be kinder to the planet, as well as saving you a lot of money on your water bills. Try to get the whole family involved in the effort to save water. Talk to your children about what you’re doing and why. Getting them involved can help them to begin to learn about living in a greener, more frugal way.
0 Comments
 Image credit: NordWood Themes on Unsplash Whether you write your blog to share personal anecdotes and stories or to promote your business, you should always be on the lookout for ways to take your blog to the next level. After all, this will allow you to widen your reach, increasing the number of followers and views you receive on each blog, which in turn, could lead to financial success.
However, with hundreds of new blogs popping up each and every day, it can be hard to find a way to stand out from the crowd. One way in which you can do just that is by running a youtube channel in conjunction with your blog, sharing content across both platforms. There are many benefits to this method. For example: Running a YouTube Channel helps you broaden your content. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to embed youtube videos into your blogs. This means that your viewers will not have to leave your website to watch your latest video - be that a vlog or an advertisement. This means that you can reduce the chances of your viewers getting bored, as there is always something new for them to watch or read. Furthemore, videos are often more accessible than large blocks of text - meaning that you could begin to cater to a much wider audience. Running a YouTube Channel will lead to increased blog traffic. As your YouTube channel begins to grow or gain traction, your viewers may be on the lookout for other ways to engage with your content. Therefore, you can use your YouTube channel to increase your blog traffic by sharing links to your blog in your videos or discussing your latest blog in video format. Essentially, you can use YouTube as a platform to advertise your brand. However, if you are struggling to grow your YouTube following, don’t despair. You can use youtube automation to analyse your growth and put strategies in place to Running a YouTube Channel helps you connect with your audience. When you are trying to build a following, it’s important that you take the time to develop a strong relationship with your audience. In order for them to remain interested in you and your content, you need to ensure that you are friendly and approachable - and videos can be a great way to do this as they feel more personal than a traditional blog. Furthemore, you can connect with your customers by responding to or engaging with their comments or by streaming ‘live’ on YouTube. You can earn money through youtube. Another benefit to running a YouTube channel (aside from the fact that it is a lot of fun) is that it can help you achieve greater financial security. This is due to the fact that popular or successful channels can begin to earn income through views, or by adding advertisements to their blogs. In addition, you could also look into obtaining sponsorships - wherein you advertise or promote certain products or services to your viewers and receive compensation for your efforts.  Image credit: Pixabay Although most people think animation movies are meant for children, they are wrong as adults could join in too. What these people do not realise is that these movies always have a lesson to teach. They are put together so simply, but in the end, there is something both kids and adults could learn. So remember this the next time you brush them off as kids’ stuff.
With the right platform, making an animated video is quite an easy task. This article discusses some of the life-changing lessons you can learn by watching animation movies. It Is Okay to Have Negative Emotions Most people tend to pride themselves in their positive emotions while stashing the negative feelings away. They fail to realise that both of their emotions play an essential role in their lives. Therefore, it is wise to pay attention to both your positive and negative emotions as neglecting the latter won’t do you any good. The solution is working on the negative ones to make you a better person. Minds Mature It is not uncommon for animated movies to have both children and adults. One thing that is made evident is the differences in the thinking of these groups. While an adult’s emotions are organised, a teenager’s are chaotic. Adults can stay calm and embrace teamwork, but the same cannot be said for kids. Seeing this discrepancy will help parents understand children better and therefore be compassionate with them. It Is Okay to Be Different Just because the people before you did unspeakable things does not mean you have to follow suit. You can change the narrative. You might have watched animation movies where a character was rejected for choosing a different path, such as pursuing a career that the parents disapprove of. You must have seen the hurt they felt for not being understood and how firm they were with their decisions. Ultimately, they achieved whatever their hearts wanted. This teaches that no matter how misunderstood you can be, the key is following your instincts and doing what makes you happy. It is not always easy, but it is worth it. Just Keep Going This ought to be the theme of most animated movies. If you are a cartoon fanatic, you must be aware that most characters are faced with hard times, but most of the time, they never turn back. They keep swimming. The lesson here is to always look at the bigger picture despite the situations you are facing the moment because, trust me, it always gets better. Follow Your Dreams Another valuable lesson you can learn from watching animation movies is that there is no timeline to achieving your dreams. You must have encountered characters that were, for instance, too old to go to school, but because they hold on to a dream, they defy all odds and get into school. This is a lesson to always look for people that want better lives for themselves, and they dare to do so even if it means leaving everything they have behind. Such people instill confidence in you, and you, too, believe you can change your course. In the spirit of following your dreams, you too could learn to create animation videos. Yes, action movies are one thing, but animation movies are a whole different thing. There are a lot of lessons to be learned that could better your life.  Image credit: Skitterphoto from Pixabay All parents try to lure their children outside the house without having to turn the entire garden into a playground. Sometimes it is not that easy to pull the little ones off of the gadgets, but there's nothing impossible, especially if your yard is properly set up. Many people think that a kid-friendly garden should be filled with numerous toys, but it doesn't have to be that way. Here you can get some tips on how to design a garden that would be suitable for both adults and kids. Set up a playhouse Buy a wooden hut or build a hideout where your kids can hang out with their friends away from the adults. Alternatively, you can turn your log cabin into a playhouse. Once installed or redecorated, use a magnet or metal detector to check the area next to your playhouse to make sure there are no nails left in the grass. In addition, your children should wear suitable shoes in the garden to protect their feet from cuts and stings. Make sure there are enough things to keep your kids busy in their playhouse. It can be basically anything related to your kid's hobbies and interests, but also something universal like board games for the kid's gatherings. Of course, make sure that the playhouse is safely equipped and does not pose any risks to your children. These may include sharp edges, splintering wooden floors, electrical cables, etc. If the house will also be used in winter, you should install a safe heating system. A good option can be underfloor heating. This type of heating is beneficial for children's rooms because there is no exposed electrical line. The same goes for the lighting. Prefer solar and battery-operated lamps. Set up a separate garden bed for your kids Due to natural curiosity, children love to watch plants growing. Children find it especially fascinating to see a tiny sprout developing into a huge plant. That is one of the many reasons to set up a personal garden bed for your children. Gardening will not only keep them busy outdoors but also will develop their love for nature and living beings. Apart from that, gardening is a good way for your kids to develop a sense of independence and responsibility for living beings.  Image credit: Vikvarga from Pixabay Believe me, your kids will enjoy having their private space in the garden where they set their own rules and play their own bosses. Of course, you should take care of their safety by getting kids-friendly tools. They should be of an appropriate size, weight, and not too sharp. It’s important not only to get the right tools but also to raise children's awareness of potential dangers, to explain to them how garden tools function and how to use them properly without getting injured. Tip: Let your children work on their garden beds strictly in safety gloves and under your observation (at least till they develop an understanding of safety rules and follow them with determination). Having a garden, you are likely to have leftover seeds to share with your child. Alternatively, you can buy some. It is important to keep children away from potentially dangerous plants, such as allergic and poisonous plants or those with thorns.
