Mari Smith once said, “We must develop a thick skin. With an unshakeable sense of self – and a commitment to being compassionate – nothing will faze you.”
Welcome the world of social media marketing where success is achievable when you have the right strategy in place and being bold at the same time. Mari’s quote is point on especially in this competitive, social media industry. There is a thin line between self-promoting and increase brand visibility — most of the time, we struggle to balance both up.

Yes, we either self-promote too much or we promote others way too much.

I understand that if we want to achieve ‘social media success‘, we need to get out of our safe zone and work well hard (and smart) to beat the competition when they are still sleeping.
Sure, you heard this a dozen times; probably from influencers such as Jon Morrow, Chris Brogan and Neil Patel (to name a few).
But reading and understanding the social media marketing process is just one part of equation. Are you practicing it on a daily basis?
Do me a favor — take a moment to count the number of social media platforms out there. I’ll wait.
You probably lost count down the road because there are just too many of them! But how do others manage the whole social media thing, building success blogs and leverage the power of search engines?

Technology, my friend — is the key for everything. If you want to market your blog to success, leveraging the power of technology will help you reach more audience, increase blog traffic and doubling your blog revenue.

I recently became aware of a project FreshBooks (a leader in cloud accounting and invoicing) is running where they reach out to influencers and ask them to provide insights about technology as it relates to business. And I thought it was an awesome idea for me to share what I know about getting massive results using social media. With that being said, let's dive in on ways to achieve success in social media success using technology.
Related post: Get Noticed In A Noisy World (5 Simple Steps To Take You From Here To The Top)

Choosing the right social media platforms

One of the biggest mistakes done by companies and entrepreneurs — focusing in too many social platforms. If you want social media to work for you, ensure that you are focus on specific platforms than putting all your eggs in one basket.
Sure, engaging in more social platforms is powerful but what’s the point when you can’t leverage the specific social platform to the best of its ability?
It doesn’t only save you more time but as well as increasing your productivity level.

Social media success depends on your marketing strategies

Do you have a social media marketing strategy? If you don’t have one, I urge you to get one now.
But wait! Not sure how to create a social media strategy? Well, carry on reading!

Step 1: Understanding your target audience

Finding which social media platforms there are in may be easy, but finding what they like is challenging.
When starting on a new social media marketing project, my first step is to find for awareness. Determine the places your potential fans and readers are in.

Step 2: Know what your audience like / love / engage on

This may varies depending on platform but the common tools I use would be:

• Facebook – Post Planner
• Twitter – Hootsuite
• General social media platforms – Buffer

Do several post sharing and rotate between images, texts and links. Determine which has the most engagements for a period of time. I usually test out for a full 30-days.
Here’s an example of my analytics using Buffer:

Images shared on my Twitter handler (@SocialCopy) seems to constantly be on the top 2 spot for the most shares, retweets and clicks.

Determine your metrics

Knowing the right metrics to determine your social media success is important. Without metrics, you probably won’t be able to judge the progress of your social media strategy.
Of course, you need to choose one (or more) platforms in advanced before checking on your metrics. Common metrics I usually use (and encourage you to do so too) would be:

• Number of social shares
• Source of the social shares

It gives you an idea on how your social media marketing strategy is working and the distance between you and your targeted success.
This is how analytics on SumoMe (which I use in this blog) looks like:

If you are a fan of Google Analytics, you can even search here (head over to Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels):

As you can see, Twitter generates 60.85% of all my social traffic. If you added Event funnels on Google Analytics, you can track conversion rates as well (you can see on the right of the image).

ALERT: The 20 Productivity Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Know About

How do we share content to multiple social media channels?

Social media success is pretty much achievable when you have the right productivity tools. For me, I use two tools to manage my social media accounts (yes, two — not one); Buffer and Hootsuite.

Buffer for scheduling social content

Using Buffer, I am able to schedule contents from images, texts and quotes up to 12 social accounts simultaneously (using Buffer Awesome plan). If you are using Buffer for Business, you can integrate up to 50 social accounts.

Buffer allows you to share content immediately, share it on the next pre-set schedule or adding it into queue.
CLICK HERE to create a free Buffer account and start scheduling posts instantly!

Hootsuite for managing multiple accounts

While Hootsuite is able to schedule content across various platforms, I use Hootsuite to manage my social accounts and as well as social listening. Here’s an example of my Hootsuite dashboard.

Another advantage using Hootsuite is the autoschedule post. Based on algorithm created by Hootsuite, the post will be shared at times where your followers are most engaged. Additionally, there are numerous applications which you can integrate with Hootsuite. Pretty awesome, right?
Get 30-days free access to Hootsuite Pro using this link.

How to aim for social media success?

Social media isn’t (entirely) about you, brand or business. It is about them — yes, your followers.
It takes a lot for a reader (or your fan in this case) to actually start sharing your content with others. But with the right strategy, you can actually gain more social shares than ever.
Social media success can be achieved by:

• Providing value
• Engage with your fans

Listen to what your readers are asking on social and provide answers (not hints) to them.

Straight and accurate answers without requiring actions is a great way to build trust and influence.

And when you engage with your fans, they will feel belonging and most importantly, you don’t leave them waiting for answers. In return, you get happy customers, fans and a higher possibility of engagement.
Make sense?

Article you may find interesting: 5 Smart Ways To Validate Small Business Ideas

What should you do now?

I know — you want to know what to do right now with your social media marketing strategy. Grab a pen and jot these down. Paste it on your wall or add this into your daily to-do list on your smartphone.

1. Determine 1 to 3 social media platforms you want to focus on
2. Craft at least 5 social updates on each social media platform
3. Using tools like Buffer and Hootsuite, analyze the engagement rate (do this for about 3 – 6 weeks)
4. Focus only on one social platform where you put the most effort in for results
5. Engage with your followers and provide them with solutions to their challenges

BONUS: Want to create more engagement on Facebook and Twitter? I use Post Planner to share viral photos and powerful motivational quotes (and watch your engagement rate skyrocket overnight). Create a free account here.

Social media success is achievable but are you (really) ready?

Success in social media is achievable and you don’t (really) need a marketing agency to help you with it. But, it takes some time and devotion.
If you face challenges in social media, let me help you. Tell me all about it by emailing me or leave me a comment below.
The post How We Focus On Social Media Success (And You Can Too) appeared first on Success Ground.


from How We Focus On Social Media Success (And You Can Too) http://ift.tt/1LNIplz contributed by Reginald Chan

Every entrepreneur wants to get noticed in a noisy world.

Yes, they do and so do you. But wait, me too! Today’s world is very much different. Entrepreneurs are competing with one another on a daily basis because we are fighting for the same pie. The pie didn’t increase in size over the years, but the number of entrepreneurs do.

We are constantly finding for ways to beat the competition. Take Success Ground for example. I am constantly finding ways to build a bigger audience and increasing the size of my email list.

Getting noticed in a noisy world does sound like a daunting task, right? I bet.

They want to see you do good, but never better than them. Remember that – Unknown.

This quote is point-on. In this marketing world, there aren’t that many friends that wish you all the best with your business truthfully. And to be honest, they will welcome your failure because if you fail (and fail more), they probably have higher chance to success. Plus, lesser one competition to compete with them.

Make sense?

In this post, you’ll learn the tips I used to get noticed in a noisy world. I’ve been through some tough times, but with multiple awards and honorable mentions such as from Harvard University’s blog, I am sure I could do you some favors for free, right?

