Author: Sam

How to Write a Tribute Speech No One Will Forget

Over the course of our lives, we are sometimes challenged to tackle a tribute speech, thanking someone for their contribution or help, or for making our lives better by just being the way they are. So, what is the first thing you need to know about how to write a tribute? A tribute speech is a commemorative speech that demonstrates gratitude, admiration, and respect to a person, group, or institution. The main purpose of a tribute speech is lauding the person you dedicate it to. Normally, a tribute features a warm, celebrated, and heartfelt atmosphere as well as a respectful attitude and high reverence to its subject.

A tribute speech is given at funerals, reunions, anniversaries, and memorial services. You can deliver it to a friend, colleague, relative, or your loved one, such as mom, dad, brother, and spouse. Most frequently, a tribute is given to a deceased person, but can also be addressed to a living one.

Steps to Write a Tribute Speech

1. Do some research into the background of the event where you will be giving your speech. Find out who exactly it’s dedicated to and what it’s aimed at.
2. Get to know your audience. In order to make your tribute appealing and touching, it’s important to understand who will make up the audience and what they are going to expect from your speech. Consider their age, occupation, and relation to the subject of the tribute.
   When googling “How to write a memorial tribute,” you will most likely stumble on some recommendations like getting information about the audience from the person who invited you to give a speech. This is a pretty useful tip. You may ask them to provide some brief info on some your listeners to be ultimately confident about what you are to write.
3. Now, choose the topic of your speech. Most commonly, it’s already chosen as part of the occasion, but if this is not the case with your tribute, then you are free to give way to your creativity. So, take some time to come up with a relevant topic that will make your tribute sound consistent and wholehearted.
4. Think of the material you can include in your speech that will enhance the depth of your topic and dress it up a little bit. It may be some great story from the person’s life, pictures, quotations, or some bright memories you share with them.
5. Now we’ve come closer to the structure of your speech. Begin your tribute with expressing your relation to the subject. Tell the audience how you two met, what kind of a relationship you had (or have), and focus on some highlights of your relationship.
6. Expand on the personality of the subject. Elaborate on their temper, and some remarkable traits in the context of your relationship. Mention how that person impacted your life and what important lessons they taught you.
7. Dwell on the subject’s major achievements (so far). Recount their milestones, something that inspired you the most and changed your life for the better. You can also mention some good things they have done (or did, which applies to how to write a tribute speech to a dead person), like charity, taking care of the disabled, etc.
8. Include the most notable memories you share with that person. Tell the audience about some bright experiences you went through, some precious and memorable moments you had, or anything that made you two involved and close.

• Be open and sincere. Make no bones about writing from the bottom of your heart and stay candid throughout your speech.
• Be emotional. Go hard on emotive language, as this signifies your affection to the subject.
• Be careful not mention negative things about the person. This is especially important to note if you are looking for how to write a funeral tribute. Neither should you focus on some unpleasant experiences you had. Remember that you’re writing a tribute, not a biography that includes everything about the subject.
• Keep in mind that you shouldn’t exaggerate the subject’s personality or overestimate their input in your life as well as the lives of other people. Moreover, this will make your tribute sound rather glib and fake.
• Be humorous. Use anecdotes relating to the subject’s life and add some fun to the stories you are to include in the speech. However, try to make your humor balanced, and avoid going too far with the amusement in your tribute.

Help with Writing an Unforgettable Eulogy

If you’re looking for examples of eulogies, read on. But if you’re overwhelmed right now and you could use support in crafting a beautiful eulogy, or if you’d just like someone to help you write a tribute that is as special as your loved one, take a look at SpeechForm. They’ve combined technology with years of speech-crafting expertise to create high quality, affordable eulogy templates that will serve to guide your writing, with tips and prompts on where to personalize. Or if you prefer, you can work directly with their professional speech writing team to craft a bespoke remembrance. One thing we love is that they even help with your delivery, highlighting words and phrases to emphasize while you are speaking. Use code My21Farewelling to save 10% off.

One of the simplest ways to write a eulogy is to review a eulogy speech example that matches your own preferred tone and style. What makes a eulogy unique is the unique details you’ll share about the person themselves, which is why it’s essential to customize your eulogy to honor and celebrate the personality of your loved one.

You may want to start with our primer on how to write a eulogy. Then, use the following outline and eulogy examples to create a strong speech that communicates the message you want to share about the person who meant so much to you.

Eulogy Sample Outline

Using a eulogy sample outline is a proven way to create a great speech. Remember those Mad Libs books from your childhood? This process is similar: follow the outline and plug in the personal details applicable to your loved one.

These eulogy samples help you overcome writer’s block and keep you focused on the details that matter most. Aim to cap the eulogy at a maximum of 10 minutes total. The simplest eulogy outline can be broken down into three parts, so you’ll need to consider how much time to spend on each section:

• First Section – Introduction: In the opening section, you need to cover a few basic pieces of information before moving onto the main section of the eulogy.
  • Set the tone by beginning with a poem, quote, or scripture that was meaningful to the person.
  • Names they were known by, including nicknames and maiden names.
  • Cause of death (an optional detail).
  • A brief insight into your relationship with the individual.
  • Accomplishments
  • Major life events
  • Stories or fond memories
  • How the person affected others
  • Childhood years
  • Travel adventures
  • Marriage and children
  • Any other thoughts you want to share about the person
  • A final take away from your theme
  • How you want family and friends to remember the individual
  • What the person would want you to remember them for
  • Quote, scripture, or song lyric
  • Thank attendees for participating

  Eulogy Examples for a Friend

  I can’t imagine how empty it will feel to spend time on the basketball court without Jim by my side. Our relationship was built with a basketball in hand, and evolved to share many family gatherings and other activities together over the years. With his passing, Jim is leaving behind a legacy of kindness, compassion, and generosity.

  Jim shared good humor and a big smile with everyone he met. Even though people often cursed at his practical jokes, he was an integral part of creating a solid foundation of friendship in our group. When times were difficult, he could always put a smile on my face. He held his head high until the end, showing what it looks like to finish strong.

  Eulogy Examples for Your Father

  Writing a eulogy for your dad may be really tough. How do you memorialize your hero amid grief and emotion? We hope these tips and the example below will help you in your process.

  My dad was my hero. He could make every person feel like they were the most important person in the world. Growing up, I knew that I could always ask Dad for help – and he would be willing to drop anything to lend a hand. He was a rock of stability in my childhood and a source of strength for our whole family.

  My father was a man who infused fun into the most mundane tasks. I remember how he would turn our bedtime routine into an adventure that included highlights from our favorite storybooks. He was a kind and thoughtful person. Every night at the dinner table, he encouraged us to talk about the things we were grateful for, and always had yummy treats for us kids hidden in the back of the pantry. I will miss you, Dad, and I’ll always hold onto the amazing memories we shared together.

  Eulogy Examples for Your Mother

  How can you ever do justice to a eulogy for your beloved mother – the woman who was always there with love and guidance through the ups and downs, the celebrations and challenging moments of your life? Here are a few tips for writing a eulogy for your mother:

  Heartfelt In Memory Quotes

  You will never stop thinking about them, missing them, and loving them. It will just be a different kind of love. It will be one that can transcend this life and reach them wherever they are in heaven.

  But their loss will leave you with a lighter heart when you know that you have made the best kind of memories with them, and you know that you have made them feel how much you loved them.

  I cannot help but shed a tear or two when I think of you or when I say your name. Even if time has passed and people have moved on, the pain inside my heart remains the same. Although I can laugh and have fun from time to time, still there’s no one else in this world who misses you more than me.

  This can fill your heart with pain and sadness, but regret most of all. You will wish that you had more time, or you will wish that you can turn back time and do it all over again.

  It’s the fact that they will no longer be around in a physical sense that will hurt the most. But knowing that they will be with you again someday, somewhere, should give you some peace and comfort.

  Perfect and Most Thoughtful in Memory Messages

  I am releasing this butterfly to honor your memory and to let you know that you will always be in my heart wherever you may be. Whenever I close my eyes and say a prayer, I know that you will always be near. Although I may be feeling broken inside, please know that I will be alright in time. Fly away, little butterfly, as high as you can fly. Rest in peace because you will be forever loved.

  The day you left broke my heart into a million pieces. Now that you’re gone, my love for you will be safely here inside my heart. I will never forget the bond that we share that will never be broken, even if you’re no longer here. I miss you very much, and I will never stop missing you. I love you more than words can ever say, and more than my heart can ever hold.

  There’s always a new tomorrow no matter how hard or painful today is. There’s always an end to your tears even if your heart is filled with sorrow. There will always be a reason to live even if you feel you can’t go on anymore. There will always be something beautiful to live for even if you have lost someone very precious and true.

  May you always feel the strength of our love for you even if you are no longer here with us. We will never stop loving you and missing you. We will never stop wishing that you were still here with us.

  I will never forget the memories. They will always stay deep in my heart. I will only need to look inside my heart to feel close to you and to make you feel that you will be missed more than you can ever imagine.