 Image credit: Yohoprashant from Pixabay
Poisonous plants include: Hydrangeas, ivy, foxgloves, rhubarb (leaves), lily of the valley, rhododendrons, knight spurs, feather asparagus, milkweed, spotted hemlock, azalea, morning glory, bergenia, oleander, monkshood, hyacinths, lupins, begonias, tulips, daffodils and amaryllis (bulbs). A good example of kid-friendly plants is fast-growing fruits and vegetables like strawberries. It's no secret that kids aren't patient at all -- this makes strawberries the best choice as it won't take your children long to see the results of their labour. And of course, this will also motivate children to plant more, as they can eat their crop as a reward.  Image credit: BlandineJoannic from Pixabay Don’t forget the sun protection
Make sure the kids' area is always in partial shade. Set up a garden umbrella if necessary. Even if your children spend most of their time in the shade, you shouldn't neglect to apply sunscreen. This is especially important in summer between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the sun is at its hottest.  Image credit: Sigmund from Unsplash When it comes to the human experiences, sometimes we can appear as being in denial, or we can appear as being completely in touch with our true calling. There are several people who are in the midst of various goals, and while there are obvious differences between them, they are both in tune with their calling. In the midst of a disagreement, you can also find yourself in a very clear realization. There are more than 2,000 things I love about you. For example, your sense of humor makes me laugh out loud. Your values and your dreams make me smile. Your smile makes me happy, and your voice makes me want to come play with you. You are the most remarkable person I have ever known.
At times, our happiness does not match up with the lives we lead. We have dreams and values that we have forgotten to instill in our children. It is our duty to do so. It is important to instill love and compassion, and to pass down our value system and our sense of humor. We are a team, a team of equals. Each person should be allowed to express themselves fully, and to be just as they are in every way. I am here to remind you that you are not alone. There is an abundance of good people out there who would love to help you in any way they can. There is a growing community of people who are helping to guide you in the right direction. The process may be slow at times, but there is a growing movement of people who are willing to be excellent role-models. You do not have to be a guru. You can get the tools and all the experience you need to not only stay in the game, but to become a champion.  Image credit: Viktor Forgacs from Unsplash Life is full of uncertainties. You may feel like you have no control over the things in your life. Is what you have today better than what you had yesterday? It is hard to say because things change. Your job may become obsolete, the economy can tank at any time, and so many other factors can change from day to day. You can feel stuck or you can find a way to influence the changes to your benefit. The changes can be slow, fast or even unpredictable. The good news is that you have the ability to change your life in order to be happier. By working with a coach you can stay in control of your life and feel successful. A coach can help you identify goals that will create the positive changes in your life to be happier and achieve your goals.
1. Take a serious look at your life. Take a look at what you currently have. Do they satisfy you? Are they what you want to have? Or, do you not really want them? If you were unable to have what you currently have, what would you want to have? Take a step back and think about the situation. Is it something that you want or do you not want? Think about the people involved. Are they on your list of people you want to have around? If you are currently not having the things that you want, try changing your beliefs and beliefs of the people involved. If you are currently not having the things you want, ask the people around you if they have the same goals as you. If they do, try working with them to help you reach your goals. 2. If you are not having the things you want, ask your self why not? Do you believe you are not worthy of having what you currently have? Do you have a low self esteem? Do you feel that you are inferior to other people? If you are unable to have what you currently have, ask yourself if you are worthy of having what you currently have. 3. Once you realize that you are unworthy, unmeasurable or inferior to other people, work on changing your beliefs that reflect that. It may be a belief that you are inherently good or that God does not exist? You may have a belief that makes you think that you are not worth anything. That is okay, as long as your negative beliefs do not stop you from achieving your positive goals. Instead of focusing on the things that are not working in your life, focus on the things that work. Then work on changing the beliefs of the people who are holding you back. Once you have identified the beliefs that are holding you back, think about how they may be impacting your current life experiences. Write them down. And then work on changing them. You can change the beliefs being held by changing your beliefs about yourself. That is done by finding and taking care of your strengths. Those strengths are created by your inner strengths, so be sure to take care of your inner strengths and they will help you to achieve goals. The more you become a self confident and effective person, the easier it is for you to achieve your goals. Be sure that you always stay positive and believe that you can do it. And before you know it, you will be running around in no time. That is it. But before that, you need to know it. The harder part is getting to that point. There is a lot of work ahead of you. But if you stick with it, over time you will see results. And this is a process that can be repeated over and over again. It is not a one time process. It will take time, but you need to start TODAY. You will see results faster that by waiting. The key is to start with yourself and just focus on self development. And once you start seeing results and gaining confidence, you can start focusing on your goals. Stay tuned. Do you want to improve your life? Then you should start working on yourself.  Image credit: R.D. Smith from Unsplash It's been said that some of the most powerful people create their own destiny. The more someone trains themselves in the ways of the Force, the more they can do things the way they want to do them - rather than having their life dictated to them by the people around them! The Jedi are a warrior culture. We see this in our movies, comics, games and literature.