Related post: Top 25 Productivity Apps For Serious Entrepreneurs

 

1. Finding a platform (and stick to it)

The biggest misconception about marketing and getting noticed is “the more places you are, the more visibility you get”.

Sure, you get visibility if you are everywhere but you probably won’t be able to leverage them to the maximum. You are starting out and most likely lack of budget.

Stick to a platform and work with it. Put in your heart and soul into the platform, and market your way to the top. Everyone is trying to participate in various marketing platforms — e.g. social platforms, blogging and even podcasting like CopyBlogger.

The moral of the story is simple. Get noticed in a noisy world by being that good in that one, specific platform. When that happens, you’re literally golden. Trust me.

 

2. Syndicate your content

If you want to stand out in the crowd, you need to start syndicating your content. Allow me to give you an example for this blog, Success Ground.

In content marketing:

Four new content are published on a weekly basis and when these content goes live, they are distributed into various social media platform … automatically.

Using IFTTT or IF This Then That, I am able to syndicate my content across the web without hassle. Zero time lost and “booyah” to my productivity level. A more complex explanation using IFTTT can be found here.

In short, IFTTT allows me to share my content (in various forms) to multiple platforms with just a few clicks of the mouse. With the time saved, I could focus on things that matters most to me; writing better content to serve my audience (yes, you!).

 

In overall marketing strategy:

I have big plans for Success Ground and one of them is to create my own video audience on YouTube. When I create a video, I would then extract the voice and turn it into my podcast show.

And even live hangouts or interview series could be transformed into a super awesome podcast series thanks to the marketing tools on the Rainmaker Platform.

If syndication isn’t your marketing strategy, you got use it .. or face the consequences of losing out in the near future!

 

Related post: 15 Entrepreneurship Ideas For College Students

 

3. Get noticed by being bold

Being bold isn’t being stupid or rude. It is the smart way of gaining attention. When do you bold statements, the spotlight will be on you.

Y-E-S, YOU!

Take the opportunity to shine and at the same time, be smart enough not to create a backfire.

How to be bold?

The easiest way is to create a statement against the norm.

You are an entrepreneur and you are most likely to sell / promote a product. There are competitors, alright — and that makes creating bold statements much easier (but riskier). Take a look at the tweet below:

 

Problem trying to download images from @canva? Noticed this for some good hours already :/

— Reginald Chan (@SocialCopy) May 20, 2015

I was literally pulling my hair because I am having so much trouble trying to download images from Canva. In this scenario, a competitor of Canva could come forward and say, “Hey, let us help you out. Come over to ABC!”

What will happen next? Two things:

• If you aren’t as big (and popular as Canva), you’re literally screwed
• But if you are able to compete with Canva in terms of popularity, you may just win another business (or in this case, some extra visibility)

Important takeaway: Learn to be bold at the right time, but not all the time.

 

4. Providing value (without asking for return)

It is noisy in whatever industry you are in. People are constantly sharing information on a daily basis. For instance, there are over 500 million blogs out there (as of today) and 2 million blog posts are published every day.

I bet it is extremely ‘noisy’ right?

Think about it this way instead. Everyone is sharing content and the real fact is that most people are selling or promoting a product for their own gain.

Now, imagine what happens when you put on your game face and reach out to the mass public by providing enormous value. And, you aren’t asking anything back in return — not even an email address.

What will happen when do you that?

• You’ll build trust
• You provide value (more than anyone else)
• You start building brand loyalty

And when you do this long enough, you will become an influencer in your own niche.

 

5. Creating a community can get you noticed

Don’t believe me?

Check out the Facebook Group Email1k created by Noah Kagan of AppSumo. He created the a community for free, thanks to Facebook powerful community feature.

The disclaimer taken directly from the group:

This group is for people working through Noah Kagan’s Email1K course. It’s to support and help each other get more email subscribers.

What you can do here: You can ask questions about the content in the Email1K course, questions about using the SumoMe tools and questions related to building your subscribers. You can help others out by contributing your knowledge. Please do. That’s what makes this group a great community.

The main goal of this Facebook group is simple: Share ideas and get more email subscribers.

He did that by providing tons of advises (being active in the community itself) and providing free email templates to grow the member’s email lists. The results? Happy, happy community members.

What can you learn from Noah? Get noticed in a noisy world by providing value — yes value that will turn on your visitors into loyal readers and making you a well-respected person (for the value you provide, not politics )

 

ALERT: Content Marketing Strategy You Can Steal From CopyBlogger

 

Are you ready to get noticed in a noisy world?

Leave a comment, share this around or hit me up on social. Tell me what you think about this and if you have more ways to get yourself noticed in your own niche.

See you in the comments below!

The post Get Noticed In A Noisy World: 5 Simple Steps To Take You From Here To The Top appeared first on Success Ground.

from Get Noticed In A Noisy World: 5 Simple Steps To Take You From Here To The Top http://ift.tt/1BmZIDS contributed by Reginald Chan

You might have signed up for my 20-days free entrepreneurship course and you followed every single step you possibly can. But you felt like you are no where since day one because you had little or no money to start up. In the back of your head, you are wondering, “What are the easy businesses to start with little or no money?”

And before we go down into something really serious on super-duper easy ways to start a business, I have a quote from Chris Guillebeau (author of The $100 Startup), “To succeed in a business project, especially one you’re excited about, it helps to think carefully about all the skills you have that could be helpful to others and particularly about the combination of those skills.”

The quote above should be a mantra for every entrepreneur out there who want to succeed in life or business. Things you would need to think after reading this post are:

• Do you have any expertise (the things you really, really know deep inside)?
• Do you have passion for the expertise above?
• Do you see the opportunity gap in the market right now?

Another quote from the one and only, Guy Kawasaki, “Entrepreneurship is a balance mixture of opportunity, passion and expertise”.

You do not need to have a lot of money in your bank account just to start a business and you certainly should not wait for the right time to start one. Yes, you can start a business … right now!

Don’t let the financial issue turn away your entrepreneurship ideas. So here are 5 business ideas to start with little or no money at all.

Article of the week: 15 Entrepreneurship Ideas For College Students

1. Selling handmade crafts

Believe it or not, this is one of the most lucrative industries in the world. If you are looking for easy businesses to start from home, go with handcraft products. Bear in mind that these products can be sold over and over again as long as there is a demand for it.

And if you think that handmade crafts are just a small business niche, take a look at these:

• Abe’s Market is one of the biggest online portal selling (specifically) natural and organic goods.
• Etsy is the largest online market selling (almost) everything homemade, from clothes to jewelry.
• Bonanza is pretty similar to Etsy and according to some sources, it has gained over 10 million visits on a monthly basis.
• eBay is a no-brainer. Probably the most popular, one-stop location for any products and yes — including handmade products.

Here’s a simple trick to start an online business and start marketing money.

You are recommended (in almost all cases) to market your products in several platforms to increase visibility and increase your reach. While putting all your eggs in various baskets is a good marketing strategy, it is also important to make sure your inventory are kept up to date to avoid shortage.

If selling homemade products turns you on like your husband or wife do, then read this article by Lifehacker for some additional marketing resources.

 

2. Start a drop shipping business

Compared to thousands of business ideas to earn some money, drop shipping is one of the easiest businesses to start with.

Basically, drop ship is business venture between you and another business partner. In this case, your business partner is the one providing the products and shipping procedures.

You, on the other hand, is in-charged of marketing and selling. The more you sell, the more you’ll earn. That simple, right?

