Millionaire #1 Habit

Millionaire #1 Habit is Studying.

STUDYING

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A Project Once Left For Dead

I finally decided to take some time to document my progress. I've been telling myself to wait until I make better progress but then I realized that the process itself is progress because it is through the process that we learn, and that makes it worth documenting whether or not the project itself is successful.

Some Background
I just turned 35, have been married for 12 years and have a 4-year-old. By slow lane standards I've done alright. I've done everything according to the script....

A Project Once Left For Dead

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Why Ferraris Keep People Poor

I wish I had seen this video years ago, it would have saved me a great deal of frustration.

Maybe it will save you that frustration too?

(This is for newbies. Well newbie me would have benefitted from this)



edit:

Before you make an assumption and a stupid comment based on the title, watch the video.

from Why Ferraris Keep People Poor

The CENTS Business Commandments for Entrepreneurs

Thought I'd start a thread based upon the CENTS Business Commandments found in The Millionaire Fastlane and UNSCRIPTED, just in case someone searches for it by search engine.

Since this concept is covered in both books, I don't think I ever posted an "official" thread on the topic. It would be nice to have a thread for it, especially for people who have never read my books and come across the concept in some other venue or dialogue.

Also, I'd like to document its existence beyond the 2...

The CENTS Business Commandments for Entrepreneurs

from The CENTS Business Commandments for Entrepreneurs

What is the best "value" you ever paid for?

What is the best "value" you ever paid for?

Just curious to hear people's experiences.

For me, my foam roller was a great value. It cost around $20 bucks but helps relieve my back and neck of stress and pain. On bad days, rolling on this thing becomes the best $20 bucks I ever spent!



What is the best $X you ever spent?

There is no limit ... if you spent $80K on a Corvette and felt is was the...

What is the best "value" you ever paid for?

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Prosper202 - Track Email Optins

I have a question about how to track email optins with Prosper202. When adding the URL of the squeeze page in Prosper202 when setting up t.

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Page indexed by google but not showing up in search

Hey everyone! I'm desperate for some help and totally confused. I'm just starting out with seo and I have created a 1 page website by myself.

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Landing Page Opinion/Constructive Criticisms

Hello folks. I'm running a Facebook ad campaign. My ad seems to be effective in that I'm getting clicks at under 50 cents. With normal con.

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Looking for Psd Templates Website

Hi guys, I'm creating a new product and looking for hi-res .psd templates. I'm interested mostly in templates like: - Software box.

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Search

7 figure franchise 7 figure franchise review 100 a day affiliate affiliate marketing amazon amway backlinks best seo best software blog blogging business buy box commission code commission code bonus commission code review commission gorilla digital marketing done for you ecommerce email ...

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To Create an Ebook or Not to Create an Ebook, that is my Question.

Pretty straightforward question. I started writing a listicle, but it is turning out to be over 3000 words. So, i have the opportunity to m.

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username change

Posts: Threads: Thanks: Account age: less than a second. 1 week ago. Joe - That was pre-2014....no name changes now and that's in the rules. [ 2 ] Thank this user; Reply; 1 reply. Signature. Saving one dog may not change the world - but forever changes the world of one dog. Profile picture of the ...

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how to use warrior pavements?

I'm a moderator and I see rejected threads - and I don't see any posts for your acct - which was opened today. Perhaps you tried to post and offer was so far outside the TOS that you had an auto-reject - don't know about that. I think you are confused about how to post offers here - Some older posts that ...

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Payment method for homedepot

As far as PayPal is concerned, they might have it set up so that orders must ship to a confirmed address associated with the billing account. If that's the case, you might not be able to ship from Home Depot regardless of the payment type you use. Most things at Home Depot are also available from Lowes ...

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Providing Value DOES NOT Equal Money

I searched the internet and traveled the world looking for an answer to this question.

When I began, I looked at online gurus courses, their webinars, and all of the things they had to say about starting an online business.

Unfortunately I even hired a business coach who I thought would help me with this answer, but I am grateful that wasn't a more costly mistake or a reoccurring nightmare that I am seeing many others face on the online environment today.

And while the title of this...

Providing Value DOES NOT Equal Money

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Progress Thread - From Step One

Hello everybody

I'm 20 years old, in college, and I'm new to the forum. I read Unscripted and TMF and that's what brought me here. I believe I have come up with a business idea that could help a lot of people and it hasn't been done before.

Basically, it is a subscription box service. The product itself is dominated by a few very large companies (3-4). There are some off brands however the service is heavily dependent on the quality. I would need products from multiple companies for this...

Progress Thread - From Step One

from Progress Thread - From Step One

The “Quit Your Job” Checklist: 8 Boxes You Must Tick Before Flipping Off Your Boss

It’s intoxicating, isn’t’ it?

Your dream of entrepreneurial freedom.

Every spare moment is consumed by your up-and-coming business as you toil, plot and plan.

It’s been a side-gig until now because you’re still tethered to your day job. But you can’t wait to march into your boss’s office and plonk your resignation letter on his desk.

You’re unsure now is the right time, though. What if you’re not ready? What if you take the leap and land in financial ruin? What if your business is a laughable failure and you wind up counting your pennies for your next meal and begging for work to keep the lights on?

Oh crap! Feels risky, right?

It doesn’t have to be. Because you can take precautions. You can minimize the risks. And you can make sure the time is right.

The 4 Big Risks of Quitting Your Job to Work for Yourself

---

Staying in a job you hate will condemn you to misery, right? But what if quitting winds up making you even more miserable? In truth, it’s a possibility many people ignore. Because leaving the security that comes from a steady job with a steady income means, in the early days, you’re as vulnerable as a tiny boat in an angry sea.

Here are the four biggest risks you face when quitting your job — especially if you quit too soon.

Risk #1: Your Business Fails and Now You’re Unemployed

Most new businesses fail within the first five years. And you’d be naïve to think it couldn’t happen to yours. So be smart and watch the horizon with vigilance in case your brilliant idea isn’t quite as brilliant as you think it is.

Financial momentum can be hard to maintain. Then bills mount up, your bank balance starts to redline, and you’re forced to look for a new job to make ends meet. Ouch.

Risk #2: You Face a Financial Crisis and Can’t Make Ends Meet

Even if your business is booming, that doesn’t mean you’re financially safe. You could lose a major client, wind up too sick to work or get sidelined by a horrid life event.

And let’s face it, if your income dries up you’ll sink pretty damn fast. You’ve got to be financially responsible to survive in the entrepreneurial world. It’s not sexy, yet it’s undeniably essential.

Risk #3: You Discover You Don’t Have What it Takes

Working for yourself ain’t easy. And the fact is that not everybody has the discipline and tenacity to see it through.

The freedom of being your own boss, working in your PJs and avoiding long torturous meetings is enticing. But it’s this very attraction that lures people who aren’t always cut out for it.

The truth is that many people suck at being their own boss. Many people underestimate how much hard work it is. And many people start to endlessly procrastinate when they no longer have a boss breathing down their neck.

Risk #4: You Hate Self-Employment as Much as (or More Than) Your Day Job

Just like a sparkly new love affair, it’s easy to fall head over heels with your new business idea.

In the early days, the little annoyances seem insignificant. Then, fast forward three months and you’re sitting in your home office, feeling isolated from the world, stressed out over disappearing clients, and you realize the honeymoon is over. Misery engulfs you as your new reality is a far cry from what you expected it to be. Maybe self-employment wasn’t the answer to the problem you had with your job after all.

8 Boxes You Must Tick Before Leaving Your Safe, Cozy Job

---

Now you know the risks that come with quitting your job to work for yourself. And let’s be real — you’ll never eliminate those risks completely.