A young girl, in the movie, Star Wars, is seen sitting cross-legged in a hut in the woods. She wears a white robe and has a staff in the other hand. She is training with a young man. This young man is in the process of being trained by the Jedi in a similar manner. The scenes in Star Wars are a metaphor for how we can create our own destiny - we train with the Force to become better fighters. We become better Jedi, in time, and in turn become better human beings. The Force is a metaphor for how we can empower ourselves in the ways we want to. It is an energy we can tap into to become the person we want to be - rather than be someone else's victim! We need to train in the Force if we wish to become Force sensitive. In the movies, the people who are sensitive to the Force don't have the physical sensitivity, but rather the inner sensitivity. It is possible to be sensitive to the Force without physical sensitivity. For example, if you are compassionate, caring and have strong empathy, you may be more sensitive to the Force than someone who isn't. It is also possible to be compassionate and have other negative feelings. This is a good thing, when we are learning how to become better at ourselves! Once we understand ourselves, we can understand the Force. With understanding of the Force, we can learn to empower ourselves in ways greater than we have empowered ourselves before. The Force gives us the opportunity to become the people we want, rather than victim to someone else's desire. We gain permission to be what we really want to be! The more we train with the Force, the more we empower ourselves. Once we become stronger, resilient, courageous, resourceful, etc., etc., then we can empower other people in ways they desire us to be. With that empowerment, we gain a sense of empowerment and become unstoppable! With training in the Force, we learn to see things that are not visible. This ability gives us the ability to see the Force when others don't, or when others cannot see it. When you understand that you are a conduit for the Force, and understand that your own experiences become part of your Force in a sense, you can take responsibility for the Force when you make a decision or do something. And you can take responsibility for others when they make a decision or do something. The Force always pulls in the same direction, no matter what you do!  Image credit: Amel Majanovic from Unsplash In order to get a good grasp of how you react to situations that involve change, consider a scenario that involves a sudden financial windfall. For the sake of the scenario we'll say you earn £1,000 per month and get wind of a £10,000 payday that comes your way. Do you: a. get frantic and spend it all before it even shows up, so you can feel the sense of accomplishment of making the money b) spend the money wisely and invest it c) give it away to charity? d) be indifferent and move on with your life e) be pleased with the windfall, saying it could happen for some people and ignoring the others? f) be pleased and say that only happens in some people's movies? g) go on a huge buying spree to cover your bases? h) just sit back and wait?
It is not always easy to determine what feels good. It is easy though to determine what feels bad. This is because there is a difference between feeling good and feeling bad. You may get bad reactions from some situations, but that does not mean you do not deserve the money. It's very simple as there is only good and bad that is involved with the reactions that you have on different levels. So, in your anger and frustration you feel good. In anger and frustration is not the time to be pleased, it is the time to be angry. This is because the anger is the reaction you have to this sudden windfall of money and money does not always mean you deserve it. You are reacting to the situation. You are feeling the anger and so if you have the anger right now and go in anger and frustration you may not get the windfall. Take a look at the reactions. The anger is present. You do not have to go into the anger right now. Look at the reactions and see what you feel is anger and what you feel is frustration. This is a very simple example of how you react to a situation. Think about it. What you feel is anger is a reaction to the situation and what you feel is frustration is a reaction to the situation. What you have is anger right now, you do not feel worthy of the money. You can get it. The anger is a feeling. So look at what you feel right now and see if you feel anger. What you feel frustration is is a reaction to the situation and what you have is feeling like you are just one more face in a sea of faces and feeling like this will make you not want to get involved. You can get the money. The anger is a feeling. So look at what you feel right now and see if you feel frustration. The anger that you feel right now is coming from your own self talk, that you think you deserve to get that money. This is the anger. The anger that you feel right now is coming from your own self talk that you think you are a bad person and you deserve bad things to happen to you. This is the frustration. The anger is in your head and comes from your own thoughts and not others. Take a close look at your thoughts, take a close look at your thoughts and see how you are reacting. The thoughts that you feel anger coming from are your own thoughts and not someone else's thoughts. The thoughts that you feel frustration coming from are someone else's thoughts and not your own thoughts. Take a close look at how you feel right now. Are you angry and frustrated about this windfall or are you angry that you do not deserve this windfall. In this moment you do not think you deserve it. How do you feel right now?  Image credit: LinkedIn Sales Solutions from Unsplash Nowadays, it seems like the world is buzzing with blogs, and you can find millions of them all over the internet. They are a personal account of the blogger, their thoughts, observations, and comments. You can even sign up to be a blogger with the likes of Google. These few facts all seem to indicate that blogs are not just for people who want to put thoughts into writing. Instead, they have become a status symbol of sorts. If you are good enough at blogging, you can earn money by putting advertisements on your blog. In order to do so, you need to get a huge amount of traffic. And you need to do this for years to make money.