Here are the exact steps to start a drop shipping business with no money at all.

• Focus on only two sites; eBay and Amazon
• Find for product(s) which have a number of sales and usually above $50 (bigger sales = bigger paycheck)
• Collect information of the seller, price, product, reviews etc from both sites and plot them into Excel (one of my favorite productivity tools by the way)
• Analyze additional information such as the lowest price product, seller details etc
• Sell the product on either eBay or Amazon (whichever gives you more sales revenue)

The above concept is simple. Let’s take for example, you have this product (yet to purchase) on Amazon sold at $50 per piece. If you sell the same product on eBay for $65, you make $15 per sale, right? Once you made a sale, you will receive information of the buyer’s address etc. Enter the exact details into Amazon and the seller will ship the product directly to the buyer.

Make sense?

But here’s the catch. Amazon and eBay (along with a dozen other online portals) have strict restrictions on this because it creates a lot of scam cases. Therefore, if you are going to do this for a living, make sure you are taking every precaution you can think of to protect yourself, your buyer and most importantly, from these online portals as they can shut you down overnight.

Of course, you can reach out to the company directly and apply for an authorized seller/reseller.

Related article: Top 25 Productivity Apps For Serious Entrepreneurs

 

3. Domain flipping businesses require little money for start up

If you love Internet and have a little ‘trader instinct’ in you, you will love domain flipping. This business is requires a little investment but the returns is extremely high.

Are you wondering why is domain flipping is included in easy business to start?

The answer is simple. Buying a domain is cheap and the process of selling a domain is very addictive. Seriously!

Domain flipping can make you tons of money, real fast if done correctly. Of course, it is not the easiest to make money with but with proper strategies like this one, you will soon be making more money than you can ever imagine.

Here’s how to start domain flipping.

• Find new/expired domain names or buying the ownership of a current domain
• Develop the domain (usually the website design and content) and sell at a higher price

And yes, this is just that simple!

Here are several challenges you will face (or need to be ready for):

• Domains you bought may have lesser or no value at all
• You may require to sell a couple of times before finally being able to find the right buyer with the right price
• Every sale has a 50-50 chance of success (pretty positive, right?)

That’s why I recommend this simple training on domain flipping for those who are serious in making thousands of dollars in this industry.

 

4. Starting a blog (and make money)

2 million blog posts are published daily and there are over 500 million blogs out there. I must be crazy to recommend this blogging business — so, you thought.

The truth is, people are making money from blogging and believe it or not, you could too!

Blogging isn’t the fastest way to make money but it is certainly one of those easy businesses to start with little money. And the “little” I just said is like literally, a few dollars a month at most!

Imagine this: Your investment to start a blog is $4 per month and revenue gained from your blog is $100 a day. How does that sounds to you?

Before we dive in and discover how you can easily make money from blogging, let’s understand a few concept of blogging.

Blogging facts you need to know:

• Not all niche or topics will generate money from you
• Make money from blogging is possible but it takes time
• Blogging requires passion and only blogs that are constantly updated will get better ranking and traffic
• Understanding on SEO, search engine and content marketing are vital to ensure success in blogging
• Using a good web hosting company is more important than ever
• Choose a proper domain name for branding

Yes, it is possible to make money through blogging but it takes time. Darren Rowse from ProBlogger had explained it better than anyone in his award-winning eBook, ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

So, how to start a blog and make money fast?

The first step is to ensure you have the proper blog setup; purchasing a domain name, getting a good web hosting, putting on a nice theme and installing relevant plugins to get the site ready.

When it comes to choosing a domain name, it is highly recommended to get domain names that are relevant, unique and most importantly, easy to remember. Also, in terms of Top Level Domain (TLD) extensions that come into play, always try to search for those with dot com, dot net or dot co for better search engine visibility in the future.

For web hosting, there are many web hosting services at different prices. If you are on a budget, go for BlueHost that offers professional web hosting under $5 per month and as well as free domain name registration. BlueHost is powerful because it one of the leaders in web hosting industry and they have 1-click install features to help beginners to install a website with hassle. Plus if you need help, there are friendly customer service consultants you can reach by phone, live chat and email. CLICK HERE to see BlueHost latest promotion and deals.

Blogging is a business and while it is among the easy businesses to start, don’t take blogging lightly. You should, at all times, maintain a professional look and it takes a to get a really good website theme. Of course, I only use StudioPress for all my blogs because it is professionally designed and it comes with in-built SEO features. Here’s the theme gallery for some inspiring ideas.

Lastly, it is the plugins that will make your blogging life 5x easier. Plugins help to speed up your work process, help to increase productivity level and perform tasks you may have no experience or knowledge in. Remember to install plugins that are vital only as too many of them will pose a security threat and slow down your website loading speed as well. Here’s a list of recommended plugin to use:

• JetPack
• Contact Form 7
• Thrive Leads
• W3 Total Cache
• Yoast SEO
• Easy Social Sharing Buttons
• WordFence Security

How to monetize a blog or website?

Depending on your niche, there are several ways you start a blog and make money fast. Here are a few common ways:

Google Adsense

Sign up for a free Google Adsense account (I bet you had done that before) and copy the snippet code into your blog to display the ads. Google Adsense only allows you to place up to 3 ads per page.

Important note: Banners with bigger sizes usually generate money than smaller ones.

Affiliate sales

If blogging is one of those easy businesses to start (which you have in mind), focus on affiliate sales. Bloggers such as Pat Flynn makes a lot of money just by selling affiliate products. Here are two example of excellent affiliate programs to participate in especially when you are in the WordPress industry:

• StudioPress (35% commission per sale)
• WP Engine (a minimum of $200 per sale)

Banner advertising

High traffic blogs can leverage from this. For most advertisers, paying for banner advertising on blogs is cheaper than bidding for Google Adwords or Facebook Ads. For starters, you could easily earn around $30 per banner per month for blogs with traffic below 1,500 visits per month.

You see, it is really easy to start an online business (and earn some passive income). And it only takes you like 5 minutes to start a blog from scratch!

Popular article worth reading: 10 Startup Guides On Ways To Save Money

 

5. Freelancing business

Do you have expertise than you can leverage? It can be as simple as copywriting, proof reading and even data entry.

With the power of Internet, you can reach out to the world — and yes, even people who are located on the another side of the globe! Freelancing business is extremely popular among college students and you can even start freelancing with no money at all.

So, how do you determine your freelance expertise?

• Soul searching
• Using your current work and outsource your experience to brands and companies that require it
• Finding your passion (such as social media marketing, writing etc) and turn that into a freelance service

Starting a freelance business is easy and cost effective as you are not required to have much (or any) initial investment. At most, just a blog page with WordPress at the back.

The only challenge in freelance business is the fact that you are competing with professional agencies and it could turn ugly real fast. You are competing not only for the same amount of business but as well as pricing and even manpower (you are working alone, remember?).

If you want to perform some marketing on a tight budget, you can leverage paid advertising using Facebook Ads or Google Adwords on a smaller scale; e.g. $15 a day on advertising.

 

Easy business to start with little or no money – Recap

While there are many business you can start with, these 5 are probably the cheap and easy businesses to start with little money. They take less than $50 to start up and in most cases, you can start anywhere under 60 minutes.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and if you have not signed up for my free entrepreneurship mastery course, you can grab yourself a (limited) spot here!