But if you tick the following eight boxes, you’ll know you’ve taken proper precautions to minimize the risks. You’ll know the time is as right as it’ll ever be to send that resignation letter. And you can feel confident you’ll land on your feet when you do.

#1. You Know How Much Money You Need to Survive Each Month

First, if you want to stay financially safe, you must calculate how much money you need each month to keep your head above water.

So, for one or two months, track all your expenses, and when you’re done, divide them into two columns: essentials (food, rent, utilities, debt payments, etc.) and luxuries (Netflix subscriptions, nights out, etc.).

The sum of your essential expenses makes up your survival budget — the minimum amount you need to survive each month without running into serious trouble.

Then, from the luxuries column, pick three expenses (at most) that you feel you can’t live without. Give yourself some financial wiggle room to accommodate these from time to time, to keep yourself from growing resentful. (It’s difficult to remain motivated when you can’t  indulge from time to time.)

Let’s call this your minimum income goal — the minimum amount you need to live in relative comfort every month. This will decide whether you can tick the next box.

#2. You’ve Earned Enough Side-Income to Cover Monthly Expenses for Five Months Straight

Now, once your side income meets your minimum income goal, you may be tempted to send your resignation letter straight away. But hold on…

If you want to be careful, you shouldn’t celebrate too soon. Meeting your goal one month doesn’t mean you’ll meet it again the month after, or the one after that. It may just mean you had a good month.

But if you’ve earned a consistent side income for five months straight, you can feel confident you can keep it up once you quit your job (especially since you’ll have more time on your hands).

#3. You Have a Financial Life Raft That Will Sustain You for at Least Six Months

Next, you’ll need a fully stocked hardship fund. Working for yourself means you carry all the risk on your shoulders — which is exciting and terrifying at the same time.

What if your website faces a huge drop in rankings due to a Google algorithm change? What if Facebook changes its ad policies which severely limits your reach? What if you throw your back out and can’t get any work done while you heal?

To avoid a crushing financial crisis, you’ll need to save up enough money to cover your essential expenses for six months minimum. It’s the smart entrepreneur’s contingency fund that’ll give you the time you’ll need to get back on your feet or, if necessary, find a new job.

#4. You’ve Had Your Side Gig for at Least Six Months, and It Still Excites You

You’re going to spend day and night with your business, so it’s got to be the thing that gets you out of bed, not the thing that sends you diving back under the covers. True entrepreneurs live and breathe their business — by choice. It never fully leaves their mind, even on days off.

If you haven’t spent time working on something every day, you won’t know if you’ll enjoy it.

But if you’ve already worked on it for six months alongside your day job, and you still feel that ping of excitement, you’ll know it’s what you truly want. On top of that, you’ll also prove to yourself you have the self-discipline to succeed.

#5. You’ve Written down Your Short- and Long-Term Goals

Ever worked hard all day and not achieved a thing? Bumbling about with no clear direction is a recipe for fast and definitive failure.

To stay focused and moving in the right direction, it’s essential to have two types of goals. A short-term goal you’re 100% confident you can achieve. And a long-term, slightly audacious big picture goal.

Both should be written using the SMART goal formula: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timed. Mark your measurable progress checkpoints clearly on your planner so you can tick them off on a weekly, quarterly and annual basis.

Doing this means you’ll stay on the right track to business success. If you ever find yourself struggling to meet your goals, you’ll discover it in time to change direction, and not too late to avert disaster.

#6. You’ve Mapped All Your Activities for the First 12 Weeks After Quitting

When you no longer have a boss chasing you with deadlines, it becomes tempting to slack off. You may convince yourself to enjoy your newfound freedom for a while, and that can send you down a path of poor productivity and dismal results.

That’s why you need to establish momentum early on, which you can only do through consistent and continuous action. So your best safeguard against productivity sabotage is to plan with military precision.

Type up a detailed twelve-week action plan, so you know exactly what you’ll be doing each day — starting from day one. Then, start doing.  It’s your recipe for success.

#7. You’ve Identified Two Alternative Work Locations

Like it or not, going from a bustling corporate job to a lonely home office can be a shock to the system. Working for yourself may become a slippery slope to darkness as you begin to crave conversation and accountability. Self-employment may soon start to feel like a productivity-zapping isolation cell.

You can avoid this by finding ways to meet your need for human connection that doesn’t involve begging for your job back.

Prepare yourself with a list of at least two alternative work locations that enable you to be part of a crowd while working for yourself. Look for local co-working spaces and coffee shops that offer free wifi.

In many cases, sitting in a coffee shop for a few hours each week as you tap away on your laptop can be the perfect antidote for loneliness.

#8. You’ve Recruited at Least Three People for Support and Accountability

It’s impossible to survive, let alone thrive, in the entrepreneurial world alone. If you’re serious (and I know you are), you simply must surround yourself with people who support you and people who hold you accountable.

It can be the difference between sinking or swimming as you discover what it takes to work for yourself.

Here’s a quick hit list of things you can do:

• Find two to five people with whom you feel close who will support and encourage you and your plans. Look to family or friends and share your goals and progress with them.
• Join local business networking groups and online forums — and start contributing.
• Surround yourself with guidance and advice by finding a professional mentor, or hire a business coach.
• Commit to weekly accountability meetings with people from courses you’re enrolled in or groups you’re a member of. Ask someone to be your accountability buddy or join/start a mastermind group.

And those are the eight boxes you must tick to determine you’re ready to leave you job. Here’s an infographic that sums them all up (click on the image to see a larger view):

 
Embed This Infographic On Your Site

The “Quit Your Job” Checklist: 8 Boxes You Must Tick Before Flipping Off Your Boss from SmartBlogger.com

 

Ticked All the Boxes? You’re Ready to Quit Your Job

---

You know that taking the leap into the entrepreneurial world is not for the faint-hearted — and it excites you more than anything.

If you’ve ticked all eight boxes, you should feel confident you can safely quit your job.

You’re now prepared for the adventure with a clear roadmap, a solid safety net and a strong support network.

You’re ready to transition from employee to entrepreneur.

Now is the time to stop playing a small game.

Because freedom awaits.

About the Author: Miranda Hill is a writer and coach who helps life-hungry souls get unstuck from the chaos of life. If you want to stop spinning your wheels, hopping from one thing to the next in search of answers, discover the “10 Mindset Secrets That Set Truly Successful Writers Apart” and realise your full writing potential today.

from The “Quit Your Job” Checklist: 8 Boxes You Must Tick Before Flipping Off Your Boss

Readers over 40 : tell about your wisdom, achievements, regrets, goals

since i am 40 today, i was awarded 5 dollars on this forum and then i thought maybe i could ask readers about their life because time runs very fast.

40 is the mid-life , it is the point where we you are no longer young but not yet old,

it might be the tipping point

so i have 4 questions for you :


1) what 's the most precious lesson you have learned so far ?

2) what's the achievement you are the most proud of ?

3) what's your worst regret or fear about your life ? ( maybe you...

Readers over 40 : tell about your wisdom, achievements, regrets, goals

from Readers over 40 : tell about your wisdom, achievements, regrets, goals

Feel free to rip this idea to shreds if you think it sucks.

Hi all. I was hoping some successful inventors(or anyone) would be willing to give their feedback on a product idea I have.

So here’s the story. As of now, I work in a bank 9 to 5. To no surprise, I have to wear dress shirts as part of the dress code. I take pride in how I dress, and long sleeve dress shirts are my staple. (Nothing against short sleeves; I just find them sloppy and lazy looking.)