  Your memories are a special gift that I will always treasure. The pain will never really be gone from my heart, but I will always love you and remember you every day. Life will never be the same now that you’re gone, but I will honor your memory in the best way possible.

  If memories bring us closer to the people we love who have already departed, you will never be far away from me. We have so much memories that will last me a whole lifetime. You may be gone from this world, but you will never be gone in my heart

  My life is never the same since you’ve been gone. What I wouldn’t give just to have you back in my life. But I know that we’ll be together again someday. This is the promise that I hold on to so that the pain will not hurt as much. You will never be forgotten, my dearest.

  

  I run this blog to bring light and joy to people across the world. When I am not coming up with new wishes and quotes I enjoy walking my dog with my husband Max and I also sing in our local gospel choir. If you like my website the best compliment you can give me is to share it with your friends and family. Thanks so much for reading, sharing, tweeting and pinning all my work! Susan xx

  Resource:

  https://answershark.com/writing/semi-formal-presentations-and-speeches/how-to-write-tribute-presentation.html
  https://www.myfarewelling.com/article/eulogy-examples
  https://bestwishesandquotes.com/in-memory-quotes/

How to Introduce Yourself in an Email (With Examples!)

Are you looking for a new job? Excited about taking a class? Expanding your clientele? In any of these situations (and a bunch of others!), writing a good introduction email can help the relationship start on a positive note.

Depending on the person you’re “meeting,” you would probably mention different details. For example, if you’re meeting a new team member, you might tell them a bit about your role and how long you’ve been at the company, whereas if you are meeting a potential client, you might focus on the product you represent and how you believe it could benefit them.

Just like an in-person meeting, keep the initial introduction short and to the point. You don’t need to say everything in the first minute—more details can emerge as the conversation progresses.

5 Tips for Writing a Great Introduction Email

Introducing yourself can be stressful, no matter the context. One nice aspect of doing it via email is that you can take the time to re-read and edit as much as needed to make sure it sounds exactly how you envision it.

#1 Make the subject a specific one

The subject of your email should give the email recipient a good idea of what to expect when they read your email. It should also be relatively concise. People read over 40% of emails on mobile devices, and it’ll help the reader if they can see the entire subject line.

Pro tip: If you’re having difficulty writing a compelling subject line, wait until the very end. Write the body of the email first, read through it, and think about what the core idea of your email is.

#2 Set the tone with your email greeting

The first sentence sets the tone of your email correspondence. For an introduction email, it’s best to err on being more formal. This is one way to show respect and create an excellent first impression. If you can, try to add a small positive word. This kicks off the email with some optimism.

#3 Use the BLUF method

Very few people will thoroughly read a 2,000-word introduction email. In the best-case scenario, they might skim over it, but depending on how busy they are, they might not even have the time to do that. Writing a concise email demonstrates your respect for their time.

Do: “Hi Dan, I was wondering if you would be willing to share the research on ABC you cited in the meeting today. I think it will be helpful to me with a project on XYZ that I’m working on.

Why did that help? In the first instance, you’re creating extra work for you and the recipient by necessitating additional communication. There is no way for Dan to know if your question is quick or if you’ll end up calling him for 30 minutes.

Don’t: Hi Anne, Jaimie and I were talking about you earlier today and were wondering if you would consider helping with a bake sale we are planning for next week. The proceeds would go to help refugees.

Do: Hi Anne, Would you like to participate in a bake sale next Saturday from 3-5 pm? All proceeds go towards helping refugee families acclimate to the US. If you’re willing, we could use a few gluten-free desserts.

Why did that help? Notice how in the first instance, Anne wouldn’t know what you’re talking about until the end of the message—the fact that you and Jaimie were talking about her is pretty irrelevant to the end goal of the correspondence.

The second message gives her all the information she will need—the date, time, and type of baked goods you want her to bring. She would be able to respond to that message with a definitive yes or no response.

#4 End with a memorable signoff

#5 Proofread before you send!

Pro tip: Read your email out loud. This can help you notice little errors that might slip by if you’re just reading it in your head. If you’re more tech-savvy, you can download a grammar checker like Grammarly to correct your errors in real-time.

Bonus Pro Tip: If the email doesn’t need to go out immediately, wait an hour or two after writing it to read through it again. Sometimes fresh eyes can help you notice little mistakes that would otherwise slip past.

Templates for Introducing Yourself in an Email

How to introduce yourself in an email for a job

Some companies are too open and free. An example is Shutterstock, which has games rooms and open mic nights for employees. In that case, keep your email tone upbeat and friendly. On the other hand, keep it formal if it’s a serious and professional company.

Once done, go through the text multiple times to correct any errors. Most companies become skeptical of your abilities when they encounter grammar mistakes in your email. Make use of Grammarly extension to do the brushes.

New Employee Self-introduction Email

It’s an introduction email to your new colleagues and will mostly go to your directorate or departments. If you’re hired for a senior-level position, it may go to employees in all branches.

Once you’ve sent the email, you’re likely to get new employees coming to say hi. It’s a bonus point to fill your desks with treats for anyone. It’s a simple but powerful gesture showing how much a team player you are.

Self-introduction Email To Team

The type of introductory email is somehow similar to the one above. The only difference is that it narrows down from the whole organization to the team you’ll be working with directly or reporting to you.

This means that you’ll need to give them more information. The length of the email depends on what you want to communicate. However, you don’t want to put down all your new plans, structure, strategies in a single email.

Self-introduction Email To Client

My name is Martin. A and the new Content Marketing Manager at (company). I’ve recently joined the company and will be taking over as the new contact point for the content marketing project moving forward.

Professional self-introduction email sample

My name is Martin. A and I’m the new Content Marketing Manager at (company). I’d love to introduce myself to you and see how we can establish a robust relationship between our two businesses.

Self-introduction email – samples

Thank you for signing up with our company. At R Corp, we pride ourselves on our impeccable customer service, work ethic, and quality. We have many different products and services for you to try. You can check them out here:

My name is Sarah Smith, and I am writing to introduce myself as the ABC company’s new marketing manager. Having taken over the position recently, I am excited to meet everyone and discuss how we can work together towards continued success in the future. Should you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Please, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

My name is Emilia John, and I am a huge admirer of the work that West Technologies is doing. I am reaching as I saw your email address listed as the contact person for an open Technical Project Manager position online. I have attached my resume to this email, and I hope you will consider me for this role.

My name is Kelly, frontend engineer for XYZ technologies. I found your email address as the contact person for the open Frontend engineering position online. I am reaching out to learn more about the position. Please let me know how can I apply for the position. Thanks and regards,

I recently read about your success as a data analyst. My name is Ryan Richards. I am a graduate student reaching out to you because I hope to interview you to learn about your job and its relation to market research. I am happy to meet at a time and place that is convenient for you.

I am a friend of Lucas Miller, who has told me a lot about your successful marketing campaigns and I was really impressed with it. As I have just started out my career in marketing, I would love to learn more about your approach.

I hope this email finds you well. I wish to introduce my new colleague Amy Blake. She has recently joined us and will be taking over product management. I have CC’d Amy in this email, so please feel free to connect.

I wish to extend a wholehearted welcome to you on behalf of ABC company. We have exciting things going on, and we are delighted to have you as part of our family. Feel free to contact if you have any questions.

Writing an introductory email might seem challenging, but once you master how to introduce yourself in an email, it opens a lot of doors with exciting opportunities for you. Putting time and effort into writing a self-introductory email is bound to get you a favorable reply. You can use an introduction email example to create the best introductory email for yourself get access to several new opportunities.

Source:

https://www.scienceofpeople.com/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-an-email/
https://www.rightinbox.com/blog/introduce-yourself-in-an-email
https://www.interviewkickstart.com/career-advice/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-an-email

The team should not have irreplaceable people

This is not just about you, it’s about everyone. Sure, maybe someone is better at certain tasks, so there is a temptation to give these tasks to him. But this is a dangerous path. Anything can happen to people. For example, once my main system administrator was hit by a car. We had instructions and access, but suddenly we didn’t have a person who could properly do the work. It took our smartest guys half a year to understand what to do and how it needs to be done.

Therefore, try to rotate tasks. Yes, one may be slower and worse at this task than the other, but now one more employee will understand how to complete that task and can try something new — a double benefit.

In the same way, find a person who could perform your function too: Entrust them with part of your tasks and teach them. Your replacement must always be ready. It has saved me many times.

11 Tips for Becoming a Better Manager

Managing Processes

Process refers to the specific actions and workflows your personnel and organization undertake to reach their goals. By managing process, it’s possible to identify inefficiencies and address them so your staff can work in a more efficient, productive, and profitable way. Incorporating the tips below can help you better manage and leverage processes within your organization:

1. Practice consistency. Following set processes for certain tasks within your organization can yield positive results. Optimized processes allow for repeatability and efficiency, amongst other benefits. But to realize these benefits, you and your staff must be consistent in following these processes. Do your part to ensure everyone on your team understands the processes they should follow. Beyond this, it’s helpful to explain why the processes should be followed and how abiding by them will lead to positive outcomes.

2. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments. One of the biggest mistakes that organizations make is following a process for process’s sake. “ We’ve always done it that way ” is not a sufficient justification for any business process. While a particular process or workflow may have made sense at one time, that doesn’t mean it will always make sense. Give yourself the flexibility to adjust processes as necessary, and empower your staff to come to you if they feel burdened by overly complicated workflows.

3. Look for opportunities to innovate. Sometimes, one innovation can mean the difference between a profitable company and an industry leader. While product innovation often gets the bulk of the attention in conversation, process innovation can be incredibly valuable to an organization as well.

Managing People

To be an effective manager, you need to understand how to manage people, including direct reports, team members, outside contractors, or even superiors. Consider the following tips to improve your abilities in managing people:

4. Embrace leadership principles. Although the terms “leadership” and “management” are often used interchangeably, they have very different meanings . The truth is that not all managers are leaders. Developing your leadership skills can help you inspire others to follow your lead.

5. Stay flexible. When you are responsible for overseeing a large number of employees or tasks, you might be tempted to follow a very prescriptive format. While there are benefits to having a set of policies and standard operating procedures, it’s also to maintain enough flexibility to counteract the occasional surprise that is bound to arise from time to time. Similarly, avoid micromanaging your team any more than you have to, as this can negatively impact morale and productivity.

6. Learn how to motivate your team. A motivated team is an engaged and productive team. By learning how you can keep your team motivated , you can directly impact your progress towards key goals and initiatives.

7. Manage up. It’s understandable to think that management is all about managing down the organizational chart. But it is just as important to realize that you can manage up the organizational chart as well. Doing so will help you build a meaningful relationship with your own manager, allowing you to better align with their goals and expectations.

Managing Expectations

It isn’t uncommon for superiors, especially those who are far removed from the day-to-day activities of a team or department, to come to the table with expectations for a project or initiative that simply are not feasible. When this happens, it’s your job as a manager to educate your bosses on what is possible given the existing circumstances and the desired outcome. This will enable them to either adjust their expectations or give them the opportunity to provide you with additional resources that you can leverage to reach those lofty goals. Consider the following advice to become better skilled at managing the expectations of everyone on your team:

8. Become more data-driven. If you’re tasked with a new initiative, your first step should be to determine the metrics that the project is expected to impact. Once you have identified these key performance indicators (KPIs), you can leverage data to benchmark your current state and determine realistic goals and timeframes. Without this data, it will be difficult to understand what is manageable and what might be an overly aggressive goal.

9. Focus on alignment. A key part of managing your team is to ensure that they understand how their jobs and actions directly align with business goals. Knowing how and why what they do matters to the company as a whole helps to create a sense of shared responsibility, and can improve employee engagement in significant ways. Transparency with your team about goals also helps workers understand that targets are not arbitrarily chosen.

How to Get There

Real, hands-on experience in the workplace is a critical piece of becoming an effective manager, as on-the-job training and time spent in a managerial position will allow you to slowly earn the experience you will need to be a successful manager.

But gaining such experience takes time. Many individuals who join a company in an entry-level position with the goal of becoming a manager can spend years or even decades in their current role before they have learned enough and developed their skills to the point that they can effectively manage others.

If you don’t have years or decades to wait, earning a relevant degree such as a bachelor’s degree in management can help you jumpstart your career and break into a management or leadership position earlier in your career. And for individuals who are already in a management position, earning a degree can reap many additional benefits. In addition to teaching you valuable skills that can help you become a more effective manager, earning a degree can also make it easier to transfer to a new organization or business if you ever decide that you want to make a change, which can be difficult without the appropriate credentials.

Resource:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/415951
https://hbr.org/topic/leadership-and-managing-people
https://www.northeastern.edu/bachelors-completion/news/how-to-become-a-better-manager/

6 Freelance Writing Tips to Try in 2022

Many or all of the products here are from our partners that pay us a commission. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.

Freelance writing can be lucrative. If you’re just starting out, you have to know and do certain things to become a well-paid freelance writer. We discuss some of them in this guide.

If you want to make money writing, having the ability to write is just the beginning. The content landscape is ever-changing, and so are the tools and skills necessary to stay in the game.

The thing is there are tons of available jobs for freelance writers. Just Google “freelance writing sites to find paid work,” or, “best places to find paid writing gigs,” and you’ll come up with millions of results.

I’m not saying their writing is crappy. What I’m saying is that not a lot of them know how to find jobs, market themselves, or are willing to learn or keep up with the changing nature of the content landscape.

I’ve been freelance writing since 2012, and, since that time, I’ve picked up quite a handful of tips, both from successful freelance writers and from my own freelancing experience in general.

Learn how to market yourself

To stay in the freelance writing business for the long haul, you need a marketing plan. A freelancer is technically an independent contractor, not an employee, which means that, in order to make freelance writing sustainable, your ideal clients should be able to find you.

As briefly mentioned above, a freelance writer is an independent contractor who usually works for multiple clients simultaneously. To land freelance gigs that pay decently, set up a freelance writing website — particularly if you want to build a business out of freelance writing instead of just having a side gig.

• Gets your name out there: A client can’t hire you if they don’t know you exist. A website that’s regularly updated signals that you’re open for business.
• Captures the attention of your ideal audience: One common freelance marketing term you’ll hear is audience targeting. Not everyone looking for a freelance writer is a good fit for you, which makes identifying your target audience fundamental to your website’s success. Ideally, you want clients in an industry you enjoy writing about. If you want to write for the fitness industry, for example, your website should reflect that.
• Builds authority: Writer websites usually come with blog sections you can use to publish articles or opinion pieces that aim to address client pain points or questions. This way, you can showcase your knowledge of specific topics and solidify your reputation.
• Showcases your portfolio: Potential clients will want to know what you’ve already written to see if you’re the writer they’re looking for. Select the writing clips you’re most proud of and upload them as a portfolio on your website.
• Features client testimonials: Leveraging social proof is a powerful marketing strategy. Ask clients for testimonials that you can publish on your website.

Ask What Your Clients Want

Time is your most valuable asset as a freelancer. Most clients pay by the article or word. So if you spend five hours working on a 1,000-word article or one hour, you’ll still get paid the same amount. To earn more from a freelance writing gig, eliminate distractions, and also focus on ones you can complete quickly and to a high standard.

Apps like RescueTime will help you track what you do while sitting at a computer, including which apps you’re spending the most time in. Freedom App is another good choice for eliminating distractions, as it will block distraction news and social media websites.

If you want to record how long you’re spending on particular commissions so you can determine what to accept more or less off, Harvest is a good choice. It supports invoicing clients too.

Get started today, and remember you aren’t alone!

Are you an aspiring freelance writer? If so, there are so many other writers out there who are willing to help. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask them for advice and tips as these could prove invaluable further down the road. We also recommend finding a successful freelance writer to follow on social media who will help motivate and inspire you when you’re working on a tough brief or a new pitch.

Main image credit: Free-Photos

Internal image credits: geralt, Janeb13, AbsolutVision

Jess Thistlethwaite

Jess is Content Director at Copify. Her main interests include writing, copy editing, and social media marketing. Holding a journalism degree from the University of Chester, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2016. With a passion for both art and music, Jess enjoys playing the clarinet and sketching or painting when she’s away from her desk.

Source:

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/articles/freelance-writing-tips/
https://becomeawritertoday.com/become-a-freelance-writer-today/
https://blog.copify.com/post/6-simple-freelance-writing-tips-for-beginners

Panem Agency is an ongoing partner that handles SEO, PPC, and content marketing efforts. They aim to improve Google rankings and boost traffic by revising targeted keywords, link building, and web development.

Today, no business can survive without a proper SEO strategy. Having a well-crafted strategy has become a necessity for many startups. Yet, before creating an SEO strategy, it’s critical to have a clear understanding of your website. To achieve this, a technical SEO audit is essential. And it’s not just a new website, those that underwent through maintenance or a complete redesign are in need of site audit. After all, a website SEO audit takes away the guesswork from SEO and helps you align your business activities with your digital marketing efforts.

SEO audit in a nutshell
Similar to market audit, all SEO audits aim to identify blind spots and accelerate your rankings. Website SEO audit helps bring prospects to your site through organic search, as well as increase your online presence. Major search engines change their algorithms on a daily basis, and not knowing your position within the system can have a significant impact on your financial status. The site audit itself can be done using specialized tools or by an SEO expert.

SEO Audit Basics—The Things You 100% Must-Check

1. Benchmark Your Rankings and Understand Your Competitors

Whether you are working on a new site for the first time or are auditing as part of your ongoing strategy, the more you know about what other players in the same space are doing, the better your chance of success.

Benchmarking Your Site’s Rankings

Understanding Your Competitors

Pro tip: Competition Level is a metric calculated based on the number of keywords of each competitor and the number of common keywords of both competitors. Sites with many keywords in common are considered competitors.