The post 5 Easy Businesses To Start (With Little Or No Money) appeared first on Success Ground.

from 5 Easy Businesses To Start (With Little Or No Money) http://ift.tt/1F5I0p5 contributed by Reginald Chan

I have wrote about the top 20 productivity tools for entrepreneurs and the response was enormous. Over 350 shares across various platforms in just a few days since the post went live. And it struck me.

I am always looking for productivity apps to use on a daily basis; on my smartphones, computers, tablets etc. So, why don’t I create a massive list of productivity apps for all forms of devices?

So yes! That’s what you will get in this post.

A MASSIVE list of top 25 productivity apps that will take you from an average Joe to a superhero with just a few clicks.

And to make this post sweeter and more useful for you, I will be dividing it into several parts which are:

• Top productivity apps for entrepreneurs
• Productivity apps for Mac
• Productivity apps for  Windows
• Productivity apps for iPhone, Android and smartphones

Related post: The 20 Productivity Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Know About

Ready, set, go!

Top productivity apps for entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are always looking for the best productivity apps and I bet you do too. There are tons of productivity apps you can download or use but I have did the hard work for you. Here are the best of the best productivity apps that entrepreneurs can use.

 

Evernote

Love it or hate it, Evernote is the top productivity app for everyone. Note-taking, image capturing etc, Evernote makes it extremely easy to take productivity to the next level.

Free accounts (which you can register here) comes with semi-offline reading and premium accounts allow you to keep more files and browse them even when you are offline.

 

Wunderlist

Wunderlist is another great productivity app for many. It is extremely easy to use (some regard this as a better feature than Evernote) and the user interface is very powerful as well.

Do you think Wunderlist is better than Evernote? Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

 

Grammarly

My go-to tools for spell-checking and plagiarisms. With just a few clicks of the button, you can turn badly worded article into a professional, proof-read one. It also integrates perfectly well with Microsoft Office and major browsers.

 

Google Docs

To be honest, I can’t imagine my life without Google Docs. Writing drafts for Success Ground, preparing quotations for clients etc — It is 100% possible using Google Docs.

With the zero fee price tag, there’s absolutely nothing bad to good things to shout about.

 

DropBox

As an entrepreneur cum consultant, I work with clients around the world and the only way for me to keep myself (and them) organized is by using file sharing. That’s where DropBox comes into play. With DropBox, I am able to sync files across devices and share links to respective clients for their reading / references.

The best part — DropBox is free and you can access it anywhere on Earth, as long as you have an Internet connection. DropBox offers free-for-life account and there are also paid accounts if you would require additional storage space.

Signup for Dropbox today and get additional 500 mb space in your account!

 

Any.do

The main reason for Any.do to be on the top of the list is because it has the trigger level on a daily basis called Any.do moment. Imagine waking up to notification from Any.do and giving you a list of to-do’s for the day. Pretty much like a personal assistant, right?

And it is 100% free to download from respective app stores and there is also premium plans that starts at $2.99 per month for more firepower.

 

Google Drive

Want easy integration with your documents while you are on the go? Introducing, Google Drive! Store important information such as notes, files and images all under one roof and the built-in scanning feature allows you to capture images, extract the text on the images and store them for future search functions. Pretty cool huh?

Google Drive works all major devices and the free account allows storage up to 15GB.

 

Related post: 15 Entrepreneurship Ideas For College Students

 

Productivity apps for Mac

There are many interesting apps on Mac and there is absolutely no shortage of those. These tools will be best for better productivity, communication and media management.

Alfred

Alfred is an award-winning productivity application for Mac OS X. And what it does is awesome. Alfred makes it super easy for you to search for files online by having rich features such as hotkeys, keywords and file actions. What I really love about it is that Alfred allows me to create immensely powerful workflow which skyrocket my productivity level to the whole new level especially when I am working on new and lovely Apple MacBook Pro.

 

Notational Velocity

NV in short, it makes note-taking super easy — minus the fluff and bloat features which you don’t really need. It also sync perfectly well with DropBox and while it is not my main not-taking app (second to Evernote), I still consider this a powerful add-on for Mac users.

 

Plex

Plex is something unique for me (and for many). For most people, it is a home media center but Plex offers more than that. It is also an awesome (very smart way by the way) to access all your videos from virtually anywhere on Earth.

All you need is to setup the Plex Server on your computer and you can stream videos at anywhere instantly. Pretty cool right?

Plex is free to install on most Mac devices but you would need to pay $5 to be able to stream from mobile.

 

Pixelmator

If you have difficulties understanding how Photoshop works, you’re going to love Pixelmator. This productivity app is best for entrepreneur like me who doesn’t need those fancy bells and whistles that Photoshop are offering. It comes packing with features more people needs for editing images on Mac, plus it is highly affordable at the price tag of $30.

 

Growl

Let’s face it. OS X Mavericks has tons of built-in support for notifications but hey, it isn’t close to perfect.

Why? There are still apps that still doesn’t show up in the notification center. And when that happens, you don’t get notified of the latest updates which will indirectly, affect your productivity level.

 

Airmail

If email marketing is important for you, you must have come across Airmail. It supports Gmail and iCloud addresses, full IMAP/POP support and of course, support for Exchange accounts too. To be honest, I have no issue with either Gmail or stock apps but Airmail literally improves email productivity multiple folds.

 

Related post: Content Marketing Strategy You Can Steal From CopyBlogger

 

Productivity apps for Windows

For those Windows lovers, don’t worry — I have not forgotten about you guys. Windows has many programs you can use but some are seriously essential for entrepreneurs.

Launchy

By far, Launchy is one of my top favorite productivity apps for Windows. It doesn’t only launches programs at lighting speed, it also allows you to open documents and folder, perform complex calculation, kill processes to speed up your computer and searching the web for information.

 

PhraseExpress

God send and time saver for those who have productivity in mind. PhraseExpress saves you hours of typing by organizing frequently used text snippets, auto-complete phrases and correct spelling mistakes.

 

LibreOffice

When Google Docs isn’t sufficient enough to fit your needs, introducing LibreOffice — a cross-platform, feature-packed and 100% free office suite. It works perfectly well out of the box and no extra add-ons needed to sweeten the deal.

 

Microsoft Office

Tell me if you do not use Microsoft Office for work and leisure. To make it real short, Microsoft Office is undoubtedly the best word processor, spreadsheet tool and presentation tool you can find for Windows. Period!

 

Related post: 10 Startup Guides On Ways To Save Money

 

Productivity apps for iPhone / Apple users

Take a look around. Noticed the number of people using smartphones? Yes, you can still be productive while on the move, thanks to smartphones. Here’s a list of productivity apps for iPhone and Apple users.

Awesome Note

If you are looking for a cool tool to integrate note-taking and to-do list for better organization, Awesome Note is your best friend here. On iTunes, it is nominated as the “Best All-In-One Organizer App Ever”. It gives you a great overview of your schedule, photo journal, to-do lists and many more.

And this app is cheap! $3.99 on iTunes.

 

Dragon Dictation

Don’t let the name scare you but trust me, the features are extremely versatile. If you are looking for apps for jotting down notes, drafting emails, posting to social media accounts and other light tasks, Dragon Dictation might be the only app you need. It also excels in general, easy to moderate dictation from voice.

 

Clear

The Clear app changed the lives of over 2.5 million people — so, what so great about it?

For the record, Clear is one of the best productivity apps I ever used. Extremely easy and highly versatile, you can’t go wrong with it. Creating and completing tasks with just a few swipe on the screen and you are all set to go.