If you are someone who is new to blogging, or even if you are someone who has been blogging for a while, you may want to think about quitting your job and making money from blogs. The truth of the matter is that you can easily earn a living from blogging by simply sticking with it. If you are in need of cash, try blogging. If you are not in need of cash, then by all means continue your current job. Blogging is a form of making money, which can be done from home. However, to be able to make money from blogging, you need to be patient. If you are wanting to earn cash, first find your niche. Then, find a site that will allow you to put your ads on your blog. And to make money, you need to create a blog with following blogs within the same niche. The following is key for bloggers. For example, if your niche is dogs, then you need to create a blog for Golden Retrievers. This way, you increase the following of your blogs, and this will increase the traffic to your blog, which will in turn increase your earnings. Blog is a website made up of pages, and the posts that are published. It's the written content on a specific topic that is posted to the website, and can be visual in nature. It's a series of articles arranged in reverse chronological order. Blogging is the act of making blog posts, which are the items on a blog. Blogging is an online form of public writing, where people can post their thoughts and opinions on any topic they want. Blogging has evolved into a major part of internet marketing, and a form of advertising since it increased traffic and generated revenue. Blogging can also be a very effective marketing tool as well as a revenue generator. Bloggers earn a few bucks every month but the amount is more than sufficient for most bloggers. Blogger is an example of a blog that generates money. This blog is a personal blog, and is run by a 23 year old guy. The purpose of the blog is to provide resources for entrepreneurs who want to create a product from home, or create a product for distribution by Amazon. Blog for cash is a simple idea that is simple to implement, and it works. If you have a blog that generates cash, you will be able to do so because you have an opt-in form on your blog. If someone signs up to receive your free newsletter, you will be able to email them information about products you use and resources that can help them produce a profitable product. To blog for cash you need to have a blog that generates cash. The other option is to have a blog that is free, but not as effective as a blog that generates cash. The only way to find out is to try it. Write a blog for free, and you will not be able to see any results unless you write a blog that generates cash.  Image credit: Anete Lūsiņa from Unsplash If you are just getting started with blog marketing then you will probably be wondering what the point is of blogging. In fact if you are a new blog owner then you probably have questions such as how do I promote my blog, how to get people to pay attention to my blog and also where do I get the inspiration to write about what I am passionate about?
Well, you should not have those questions right now. You have a good website that people are just passing by. So, the key to blogging success is knowing what your blog is all about. In fact you should ask yourself what you want your blog to do for you right now and then you should work on giving your blog value to your visitors. Before you start building your blog start asking yourself these questions What do I want my blog to do for me right now? It is all about the visitors, your blog is made up of good content that others pass by and eventually like and read. But what they REALLY want is for you to tell them what you know about a particular subject. You do that by writing about it over and over again and making it meaningful to your readers. When you have written several posts on a hot topic, the next thing to do is to keep writing about it. You will be amazed at how well your blog will do and how you can use it to get people to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Tumblr and even Instagram and YouTube. It is the constant blogging that will make your money, just think if you keep writing about the same thing, you will get traffic. As they say, what happens on blogs stays on blogs and is no different on your blog. If you keep blogging about the same things, people will see that you have a knowledge on these things, and will start to see that you have relevant content on your blogs. The more you write the greater the chance some of your readers will find you on sites like Google and connect with you. If they do that then they will also click through to your own site. This is how you make money off your blog. Now that you know what your blog is all about and why you are blogging, get out there and start blogging. Just think, what could be better?  Image credit: Andrew Neel from Unsplash It is no secret that blogging is fun and can be a great source of income. The question many people have is how to blog in order to make money. I have listed my tips to making money blogging below.
1) You should think about yourself and your family. You should make sure you understand the potential dangers of blogging. I have seen some blogs that are absolutely horrid and are not worth reading. I know a great blog was shutdown because of copyright infringements and other such things. It is your blog, so think about what is important to you. Is there something you wish to achieve? How about money? Perhaps you wish to make money blogging. The potential is there and you should weigh the pros and cons. 2) I am not a blogger that enjoys seeing blogs and pages in the search engines. I like sites that provide information on a particular topic. I think it is important for a person to be informed. You should not post anything just for the sake of making money. 3) You should consider adding a "donation box". If you have readers that are interested in buying products or services, why not provide a way for them to contribute. I am of the opinion that people are decent and they are good people. It is just that they are unaware of what you blog is about, or you might want to sell your products and services. By adding a donation box, you may make a great start to making money blogging. 4) You should think about your readers. You have a lot of people coming to your blog. How do you keep track of them all. Consider the question of how can you increase the blog readership? There are so many things to learn from bloggers. You can easily add a "tag" to your blog that will allow readers to a tag the content. You have a lot of options to add a "donation box" to your blog. 5) You should think about your niche. It is important for you to know your audience so you can easily cater to them. You should be able to cater to your readers needs and wants because that is what is best for them. 6) You should think about the search engines. You have to be indexed in the search engines because this is the key to succeeding in this business. 7) It is important for you to be consistent. There are many alternatives to making money blogging. Many alternative means to make money can be found on line. Some ways to generate an income are through pay per click ads, affiliate links, selling your own products and services etc.  Image credit: Ben Robbins from Unsplash Sometimes you get in a slump. You feel like the same ol' same ol' just isn't going to cut it. You start questioning yourself. What is going on? What am I doing? You try new things. You make changes. You try to motivate yourself. You ask for advice. But nothing seems to work. You are stuck in a rut. Can you get out of it?