I live in South Jersey and the summer months get fairly hot. On warm days, I prefer to roll...

Feel free to rip this idea to shreds if you think it sucks.

from Feel free to rip this idea to shreds if you think it sucks.

Where I have been this time... and why I'm famous at Wells Fargo

Hey guys, I have been extremely busy the last several months. As usual. Sorry that's such a pattern. It has definitely been an incredible learning experience. I know @Vigilante is privy to some of the details of this time away... I decided it would be a huge shame not to use what I have learned to help some of you. I also plan to do what I can to stick with this although the companies suck up a major portion of my time.

First of all, I got married back in April to a...

Where I have been this time... and why I'm famous at Wells Fargo

from Where I have been this time... and why I'm famous at Wells Fargo

How to Identify and Optimize High-Impact Webpages

Whenever I look for a new page to optimize, I generally use the following rule of thumb:

Pick a page with the MOST opportunity.

This doesn’t mean to pick your worst performing page, which seems counter-intuitive—but hear me out.

Just because a page is performing poorly doesn’t mean it should take priority. Ideally, you want to find a page that will have the biggest impact for your particular campaign, e.g., boost sales, leads, etc….

How do you find these pages? Well, you have to dig into your data (you can read more about that here).

Today, I’m going to give you a shortcut to determining the perfect pages for optimization and share why some of your mid-funnel pages are the unsung heroes of potential!

First, let’s talk about…

Where Most People Like to Start Working (…and Why it May Not Be the Best Place to Start)

1. The Homepage

I totally get why most people like to start here.

For one, it’s the beginning of the Customer Journey and where better to start than the beginning? Also, this is the page that generally gets the most traffic and is the most well-known internally.

(RELATED: Customer Value Optimization: How to Build an Unstoppable Business)

However, for a lot of those reasons that should DISQUALIFY running systematic tests on the homepage. Let’s look at the DM.com homepage to give some context.

Funny story: We didn’t split test our new homepage vs. the old homepage.

We did a significant number of user tests (both passive and active) and used that data to make the page more intuitive for the user to complete the actions they want to achieve at this part of the journey.

The homepage is kind of like that amusement park directory you see at Disney.

Each visitor has a unique reason to be on your site and their goals will differ (a lot of this will is dictated by source type and the level of affinity with the brand). In the case of DigitalMarketer, people are coming to the page to do all sorts of different actions such as:

• Visiting the blog
• Logging in to DM Lab
• Viewing our Products Page
• Consuming the content on the page to learn about the company
• Getting an invitation to DM Lab

Take a look at all the different actions people are taking on the site! In the heat map below, it shows the hottest click areas on our homepage. Needless to say, there’s a lot going on!

So, despite there being a ton of traffic coming to this page, we can’t consolidate the conversion action! In fact, if we were going to break out segments we cut our traffic significantly, which would make it harder to test and undermines the original reason to test here: traffic.

Another difficulty with making changes on the homepage is there are a lot of stakeholders involved with the homepage and you might not be cleared to make the changes you want!

The homepage is likely the most internally politicized page on your site and due to the number of links, differences in visitor goals, and several degrees of separation from the bottom funnel converting actions, so it shouldn’t be your first page to optimize! 

Okay, so if the homepage is a dumpster fire and you shouldn’t begin optimizing, where should you go?

2. The Shopping Cart

Anyone who has seen me speak, gone through the Optimization & Testing Mastery course, or has read a few of my posts knows I’m all about deep funnel optimization. I generally tell people to start in the cart because what you do there will be directly connected to the bottom funnel converting action and this is your most QUALIFIED traffic.

However, there are few MAJOR issues that could make this difficult to do.

1. You’ll need to rely on development

Optimizing your cart will require both a design period and a longer integration period than a standard landing page or homepage. More testing has to occur and your dev team will have to do more work.

2. These are some of the lowest traffic volume pages on your site

Your cart is a few clicks away from the visitor’s entrance page. For every click a visitor has to make, you’re going to see drop-off.

3. Unless you’re doing a massive redesign, you’ll be stuck with iterative changes

Small changes generally get small results.

Sure, there are a few tweaks you can do, e.g., better form validation, more trust seals, etc….but the former is a functional change that you don’t need to test (just implement) and the latter is a minor trust indicator that will likely add no real value to the page. 

When you’re making small iterative changes you’ll eventually reach a local maxima, or your conversion ceiling. Unless you make more drastic changes, which will require even MORE development time, you won’t be getting the return some case studies lead you to believe you should get by making a small change.

Okay, Justin, well if I shouldn’t start on the homepage or in the cart, where the heck can I start?

Good question, young grasshopper. Well, let’s find a page that is…

1. closer to the converting action,
2. has a decent amount of traffic,
3. and has a unified conversion goal.

I’ll let you try to guess which page!

…

…

…

The Product Page!

Now, I’m putting a little disclaimer here: if you have conversions coming out the wazoo on your product page, then this breaks my first “Opportunity” rule. However, if you haven’t taken a look at your page in a while, well, it’s time to take a look!

The product page meets all three of the main criteria I listed above. Let me break it down for you.

1. Closer to the Converting Action

The product page is a single click away from the final converting action. If you’re selling a single product then after they click “Add to Cart” they are in your cart and ready to check out. You shouldn’t consider the “add to cart” action as a sale, but that micro-conversion is darn close and can be an indicator of how your product page is performing.

If you sell multiple products the consumer might decide to continue to shop, but as long as you have a persistent check out CTA then they are still a single click away from checkout!

Take a look at what Bonobos does.

As soon as I hit “Add to Cart” my cart is displayed on the right-hand side. I have the option to continue shopping with the arrow in the top left corner, or the more important option, to check out.

2. Has a Decent Amount of Traffic

Okay, I know your product pages won’t have as much traffic as your homepage or even some of your PPC landing pages. However, they will definitely have more than your cart! Take a look:

So, this product page got 4,099 unique visits…

Now here’s the cart page…

And this page only had 1,014 unique visits.

The product page gets just under four times the amount of traffic as the cart, that’s:

• a huge area of opportunity
• and a lot more traffic to work with when running your test.

If you look at the “add to cart” metric as an indicating metric, then that’s a 24.7% add-to-cart conversion rate. We definitely have the raw numbers to begin running tests on this page. Now, like I said, you don’t want to mistake “add to cart” conversions with sales, but you can certainly use them as an indicating metric.

When you opt to make changes on your product pages, measure both “add to cart” conversions and sales. Take a look at your numbers and see if there is any correlation between the two. This will make it easier to connect the success of your product page with your sales metrics (and works wonders if you have low traffic).

Note: If you have a ton of traffic and are making a lot of sales, then you could just focus on the primary sales metrics.

So, if you’re struggling to find pages to optimize on your site, I think you should really start digging into your product pages. These pages meet traffic requirements, are focused, and are much easier to directly connect to the bottom funnel converting action (as opposed to landing pages and homepages).

This opens a whole new can of worms!

(NOTE: Want the questions, elements, types, and formats for creating the perfect product page? Check out our webinar in DigitalMarketer Lab on Building & Optimizing The Perfect Product Page! If you’re not a Lab member, join DM Lab for just $1 to get access to this webinar—and our 30+ Execution plans!)

How to Optimize Your Product Pages

You have your page but how the heck should begin to optimize it?

Well, let’s go back to something Ryan Deiss has said time and time again:

If marketing is just the articulation of a Before and After state, then a good product page is one that clearly articulates the move from the Before and After state.

When you approach any page, you have to remember one VERY important axiom:

YOU ARE NOT YOUR CUSTOMER. 