Trust me, there is nothing easier than this!

 

Related post: 5 Smart Ways To Validate Small Business Ideas

 

Productivity apps for Android users

Android dominates a huge chunk in the market sphere and it makes absolutely no sense if I do not include productivity apps for Android users (I may even get killed for it). So here goes!

OfficeSuite 8 Pro

OfficeSuite Pro is by far, the best, fully featured office suite available for Android users only. It costs more than other apps in the market, staging at a staggering $15 price tag but don’t let the price turn off your productivity level.

This app is jam-packed with more than just the basics desktop-like functionality of Microsoft Office. Plus, it also offers native PDF markup commands and even easy integration with major cloud storage services.

 

FolderSync

Have you ever wished to sync your files across devices and in the cloud for future usage? With FolderSync, you can do that! Basically, it is a ‘gateway’ that sync’s your documents to major cloud storage services like Dropbox.

 

AirDroid

This productivity app allows you to ‘control’ your Android device directly from your computer. You can send and read texts, view files and a zillion other things with AirDroid app. It is extremely versatile as it works perfectly with WiFi and mobile data connections.

 

Tasks

Android isn’t losing out in terms of productivity apps and Tasks is one example. It helps to manage multiple to-do lists while organizing your due dates and reminders in a very elegant way. Tasks also has a minimalist look that fit perfectly well into most Android screens. It also has widget functions to further maximize your productivity level.

 

Expensify

Keeping track of your budget could be a huge hassle. Especially when you are starting up, focusing on expenditure could turn anyone into a mad man. Expensify allows you to scan receipts and it will then pull the image and turn them into record. I use Expensify to track my budget-conscious spending on marketing.

It is free to use but there are also premium options that offer more flexibility and additional features.

 

More interest post: Top 10 Marketing Tips On A Shoestring Budget

 

What is your top 10 productivity apps that you cannot live without?

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment below.

If you love what you reading here, I highly recommend you to sign up for my free entrepreneurship course which consist of 20-days of hardcore guides and tutorials to help you get started with your business. Seats are limited. Get an exclusive access here!

The post Top 25 Productivity Apps For Serious Entrepreneurs appeared first on Success Ground.

from Top 25 Productivity Apps For Serious Entrepreneurs http://ift.tt/1PYu7yQ contributed by Reginald Chan

Attending college isn’t really the cheapest thing on Earth. It costs around $23,000 a year just to be in college and for many, it is really expensive. That’s probably the reason why people say “education is expensive” and the search term, ‘entrepreneurship ideas for college students’ is one of those popular words searched on Google.

As a college student, entrepreneurship ideas are limited since they are still studying and time is always a huge challenge for them.

Not every entrepreneurship ideas for college students require employees or complex operations in order to generate income. As a matter of fact, there are many entrepreneurship ideas that they can start up immediately, on a shoestring budget and still make decent money while studying.

The entrepreneurship ideas in this blog are proven ways to generate income for yourself so that you can pay your way through college. They are also great to ‘tickle’ your entrepreneurship mindset for something much better. In this post, you will find the top 15 entrepreneurship ideas for college students.

1. Photography

Photography has long been an excellent entrepreneur idea for many (especially college students). You would need a decent camera which you can purchase below $300 and some Photoshop skills. The advantages doing photography is the ability to perform freelance photo taking over the weekend or during semester breaks.

College students can even opt to sell those photos taken which can fetch from a couple of dollars to few hundreds.

Related post: 10 Startup Guides On Ways To Save Money

 

2. Teaching or tutoring

Do you know that teaching or tutoring is a great entrepreneurship idea for college students? It requires zero startup cost and all you need is allocating some time on a daily basis. At the moment, there are huge demands for specific topics like mathematics and sciences which you can leverage it to earn some extra money.

 

3. Hand craft goods are great entrepreneurship ideas for college students

Some people are gifted especially in arts and crafts. If you have the passion for it, you can easily make them in batches and sell them on sites like Etsy and eBay. These hand craft goods usually have excellent demands if they are unique (and cheap).

 

4. Buy and sell goods

Do you know that college students can earn money through online marketplace like eBay and Amazon? The concept is pretty simple. Buy things which has some demand and sell them off at a (slightly) higher rates. You need is some time, playing the guessing game and you can easily make easy money through it to fund your college life.

 

5. Web designing

Web designing industry is blooming and if it is a great source of entrepreneurship. There are many freelancers who perform specifically web designing and each project can range anywhere between $300 to few thousands dollars depending on your expertise.

Don’t worry if you don’t have web designing knowledge. Tools like Thrive Theme Builder and Dynamik Website Builder will do the job for you (all you need is to click, click and click).

 

6. Walking the dog

Dog lovers are going to love this. As a college student, you may not have much time daily with all those homeworks and revisions. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t entrepreneurship ideas which you can leverage from!

Provide services such as walking the dog in the evening (for your neighbors) and you can easily earn a couple of bucks per dog. Trust me, there isn’t any easier job than this!

 

7. Fiverr

Want to earn a quick $5 gig? With Fiverr, you could!

You can provide really quick services such as song writing, ideas generation and voice recording for $5 or more per gig. If you are planning to make more money from Fiverr, make sure you offer additional packages or addons at higher prices.

Related post: Content Marketing Strategy You Can Steal From CopyBlogger

 

8. Udemy

Physically tutoring and teaching may not be your cup of tea but how about online ones? Udemy is a popular online learning portal where you can upload courses. You can set your own price and next, sit down and watch the money grow (through it isn’t that easy). Udemy courses range from as low as free to a few thousand dollars.

 

9. Creating a blog

Blogging is a great way to earn passive income. Plus, blogs that have high traffic (or visitors) could easily monetize using advertisement banners and affiliate sales. College students can start a blog under $4 a month thanks to BlueHost. With the one click installation and superior uptime in web hosting, you know that you are in good hands.

 

10. Virtual assistant services

Being a virtual assistant (VA in short) is a great entrepreneurship idea for college students. Sites such as Freelancer allows college students to become virtual assistants and paid by the hour. Plus, there is zero startup fees needed which makes earning money much easier as well.

 

11. Proof reading

Are you good in picking up mistakes in essays? If yes, proof reading is probably one of the best entrepreneurship ideas for college students. On average, it takes around 20 minutes to proof read an article of 2,000 words. And trust me, that’s easy money!

If you are planning to make proof reading even easier, use Grammarly as the first, automated proof reading tool before you have a final check (and save more time).

 

12. Copywriting services

I did some copywriting jobs when I was in school. It is extremely easy especially when you have the passion for writing and a little creativity back in your head. Currently, there are two forms of paid copywriting services; paid by number of words or by project basis.

On average, college students can easily earn around $10 – $50 per 1,500 words article. Pretty awesome right?

 

13. Mow the lawn

Let’s face it, mow the lawn isn’t the most glamorous job in the world but it does help you earn some money while you are in college. The biggest challenge is to get your mowing services out of public but with a little word of mouth marketing from happy customers, you might soon find yourself overwhelmed with work!

 

14. Domain flipping

Domain flipping is the action where you buy domain and sell them off at a higher price. There are several ways to go around this strategy:

• Buying new domains, maintain it and sell at higher price
• Buying used or expired domains, maintain it and sell at higher price
• Buying unique domain names and sell for larger sum

Domain flipping isn’t the most popular entrepreneurship ideas for college students but trust me, this is probably one of the most lucrative ones after blogging.