When you feel like you are in a rut you need to find out why. If you don't know why you will keep repeating the same ol' same ol' and that is not acceptable to you. Sometimes you might even start questioning your parents. Your parents are there to help you and guide you. If they are not helping you is it so wrong for them to be guiding you in different directions? Maybe your parents have different ideas on how to make things better. Do you want to follow their different ideas or do you want to go your own way. Maybe you want to try something new. Be prepared for the unexpected. I'm not sure how to get out of my slump. But here are a few pointers which might help you out. If you follow these pointers you will start to see a different light. And this light will lead you to get out of your rut. 1. Understand and accept that what you are doing (or not doing) is your business This is the first thing you need to do is to accept and understand that what you are doing is your business. It is not anybody else's business to tell you what to do. Everybody is entitled to their own business. You are entitled to yours. If somebody else is running your business they are just running it in order to make you feel guilty. If they don't make you feel guilty they make you feel like you are useless and unimportant. When you accept that what you are doing or not doing is your business it is a lot easier to stop noticing it and the more you notice it the easier it will be to change it. When you can accept that what you are doing is not anybody else's business to do then you are ready to accept the guidance and help from the people who really do know what they are doing. 2. Take responsibility for your own business It is your own business. Whether you are doing well or poorly your business is up to you. If you need some help you can seek it from your family, friends or work colleagues. But do not ask your boss or your boss's boss to take responsibility for your performance or losses. It would just make you feel guilty. It is great when people recognize that their business is their own responsibility. They will give you proper direction and help to improve you performance and results. It is a great feeling when people take responsibility for their own business. When you take responsibility for your own business you will feel accomplished. Not only that but it will lead you to feel fulfilled and at peace with yourself. Feeling fulfilled and peaceful will help you maintain a healthy amount of behaviours. This will surely help you to stop thinking negatively about yourself. This will surely help you to start seeing the sun again and not just the dashboard of your car which is a very unhealthy place to live in.  Image credit: Jeshoots from Unsplash Just like Transformers, there’s more to video games than meets the eye. They’re mainly used for entertainment, but many titles also have lessons to teach through their storylines and gameplay. An invested player can walk away with more than they realize. You can learn a lot from video games that can apply to your lived experiences; surviving a zombie attack with Resident Evil, ride a flying bike in Grand Theft Auto and scale a building in Assassin's Creed... all essential skills! 'Make Use Of' give you the rundown of some of the skills you can gain out there!
 Image credit: Ivan Samkov from Pexels When you are trying to get more people to see your blog, the problems don't always present themselves. When you are blogging, the goal is simple, to get as many people to see your content and engage them. And for every successful blogger that is utilising it to their abilities, there are many people who just cannot get it to fly. What does it take to improve a blog, and what can we learn from those who have not been able to try and ascend to the next level?
The Lack of Quality Content We have to start with the content. After all, content is king. If you are blogging on the side, and you're doing it for fun, if you really want to make a success of it, you've got to keep pushing the envelope and make sure that you exude quality in every single way. Content, naturally, lends itself well to being shareable, but it's also about making sure that you are providing that engaging experience through your blog. When you address the variety of digital transformation solutions out there that completely reinvigorate blogs and businesses, they are more than aware of the importance of engaging content. This boils down to one simple thing: having an understanding of your industry. And if you are running a blog that provides a wide variety of subject matter, this is where you have to bring the experts in, and get people to guest post. But the best approach is to streamline your efforts because this means you can focus on one type of industry and one type of content. You Are Not Playing the Game If you think that all you need to be successful is to create a blog and make sure you get people to read it, there's more than meets the eye. You've got to play the game of networking. And this is where you have to adopt a more business-oriented mindset. Your blog is your product, but also, you are your product. This means you have to start thinking about how you promote yourself. Every little thing about your online personality will have significant repercussions. When you start to guest post on other people's sites, this is a fantastic way for you to promote your blog. If you start to guest post, you naturally begin to network with others, and you expand your pool of contacts. You Are Not Working to Monetize Your Blog If you do not have a successful blog, you may have to invest more into it, financially speaking. Enhancing awareness of your brand is about making sure that you strengthen your social media presence, but also, if you are not treating your blog seriously, investing in practices like affiliate marketing could be an ideal way for you to finally focus your attention on the blog. It's time to stop treating it like a side project. In order to make your blog successful, you have to be consistent and be dedicated. If you want to have a successful blog, you will have to understand why you are failing.
Food blogs are an amazing way to make your mark online with a pretty much guaranteed audience. After all, everyone’s gotta eat, and more of us than ever now turn to trusted online resources over traditional cookbooks. Get this right, and you could even be rubbing shoulders with top dogs like Gordon Ramsey in no time.
The trouble is that according to the latest exhaustive survey, there are as many as 16,588 food blogs online. In other words, anyone starting out here is certain to come up against a fair amount of competition and, sometimes, that alone means you struggle to truly get cooking (excuse the pun.) This can be disheartening, especially given the runaway food blogger success stories that often come to the fore. Luckily, it is possible to overcome even a lukewarm response for success later on, and doing so simply relies on considering whether your slow start is due to the following common mistakes. Failing to write your own recipes 
Image credit: Annie Spratt from Unsplash
Food blogs come in all forms, with some reviewing food, while others trace the process of cooking every recipe in existing cookbooks. The trouble is that blogs like these will always have a shelf-life. By comparison, the food bloggers who are really making their mark are doing so by putting their own recipes at the forefront. Following in their footsteps is, by far, your best chance at broadening your blog for ongoing appeal, and ensuring that readers return time and again, even if just to revisit that much-loved recipe.