2. Check for Duplicate Versions of Your Site in Google’s Index

That said, running a site search is an important thing to do. You will also quickly get an insight into any subdomains being used, and it is not uncommon to also find duplicate site versions on subdomains set up for affiliates.

3. Check Your Site’s Indexed URLs

We will talk about this later in the auditing process, but for now, it’s good to know you can de-index or block certain pages from appearing in the search results by using the Google Search Console Removal tool. Note: these have to be URLs that you own and have registered with Google Search Console.

4. Check for Manual Actions

This used to be referred to as a manual penalty. It means that your site’s rankings will drop and that you won’t be able to rank as highly as you previously were until Google revokes the action. This action can either be at page level or sitewide.

5. Analyze Your Site’s Speed

6. Confirm That Your Site Uses HTTPS

7. Check for Mobile-Friendliness Issues

SEO Audit Quick Wins

11. Fix Broken Internal Links

Having broken internal links creates a poor user experience. If a user clicks a link on your site, they expect to be taken to that page, not served a 404 error. But that aside, it sends negative quality signals to the search engines.

12. Clean Up Your Sitemap

13. Check Your Redirects

Redirect Chains and Loops

Temporary Redirects

In almost all instances, you should be using 301 redirects rather than 302s. 301s are a permanent type of redirection vs. 302s, which signal a more temporary move. If you plan on keeping things where they are for the long term, a 301 redirect is probably the best choice.

Auditing Your Site’s Content

14. Find and Fix Duplicate Content Issues

15. Identify Thin Content Pages

For instance, if you are writing about a dense topic like “cataract lenses,” you will likely want to focus on the details of both the lenses on the market and the procedures available to patients looking to get these types of medical solutions.

16. Fix Issues with Orphan Pages

17. Compare Your Content to Top Ranking Pages and Analyze Searcher Intent

It may sound obvious, but spend time analyzing the top-ranking pages for the search terms you are targeting. If you notice a stark difference between your content and the pages that rank at the top of Google, you will need to consider a content audit to rework your page with searcher intent in mind.

If you’re struggling to identify the intent of a specific keyword, fear not. Many of our keyword research tools now have a Search Intent Metric to help you determine whether a keyword is Transactional (T), Commercial (C), Navigational (N), or Informational (I).

18. Run a Backlink Audit

It is important that you check for toxic links as part of any SEO audit, especially if you’re working on a site for the first time. If you’re new to toxic backlinks or would like a refresher, we have a handy guide to walk you through them.

‘Toxic backlinks’ can be considered toxic for several reasons (which you can filter for in the ‘Audit’ tab of the tool). Some negative factors that influence the toxicity level of a backlink in our tool include:

Let’s say you decide to tackle the backlinks with the highest toxicity score first. You’ll want to head to the ‘Audit’ tab to view the results. Then, work your way down the links, clicking to open the URL in a new tab.

Important note: Google’s Disavow tool is an advanced feature. It might be easier to reach out to the domain owner to have a link removed rather than navigating through the complex disavow process, especially if you are new to the world of backlinks.

All issues that Serpstat finds

Serpstat is a solid SEO tool. It’s got all of the features you’d expect from an SEO software suite. And it’s competitively priced compared to its main competitors. I haven’t had a ton of interactions with Serpstat support. But the few I did were impressive. A big checkmark here.

Serpstat is a solid tool that can be a cost-effective alternative to some of the industry heavyweights such as SEMrush and Ahrefs. Serpstat is certainly worth a trial if you are looking for a tool that can provide actionable insights and help improve your SEO and PPC campaign performance.

Why is SEO audit important?

SEO audit plays a vital role in determining the performance of your website. Google constantly checks how your website performs and updates its algorithms countless times, and SEO audit helps you find out how to adjust your website to meet the requirements. Moreover, it helps you find and fix technical issues that can slow down the website and drop your rankings.

What is SEO Audit tool?

SEO Audit Tool is one of the best ways to find the technical issues of your website that have a negative impact on its rankings. With just a few clicks, you can find out an overall SEO health score, missing or wrong metatags, download speed, troubles with content and multimedia, server parameters, links, and more. SEO audit allows you everything else you need to know about the SEO performance of your website.

What is an SEO audit?

SEO audit is essential if you want to keep your SEO strategy up-to-date. It’s basically a health check for your website, that helps you, as a website owner, analyze its ability to rank at the top of search engine result pages. It is important, as it helps you detect and fix errors, analyze how to steer your SEO optimization, and also have a peek at your competitor’s SEO strategy to compare them and improve yours.

What is included in technical SEO?

In order for your website to rank higher, the technical part of it should be optimized, and that is why technical SEO is needed. Technical SEO includes such characteristics of a website, as a secure connection, a responsive design and a fast loading speed. This data helps technical engines access, crawl, interpret and index your website faster. Since this part has nothing to do with the actual content of your website, it is called technical.

How do I run a technical SEO audit?

The easiest way to start a technical SEO audit is to choose a tool you will do it with. With Serpstat SEO Audit online tool, you can do it in just a few steps. As a result, you will get a clear description of every issue and recommendations on how to fix them, clear graphs, custom overview reports and custom settings of your audit according to any of your needs.

How is SEO audit done?

In order to perform an SEO audit, you need a suitable tool. Once you detect all the issues and errors in your website’s SEO strategy with the help of an SEO Audit tool, you should dedicate some time and effort to fix them. With Serpstat SEO Auditing tool, you will receive clear recommendations on fixing every technical issue your website has. With just a few steps, your website will be optimized for SERPs.

Sources:

https://panem.agency/a-seo-audit
https://www.semrush.com/blog/seo-audit/
https://serpstat.com/site-audit/
SEO audit

SpyFU is another extensively-renowned name in the SEO research circles. And just like SEMrush, it packs an entire arsenal of digital marketing tools – for keyword research, backlink tracking, competitor research, PPC research, rank tracking, you name it.

15 Best SEO Audit Tools in 2022 (Many of Them Are Free)

As you might have noticed already, Google’s algorithm is progressively getting more and more complicated. It’s not just a simple game of keywords anymore. Rather, Google currently uses more than 200 factors [1] in its ranking.

I don’t know about you, but that’s a heck of a lot of stuff to keep up with. I prefer leaving the heavy lifting to SEO audit tools! At least they are specialized enough to dig deep and discover any SEO issues that might be compromising my web pages.

Now, in that light, allow me to walk you through 15 of the best SEO audit tools in 2022. I’ve prepared this comprehensive list after years of extensive research and trials. And yes, I’ve been considerate enough to include both advanced and simple solutions, as well as paid and free SEO auditing tools.

Website audit is easy & efficient with the right website SEO checker.

Technical SEO analysis and on-page optimization demand solid data evaluation and a good deal of multitasking which can get messy. WebSite Auditor SEO tool accompanies its SEO audits with neat visualizations of accurate data:

I have been really impressed with the features that Website Auditor has to offer! This tool has really helped me to understand SEO better. If you are looking for software to help drive your keywords to search engines, and get a top 10 placement in search engines, then Website Auditor is a must have.

Website Auditor is the advanced onpage tool that saves you tons of time and arms you with detailed recommendations on how to boost your traffic quickly and easily. Having access to this information will put you in a very powerful position and make you one of the strongest SEOs in the business.

WebSite Auditor is very well structured and provides some essential information, summarization and visualization options. I have found the tool really useful both to SEO newbies and practising SEO consultants.

Making an SEO Audit report in WebSite Auditor is as easy as going to the Reports module, letting the tool create a free report. Use ready-made templates or customize your own to add those SEO factors that you want to monitor.

Sure you can! The website SEO checker will bring you optimization ideas from up to 10 top-performing sites in your niche. Or create a project for any competitor’s domain, and let the tool analyze your competition’s SEO health.

Yes, there is a free version available! And while that free version is limited, it’s still usable for lower volume SEO campaigns. Check out the comparison page for more information on the differences between a free plan and the paid ones. Besides, you can use a one-week free trial to feel the power of the full-feature toolkit.

Visualize Your SEO Progress

Get Notified About Any Technical and On-Site Issues on Your Website

Professional-Looking White-Label SEO Reports

Check Your Website for Issues Now!

SEO analysis is the process of scrupulous inspecting a website to detect weak spots that should be fixed to make the website better optimized for search engines like Google. Simply put, SEO analysis is a must for your website to rank higher and drive traffic.

SEO analysis helps you determine what you should do to improve your website visibility to popular search engines like Google and to get ranked higher. You should run SEO audits before making any changes to your website.

SEO tools are either online or desktop pieces of software that help automating different processes when you’re optimizing your website for search engines. SEO tools can be used for many different tasks: they provide information on backlinks, keywords, rankings and traffic, as well as insights into your online competitors’ SEO strategies.

If you want to check the SEO score for your or your competitor’s website, go to WebCEO SEO Analysis tool. The ‘On-Site Issues Overview’ shows the optimization score for your site and other important SEO factors at a glance. Home page, landing pages and on-site issues are taken into consideration, when counting the optimization score.