Don’t worry if you have no idea about domain flipping. Watch this video and it may just make you more money than you can ever imagine!

 

15. Social media marketing

Take a look around you right now and you will probably see at least 4 out of 5 millennial are using their smartphones. Let’s face it; that generation is the best in social media. If you love social media, can’t live without it or constantly uploading statuses to Facebook, publishing new tweets and posting Instagram photos, you are in luck!

Social media marketing is a powerful part-time job that can help you generate some income on the side. Head over to those companies in your town and ask them if they would need assistance with social. In most cases, they do as they have no idea how to really leverage social media for their business.

Chances of being hired as a part-time social media consultant is high because companies do not need to spend thousands hiring a professional. Instead, they could just pay you a couple of bucks to handle with social accounts on a daily basis.

 

ALERT: 20 Ways To Make Money From Home While Having A Day Job

 

Want more entrepreneurship ideas?

I really hope you enjoyed these 15 tops entrepreneurship ideas for college students. If you are serious enough to become an entrepreneur, grab a free spot for 20-days startup to success course where I’ll share powerful information on entrepreneurship.

Feel free to leave a comment below and tell me what you think!

The post 15 Entrepreneurship Ideas For College Students appeared first on Success Ground.

from 15 Entrepreneurship Ideas For College Students http://ift.tt/1AlnPri contributed by Reginald Chan

Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. In this post, the one thing that CopyBlogger is doing for its content marketing strategy and how you can leverage (and prepare) for it.

CopyBlogger has been providing content marketing strategies and solutions for years now. They are that good that they are often called the influencers when it comes to content marketing strategy, planning and implementations.

I am not going to lie to you. I studied their content marketing strategies, followed every blog post published by them and even put them to work on my own blogs. And yes, these content marketing strategies work.

This year (2015) is different — well, you may or may not expected for changes but brands and companies around the world are changing. The usual content marketing strategies will no longer work in the coming months or years. If you are not taking the first step to change your content marketing strategy, you are going to lose out; in terms of traffic, revenue, sales and customers.

Being a loyal follower of CopyBlogger for some good years, I realized that they are changing their marketing strategy. Allow me to discuss what they did previously and how that is changing right now.

PS: If “steal” is a hard word to use, I would be more than happy to replace it with “leverage”. Tell me about it in the comments!

Related post: 10 Startup Guides On Ways To Save Money

 

The old CopyBlogger’s content marketing strategy (or strategies)

CopyBlogger started in the content marketing niche by providing value and content to its readers. And these are not your usual content marketing strategies.

Content marketing strategies by CopyBlogger are easy to digest (and utilize on your own blog), well written by the best teams in content writing and most importantly, proven results.

And to build authority from the current niche, they launched several products as such as Teaching Sells and Authority which were very successful.

You see, the whole content marketing strategy for CopyBlogger was to provide massive value to the public; both free and paid versions. Logically speaking, if this strategy is continued for a long period, they are going to build influence in the content marketing industry.

In terms of the success of this strategy, CopyBlogger was able to become an influencer in the content marketing industry after a period of time. So yes, this strategy works but … it wasn’t sufficient for what we have coming now.

Bigger brands are using more than just content marketing to gain attention. People are going for unconventional marketing strategies that will have potential to reach out to more customers and audience around the world.

Why? Because there are just too much competition nowadays.

 

The new CopyBlogger’s content marketing strategy

It all started out with the launch of The Rainmaker Platform, dubbed as the complete marketing and website solution for businesses. We all know that CopyBlogger is having a great time with the powerful and professional website templates at StudioPress.

What are they really up to now?

The answer is simple. Traditional marketing strategies aren’t that effective as what they used to be sometime back.

If CopyBlogger would want to have an upper hand in the marketing world, they have to do something (and fast). Brands such as Sephora, Burberry and Samsung are dominating Vine while Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and Nintendo are leveraging on the power of YouTube.

So how about CopyBlogger? Should they be investing time and effort into:

• Creating videos and upload them on YouTube/Vimeo?
• Building short videos and try dominate Vine which is currently dominated by bigger brands?

The answer is “no”. They took the road less taken.

 

Related post: The 20 Productivity Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Know About

 

The risky and bold content marketing strategy by CopyBlogger

Allow me to take you back to The Rainmaker Platform. A few key features that it offers more than its competitors are:

• All in one hosting plan (superior uptime and super fast web hosting services)
• Ready made website templates that are professional designed by the world’s best web developers
• Inbuilt content creation tools
• Traffic tools that helps you attract more targeted audience
• Custom-made conversion tools to turn traffic into money
• Integration with advanced analytics
• Exclusive membership in Authority (content marketing strategy and training)

In short, CopyBlogger created The Rainmaker Platform as a complete sales and marketing platform. CLICK HERE for a 14-days free trial with no obligation and risk.

And you might be wondering, why is CopyBlogger doing this? They have been dominating the WordPress theme space with StudioPress, managed WordPress hosting with Synthesis and SEO analytics tool with Scribe Content. Are they just that greedy?

They do this because of the market needs right now.

Businesses are no longer looking for a quick way out when it comes to hosting, website theme or SEO. People including me are looking for a complete solution for everything related to marketing, sales, funnels and membership ability.

Hold on!

“This has nothing (or little) effect on content marketing strategy by CopyBlogger, right?”

Now, allow me to explain this further.

Have you heard that CopyBlogger team are now highly involved in podcasting? I bet you heard about it especially when you are in their email list.

Here are a list of CopyBlogger’s podcasts on iTunes:

• Rainmaker.FM
• The Showrunner
• Search And Deploy
• Rough Draft
• Confessions Of A Pink-Haired Marketer
• Editor-In-Chief
• No Sidebar
• The Writer Files
• Hit Publish
• Hack The Entrepreneur
• The Mainframe
• The Lede

 

Podcasting – The new content marketing strategy for CopyBlogger

The guys behind CopyBlogger had talked about this one too many times.

Michael Wolf on Entrepreneur had talked about posting back in 2014 and everyone is predicting it to grow in the coming years. CopyBlogger, too, had made some drastic changes and getting serious with podcasting. Still not convinced?

Washington Post had published an article about podcasting and it is said that the number of podcast subscription had reached 1 billion in 2013-2014.

Trust me, it is a no-brainer that podcasting is the next big thing when it comes to content marketing strategy. But of course, it doesn’t mean that the conventional marketing doesn’t work.

Writing a blog post, creating videos and native advertising still play a huge role in your success. Podcasting (on the other hand) is a great way to further boost the chances, visibility and growth of your business.

 

How CopyBlogger takes podcasting to the next level?

To be honest, I have not seen any other companies or brands doing this but CopyBlogger (as usual) has a great content marketing strategy in place. Take a look below:

Brian Clark isn’t the only one doing podcast but the whole team is. Everyone has their own distinct voice, topics and specific audience. The results?

TOTAL DOMINATION!

Rainmaker.FM serves as a master feed for all the podcasts published by the team members. Seeing this in a different perspective, the company and staffs are leveraging the power of both sides; solo podcasts which get a lot of attention will be able to promote the Rainmaker.FM while Rainmaker.FM would be able to promote podcasts which are lesser popular.

And yes, this means that CopyBlogger team is able to leverage the power of connectivity and influence. A real smart move to be honest!

Seriously, do you need more explanation than these? Yup, go figure!

 

Challenges you will face in podcasting

Podcast isn’t easy to pull off. Ask the CopyBlogger team for example. Finding the right ideas and topics for podcasting is a huge challenge.