The questions you want the page to answer are likely not the questions your customer needs answered. Here’s how you should approach your product page (and you can use this structure for any kind of page!)

Step 1: Identify the questions your customers need answered.

Step 2: Use the elements on the page, e.g., copy, images, icons, ratings, etc.., to articulate the answers to these questions.

Step 3: Pick a page layout that is…

• familiar to your demographic
• prioritizes the elements in such a way that their main questions are answered at the appropriate time

Those steps require some research, but I’ve done that already! So, here’s my quick n’ dirty Product Page approach.

6 Questions Your Product Page Must Answer

Other than the standard things like price and product name, there are six main questions your page MUST answer

1. What does it look like?
2. How does it work?
3. How big or small is it?
4. Can it be delivered to me & for how much?
5. Am I able to return it if I don’t like it?
6. Can I trust this company?

All of your page elements have to answer these questions QUICKLY.

So, what page elements are these questions answering, Justin?

I’m glad you asked!

12 Page Elements Commonly Found on Product Pages

Now, when it comes to page design, all you’re doing is organizing the answers of your customer’s questions in a logical way.

1. Copy
2. Images
3. Ratings & Reviews
4. Proper CTA(s) 
5. Price!
6. Live Chat
7. Modifications
8. In/Out Of Stock
9. Videos
10. Bundle/Cross Sell/Upsell
11. Testimonials
12. Badging

Product pages don’t see major design variants and that’s a good thing! However, you need to pick the right design to do the right job.

If you have multiple SKUs you’re going to want to go with the standard ecommerce shop. You’ll see that they stick a TON of information above the fold. Though it looks cluttered, this is what the customer expects to see… so it’s cool!

For 90% of the ecommerce sites out there, this will be about what your page looks like.

What’s important is to make sure the elements you highlight are ones your actual users care about.

You can figure this out using passive user testing tools like TruConversion.

For organizations that have a little more persuading to do or have a single product/product line, you might use a totally different design. You’ll likely have to rely on a long form page! Take a look at what Apple does on their product page:

I like to use Apple as an example because they still use a “long-form sales letter,” but they take a much different approach. They are using visuals and leveraging their brand to tell you a persuasive story and inform you about the product.

<rant> So if anyone tells you people don’t use long-form sales letters anymore, tell them they’re wrong. The sales letter just got a makeover. </rant>

These types of pages are highly customizable and work great for companies that have a few products. However, this is not a scalable option for large-scale ecommerce sites. 

Finally, your customers might be interested in how your other products compare to one another. If you have different types of products with different features and price points, then your product page might take the comparison route.

This will lack a lot of persuasive factors but will answer a very important question: “Which one should I get?”

So, if you made it this far down, I hope you’ve been inspired to take a look at your current product page and are thinking of cool new ways to address the questions your customers need answered and start bringing the sales in.

Happy Optimizing!

(NOTE: Want the questions, elements, types, and formats for creating the perfect product page? Check out our webinar in DigitalMarketer Lab on Building & Optimizing The Perfect Product Page! If you’re not a Lab member, join DM Lab for just $1 to get access to this webinar—and our 30+ Execution plans!)

The post How to Identify and Optimize High-Impact Webpages appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

from How to Identify and Optimize High-Impact Webpages

Anatomy of A Failed Fastlane (What You Can Learn From My Mistakes)

I've been away from the forum for a while.

You may or may not remember me. Either way, that's not important.

I first came here two and a half years ago, a few months after reading TMF. The book that changed my life forever, although not as quickly or as much as I would have liked - for reasons of my own making.

Soppy stuff doesn't come easily to me, but I must take a moment to express my sincere and undying gratitude to @MJ DeMarco. I don't know where I would be or what...

Anatomy of A Failed Fastlane (What You Can Learn From My Mistakes)

from Anatomy of A Failed Fastlane (What You Can Learn From My Mistakes)

On my way to a million

Hey Guys,
Hope everyone is doing well, so lets get straight to the point as all of you I have been working hard to crack the code and find a good niche. After joining Real Estate two years ago knowing this is not a fastlane business, I got in it to have more time in my hands and research. I did a few sales my first year, but after that first year I found out that Real Estate is not as pleasant as people make it seem. You work really hard for a $5,000 check and the stress oh it is huge !...

On my way to a million

from On my way to a million

Building a Multi-Million Dollar RE Portfolio with $50k

After talking with quite a few at the summit I realized that I don’t have a progress thread on my real estate ventures yet and I’m sure at least someone can get value out of my story this far and progress going forward.


Now, while the title sounds great and all I’m not quite there yet. This story started 9 months ago and I have added quite a few units since then with a plan to add many more.

The Beginning:

About 9 months ago I got a call from one of my commercial lenders who I use to...

Building a Multi-Million Dollar RE Portfolio with $50k

from Building a Multi-Million Dollar RE Portfolio with $50k

Has Moving to a Warm and Sunny Climate Made You Happier?

I live in a cold country and each year suffer for up to 6 months because of the low temperatures, lack of sunlight, short days, and people with permanent scowls on their faces. I'm starting to wonder if it wouldn't be better to leave everything I have here and move elsewhere where I wouldn't live with anxiety, frustration, and stress for a half of a year.

To anyone who has moved from a cold, dark or wet climate to a warm, sunny and dry climate - has it made you noticeably happier and...

Has Moving to a Warm and Sunny Climate Made You Happier?

from Has Moving to a Warm and Sunny Climate Made You Happier?

What are the best books to read that serves as an alternative to getting MBA from college?

I am looking for the best books that teaches exactly the same as what they teach in college business classes. Share your thoughts!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

from What are the best books to read that serves as an alternative to getting MBA from college?

Going for it. Ecommerce.

I've been on this forum for months now and have been reading non-stop just about every day trying to learn more and more about everything I can here. I'm done action faking and watching from the sidelines. I'm taking action.

Here are my why's:
#1. Freedom from going to college for the sake of going to college
#2. To shove it in every person's face that doubted and doubts me
#3. To become free at a young age....

Going for it. Ecommerce.

from Going for it. Ecommerce.

What Should I Do At 17?

I'm currently 17 and in my first year in college. Picking up TMF and reading it through was undoubtedly the best choice I've ever made in my life. Had I not made that decision to get that book, my wealth strategy as an aspiring entrepreneur would have remained flawed.

So, I'm thinking of what I can start now to kickstart my Journey to freedom. I've already made up my mind not to get a corporate job after college. What are the choices that one can make at 17 that can lead one to success in...

What Should I Do At 17?

from What Should I Do At 17?

Need Advice on Getting Advice

Hello everyone,

I am currently 20 years old and in college. Although I plan on finishing my education and getting my degree, I have no desire to actually work in the field, as I am an entrepreneur at heart. I read TMF and Unscripted and I have been coming up with business ideas ever since.

I came up with an idea that I feel as though is a game changer in the industry, it has the potential to positively change the lives of millions of people. I have been doing research on the market and...

Need Advice on Getting Advice

from Need Advice on Getting Advice

Grabbing Life by the horns

For years I've been interested in getting something going, but the time is now to do it.


I have my grown up job as an engineer, but I started my adult life as a musician, this is something I’ve kept going ever since I started, over 26 years ago now. While I eventually got my electrical engineering degree at 30 after working a lot of dumb jobs, ever since getting my “real” job, I’ve constantly been thinking, “When are you going to grow up and do something with your life?”


I have a fairly...

Grabbing Life by the horns

from Grabbing Life by the horns

What are your top 3 entrepreneurship books?