To do an SEO audit means to check your website in detail following each step on your audit list, and to find any issues that need to be fixed or improved to enhance each website page’s search engine performance.

1. Check your site visibility on Google and other search engines
   Check your website global and local rankings (organic, featured snippets, People Also Ask, Ads, News, Places, Images, etc.) with the Rank Tracking tool.
2. Analyze your website pages’ URLs, important meta tags, headings, content
   The URLs, titles, descriptions, images alt tags and headings of your website should contain the keywords you target. Run the On-page Issues report and check for the keywords that you’ve used in these critical elements of your website. Also, make the titles look enticing so that users want to click on them.
3. Run a technical audit for your website
   Fix broken links before your site visitors strike them. The Site Audit tool keeps a sharp look at any crawlability issue that may wreck the usability of your site.
4. Audit your website Backlink Profile, check if your website has toxic links and remove them.
   Check your site for broken links as they may cause a very bad user experience for your website visitors. Perform a complete comprehensive backlinks audit of your website. Spy on your competitors backlink strategies with WebCEO.
5. Optimize your internal links structure
   Internal linking on your website helps users easily find different pages on your site.and can help improve your search engine rankings. Check if your site structure is good with the WebCEO Internal Links tool.

A technical audit of your website is a must-have procedure that helps detect any technical issues on your site, such as pages not found, broken JavaScript files, broken images, server issues, page access issues, and so on.

The importance of identifying such problems is huge, as these affect your rank performance on SERPs: some of these problems are officially considered by Google to be ranking factors on which the search engine decides what position your website is worthy of.

WebCEO will easily detect any issues on your website. After the scanning session, WebCEO will build a list of problems that exist on your website and you will get instructions on how to solve them. Each point on the list will contain a link to the very pages where a problem was discovered as well as the position of an issue in your page source code.

If you want to check the SEO score for your or your competitor’s website, go to WebCEO SEO Analysis tool. The ‘On-Site Issues Overview’ shows the optimization score for your site and other important SEO factors at a glance. Home page, landing pages and on-site issues are taken into consideration, when counting the optimization score.

The best way to find out how often you should check your website is to start with weekly scans and analyze the quantity of issues you see with each new scan. If it is gradually decreasing – which will be seen on the Trend Over Time chart – you can revise your scan schedule.

Sources:

https://www.codeinwp.com/blog/seo-audit-tools/
https://www.link-assistant.com/website-auditor/
https://www.webceo.com/website-audit.htm
SEO audit

As one of the most popular SEO tools to date, Semrush has a nifty Site Audit feature that analyzes a website’s overall health. It also has an On-page SEO checker that analyzes Google ranking factors and provides actionable recommendations to improve a website’s performance. It’s also useful for conducting competitor analysis with its capabilities to monitor visibility and keyword rankings for multiple domains, as well as identify top-performing pages that drive organic traffic to competitor sites.

How to Do an SEO Audit: A 10-Point Checklist to Improve Rankings

The power of SEO audits comes from crawlers or tools that check the website. These tools function like Google’s bots in how they inspect websites for issues. Each of these tools has specific crawl settings and examines different areas that may affect the website’s performance. Later in this post, we’ll provide you with a list of SEO audit tools to use when checking websites.

The obvious reason is to know how the website is performing, what elements need to be optimized, and what opportunities you can capitalize on. However, the purpose of doing an SEO website audit goes beyond a “check it and leave it for later” approach.

While an audit can provide you with data to better optimize the site, it doesn’t constitute the entirety of your SEO strategy. Don’t treat it as a step-by-step document; instead, use it to build the foundation of your SEO roadmap.

Who Uses an SEO Audit?

• When bringing in new leads – Some agencies often use the SEO audit as a sales tool and foot in the door to set a meeting with potential clients. Digital marketers or professional SEO consultants can use the audit as a lead magnet to assess a lead’s website even before they start a campaign. You can use this as one of your supplementary marketing documents in your sales kit whenever you pitch complete SEO services to clients.
• When starting a new SEO campaign – It should be standard procedure to conduct an SEO audit when onboarding a new client. This report is crucial when working with a client for the first time. The audit helps you set the right expectations with clients and make the right decisions based on the goals of the client. This is your first step to making sure you’re going into a battle that you can win and, ultimately, achieve results for your clients.
• On the 5th or 6th month of the campaign – This allows you to identify if there have been significant changes in the website’s organic performance when you started optimizing. Just because you’ve managed to rank the client for their target keywords, that doesn’t mean you stop optimizing. Conducting a website audit helps you look for other opportunities to rank a website.

There’s no limit to how many SEO audits you can perform on a website. It’s important, however, that you’re tracking the improvements and adjusting your SEO strategy according to your findings and available data.

What are the benefits of regular SEO audits?

How has SEO evolved? In 1991, the first website was created. Then, 1994 witnessed the first search engine – Yahoo, whereas Google appeared in 1997. At that time, SEO was in its infancy. The success depended on the number of keywords on a page and its tags: the more pages with the necessary keyword a website has, the higher is the ranking.

Since 2003, website content has been gradually improved and structured with the appearance of the first quality search algorithms. SEO basics have started to include more components. The quantity could still be synonymous with quality, but the links were prioritized over keywords. The source and quality of traffic played no role and were useless for marketing and advertising purposes.

2010 was the turning point when quantitative factors were completely overridden by behavioral. As a result, the domain age lost its previous importance. Even a young but well-optimized website could easily overtake a 10-year web veteran solely using its content.

The modern SEO period started in 2013 with the appearance of search personalization. As a result, SEO advertising based on low-frequency keywords became dominant. As a result, people created several one-page websites and used them to attract specific ad traffic.

So now we have arrived at the present day when all the possible rates are adjusted to meet the single requirement – user convenience. No matter on what device or screen a user browses a website. The design must be eye-catching but, at the same time, not tiring to the eyes or brain. The content must be structured but, most importantly, short.

If you try to figure out how to meet all these requirements, the conclusion will be simple – it’s impossible. They often seem mutually exclusive. Everything is complicated with the ever-changing rules of the game. Predicting search engine tendencies sometimes looks more difficult than unraveling the mystery of the universe. Moreover, tons of competitors are snapping at your heels. This turns into a heavy burden on the shoulders of SEO, advertising, and marketing specialists. They become the first to be responsible for any decrease in sales.

How to conduct an SEO audit that won’t make you feel ashamed?

To avoid getting lost in the SEO definition and SEO indicators, you need to understand one thing: if you promote a site, you must regularly conduct a brief analysis of the completed search optimization. You cannot just forget about audits and let your website exist without any control and SEO analysis reports. At least once per month, corporate SEO specialists must use Google Search Console to collect data on:

1. Main website mirror and URL format

2. Robots.txt and sitemap.xml files

It separately indicates the search bots that are disallowed to scan the page, including Baiduspider (a search bot targeted at the Chinese market), HaoSouSpider (a search bot of the Chinese search engine HaoSou.com), and Sogou web spider (a browser virus which is now actively spread in the web. The recent studies have shown that it primarily targets the computers are located in China).

Another interesting fact is that in China, the indexing of the pages with red Apple products is disallowed.

If a user selects the Chinese language and goes to this category, the double redirect to the main page is activated.

3. HTTP headers of server responses

When a URL is accessed, a server returns an HTTP header with various data, including a server response code, last change date, coding of the document, and expiration date (the period during which the URL’s content is relevant).

4. Design of the 404 error page

If there is no page at the specified URL, a server must return a 404 mistake. So take care of the design of your 404 pages to make sure a user landing on it continues working with the website. That’s why specialists assess this factor during SEO audits and include it in SEO reports.

5. Broken 4xx links

403 errors are server errors which mean that some users are disallowed to access certain pages. These pages are active and throw the error only for the selected countries and regions. For example, https://www.apple.com/pl/tv/ and https://www.apple.com/tv/ return a 200 code, whereas the https://www.apple.com/in/tv/ page is no longer available since it has another URL https://www.apple.com/in/apple-tv-4k/.

6. Clean URLs

Clean URLs are user-friendly URLs that SEO specialists recommend using for all website pages during its promotion. Visitors may perceive long URLs as unclear and difficult or similar to encryption (e.g., site.com/?pag=1&24%). Choosing a friendly structure of URLs makes them more appealing (e.g., site.com/catalog).

You probably know that the URL of a page in Google Search results is displayed under the page title and above the snippet (brief information about the page displayed in search results). Similar to the title and snippet, the URL segments that match the query will be semi-boldened.

7. Meta description and meta headers

A title tag indicates the title of a page that tells users and search engines its name. The title tag is placed within the head tag of an HTML document. To make website promotion really effective, ideally, every page must have a unique name.

Meta description tag provides search engines with a short description of a page. Whereas a title tag should include only one sentence, a description may contain several sentences (small paragraph). As well as the title tag, the description must be entered within the head tag in the HTML code of a page.