And you sorted out the ideas, the next step is to creating professional podcasts which will “wow” your audience. For starters, podcasts are usually created in a ‘raw’ form which have not been processed. They will then be send over to the editor to edit and transform a standard podcast into a professional one.

Not only that podcast requires attention grabbing factors. For example, there is no visual to keep your listeners entertained. The only thing you got is your voice and passion.

In most cases, passion will die off if you are not devoted enough (my first podcast series went dead right after the 3rd publications due to lack of passion) and there are equipments you would need to have in order to create professional podcast series.

And if you are planning to start a podcast as your new content marketing startegy, here’s how.

 

How to start a podcast?

There are two parts you need to consider when starting a podcast. They are:

1. Topics
2. Equipments

In topics, you need to select topic(s) which are you are extremely passionate about. Avoid going into topics which you have limited knowledge or have less passion. In every podcasters, you would require or go through the ‘grinding’ period.

The grinding period is usually the first 8 to 10 weeks after starting a podcast. When you start podcasting, you will have fire in your eyes and it is your responsibility to maintain the flame while building an audience around it. Trust me, it is challenging but possible.

Since there is no visual in podcasting, avoid those jargons and try to make the whole podcast series as fun as possible. Attention grabbing in podcasting is extremely important … to say the least.

The last part would be equipments for podcasting. If you are an absolute beginner, you only require a mic and audio editor / recorder. For mics, I recommend USB microphone from Audio-Technica which you can get from Amazon around $59. Extremely easy to use and it outperforms many of its competitors of higher pricing. Once you are serious enough with podcasting, getting a better mic such as Heil PR-40 Microphone is a must for superior voice quality. As for voice recording, you can use Audacity for Windows and GarageBand for Mac.

My personal favorite for audio recording is Adobe Audition CC which costs around $10 per month. Pretty good pricing for advanced features (super useful for advanced to professional podcasters).

The last equipment for podcasting would be podcast hosting. There are many podcast hosting companies such as Libsyn, Podbean and Blubrry which provides services starts from as low as $5 per month. Of course, the Rainmaker Platform allows you to host your own podcast alongside with several cool features that includes building your own media library (membership access if you want to). This means that you don’t even have to fork out the extra dollars from your pocket especially when you are on a tight marketing budget.

 

Content marketing strategy you can steal — right now

CopyBlogger or the Rainmaker, whichever you call it is an awesome resource when it comes to content marketing. Personally, content marketing is changing and the usual, native advertising and content writing isn’t going to be enough to get more traffic, find more customers and make more money.

So, are you going to source for new content marketing strategy such as podcasting? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

The post Content Marketing Strategy You Can Steal From CopyBlogger appeared first on Success Ground.

from Content Marketing Strategy You Can Steal From CopyBlogger http://ift.tt/1FqTt74 contributed by Reginald Chan

You’ve just started a new business venture and you are pumped! Managing a startup definitely opens more doors and experience to say the least. Regardless how much budget you have on hand (literally), the idea of finding more ways to save money is always a great ‘welcoming’ thought.

After all, we should be saving as much as possibly could, right?

Every new business is bound to have their high’s and low’s. You may have the best business idea that has been validated a dozen times or the best work from home type of entrepreneur job; but you know that you will face those darkest moment in your business journey one day in the future.

So instead of sitting down and hoping for the best, here are 10 startup guides on ways to save money. Zero BS, just facts.

Meantime, take a moment to head over to this page to register for my free 20-days course on entrepreneurship. Yes, I’ll be guiding you on things you need to know; from validating business ideas to making more sales as an entrepreneur. Click here to enroll for free.

Are you ready?

1. Stop buying (unnecessary) information products

Instead of buying dozens of eBooks, educational courses or coaching programs, use the money and invest into something worthwhile. Yes, you can spend the money on talents that will help catapult your business forward a.k.a. freelancers and employees.

If you really, really need to buy information products like eBooks, here are the top 3 you should have in your cupboard (and nothing more):

• Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype — by Jay Baer
• Will the Real You Please Stand Up: Show Up, Be Authentic, and Prosper in Social Media — by Kim Garst
• Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World — Gary Vaynerchuk

Yes, I’m dead serious. You can’t go wrong with anyone of these books (even if reading may never be your cup of tea).

 

2. Audit your credit statement

Starting up a business is costly. Unless you have a pretty nice amount of funds in the bank, you are ought to use the credit card.

For starters, paying the minimum payment required for your credit card is not a good way to save money. Instead, make it a point to pay more than what’s required (paying off the debt completely is recommended in any cases) and in a long run, you are going to save more money as you’ll be paying lesser interest.

 

Related post: The 20 Productivity Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Know About

 

3. Take a deep dive into legal expenses (and find the best deal)

Legal expenses are going to burn a hole in your wallet if you are not careful. Legal needs are just the bread and butter for any startups — and this makes it more than just plain important to get the best deal from your attorney.

You can start by asking your attorney for flat project rates or agreeing to a cap set for the project. Trust me, this is going to avoid those shocking legal bill charges.

 

4. Gather data, analyze and brainstorm

Make it a point to sit down with your team on a weekly or monthly basis. Analyze the previous bills and costs incurred the the previous weeks and determine if there’re ways to reduce the cost. As an entrepreneur, ask yourself the tough questions such as:

• Do we need this service?
• Are we paying too much?
• Are there better deals we can utilize?
• Can we reduce these costs in the future?
• So on and so forth

This is also one of the topics I highlighted in detail in Startup to Success: Handbook for Smart Entrepreneurs. It is a 20-days course that dive deep into validating ideas, ways to save money and growing your business from scratch. The best part? You can sign up for free access here.

 

5. Don’t leave out tax

If saving money is your type-of-thing, ask for help especially in taxation is highly recommended. From retirement accounts to going green, there are a lot of tax strategies out there and it’s always worth going over all of them with a tax professional.

 

Related post: 5 Smart Ways To Validate Small Business Ideas

 

6. Negotiate your way to save money

Everything in life is negotiable, and this means that you need to negotiate on everything you come across. Aggregated savings over time can amount to a real enduring competitive advantage if competitive negotiation becomes part your company culture.

In order to save more money, ensure that you and your employees are always negotiating for the best price before you sign off anything.

Remember, every penny saved is extra penny for marketing (or anything else in between)

 

7. Outsourcing workforce to save money

Depending on cases, certain work force in the company can easily be replaced by outsourcing and outsourcing is one of the ways to save money for startups. Tasks such as web designing, search engine optimization (SEO) and content writing can easily be outsourced to freelancers. For example, using outsourcing companies such as 99designs provides numerous services at very affordable prices.

 

8. Using interns to save startup cost

There are thousands of college students and graduates that are willing to work for little or no money in return for experience. When compared to working at a larger, boring corporation, students or interns will find it more interesting to work with small businesses. Never underestimate the value of the experience your company can provide to them and most importantly, you can turn them from interns into excellent employees down the road.

 

9. Infrastructures outsourcing

Finding for ways to save money during startups? One of the biggest mistakes done in the technology industry is housing expensive infrastructures which you may not need it at all. For example, we know the importance of having a website but it doesn’t mean that you need to purchase your own servers right from the beginning.

Outsourcing key functions can help you keep your internal resources focused on your business. Plus, there are many services such as Rainmaker Platform for all-in-one marketing and website solution or BlueHost that provides virtual servers at just a fraction of the purchase price.