Mine would be:

Zero to One - Peter Thiel

Purple Cow - Seth Godin

Thank You Economy - Gary Vaynerchuk

ADD YOURS TOO!!!

from What are your top 3 entrepreneurship books?

comedy auditions

We may need a little more info, matey. Off the top of my head: 1. YouTube. 2. Other Socials. 3. Reddit. You need to grow your social reach. Cheers, Tom. [ 0 ] Thank this user; Reply. Signature. This: Learn how I earn money by giving away free stuff. [Read the 799 Page Book.] Or this: I coach members of ...

from comedy auditions

how to use warrior pavements?

You cannot add a 'buy button' to a post - to use Warrior Payments you must be using a paid ad thread here. Read the stickies at the top of the main forum and at the topof the WSO section - learn your way around the forum before you try to sell something here. [ 1 ] Thank this user; Reply. Signature.

from how to use warrior pavements?

I Built A Worldwide Business From Broke.

Good morning from rural Australia,

In a nutshell, my partner and I design and make textile products that are simple solutions for difficult problems. We have 400,000 customers in 30 countries around the world who think our products are the best thing since sliced bread. The icing on the cake is that all our products are made with love and care in rural Australia by men and women who have a disability. We are renown for our simple solutions that work. When others don't.

That's the event....

I Built A Worldwide Business From Broke.

from I Built A Worldwide Business From Broke.

Ideas. Ideas. Ideas. Execution starts today.

Hi, I'm Dave.

This is the start of my progress thread. IT BEGINS TODAY! The last day of February 2018. I’m going to take the advice I get from this first post, make a decision, and act on it. You’ll see my journey from idea to serving a thankful and happy market. I’ve got too many ideas, too many doubts, and too much or too little of something else. Let me know what that is when you see it. Thanks.

Sorry for the length. I thank those of you who do read and comment. I need a kick in...

Ideas. Ideas. Ideas. Execution starts today.

from Ideas. Ideas. Ideas. Execution starts today.

WTF does Tai Lopez do?

Just saw a commercial by him today. I think it was on Youtube.
He shows a black Lamborghini he claims to own.
WTF does he do? I haven't seen him do anything except talk about books, books, books
and utter an endless stream of platitudes.
Is he just some kind of self-styled success guru or does he have a real business?
Is he trying to be the next Warren Buffet? The next Brian Tracy?
I heard Warren Buffet is always reading.
I don't have time to read a bunch of general advice anymore.
I just...

WTF does Tai Lopez do?

from WTF does Tai Lopez do?

7 Types of People You Need to Completely Avoid

You're The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With.
~Jim Rohn

Are you surrounded by a toxic environment?
7 kinds of people you need to avoid:
1. Gossipers
2. Jealous Haters
3. Time-Wasters
4. Money Grabbers
5. Over-Sensitive
6. Excuse-Makers
7. Miseducated

The reason why you need to avoid these people, because they can be detrimental to your health and if you wanna live a healthy long life that you need to completely avoid
the people that I am about to discuss....

7 Types of People You Need to Completely Avoid

from 7 Types of People You Need to Completely Avoid

Top 2 Life Altering Books That Can Immediately Change Your Circumstances

Make a Choice today can change the course of your life forever.

~MJ DeMarco

1. The One Thing by Gary Keller

The One Thing explains the success habit to overcome the six lies that block our success, beat the seven thieves that steal time, and leverage the laws of purpose, priority, and productivity.

2. The Miracle Morning by Hel Elrod

What Hal has done is taken the best
practices, developed over centuries of human consciousness development, and condensed the 'best of the best' into a...

Top 2 Life Altering Books That Can Immediately Change Your Circumstances

from Top 2 Life Altering Books That Can Immediately Change Your Circumstances

Top 2 Life Altering Books that can immediately change your present circumstance

Make a Choice today can change the course of your life forever.

~MJ DeMarco

1. The One Thing by Gary Keller

The One Thing explains the success habit to overcome the six lies that block our success, beat the seven thieves that steal time, and leverage the laws of purpose, priority, and productivity.

2. The Miracle Morning by Hel Elrod

What Hal has done is taken the best
practices, developed over centuries of human consciousness development, and condensed the 'best of the best' into a...

Top 2 Life Altering Books that can immediately change your present circumstance

from Top 2 Life Altering Books that can immediately change your present circumstance

Scaling My Online Pharmacy Shop

Hello,

I have a website that sells modafinil online. People who cannot get a prescription, or don't have insurance that covers modafinil prefer to purchase it from my website.

I am averaging about $5k in sales as of now and about $2k in profit, with only a little bit of marketing in social platforms like fb,twitter and a few health related forums.

I thought I was in a pretty straight forward business and there would not be much trouble. I was wrong!!
This has been anything but...

Scaling My Online Pharmacy Shop

from Scaling My Online Pharmacy Shop

dropshipping

what's your advise for a beganner in dropshipping?

from dropshipping

SPI 307: Copyright Infringement and DMCA (with my Attorney)

What if someone copied your written content, online course, or digital products, and used them to make money? What would you do? How would you respond? This happens to me all the time, but it doesn’t have to weigh you down, and it doesn’t have to be difficult to respond. That’s why I invited Richard Chapo from SoCalInternetLawyer.com onto the show, my attorney of almost a decade, to answer these questions and give you practical strategies for responding to copyright infringement.

This happens all the time; you may even be dealing with this right now. But even if you’ve never run into these issues, please listen closely. Stealing other people’s work on the internet is so easy these days, and it’s important to know how to handle these cases. It could easily happen to you, and once you reach a certain level with your business, it almost certainly will.

Richard will be talking specifically about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA): what that is and how to use it to your benefit if someone’s using your content without permission. He’ll also be talking about how to protect your site if you allow users to post to it. Throughout the episode, we’ll be referring to real-life examples from my own experiences.

Richard and I get a little technical, but he always does a great job of explaining things in a way that’s easy to understand. As always, you can refer to the transcript for today’s episode by clicking below, and I highly recommend taking notes. The strategies Richard outlines could be the arsenal that you need to protect and defend your online business in the future.

Thanks for Listening!

To share your thoughts:

• Leave a note in the comment section below.
• Ask a question over on AskPat.com.
• Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

To help out the show:

• Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
• Subscribe on iTunes or download our mobile app.

Special thanks to Richard Chapo for joining me this week. Until next time!

---

• Download the Transcript

  Read through the whole episode, from start to finish.

• Download the MP3 Audio File

  Listen to the episode however you like with the audio file.

---

You'll Learn

• What the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is and how it applies to your online content.
• When content is illegal, according to the DMCA, and when it isn't.
• Whether or not posting content with a backlink to the source is copyright infringement.
• If reposting content with permission can be considered copyright infringement.
• How to submit a DMCA takedown when someone uses your content illegally.
• In what situation you should file a copyright infringement lawsuit.
• How to handle DMCA infringement with an entity outside of the US.
• At what point your online content (such as a course) is copyrighted.
• How to do a fair use analysis using the four elements of fair use defense.
• How to get infringing content taken down on social sites like YouTube.
• How to protect your site from copyright infringement when you allow user posts.
• How to complete a DMCA agent registration for $6, how this protects you, and more!

Resources

• SoCalInternetLawyer.com
• Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA)
• WhoIs Lookup
• DMCA Designated Agent Directory
• DMCA Agent Service
• DMCA Designated Agent Directory Help
• DMCA Handbook on Amazon

from SPI 307: Copyright Infringement and DMCA (with my Attorney)

35 Online Video Tools for Simple Video Creation, Editing, and YouTube Management

Eyeballs are getting harder and harder to grab, especially on Facebook, where the auto-play feature has completely changed the landscape of the platform, both on desktop and mobile.