Why SEO Is Important

It’s likely these potential customers will never see your site if it’s not ranking on the first or second page of results. Doing SEO the right way will bring more organic traffic to your site, which increases your conversion rates.

Enter the URL of the domain or page you want to check along with your target keyword and click “Scan Now.” The website seo analyzer will scan your URL for errors, warnings, and notices and provide you with a page score.

The page grade percentage is calculated based on the combination of factors including warnings, critical errors, and page speed. It’s a measure to provide guidance as you decide what changes to make on the page after analyzing it.

Use the errors as guidance for making corrections, and optimizing your page for on-page SEO. Keep in mind that the results of the website audit tool apply to the individual page you put in. So to improve your site’s SEO score overall you’ll likely want to make improvements to multiple pages.

Google’s bots crawl your site to determine its quality, and correct technical on page optimization is one of the main signals used. When you optimize your page based on the recommendations of the website analyzer, you can increase your organic traffic, improve ranking positions, and stay competitive against other sites ranking for your target keywords.

With so many factors in addition to SEO errors on the page, it’s best to use website analytics (we use Google Analytics) to see what changes over time after making the changes. Keep in mind that it takes time for Google and other search engines to recrawl and index the changes made on your site. Then you can look at changes in:
• User Behavior: number of pageviews, time on site, failure percentages.
• New users to the site vs returning users compared to previous periods.
• How the positions of your keywords and landing pages have changed (use Google Search Console to see the changes)

Yes. Set up a meeting with one of our Account Managers here and they will be able to guide you on what services we provide to correct those issues. You can also use the step-by-step guides on our Resources page if you want to try fixing them yourself.

Many websites rely on other traffic generation methods such as traffic from social media, email, referrals, and direct traffic sources over search engines. For sites like these, SEO errors aren’t as important because search engines aren’t their #1 traffic source. For a smaller website, a couple of errors can have a much bigger negative effect than those same errors on a larger website.

Sources:

https://www.seoreseller.com/blog/how-to-seo-audit
https://www.plerdy.com/blog/seo-audit-apple/
https://www.thehoth.com/seo-audit-tool/

If you don’t have contact information in your audience’s go-to resources, how will they know you exist? If your contact information is wrong, how will you build trust? If you don’t know you have a listing, how can you manage your reputation on that site? In today’s digital landscape, it is more important than ever to manage directory listings for your business.

A VoIP phone system does everything a traditional one does – except it’s hosted in the cloud. This means you can take and make calls over the internet, and spend less on hardware and maintenance. It’s flexible, too. You can use it to take and make calls from your desk phone, your computer, and your mobile. It’s a full office phone system that works – no matter where you are.

A VoIP phone system does everything a traditional one does – except it’s hosted in the cloud. This means you can take and make calls over the internet, and spend less on hardware and maintenance. It’s flexible, too. You can use it to take and make calls from your desk phone, your computer, and your mobile. It’s a full office phone system that works – no matter where you are.

Best Businesses to Start with Little Money

1. Translator

Speak a foreign language? Start a translation service. Consider specializing in a specific genre of translation, like medical or financial translation, as you might be able to fill a niche need in your community.

2. Garden Designer

Many people have the willingness to do the dirty work in their backyards, but few have the know-how to complete the first part of this process — designing and planning the backyard space. Draw up the designs for your clients’ outdoor spaces and let them do the actual digging.

3. Ecommerce Store Owner

Do you create, collect, or curate anything special? Consider starting an ecommerce store and turning your hobby into a full-time job. Whether you need somewhere to sell all that pottery you’ve been making, or an excuse to search for the sports memorabilia you love tracking down, an ecommerce store can make it financially viable for you to pursue your passion.

17. Event Planner

You might choose to specialize in a specific type of event — like weddings or company meetings — or set yourself up as an event planner of all trades. If you’re highly organized, are detail-oriented, and have experience planning large events, it might be time others benefit from your skills.

18. Personal Assistant

Again, if you’re an organized, highly-detailed person, the life of a personal assistant might be for you. Don’t want to be tied to one office or person all day, every day? Consider becoming a virtual assistant, which allows you a more flexible work environment.

19. Consignment Shop Owner

If you have an eye for style but don’t want to invest in the inventory of a brand-new boutique, consider going consignment. It will allow you to curate a collection of clothing that matches your goals and aesthetic, without the overhead of a boutique selling entirely new garments.

20. Caterer

21. Gym Owner

Kickboxing gyms, yoga studios, CrossFit, oh my! Turn your passion for fitness into a community for others by creating your own gym — start one from the ground up, become an affiliate, or open a franchise location.

22. Boutique Agency Owner

What’s your specialty? Whether it’s marketing, social media, or PR, it might be time to start your own agency. Many other small businesses need this type of help but don’t have the resources or volume to necessitate a full-time position.

23. Coffee Shop Owner

Turn your caffeine addiction into something a little more lucrative. Opening a franchise or buying an existing shop are lower-risk entry points to the coffee game but they usually require a little more cash upfront. Starting a shop from scratch requires a little more planning and a lot more work — but it also maximizes your earning potential in the future.

24. Moving Company

A truck, moving equipment, manpower, and the correct permits and insurance are the building blocks of starting your own moving company. Before you buy your first fleet of trucks, however, start small with a moving van and keep your costs low.

25. Home Staging

If you have a flair for interior design, a staging service might serve as your creative outlet and professional calling. You can build a portfolio with little initial investment by staging homes using the owner’s existing furnishings and decor. Most stagers eventually build up an inventory of furniture as they become more established and network with area realtors.

26. Makeup Artist

Many people prefer to have a professional do their makeup because they may lack the proper products or just the skills. It may be for a special occasion, photoshoot, or video shoot, or another event. Being able to do a variety of different looks will make your business more attractive to more customers.

27. Professional Organizer

A lot of people struggle with clutter or disorganization in their homes and offices. It can be a large undertaking to create systems and habits that will create continuous organization. Grab a lot of storage bins and a label maker and get started!

Home Business Ideas

1. Coding

Frontend, backend, and every type of code in between, this skill requires no in-person interaction with your clients. But one skill you’ll want to carry over from the in-person world for this type of business is active listening. It can be easy to zone out while building a product, but developing a connection with the client is just as important as developing the code for their website.

4. Data Entry Clerk

5. Audio or Video Editor

As of March 2021, there are 1.75 million podcasts available to listeners. For this reason, brands are turning to audio and visual content to connect with consumers. The catch is that many don’t have the time to invest in the production of this content, or they don’t have the skills to do it. Audio and video editors are in demand when it comes to producing quality content for hungry audiences.

6. Voiceover Artist

Speaking of podcasts and videos, many content creators recognize the value and level of professionalism that great voice talent can bring to a project. There are gigs out there for podcast intros/outros, narration for explainer videos, or even voice work for audiobooks. Learn how to get started with no experience from Kat Theo below:

7. Dog Walker, Groomer, or Trainer

Licensing and insurance will be the two most important factors in opening a dog walking, grooming, or training business, but your canine colleagues will surely make up for the initial red tape. To test the waters before jumping in, consider walking dogs through companies like Rover. Ready to run your own show? Consider a franchise like Dogtopia.

8. Candy Seller

If you grew up in a close-knit, southern neighborhood, you’re probably familiar with the "Candy Lady". This home business can be started by anyone who’s trustworthy in the community. Aside from selling the most popular snacks, a candy seller can provide the neighborhood with fresh fruit and produce that may be harder to find if you live in a food desert.

9. Online Class Instructor

Tutoring is often done in person and with one client at a time. Remotely teaching an online class offers more flexibility because you can teach multiple students from home. English is a common subject for online classes because of how many people want to learn it. But anything that you have a mastery over could be translated to a virtual class.

10. Small-Batch Goods Seller

Using organic, all-natural ingredients is more expensive, but worth it. There are many products you can learn how to make at home without any preservatives, chemicals, or toxins. Candles, soaps, shampoos, and moisturizers are some examples of goods you can create and tailor with custom scents. Try starting out making soap with this complete beginner’s guide to soapmaking:

So what is the best free online business listing site?

Google Business has a local focus

Google is a worldwide platform, but not at the expense of its local capabilities. In fact, part of what makes Google so popular worldwide is its local capabilities. Google uses IP addresses and user behavior to deliver the most refined and relevant results for its searchers. Even if a user does not type in a location-based search, Google will still show a local section in results if the data exists.

It shows up in Google results pages

Another reason why Google my Business is the best free business listing site is that Google’s search engine results pages are becoming more and more advanced. Google provides answers via answer boxes, directly in the search suggestion drop-down list, related search suggestions, “people also asked” section, and via a side knowledge panel. Plus, when you perform a local search on Google, your first results will likely be the Google 3-pack — three Maps results — above the rest of the search results.

Google Business has increased visibility

Not only does your Google My Business listing enable you to show up on Google Search and Google Maps, but many other listing sites and business directories pull their data from Google. Get listed on Google My Business to increase your visibility on the world’s most popular and trusted search engine, and elsewhere on the web.