 

10. Be really selective in finding for clients

During your entrepreneurship journey, you may find more clients that you (and your team) can handle. And when that happens, it is time to be selective in accepting clients. Yes, there’s no doubt that more clients would mean bigger paychecks but that may even backfire thanks to stress and quality of service. Focus on each client and give the best you can ever provide for long lasting business relationship.

 

Entrepreneurs, start finding ways to save money … NOW!

There is always the grinding part for any startups and you need to save every penny you can. Make it a point to ensure that every team member is well aware of this and keep finding for different ways to reduce cost (while increasing productivity).

The post 10 Startup Guides On Ways To Save Money appeared first on Success Ground.

from 10 Startup Guides On Ways To Save Money http://ift.tt/1L12G65 contributed by Reginald Chan

Productivity tools make or break an entrepreneur’s productivity level.

One way or another, the right tools with the right planning will help you get more job done in a shorter time span. And when you have more time in your hands, you can achieve more tasks than what’s expected.

Juggling so many tasks can be daunting and lead to a lot of stress. If you’re an entrepreneur and you want to become more efficient, productive and successful, here’s a list of tools you need to use today.

Related post: 5 Smart Ways To Validate Small Business Ideas

1. Buffer

Social media marketing is the next big thing in marketing. Regardless the size of your business, you got to engage in social and this is where Buffer helps you to improve your productivity level. You can schedule social media updates and perform serious analytics with Buffer. This makes building up your brand and company on social media extremely easy.

 

2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a powerful alternatives to Buffer. However, Hootsuite works slightly different from its competitors. Aside from scheduling and analytics, Hootsuite helps to increase productvity but having the social listening feature. You can listen and engage with customers while understand the strategies taken by your competitors.

 

3. Trello

Working with a team and want to delegate tasks efficiently? Trello allows you to do so — and in style! The thing that makes Trello a powerful productivity tool is that it allows you to drag and drop between projects (or also known as boards). You can create checklists, images and texts to take productivity to the next level. It comes with a free account and you can subscribe for paid ones for more features.

 

4. Evernote

Evernote is probably one of the best (and popular) productivity tools for entrepreneurs. It allows you to upload images, voice memo, texts, reminders and chat with your colleagues for team collaboration. What makes it really useful is the offline feature where you can access the notes anytime of the day from any mobile devices. Just like Trello, there are both free and paid accounts with different features.

 

5. Clear

This is an iPhone app and it does one thing (and only one thing) superbly well. It helps you to get organized and ensure that tasks are completed in a timely matter. Clear allows you to add new tasks and reminders under a few seconds. Simple actions such as swiping the tasks left and right would open up more options such as delete the task or marking the task as complete.

 

6. Any.Do

Another powerful task management app on smartphones. It integrates perfectly on computers too and the one thing that makes it stand out from the rest would be the ‘ morning notifications’. For example, when you set your day start at 9am, Any.Do will send you a reminder on tasks that need to be completed on the same day. You can snooze, change date or even set the tasks as complete. And the best part, it is free to download (paid plans available).

 

7. Asana

Looking for productivity tools to help your team with task management? Asana is a free project-management tool that allows teams to communicate without email, in one central location. Trust me, you can’t ask for more than this!

 

8. Fiverr

Entrepreneurs are always chasing for more time and yes, 24 hours isn’t enough. Fiverr is a market place to find for nearly everything (which starts at $5 per gig). If you are on a shoestring budget, you may want to consider getting a few gigs from Fiverr.

 

9. Elance

If you require a freelancer on a long term project, Elance is the answer. You can search for thousands of freelancers with different capabilities and price range. Personally, I love using Elance to find for Virtual Assistants (VA’s). The concept is pretty simple; You act as an employer and you post a project. Freelancers from all around the world will bid for the project and you can select them based on experience, price range etc. Payment could be done by milestones or after completing the project.

 

10. Social media platforms

Believe it or not, social media platforms are great source of productivity hacks. For example, spending sometime on Twitter or Pinterest would give you a couple of ideas for your upcoming project. Plus, with social media being live 24-7, you know that you are going to get the latest trends — every single time.

 

11. Talkwalker

Consider Talkwalker as a newer, more advanced version of Google Alerts. It offers more comprehensive results and more options that allow you to check for mentions of your company online. This helps with public relations and the chance to interact with people who are discussing your brand online.

 

12. DropBox

DropBox allows you to share files with others, sync files across devices and ensuring your files are constantly accessible (while safe) in the cloud. As an entrepreneur, this is a great productivity tool as it allows you to share important files with your colleagues without needing to send an email attachment or using hard copies.

 

Related posts: Top 10 Marketing Tips On A Shoestring Budget

 

13. Google Drive

You already know about this tool, but the release of Chromebooks and the ability to convert and edit Microsoft Office documents make this productivity tool (and accompanying Docs and Sheets) a great way to collaborate and share documents with your clients, freelancers or employees. Do I really need to elaborate more on this?

 

14. Audible / Kindle Unlimited

Most entrepreneurs read a lot. For me, listening to audio version of the book is always an awesome way to save more time while increasing your productivity level. With both Amazon Kindle and Audible, you can listen to several audio books each month.

 

15. EventBrite

Are you looking for the latest networking event in town? Head over to EventBrite and discover tickets for small to medium size events at reasonable prices. EventBrite also allows you to create and host your own event in the case of need (which is awesome).

 

16. Meetup

Looking for bigger events to join and EventBrite isn’t capable to provide such resources? Meetup is the tool for you. It is a super effective way to find influencers, local events and networking groups in just a few clicks of the button.

 

17. Editorial calendar

Do you find yourself rushing to get posts published on your company blog? Using an editorial calendar like this one would help you to publish posts in a timely manner. It also allows you to be more productive and ensure your readers are constantly getting updates without fail.

 

18. Rainmaker Platform

Looking for an all-in-one marketing platform for your startup business? Introducing the Rainmaker Platform; A complete marketing platform that allows you to build your own marketing and sales platform build under one roof. From superior web hosting to marketing tool, Rainmaker Platform takes your marketing and productivity level from A to A+ in just a few clicks. You can also try it for 14-days free using this link.

 

19. AWeber

I bet you heard about email marketing before. Trust me, email marketing is a great productivity tool if done correctly. I use AWeber as my email marketing provider and with it, I create multiple follow up emails and broadcast emails to be delivered at the right time — every week. AWeber is set to send out welcome emails for new subscribers and specific emails for those who have completed several tasks; clicking on links, opening emails etc.

 

20. IFTTT

IFTTT is the short form for IF This, Then That. Basically it allows you to create automated tasks to speed up your productivity level. One of my favorite (and most used) productivity hacks using IFTTT is when I tag ‘tasks’ to a post to Pocket app, it will automatically trigger and action which will add the the title and details of the post to my Evernote notebook entitled, Follow Up Tasks. Instead of manually saving the information on Evernote, IFTTT does it for me and it save up a lot of my time. At the moment, there are over 50 different actions and triggers to customize your automation.

 

What are your favorite productivity tools?

I hope I didn’t miss out any productivity tools that entrepreneurs can utilize. If you have any which is not listed, feel free to leave a comment and tell me about it!

Have a question about entrepreneurship? Ask me in the forums!

The post The 20 Productivity Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Know About appeared first on Success Ground.

from The 20 Productivity Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Know About http://ift.tt/1A2ifu5 contributed by Reginald Chan