Right now, video is the most engaging Facebook format. Uploading 60-90 second, funny, evergreen videos with captions and short text introductions is one of the most successful tactics to slow down scrolling on the app, at least according to Buzzsumo. A good video usually stops consumers for about 23 seconds – enough to grab their attention, at least. Video is also preferred on mobile Twitter.

Ignoring the social media benefits of online video assets, YouTube is the second largest search engine, and it’s owned by Google! It’s important to rank well in it organically.

And that’s not to mention that according to Hubspot, most users would rather see videos than emails, images, blog posts, or other types of content.

So it’s clear that most potential customers want to watch online videos. How do we create them?

While trends are telling us that companies obviously need more video marketing, professional online video generation is expensive, cumbersome, and often difficult to pull together for most brands that aren’t already big-time video content generators.

It’s difficult but not impossible.

Here are some online video-maker tools we’ve gathered from across the Web that can help get the job done!

Video Brainstorming Tools

1. Keywordtool.io (Freemium): A nice tool to run any time you are brainstorming video topics and pick up some related keywords to optimize your Youtube page later when you publish the video. You can pick “Youtube” in the drop down for it to look into video-specific keywords. You can set a target word to see the keyword group around it or specify negative terms to filter those out.

More:

• 3 Awesome Free Keyword Research Tools (Based on Search Suggestions)
• The Ultimate Guide to Proper Youtube Video Tagging
  

  ---

Video-Creating Mobile Apps

These video-making apps don’t even require a desktop computer: You can take videos with your phone and edit them with these apps.

2. Boomerang (Free): Create looping video for Facebook advertisements.

3. Legend (Free): This is the ultimate typography app for putting text in motion, and it looks really nice for square social video.

4. KineMaster (Free with a watermark that requires a subscription to remove; $4.99/month or $39.99/year to remove watermark and in order to download videos): This totally mobile video editing software will allow you to add in audio and effects! You can use cutting, trimming, volume control, chroma-key, and 3D transitions.

5. Videoshop ($1.99): Format videos into square, social-worthy clips for Facebook.

6. Hyperlapse (Free): Create time-lapse videos for Instagram.

7. VidLab (Free): Add effects and sounds to the video you take on your phone.

8. Giphy (Free): Take a video and make a looping GIF. It’s easy to use to create content for tweets, Tumblr, and Facebook!

9. Clipomatic ($6.99): Turn what you say into live captions! It’s important for all videos made for Facebook to have text captions.

10. iMovie (Free): If you have a Mac product or iPhone product, you likely already have this app, which has many editing capillaries and can be used both for mobile and desktop.

DIY Explainer Video and Animation Tools

What if you don’t have any video assets to start with or you want cool animations for your videos? Luckily, there are several apps with video libraries of animations you can choose from.

11. VideoScribe ($29/month, $144/year, or $665 one-time payment; free seven-day trial): This is whiteboard video software with pre-made drawings and images. You can add text and voice-overs, use your own drawing hand, and add color.

12. Biteable (Free for five video projects per month with a watermark; $8.25/month for unlimited creation upload and download function, more templates, and no watermark): This is a popular template-based video service that includes animations and explainer video templates with music.

13. Rawshorts (Free for five video projects; $39/month for 25 exports per month and no watermark): Create animations with a drag-and-drop interface.

14. Lumen5 (Free for everything and unlimited videos, watermarked; $49/month for no watermark, font options, customization, and square videos; $99/month for 1080p videos, brand presets, and custom fonts and music): Try this tool that’s explicitly made for turning articles into videos.

15. Wideo (Basic $19/month, 10 downloads per month, 1-minute videos from 20 templates; $39/month for 10-minute videos from 80 templates; $70/month for unlimited templates and unlimited video length): A robust animation creator with a lot of options, this is a marketing favorite.

16. Easy Sketch Pro (Starter level for $37 one-time fee; Business level for $67; Business Pro level for $97): This tool can create a more chaotic and fun doodle video with interactive functions.

17. PowToon (Free for limited storage, templates, music, max video length of 5 minutes and max five exports; $19/mo for Pro with 2 GB of storage and up to 15-minute videos and 25 exports; $59/month for no watermark and 10 GB of storage, no other restrictions): PowToon is an extremely popular animation creator with built-in templates and text.

18. Content Samurai ($97/month): This is an article-to-video smart editor that uses templates and your script plus photo and audio options.

19. WeVideo ($7.99/month for unlimited square and horizontal videos; $19.99/month business plan includes a team license, premium motion titles, collaboration tools, and social marketing options): This fast online video editor offers limited capabilities and is simple to use.

20. Slidely ($49/month basic for one video a month; $99/month for four videos per month; $199/month for 10 videos a month; $359/month for 15 videos per month): Access their library of high-quality stock videos and professional music to create square or ordinary videos.

21. Animatron:

• Wave.video ($39/month for 5-minute videos; $79/month for 20 brands and 15-minute videos; $149/month for 50 brands and 15-minute videos plus cheaper asset prices): This is a video editor tool with a huge array of stock images and designs.
•  Studio (Free for no commercial rights and royalty-free animations; $15/month for no watermarks and a greater library of clips; $30/month for more storage, third-party transfer rights, and more import capabilities): Studio is an animation and explainer video tool for small businesses.

Tools for Audio and Sound Effects

Take a look at these sites to download royalty-free sound:

22. SoundArchive Online (Free)

23. Soundcloud (Free)

24. Freesound.org (Free)

Tools for Creating Thumbnails and Pictures

Let’s say you have shot an excellent scene and are ready to put it up on YouTube. You need an eye-grabbing thumbnail, and you may also need to create, crop, or design images to be used in your video. These are free tools that let you do that:

25. Snapseed (Free): Google’s photo editing app is great for editing thumbnails and creates cool graphics and transitions.

26. Canva (Free): The ultimate tool for creating graphics, this free utility has been a favorite of marketers for years.

27. Pixlr (Free): It’s a robust free photo online editor.

28. PicMonkey (Free): This online photo editor is known for better selfies.

29. GIMP (Free): Download this program and you’re basically getting free Photoshop!

30. Sumopaint (Free): This free online editor is better for drawing your own graphics.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget that you can also create large pictures and make them pan and move later with most video editing software, a tactic called the Ken Burns effect.

Screen-Capture and Video-Grabbing Tools

There are other ways to generate video besides shooting the film yourself or creating an animation:

31. HYFY (Free): Use this screen-capture app to create video of your desktop; it’s great for tutorials of your software or products!

32. KeepVid (Free): Download videos directly from YouTube with this tool. (Remember to keep in mind copyright constraints, however.)

Tools for YouTube Analytics

33. Tube Buddy (Free for the browser extension; $9/month for more tools; $19/month for bulk processing tools; $39/month for advanced tools): This app comes highly recommended by Jim! It can allow you to schedule publication of videos and filter comments, and it suggests tags. It has dozens of data and promotion tools It will also allow you to create end screen cards, add emojis, create thumbnails, create captions, and more!

34. Tubular (contact for pricing): This data-collection app also has a wide network of content creators.

• DealMaker: Find contacts for sponsored videos!
• Intelligence: Use this for research, coming up with ideas, and seeing what sorts of videos people want to see.
  