Prioritize these top free directory listings to increase your visibility

Online directories are a key player in your small business growth. Your business listings help to develop your reputation, increase your online visibility, and place you in local search results. There are a number of websites and mobile apps available today that provide business listings based on industry, location, niche, and more. Create and claim your listings on these free sites–with Google Business Profile as your top priority.

Kristen McCormick

Kristen is the Senior Managing Editor at WordStream where she helps businesses make sense of online marketing and advertising. She specializes in local SEO, copywriting, and conversion optimization, and finds life to be exponentially more delightful on a bicycle.

Authorship:

https://business.bt.com/bt-local-business/
https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/small-business-ideas
https://localiq.com/blog/best-free-business-listing-sites/

It’s important to deepen your business knowledge, too, especially if you’re considering starting your own business. Knowledge of budgeting, tracking expenses and promoting a brand are several approaches that you can take to improve your business sense. Additionally, developing your business acumen can increase your job opportunities, as you’ll have the skills you need to perform a variety of administration and business tasks.

Edexgo

Sometimes many students and others ask, how to be successful without college? Can you be successful without a college degree? How to be successful without school or how to be successful without going to school? Listen! You don’t always need a degree to get ahead. Wondering how to be successful without college/school? Thankfully, there are many ways to make it big. Here are some tips.

College can be an amazing experience, and completing a degree can feel like the proudest moment of a person’s life. But the student experience isn’t for everyone. Some people don’t want to study full-time at a campus university; others don’t want to study at all. So if you’re put off by the high fees that campus colleges ask for or wondering how to be successful without college/school, read on. The good news is that it’s still possible to be successful without a degree.

Consider a professional certification

Another option for entering your career without college is to obtain a professional certification in a trade or specialty like construction, health care and technology. For example, many construction professions don’t require college, and you can find jobs in the industry that include roles in labor, office administration and customer service. A certification can require you to take special coursework that can vary in length depending on the profession and certification requirements.

Consider deepening your knowledge about a topic to advance your skill set. For instance, taking an online course that teaches you how to use computer coding to build websites can prepare you for a career in web development. This can lead to further opportunities to build websites for paying clients or entering a role in a technology company.

Learn from a mentor

Work with a mentor in the field you want to start your career in. Professionals who work in organizations that connect with the profession you’re interested in can help you learn about the job, support your career development and assist you when you practice new skills. Additionally, a mentor can provide you with valuable feedback that you can apply to improve in skill sets and professional qualities you’ll need on the job.

If you work in an entry-level role, take advantage of on-the-job training to advance in your career. For instance, employer-sponsored training programs, professional development workshops and team building seminars can help you learn and develop your expertise. Your training can also help you advance into higher-level roles within your organization.

Not having a degree pushes you to work even harder and be more resourceful

I graduated from the school of hard knocks, so I always felt like I had to work twice as hard as anyone with a college degree. This perseverance helped me develop a strong work ethic and problem-solving skills. I learned real-world business skills first and figured out how to handle any issues that came my way. As a result, I’m comfortable working with anyone and highly attuned to asking the right questions and directing others to solve problems quickly and efficiently. That means I spend less time and money than others when getting outside professionals and in-house teams to collaborate. If I ever need a brain surgeon, I’ll go to the best I can find. But a degree in business leadership doesn’t make you a great leader; some things are just inherent, or they aren’t.

I feel bad for more than half of the young people in college today. I’m not talking about those working toward a specific objective, like becoming a doctor, lawyer, or accountant. I feel sorry for the ones who are trying to “find their path” and racking up massive student loan debt in the process. There are so many ways to learn skills today. I’m not convinced that it makes sense to pay tens (or hundreds!) of thousands of dollars over four years anymore, only to fight for entry-level positions when you graduate. That time would be much better spent experiencing life and seeking mentors in search of your passion. Once you find it, drill down by attending seminars, taking online courses, reading anything and everything relevant, and even bingeing on YouTube videos to become an expert in that area. There’s unlimited information at your fingertips.

Apprenticing for mentors gives you experience that college can’t

When I was 19, I was one decision away from going to college, but I decided not to. I had already started my own business selling rare shirts and was working at an investment sales company. That’s how I learned what it takes to run a business: practical experience, marketing skills, the right mindset, a network, and a mentor. I couldn’t get most of those things in school; so I decided to study business in real life and work for free for mentors who could teach me.

By helping those who had the success I dreamt about, I gained experiences that many people never have in a lifetime. While the real world is different than most universities predict, I also wouldn’t say that universities are not creating impact. I don’t regret my decision, but there are two ways to go, and everyone needs to decide what’s best for them.

Want to share your insights in a future article? Join The Oracles, a mastermind group of the world’s leading entrepreneurs who share their success strategies to help others grow their businesses and build better lives. Apply here.

Sources:

https://edexgo.com/how-to-be-successful-without-college/
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-to-succeed-without-college
https://www.businessinsider.com/business-leaders-dont-need-college-degree-be-successful

Learning a language by yourself is challenging, but following the steps we set out will give you a great start. We recommend finding a professional tutor as soon as possible because they will help you study more effectively and, crucially, speak French regularly.

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you do grammar exercises all day and night, but something as simple as kicking back in front of the TV or watching a movie can be helpful for your French language learning.

Learning French from authentic content is more important than you might think. Seeing the language used naturally by French speakers won’t just introduce you to the language and culture, but it’ll also help you hear words and grammar concepts in use, learn what sounds natural to reproduce in your own speech and hear the correct pronunciations of words. On top of all these benefits, it’s fun! And having fun while learning can be a huge motivating factor to keep up with your studies.

Watch it for the first time with English subtitles. If it’s a movie, you’ll have to watch it again. If it’s a TV show, you can just move on to the next episode. This time, watch it with French subtitles instead of English subtitles.

And it’s important that you turn those English subtitles off or switch to French. English subtitles are a crutch. Even if you think you aren’t looking at them, you’ll soon notice how much you were relying on them once you switch them off.

Now you’ll have the French subtitles to rely on. Maybe they’re a bit more difficult to understand, but the advantage here is that you’re no longer switching from French to English or translating the movie as you go.

When you’re reading along to the French subtitles, keep an eye out for high-frequency words. If you see a French word more than three times, that might mean it’s a commonly-used word, and it’s probably also important for the understanding of whatever you’re watching. Write this word down and use it actively. You might add it to your flashcard deck, use it in sentences in context or even make an audio recording of you using this word in everyday speech.

You can also use different resources to practice listening and reading. A good place to start could be with content like podcasts that come with transcripts or listening to audiobooks while reading along to the text. These resources expose you to a lot of new words that you might not come across in daily speech and train both your listening and reading skills at once.

If you reach a high reading comprehension level, you still might find yourself confused when someone speaks to you in French. This is because the differences between written French and spoken French are so significant they can appear like two different languages.

That’s why it’s essential to include listening in your French learning routine. Reading is a fun and convenient way to enrich your French vocabulary, but it won’t necessarily help you understand the lady in the patisserie shop.

• Check out Bien Dire for audio recordings of native French speakers in conversation.
• Listen to French podcasts . We recommend Coffee Break French for beginners.
• Listen to French music by searching for playlists you like on Spotify , Apple Music, or your favorite Youtube channels .
• Listen to audio books. Look for French language versions of your favorite books on Audible or rent them from your local library (if available).
• Explore YouTube. Think about the kind of videos you usually watch (e.g. interior design, personal development, vlogs) and then find French YouTubers that create videos on those topics. This way you’ll learn natural, modern French. Stephen Krashen, an expert in linguistics, proposes that to learn a new language, the content needs to be understandable enough that we get the “gist” of it (even if some concepts remain beyond our grasp). So if you don’t understand after the first few minutes, look for something else.
• Find YouTubers who dedicated their channels to learning French. Our favorites are innerFrench (more suitable for intermediate to advanced learners) and Piece of French (beginner to intermediate learners).

Learn French Basics: French Lesson For Beginners

Learning French Pronunciation, The French Alphabet And French Accents

French pronunciation is notoriously confusing for non-native French speakers, especially when they are confronted with a French word that looks nothing like it’s pronounced from how it’s spelled (think hors d’oeuvres, for one). The French language is full of funky orthography and very specific pronunciations — silent letters, clusters of vowels and sounds that don’t exist in English.

Don’t worry if you can’t master a typical French accent or French pronunciation right away; it takes time and practice! The best way to remember these rules is just to practice over and over, especially by reading texts out loud. Watching French TV and movies or listening to French podcasts, radio and film can certainly help you master French pronunciation and sound like a native French speaker.

French Vocabulary

As mentioned above, French is a descendant of the Vulgar Latin spoken by the common people of the Roman Empire. Though English isn’t in the same language family as French (English is a Germanic language), more than a quarter of English words come from Latin, and roughly the same amount of English words come from the French language (so, indirectly from Latin). And there are thousands of Greek words that have made their way into both English and French, too. That means you’re going to find a lot of Latin- and Greek-derived words in French vocabulary you already recognize. When you see the French words artiste, académique, or génération, for example, you’ll probably have no trouble guessing their English equivalents.