No room for growth Ultimately, readers love a blog that they can grow with. As such, you should always be moving forward in some. There are an array of options here, with many food bloggers starting subscription boxes, launching cookbooks, or even selling to stores. Or, you may want to reach for the top with a restaurant business that sees you hiring a hospitality unit, employing an entire team, and even designing your own equipment using photo etching and expert advice. Either way, readers will want to know that your foody efforts are likely to come to something they can enjoy. Otherwise, it’s unlikely that you’ll gain the loyal following you need to find real success. Failing to leave your readers hungry Food blogs that are intermittent and afraid of the notorious ‘CTA’ (call to action) are never going to drive any urgency or passion. This will see people failing to engage, or even return. To avoid that, work at leaving your readers hungry. In some ways, a drive towards one of the business ideas mentioned can help, but you should take things even further, with regular recipe upload days, and a call for readers to take some action, be that social media shares, comments, or cooking challenges. Like cliffhangers at the end of a book, these efforts can make a huge difference to adding peril, excitement, and a general drive to return to your page. 
Image credit: Tamas Pap from Unsplash
So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to turn up the heat and get cooking at last.
 Image credit: Estee Janssens from Unsplash What's important is how you accomplish it. You will be able to change your behavior if you can change your goals.
When you take the time to write out your goals in the first instance you're going to have a better chance of achieving them. Here's what I do to help me accomplish my goals. 1 - I always begin by writing down why the goal is important to me. If I really don't have a good reason why, my goals will most likely not get accomplished. In that case I'll try to come up with some kind of solution that will keep me motivated to keep working toward achieving my goal. 2 - I always look at all the reasons why the goals aren't being accomplished. There is usually going to be many reasons why one goal will be done quicker than another. 3 - I don't accept that I am the only one who doesn't know how to work toward achieving their goals. There are going to be many people in many parts of the world who don't know how to achieve their goals. In that case they need to learn how to work toward achieving their goals. 4 - I look at what I've accomplished thus far in my life and see what I've needed to learn how to work toward achieving my goals. I always try to take a look at what I've accomplished thus far in my life and think about what I've done so far and see what I need to learn how to work toward achieving my goals. By looking at what you've accomplished thus far in your life, you'll be able to see what you need to learn how to work toward achieving your goals. As you accomplish each goal you set for yourself, you'll be going on to the next goal. That's what has the MO MO - more is more. It's best to set big goals for yourself. It's also important to make sure you are realistic with your goals. Realistic means something that is easy to achieve. That doesn't mean easy to obtain either. You have to work hard to get the goals accomplished. You're going to have to be patient. As you start working toward achieving the next goal you'll also need to manage your expectations. Your goals should be realistic enough that you'll have no problem getting the achievement of the goal. Then they should be big enough so that they are attainable with some effort. That they are big enough so that you're going to be proud of your accomplishments once you get them. The biggest mistake people make is setting unrealistic goals. It's important to break your goals down into smaller goals so you'll be able to get to the next goal and get to the next goal and so on. That way you'll be able to build up your confidence each time you accomplish a smaller goal so that you can take on bigger goals.  Image credit: NeONBRANDS from Unsplash As a blogger, you are going to have to find ways to get people to come to your blog. This is an area where all bloggers differ. There is a range of approaches to get people to your site, some involve direct marketing, while others focus more on building traffic. You will find that the two approaches differ greatly when it comes to how you get people to come to your blog. You will find that some bloggers tend to have a very active commenting community, whereas others find that a large amount of visitors will have to be nudged.
The two ways you can get people to come to your blog are: 1. Get them to see your blog as another media outlet with articles, videos, images etc. - This means you can make changes or improvements at anytime by making a post. This is one of the key points here. 2. Get them to come to your blog by nuzzling them - If you keep talking to people as an intermediary step, they will be prompted to visit. This blog is about getting people to visit your blog, and nuzzling them is one method that all bloggers find effective. A blog can be one of several blogs that is getting a lot of traffic, but these two approaches can help you get traffic to your blog. If you have to get them then you have to start by teaching them how to get to your blog. This means if you want people to get to your blog then teach them how to get there. This is a key point. If you want your blog to get a lot of traffic then you have to get them there. The best way to get people to get to your blog is by giving the best content he can find. This means you have to focus on the right things that will drive your readers there. Once this is done, you can direct them to the pages on your blog that will get them to enjoy the things you have to offer. Another way that you can get people to get to your blog is by building a reputation of good writing. You can do this by sharing good writing with readers on your own blog, or you can share it with other media outlets (like social media), and they will tag you or mention your blog. This means as you write you can leverage all the traffic you are getting.  Image credit: Pixabay from Pexels It’s not uncommon for bloggers to hit a wall and begin to wonder what steps that they need to take to keep moving forward. If you want to take your blog to the next level, we have some ideas that should hit the target beautifully.