  ---

35. Youtube!

And lastly, one of the most useful apps is made by YouTube itself: the YouTube Creator Studio app! Here’s a quick rundown:

• Dashboard: Check for notifications and alerts from YouTube, including the latest updates and stats for your review.
• Video Manager: Organize and update your videos from one place or dig into a particular video to adjust settings individually. Use tools to optimize a video, tweak its settings, or bulk-update changes across videos with a single click.
• Community: Communicate and collaborate with your fans and fellow creators. Review and respond to comments, read private messages, see videos where you’ve been credited, or review a list of subscribers (if your channel has at least 1,000 subscribers).
• Channel: Adjust settings that affect your channel overall, such as signing up for monetization, controlling your upload defaults, or enabling live streaming.
• Analytics: Review your channel’s performance and get info on how your channel is growing. Find reports and data to help you evaluate your channel and video performance, including views, subscribers, watch time, revenue for partners, and more.
• Audio: Access the Audio Library to add sound effects or unique music.
  

  ---

And there are many more online video creation tools out there – this is just a sampling! But at least now it looks like creating videos for companies for marketing purposes isn’t impossible after all.

The post 35 Online Video Tools for Simple Video Creation, Editing, and YouTube Management appeared first on Internet Marketing Ninjas Blog.

from 35 Online Video Tools for Simple Video Creation, Editing, and YouTube Management

Andy's AdWords Course - Get found by the people already looking for you

The AdWords Jumpstart

Want to get found by the people ALREADY looking for you?

There could be someone looking for your business on Google right now, and they are not finding you.

Google AdWords can help you get those people to your website. It’s a great tool for generating high quality leads, but it can be complicated to learn and easy to lose your shirt.

You could learn AdWords by reading a 400 page book or going through 18 hours of videos, but...

Andy's AdWords Course - Get found by the people already looking for you

from Andy's AdWords Course - Get found by the people already looking for you

Hello everyone, Varun here

Hi all,

Just finished TMF and Unscripted. They confirmed what I'd felt deep down for a long time.

I've got a degree in law from one of the best institutions in my country. However, I never wanted to work at a law firm. Most people think life at a law firm is like Suits, the tv show(haha). Of course, MJ's told us all exactly what its like.

My father has a local consumer electronics business. I plan on joining him shortly, along with my brothers. I'm fully onboard with the Unscripted...

Hello everyone, Varun here

from Hello everyone, Varun here

$500,000 Side Revenue By 2019 Or Bust - A Crypto Follow Along

I decided to start this thread purely for me.

Sorry, but at least I'm honest. right?

I wanted to hold myself accountable because I told myself I would do $X outside normal "business" setups ( selling online, flipping homes, etc ) this year. Unless I make this thread where I have the chance of having egg all over my face and looking stupid, I might not hit my goal.

My $X goal? Let's wing it and call it an extra $500k this year.

I also started this as a way to test all the crazy ass ideas...

$500,000 Side Revenue By 2019 Or Bust - A Crypto Follow Along

from $500,000 Side Revenue By 2019 Or Bust - A Crypto Follow Along

#1565 How to build an remote recruitment agency

This interview is about how to build an online recruitment agency, which enables businesses to find remote IT employees. What I’m trying to figure out is how today’s guest is competing in a world with so many recruitment companies that are so deeply venture backed. How is he getting customers? How is he finding the candidates? And then, what happened in the past when things didn’t exactly work out for him and he felt like he lost your soul running a previous company? Sharon Koifman is the founder of DistantJob, a boutique recruitment agency specializing in remote IT employees.

Sharon Koifman is the founder of DistantJob, a boutique recruitment agency specializing in remote IT employees.

Sponsored by

With Bench, you get a professional bookkeeping team to do your books for you and our simple, elegant software to review your finances. It’s everything you need to forget about your bookkeeping, without actually forgetting about your bookkeeping.

Sign up at Bench and get 20% off for your first 6 months.

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Regus has built an unparalleled network of office, co-working and meeting spaces for companies to use in every city in the world, an infrastructure to support every business opportunity.

Their network of workspaces enables businesses to operate anywhere, without the need for set-up costs or capital investment. It provides our customers with immediate cost benefits and the opportunity to fully outsource their office portfolio.
It’s a network designed to enhance productivity and connect 2.5 million like-minded professionals: an instant global community, and a place to belong.

More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint
Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

from #1565 How to build an remote recruitment agency

I have started a trading room but have no members in it!

I have been trading for 6 years and I make about $3000+ a month trading but it's not really enough to live on so I decided to start a tradin.

from I have started a trading room but have no members in it!

London Meetup

Hi all,

I would like to start a London meetup every two weeks and if there is enough interest, then we can have these meetings more frequently.

Please let me know if anyone is motivated and I will propose a date and location.

from London Meetup

New

Hello Everyone,
I'm Gadi Slade , New to this forum!

from New

When DIY Blogging isn’t for You: 5 Alternatives to Self-Hosted WordPress

Here on ProBlogger, we’ve always recommended self-hosted WordPress (aka WordPress.org) as the very best platform for blogging.

And with good reason.

Many of the world’s largest blogs and websites run on self-hosted WordPress. Thousands of plugins and themes are available – many for free, although there are lots of premium options too.

And a self-hosted blog gives you full control and plenty of flexibility.

But for some bloggers, self-hosted WordPress might not be the best choice.

You may just want a blog you can use as a personal diary or writing outlet. You may not have the budget for buying domain names and hosting. Even if you do, the thought of settin them up and installing WordPress may seem overwhelming.

Sound like you? Then you may want to look at other options.

(That being said, if you want to build a profitable blog then choose the self-hosted option so you don’t have to migrate everything down the track.)

Which Hosted Platform Should You Choose?

Although there are other platforms that you can install on your own website (where you pay for a hosting account through sites such as Bluehost, Siteground and WPEngine),

But in this article we’ll be looking at hosted blogging platforms.

With hosted blogging platforms, the company hosts your site on their servers – just as Facebook and Twitter let you set up pages and accounts on their sites. And if you want a custom domain name, you can register it through them too.

Which means you can get all the advice, help and support you need from one place–the blogging platform company.

The five platforms we’re covering in today’s post are:

• WordPress.com (where the basic plan is free)
• Blogger (where the basic plan is free)
• Wix (where the basic plan is free)
• Weebly (where the basic plan is free)
• SquareSpace (where the basic plan is not free. Instead it’s $16/month or $144/year).

But before we start, keep in mind that your site could disappear from any of these platforms if:

• your blog violates the company’s rules
• the company goes bust
• The company has a major problem or outage.

WordPress.com: What to Expect

Find it at: WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a good choice if you’re thinking of upgrading to WordPress.org (self-hosted WordPress) in the future. It functions like a cut-down version of the self-hosted WordPress, and you can transfer your blog from one to the other. Here are WordPress’ instructions on how to do it.

WordPress launched in 2003, and the company is not only well established but also well regarded in the blogging world.

What You Get With the Basic WordPress Plan (Free)

• A free domain name (of the format yourname.wordpress.com).
• 3GB of storage space. (You can upgrade to a paid plan for more.)
• A selection of free themes (sometimes called “templates” or “layouts”) for your website. And you can switch themes at any time without losing your content – even if you’ve been blogging for months.
• “Jetpack Essential Features”, which offers features such as SEO optimisation, site statistics, anti-spam and more.

Limitations on the Basic WordPress Plan

• You won’t have a custom domain name (i.e. one without “wordpress.com” at the end). To get one you need to upgrade to a “personal” plan, which is currently $48/year.
• Your blog will show WordPress’ branding and ads. To remove them you need to once again upgrade to a “personal” plan, which is currently $48/year.
• You can’t run your own ads. To use ads from the ‘WordAds’ program you need to upgrade to a “premium” plan, which is currently $94/year.
• You can’t install plugins or upload custom themes. To do that you need to upgrade to a “business” plan, which is currently $300/year.