Basics Of French Grammar

French Verbs And French Verb Conjugations

You can recognize when a word you come across is a French verb by noticing the word’s ending. French verbs end in one of three endings: –er (like the verb danser, “to dance”), –ir (like avertir, “to warn”) or –re (like perdre, “to lose”). This makes it fairly easy to figure out when you’re dealing with a French verb as opposed to another type of French word, like a French noun or French adjective. However, these are only the endings for the verbs in what’s called their infinitive form — “to do,” “to be,” “to eat” or “to speak,” for example.

To be used in actual French sentences, these verbs need to be conjugated, which is a technical way of saying that each French verb requires a special ending depending on the subject of the verb (who or what is doing the action of the verb). There are many French verbs that are considered “regular” because they all follow the same consistent pattern of conjugation.

For example, for a regular verb ending in –er, like parler (“to speak”), if the pronoun je (“I”) is the subject, or the one doing the speaking, you drop the –er ending from the verb and add the ending –e to the remaining verb “stem,” giving je parle, or “I speak.” For the pronoun tu (“you”), parler becomes tu parles, or “you speak.” Each subject has its own special conjugation, or verb ending, associated with it, and this applies for all verbs, whether they end in –er, –ir, or –re — though the conjugations are slightly different for each ending.

There are, however, many French verbs — and important ones at that — whose conjugations are irregular and must be learned and memorized separately. These verbs include ones like aller (“to go”), être (“to be”) and avoir (“to have”).

Knowing how to conjugate French verbs is essential to being able to express yourself in French, and you’ll likely spend a large part of your French learning journey focusing on the grammar of French verbs. Once you master them, you’ll be well on your way to speaking French with fluency.

French Nouns And French Gender

Each French noun has a gender, meaning it’s classified as either masculine (masculin) or feminine (féminin). This doesn’t mean that every person, place, object or idea is inherently male or female; it’s just a system of grammatical categorization that exists in French and many other world languages that affects how speakers use these languages.

Often, French gender marking maps to words in ways you’d expect; la mère (“the mother”) is a feminine noun, so it requires the singular definite article la (“the”), whereas le père (“the father”) is a masculine noun that requires the definite article le. But sometimes these gender assignments can be pretty arbitrary; why is la chaise (“the chair”) feminine while le canapé (“the sofa”) is masculine? A major part of learning French nouns involves memorizing their gender classifications, so it’s important to practice this concept.

Ways To Learn French

There is no right answer when it comes to how to learn French — or any new language. With so many options for your language journey, it’s no surprise that choosing a learning style or method can be overwhelming!

Of the millions of people who speak and study French as a non-native language, you’ll find folks who have used all sorts of resources to learn the language, some free, some fairly cheap, and some more of a financial investment. There’s no right combination, and it’s up to you to decide which methods work best for you to learn French.

What’s The Quickest And Easiest Way To Learn French?

You’ll find that the fastest and easiest way to learn French is the way that offers you the least amount of friction — so if you can’t stand shuffling through textbook pages or you get bored flipping French flashcards, you might want to stick to a method that’s more exciting or engaging. Knowing yourself is key to success. Here are just a few of the ways to learn French quickly:

Learning French In The Classroom

French is among the most studied languages in school systems and universities around the world. French classroom learning is the most popular option for learners in grade school or university settings. It allows more intensive, regular study with feedback from teachers who know the French language and can correct mistakes as they happen and teach content in an interactive way. Depending on how large a class is and how engaged the teacher is, learning in a classroom might be a less personalized experience, but having other students to talk to and practice with is a valuable resource for a learner of any language.

Though full-time students make up a large proportion of French classroom learners, plenty of adults enroll in French classes, too. Many cities and communities offer free or fairly cheap language classes, and you’ll be very likely to find them in popular languages like French. Though a full-time job might limit your schedule, a commitment to a once- or twice-weekly French class after work or on the weekends can really improve your French language skills in a measurable way.

Learning French With A French Tutor

Private French tutoring offers a more tailored learning experience than traditional classroom learning with many of the advantages. Having a skilled French tutor at hand who can help you perfect your pronunciation and work with you closely on the aspects of French that cause you trouble is a great way to improve your skills fast — without a teacher needing to split time and attention among multiple students. And French tutoring doesn’t have to be inconvenient at all; many sessions can and do take place over video call instead of in person.

But the often steep costs of such individualized instruction can be a barrier to many learners. Well trained master French tutors often charge high hourly rates for their lessons, so finding a top-quality, budget-friendly option can be challenging.

Software and Online French Courses

There are many top-notch, expert-designed online French courses and programs that run from reasonably priced to very expensive. They allow you to learn French on your own time and are often more interactive and engaging than many free courses and resources. Plus, many of the best products out there are constantly updated with new, fresh material, so you can get the most relevant French learning experience available.

Can You Learn French For Free?

All of the above options have one thing in common: they cost money. For those learners who want to be more conscious of their budgets or are okay to spend more time finding and working with more cost-effective content, there are still plenty of options to learn French for free or for cheap!

Free Online French Courses And Apps For Learning French

There’s no shortage of free French courses, apps and content you can find on the web and on your phone. From French grammar wikis to online forums and French classes, you’re sure to find hundreds of options that might do the trick. Some of them are better than others in the ways they’re organized and how thoroughly they explain new concepts, so take them with a grain of salt.

Be aware that the tradeoff of a free product is that it usually sacrifices quality. Much of the content that’s in apps like Duolingo and Memrise or that’s scattered around the web comes from user-generated translations that are rarely verified and are often inconsistent or riddled with errors. These lessons often focus on writing and reading without much of a way to improve listening and speaking skills. And be wary that free interactive French lessons like these can often be basic, poorly designed, messy, rigid, and just downright boring — not to mention littered with ads.

References:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/french/how-to-learn-french-by-yourself-online/
https://preply.com/en/blog/how-to-learn-french-step-by-step/
https://www.babbel.com/learn-french
https://www.babbel.com/best-way-to-learn-french

In today’s society, it is almost impossible to imagine life without energy. We use it in every aspect of our lives and it helps us have a comfortable lifestyle. However, the increased consumption of energy does not only lead to comfort, but it can also lead to disaster. The world population needs to save energy not only because this means more money saved, but it will also lead to lower consumption of fossil and natural gas. Therefore, if we want to save the environment and have a world where to live in, we need to learn how to save energy. But, how do you write an impactful essay on energy saving? This article is going to share some proven tips to help you transmit a memorable message.

Writing an Essay on Energy Saving

1. Define what energy conservation means

When you start writing an essay on energy saving, you first need to decide on which side you are. Are you going to write an argumentative essay and support specific arguments about energy conservation? Or are you going to outline all the causes that lead to energy overconsumption and what can be the effects if people choose to save energy? Either structure you choose, you will need to have a clear introduction. This means that you should mention why energy conservation is important and how it can help the population preserve natural resources. Moreover, you can also talk in your introduction about today’s situation and what can be the future if we don’t adopt an energy-saving behavior. If you want to be credible, you should back-up all your statements with clear data and statistics from relevant scientific journals and newspapers.

• Build the essay’s body

The content manager at Trust My Paper recommends that “an essay on energy saving should have a very clear structure. This is how you will help your audience understand how serious the situation is and what are the areas where they need to work on. The essay’s body should also make your audience see how their world will look over ten or twenty years if they don’t change their behavior and start saving energy”. When you build your essay on energy saving, you should clearly mention which are the areas where people can save energy. For example, they can decrease the emission of carbon dioxide or secure the water supply.

• Come with examples

In addition, even though they understand that they need to do something, most people have difficulties understanding how they can change their daily behavior to contribute to energy conservation. Therefore, you should come with clear examples to show them how they can contribute to the change. For instance, you can encourage your audience to choose the bike instead of a car and thus contribute to reducing air pollution. Moreover, they can also choose to air dry their clothes instead of using dryers. This is how you make them think twice before choosing a solution which makes their life more comfortable but puts the environment in danger because it consumes energy.

• Establish a strong call to action

The conclusion is one of the most important parts of an essay, especially when you are writing one with such a serious impact like energy saving. It should recap all the information you inserted in the essay’s body and make the reader think deeper on the message you transmit. What is more, your essay should end with a strong call to action which should make the reader see how his life would look like if he doesn’t protect the environment. People react very well to emotions. Therefore, your conclusion should provoke very strong emotions in their mind so that it forces them to take action right away.

Energy saving is a very serious topic not only for today’s society but also for the generations to come. We need to protect our planet and learn from our ancestors’ mistakes. Writing an essay on energy saving can have a serious impact on your audience. This is a very important contribution that you are bringing in the global effort to make people more conscious of the effects they have on the environment. Furthermore, if you want to make your article more credible, you should do extensive research on the topic and support your arguments with reliable sources.