Explore Guest Posts We’ve talked in the past about how to build up authority with your blog and that’s important. When you have authority, you’re going to gain more attention from people interested in viewing your content, but that’s not all. You’ll also gain attention from the media who are interested in using your blog as a source. One of the best ways to build up authority will certainly be through guest posts. You just need to make sure that you are forming these links with the right websites. Brand Choices Next, you should think about building up your business brand. You have to remember that your blog is a business and it does have a brand or at least it should. If you can establish a brand for your blog, it will instantly be more recognizable. There are a few ways that you can do this. However, one of the best would certainly be to explore sponsored merch and promotional merch. If you browse around, you’ll find that there are countless different possibilities for merch that you can plaster with the brand for your blog and spread the word. You could also take this one step further. Usually, sponsored merch is given away for free to loyal users and visitors. However, you might also want to think about exploring more possibilities like setting up a shop that is connected to your blog. To do this, you need to make sure that you look at the right eCommerce platforms. You should also consider speaking to a designer to ensure that this page can be added seamlessly to your blog. You might also need to consider using a different hosting service. Go Bigger With Content Finally, you might want to think about adding different types of content to your website. Within a few years, most of the content that you find online is going to be video. So it does make sense to start exploring vlogging possibilities. To do this, you just need a high quality set up and a few basic skills. You can find plenty of YouTube guides that could be perfect if you are interested in learning how to vlog sooner rather than later. You should also explore how to share this and reach the biggest audience possible across different platforms. We hope this helps you understand some of the key ways that you can take your blog to the next level. In doing so, you could earn more profits with your website and ensure that you can expand your audience to tremendous new levels. Ultimately, with the right steps here, your blog could be a key source of info for countless individuals online and you could become a major player in this industry.  Image credit: Pixel Creatures from Pixabay There are over 500 million blogs in the world at the moment and they are growing year on year. If you are just starting or you are a seasoned blogger, you will want to ensure your blog stands out from the crowd. Check out this post which shows you some ways to better your blog. Another important area that will help with your blog is increasing the Domain Authority. For those not familiar with this phrase, the Domain Authority is a calculation that rates your blog from 1 to 100. The higher you are on the scale the higher your blog will appear on search engine rankings. Also, if you wish to make money from your blog, the higher your Domain Authority the more you can ask for paid opportunities. Below are some ways you can improve your Domain Authority and get your blog higher up the rankings.
Link Building Building links to your site is a great way of increasing your Domain Authority. A word of caution though, you want backlinks from quality sites, sites that have a higher Domain Authority to your own. Focus your time on getting links that will improve your site, if you don’t have a lot of time to do this yourself, consider employing a link building service. Internal link building As well as getting backlinks from other websites, you can increase your Domain Authority through the internal structure of your blog. This means in each blog post you should include 2 or 3 links to other posts you have. This is such an easy way to build your internal link structure and get your Domain Authority moving in the right direction. Remove broken links Having broken links can impact your Domain Authority so go through all your posts and ensure all links are working. This may be time-consuming but it is worth it in the end. It’s an easy fix to ensure it doesn’t negatively impact your Domain Authority. Be an Authority in Your Niche Having quality articles is important, especially to your Domain Authority and to Google. Choose a niche and write high-quality posts within that area. An area that people will search for time and time again. If you are helping your audience Google may even use your article for a snippet which means you will be the very first link on page one. Search Engine Optimisation Ensure your blog is SEO optimized so that when search engines crawl your site they can see your content and offer this up to those who are searching. This means ensuring you have a meta title and meta description especially on your pictures, your home page and you make use of heading tags too. Once you start using all these tools they will become second nature and it will make all the difference to your Domain Authority. It can be daunting considering all these things to improve your Domain Authority but with practice and determination, you will increase the authority of your blog.  Image credit: Free-Photos from Pixabay All parents want the best for their children and for many parents this means giving their child the possibility of making it as a child star. From television, to modelling, to film; there are several opportunities for children to make it big from an early age. However, these are very unique markets, and you need to know your stuff before you and your child embark on this journey. Thus, keep reading to discover ten top tips for getting your kid into the world of stardom…
 Image credit: Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels The start of a new year can signal a time for big changes in your life. If you own a blog, it's a good time to begin thinking about ways you can improve it. One idea that springs to mind is the concept of broadening your content.
What does this mean? In essence, you seek ways of offering your readers more content in different ways. Instead of posting similar blogs every week, perhaps you look for ways to branch out and offer other forms of content. Here are a few ideas to whet your appetite: Video content Start adding videos to your blog as a way of giving people fresh content. Human beings respond well to videos, and it's a great way of reeling in a new audience. People may start visiting your blog that never would've gone on there before. It also opens a new revenue stream as you can upload the videos to a YouTube channel and potentially earn ad revenue. You still talk about similar things, but the video format lets you try new ideas. You can have other people in the videos, serving as a great way of interviewing others. It can be a podcast format, or you may want to make 'how-to' videos that are easier to follow than a blog. Or, you could even repurpose old content in the video format, getting more out of it! Ebooks For the most part, blog posts are short-form content. Even a 2,000-word blog post is relatively short-form, particularly when compared to things like ebooks. An ebook gives you a chance to cover topics in more detail and really dive deep into things. So, perhaps you should start publishing some? If you have topics that demand a lot of work and attention, an ebook can be a fantastic way of covering them. Plus, it serves as a marketing tactic to drive people to your blog and get them on a mailing list. You can work with a CGI company to draw up a product 'photo' of your ebook, then use it in adverts. Basically, people will see the book, and be inclined to click it. From here, you promise them a free download of the book if they just provide an email address. Instantly, you will gain lots of emails, which helps you market your blog and grow your audience. Alternatively, you could sell the ebooks for a small price, as a way of making more money. It depends on how much work went into the book and if you think it's worth selling it for money. Either way, ebooks are another way of broadening your content. Guest posts Last but not least, you can diversify your content through guest posts. Invite other bloggers to post on your site, offering your readers fresh insights and ideas. While they're still reading blog articles, the content itself can be very different from yours. The topics may be similar, but the style and angle of the writing give them something new to enjoy. Broadening your content is a smart way of keeping your audience engaged and entertained. It stops them from getting bored with the same old stuff, while also helping you draw new readers to your blog!  Image credit: Wallpaper Cave 2020 will always be known as a tough year and for some people, the toughest. Whether is was work, relationships, mental health, or physical fitness––we all learned a lot about ourselves and how we react to massive disruptions to our daily lives. The Rock Dwayne Johnson recently took to Instagram to share his thoughts on 2020. You can find the link via the feature in Men's Journal...