Here are the different WordPress plans and their features.

Blogger / BlogSpot: What to Expect

Find it at: Blogger.com

If you want to set up a simple blog quickly, Blogger might be the best choice. It has limited features (which can be a drawback), but it can also be helpful if you don’t want to be overwhelmed by choices.

They offer only a free, basic plan: you can’t upgrade to anything fancier. Again, this could be a drawback or an advantage depending on your blogging needs.

Blogger (aka BlogSpot) is one of the longest-running major blog platforms. It’s been around since 1999, and was acquired by Google in 2003. If you already have a Google account, you simply log in with that and create your blog.

What You Get With Blogger (Free)

• A free domain name (of the format yourname.blogspot.com).
• The ability to run ads (and it’s easy to use GoogleAds on your blog).
• Posts and pages no larger than 1MB, with images uploaded to Google Drive (15GB limit).
• A number of free themes to choose from, as well as the ability to buy and upload premium themes. You can switch to a different theme at any time.

Limitations on Blogger

• You can’t install plugins, so there’s no way to extend the functionality of Blogger.
• If you want to add a custom domain name, Blogger won’t charge you. But you’ll need to buy it from a domain registrar and do a bit of technical setup.

 

Wix: What to Expect

Find it at: Wix.com

Wix has a simple drag-and-drop interface so you can easily design your pages. If you find WordPress and Blogger daunting or confusing, Wix could be what you’re looking for. It’s designed to create websites rather than blogs specifically, so it’s not so blog-focused as WordPress and Blogger.

Wix was founded in 2006, and acquired DeviantArt (a popular online community for artists) in February 2017.

What You Get With the Wix Basic Plan (Free)

• A free domain name (of the format yourname.wix.com).
• 500MB of storage space. (You can upgrade to a paid plan for more.)
• Thousands of fully customisable templates (the equivalent of WordPress’ “themes”). Or you can begin with a blank slate.
• A beginner-friendly interface where you can drag and drop different elements onto your pages.

Limitations of the Wix Basic Plan

• Your storage space is quite limited: 500MB. While it will be enough for many types of website or blog, videos and images will use it up quickly. To get 3GB of space you’ll need to upgrade to a “combo” plan, which is currently $120/year.
• You’ll also need to upgrade to add a domain name. The cheapest way to do this is with a “connect domain” plan for $60/year. (And then you’ll need to buy your domain separately.)
• Unless you upgrade, Wix’s ads will appear on your site. And the cheapest “no ads” plan is the “combo” plan at $120/year.
• You can’t use custom templates – you can only choose something from Wix’s options. And once you’ve created your site you can’t switch to a new template. Instead you need to create an entirely new site and transfer your content over.

Weebly: What to Expect

Find it at: Weebly.com

Like Wix, Weebly has a drag-and-drop interface with lots of flexibility to help you design your website. Also like Wix (and Blogger), you can’t use third-party plugins to extend your site’s functionality.

But unlike Wix, Weebly lets you use third-party themes (templates) that you can change at any time – even once you’ve created your website. So if you have trouble committing to a design, or you want to try out lots of options before you making your final choice, Weebly might well be a better choice than Wix.

Weebly was founded in 2006, and launched in 2007.

What You Get With the Weebly Basic Plan (Free)

• A free domain name (of the format yourname.weebly.com).
• 500MB of storage space (but you can get more by upgrading to a paid plan).
• A number of free themes to choose from, with the option of  buying a premium one.

Limitations of the Weebly Basic Plan

• Your storage space is quite limited: 500MB. Again, while it will be enough for many types of website or blog, videos and images will use it up quickly. You can get unlimited storage by upgrading to a “starter” plan for $60/year.
• You also need to upgrade if you want to add a domain name. (You only need to upgrade to the “starter” plan to do this.)
• Unless you pay to upgrade, Weebly’s ads will appear on your site. (Again, you only need to upgrade to the “starter” plan to remove the ads.)

SquareSpace: What to Expect

Find it at: SquareSpace.com

SquareSpace is the only platform on our list that doesn’t have a free plan. Their cheapest is the “Personal” plan at $144/year.

That might put you off immediately. But SquareSpace could still be a good option, so don’t rule it out. (They have a 14-day free trial, so you can try before you commit.)

Like Wix and Weebly, SquareSpace has a drag-and-drop content editor that’s easy to use. If you don’t feel confident with the technology of blogging, it may be a good option for you. While you’re limited to their templates (which can only be customised to a certain degree), SquareSpace’s templates look very professional and slick.

What You Get With the SquareSpace “Personal” Plan ($144/year)

• Free custom domain name (without squarespace.com at the end).
• Unlimited storage and bandwidth, although you’re limited to 1,000 pages. (There’s no limit on blog posts.)
• 24/7 customer support.
• Hundreds of templates you can customise and style to your own preferences.
• SSL Security certificate (https://). Secure HTTP has been becoming increasingly important for Google traffic and rankings for the past couple of years. And it’s particularly important if you take credit card information or have a login option for users.

Limitations of the SquareSpace “Personal” Plan

• There’s no integrated e-commerce at the “personal” level. If you want to sell products through your site you need to upgrade to the “Business” plan, which is currently  $216/year).
• If you want to change the CSS code or javascript for your site, you’ll also need to upgrade to a “Business” plan.

So Which Blog Platform Should You Go For?

When it comes to blogging there’s no one-size-fits-all. And  if you’ve ruled out self-hosted WordPress as an option, any of these platforms could be a good fit for you.

If you want to set up a simple website quickly with a drag-and-drop interface that lets you position different elements on your page, Weebly is probably your best option. It’s cheaper than Wix if you need more than the 500MB storage space. And  you can change themes at any time. (Still, if you love a particular Wix template it might be worth going with Wix.)

If your focus is on the blog itself, and you’re happy to spend time getting to grips with the interface, Blogger is a simple and straightforward option. And even though it’s free, it still has a lot of features.

If you plan on switching to self-hosted WordPress in the future, opting for WordPress.com now will make the transition much smoother in terms of both moving your content over and your own learning curve.

SquareSpace is widely recognised as having great designs. But that comes at a cost, as there’s no free option. But if you need a premium plan regardless, you might want to go with SquareSpace for its quality designs.

Ultimately, what matters more than your choice of platform is getting your blog online. You could spend months researching and trying different platforms without ever having a live blog.

Blogs can (and do) succeed on a variety of different platforms. If self-hosted WordPress isn’t for you, then any of these options could serve you well. Try a couple that seem promising, and then pick your favourite and stick with it.

I’ll give the last word to Paul Cunningham from Left Brain Blogging, who wrote a great reply to a blogger struggling to choose a platform in our ProBlogger Community group on Facebook last year (emphasis mine):

I know you’ve been struggling with these platform questions for a while so I’m going to give you straight advice. My main concern is that you’ll get so stuck on this decision that it’s going to delay the real progress you’re trying to make.

Go sign up for a free SquareSpace trial. Mess around with the interface and make a few dummy posts or pages. Do stuff you’d normally do, like add an image, or set up a sidebar. Spend an hour on it.

If you like it more than WordPress, then use it. Otherwise use WordPress. Your choice of platform has to be something you’re willing to use and that doesn’t hold you back with technical limitations.

But here’s the bottom line. WordPress is successful for a reason. Whether you like the interface or not, there’s no denying the benefits of going with the mature, large community, feature rich, and deeply customizable platform in WordPress.

What blogging platform do you use?

Photo credit: Christian Stahl

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