 Image credit: Pixabay on Pexels Whether you’re publishing a blog as a commercial endeavour or as a hobby, you’ll want to do everything you can to optimise your content and increase your readership. However, it isn’t always easy to know what changes to make or how to implement them. To make things easier, take a look at these simple ways to better your blog in 2021: Increase Page Loading Speeds Before you begin thinking about content for your website, you’ll want to ensure your blog is operating optimally. Page loading speeds have a considerable impact on your search engine rankings, so it’s important to make sure you’re not losing readers because your blog loads too slowly. By optimising your site structure or switching to a different hosting provider, you can increase page loading speeds and potentially boost your rankings. Create a Content Calendar If you create content when you have a great idea for a post or you publish new content based on breaking news, you run the risk of issuing repetitive content or only posting sporadically. Publishing new posts regularly gives users a reason to return to your blog frequently, so having a reliable posting schedule is beneficial. However, regular posting should never compromise the quality of your content. By creating a content calendar, you can ensure that you cover a range of topics, rather than inadvertently posting similar content on a frequent basis. Similarly, you can brainstorm ideas for original content in advance and ensure you’ve always got something fresh and new to write about. Incorporate Social Media Social media is an excellent tool for bloggers, so be sure to make the most of it. When you share the link to your posts on social media, you can increase brand awareness, generate more website traffic and build your audience. Additionally, social media allows you to communicate with other users about topics that are relevant to the theme of your blog. Of course, you aren’t the only person who can share links to your posts via social media. Adding social media buttons to every post allows readers to share your content quickly and easily, which helps you to reach a wider audience. Develop an SEO strategy If you want to attract new readers, you need to have an effective SEO strategy in place. With effective search engine optimisation, you can ensure that your blog posts appear at the top of search engine ranking pages (SERPs) when users search for relevant keywords and terms. Search engine optimisation can be labour intensive, so don’t panic if you don’t have the time or resources to plan and execute a strategy yourself. Professional SEO services are an easy and cost-effective way to access the expertise you need. With assistance from experienced SEO experts, you can ensure your blog becomes a go-to resource for users within your target audience.  Image credit: Picography on Pexels Use Different Content Formats
Most bloggers rely on the written word to share information, put forth their opinions and engage with readers. However, this shouldn’t prevent you from using other forms of media on your blog. After all, a wall of text isn’t very enticing for users. By using images or infographics to break up your text and add visual content, you can make each post more appealing. Similarly, incorporating video content into your blog could be an effective way of appealing to a different demographic. How To, Step-by-Step and Q&A posts work well in video format and could give you an edge over other bloggers. Secure Backlinks Backlinks are a form of off-site SEO, so check that they’re included if you plan to outsource your search engine optimisation to a third-party specialist. Securing backlinks from websites with high domain authorities can increase your own rankings and lead to a subsequent increase in traffic. Additionally, backlinks help to direct readers straight to your blog, as well as increasing the authority and trustworthiness of your content. When your links are featured on reputable and popular sites, for example, your brand is elevated in the minds of both search engines and users. Take Your Blog to the Next Level When you’re creating, managing or maintaining a blog, it’s useful to have an overall strategy in mind. Whether you’re planning to monetise your posts, creating content for a company website or see blogging is a fun hobby, setting yourself a goal will help you to stay motivated. With the right planning and preparation, you can hone your content, increase your core readership and take your blog to the next level.  Image credit: Burst on Pexels Your blog is a place where people come to read interesting content and regardless of genre, a lot of blog sites can end up turning into full-time businesses. It’s important to think about the ways that you can improve your blogging, whether you’re still in the early days of your blog or if you’ve managed to finally go full-time with your blog. Here are four ways to improve your blogging business.
Define Your Audience When you’re blogging as a hobby, paying attention to your audience’s demographic might not necessarily be on your radar. Perhaps you’ve been writing for a while and write for the enjoyment of the topics you cover. It might be that you write for a specific industry, and you know somewhat about what your audience likes and doesn’t like. When you’re blogging professionally, it’s important to define your audience because the more content you create that your audience likes, the more views it’s going to get. When you look at your analytics, it’s worth implementing Google Analytics if you haven’t already implemented it on your site. Whatever host platform you use, it’s likely to give you at least some degree of knowledge on who your audience is and what they like and don’t like. Look specifically at things like bounce rates, which tell you how long they stay engaged on your website and specific pages. Get Promoting Every Aspect Of Your Business When you’re a business, you need to be promoting yourself from every angle. Whether it’s promoting the content via your personal social media pages or through paid advertisements on other high-ranking websites. Try to promote in every way you can, even during those occasions where you might be invited to conferences or events. These custom printed banners can be a great way to showcase your work and who you are as a business and individual. Never be ashamed or afraid of promoting yourself! Network With Other Bloggers Networking with other bloggers is important because there’s a lot that you can learn from other people within the industry. For example, if you’re just starting off in the industry, then you may find that networking with bloggers who have been established for a while, have plenty of advice to give you. You also never know who might be able to help you on your way up the career ladder of blogging. Always be grateful and appreciative of others you meet and collaborate with. You don’t know someone until you meet them properly. Focus On Quality Not Quantity Quality is a lot more important than quantity when it comes to blogging. Your audience wants to read high-quality content and not something that’s been thrown together without much thought. If you do that, then you’re likely to lose your following and your loyal followers are the ones that are the most important. Improving your blogging business is important and so it’s good to use these tips to help get the most out of it where it’s possible.  Image credit: Thabang Madnsela on Unsplash In an age where the average attention span is thought to be worse than that of a goldfish, doing nothing could be the secret to happiness (and success). Never have those two little words “I’m bored” been uttered so much by all ages than in 2020. The Sun has more on why boredom could be the key to success...
|
Author - Chris
Author, Editor, Creator of Learn Develop Live Archives
July 2021
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed