Joe's Tech

There are a lot of ways to write an epic tour description. In this article, we’ll go over some of the most common ones.

## How to Write a Tour Description for an Epic Game

Epic games have a lot going for them: they’re huge, they have tons of content, and they can take a long time to play through. If you’re writing a tour description for an epic game, you’ll want to make sure you cover all of the following points:

1. What is the game about?

2. What can you do in the game?

3. What are the game’s main features?

4. How long will the game take to play?

5. What’s the game like?

6. How does the game work?

7. How do you play it?

8. Who are the main characters?

9. What do they do?

10. What kind of stories can you tell?

11. What kinds of quests can you complete?

12. How are the quests structured?

13. What happens in the story?

14. How is the story connected to the gameplay?

15. How can you interact with the world?

16. What makes the game unique?

17. What other games are similar to this one?

18. What should you know about the game before you start playing?

19. What does this game have that other games don’t?

20. What will you need to know before you play the game for the first time?

21. Where can you get more information?

22. Who is the target audience?

23. How will you know if the game is right for you?

24. Is the game suitable for children?

25. Is there anything else you should know?

26. How much will it cost?

27. What platforms does it run on?

28. What languages does it support?

29. Is it available on mobile devices?

30. Does the game have an official website?

31. Does it have a forum?

32. What social media accounts does the developer have?

33. What genres does it fall into?

34. What has the developer done in the past?

35. Is this the first game the developer has released?

36. How has the game been received by critics?

37. Has it been nominated for any awards?

38. What awards has it won?

39. How was the game made?

40. Who was involved in its development?

41. Who made the music?

42. Who did the voice acting?

43. Who wrote the script?

44. Who designed the art style?

45. Who created the concept art?

46. Who worked on the sound design?

47. Who composed the soundtrack?

48. Who animated the cutscenes?

49. Who programmed the game logic?

50. Who developed the game engine?

51. Who coded the AI?

52. Who implemented the game mechanics?

53. Who built the game assets?

54. Who handled the 3D modeling and animation?

55. Who rendered the graphics?

56. Who ported the game to other platforms?

57. Who does the publishing?

58. Who manages the marketing?

59. Who handles the PR and community management?

60. Who runs the forums?

61. Who maintains the wiki?

62. Who moderates the subreddit?

63. Who works on the Discord server?

64. Who hosts the YouTube channel?

65. Who posts on the Steam community?

66. Who tweets on Twitter?

67. Who makes videos on YouTube?

68. Who writes the blog posts?

69. Who updates the wiki page?

70. Who reviews the game on Metacritic?

71. Who gives the game a score on GameRankings?

72. Who rates it on Steam?

73. Who comments on Steam reviews?

74. Who plays the game and reviews it on GameSpot?

75. Who covers the game in the press?

76. Who interviews the developer?

77. Who talks to the community on social media?

78. Who goes to conventions?

79. Who shows the game at trade shows?

80. Who attends fan events?

81. Who streams the game online?

82. Who creates fan art and fan fiction?

83. Who cosplays as the main character?

84. Who modifies the game files?

85. Who translates the game into other languages?

86. Who sells the game as a digital download?

87. Who publishes the physical version?

88. Who distributes the physical copy?

89. Who packages and ships the physical product?

90. Who takes care of the packaging?

91. Who prints the manual?

92. Who designs the box?

93. Who assembles the box and ships it to stores?

94. Who sends the game out to reviewers?

95. Who deals with the customer service?

96. Who offers refunds?

97. Who supports the game after release?

98. Who keeps the game updated?

99. Who adds new features and content?

100. Who fixes bugs and crashes?

101. Who provides technical support for the game post-release?

102. Who releases patches and updates?

103. Who helps new players get started?

104. Who develops new content and features for the next game?

105. Who will be working on the next project?

In this article, you will learn how to create an optimized content for your app.

## Introduction

Content is the most important part of any app. If your content is not optimized, it will have a negative impact on your app’s performance. So, it is very important to optimize your content for the best user experience. In this article we will cover the following topics:

– What is Optimization?

– How to Optimize your Content for the Best User Experience?

– How to Analyze your Content

## What is optimization?

Optimization is the process of improving the performance of your app by reducing the size of your content. For example, if you have an app with a lot of images, you can optimize the images to reduce their size. You can also optimize the text in your app to reduce its size. Optimization can be done manually or automatically.

For manual optimization, you need to analyze your content to find out which part of the content can be optimized and which part cannot be optimized. For automatic optimization, there are many tools that you can use to analyze and optimize your app content. In the next section, we will discuss how to do manual optimization and how to use tools to do automatic optimization.

## Manual Optimization

Manual optimization is a time-consuming process. If you have a large amount of content, it can take a long time to optimize it. For this reason, manual optimization is not a good option for most apps. However, if your app has only a few images or text, it may be a good idea to optimize them.

## How to analyze content

The first step in optimizing content is to analyze it. You need to determine which parts of the app content are important and which parts are not. To do this, you should look at the following factors:

– Relevance: Is the content relevant to your app? If it is not relevant, it does not need to be included in the app. You should only include content that is important for your users.

– For example: If you are creating an app that allows users to create their own recipes, the content should be relevant to the users’ needs. If the content is irrelevant to your users, they will not be interested in using your app, and you will not make any money from it.

– If your app is an e-commerce app, then the content needs to be related to the products that your users are buying. If not, the users will not buy your products, and your app will not generate any revenue for you.

– Visibility: How visible is the content? Is it visible on the home screen of your users? Or is it hidden behind the navigation bar?

– Usability: Does the content make the app easy to use? Does it make it easy for users to find the content that they are looking for?

If you find that some content is relevant and visible, but not usable, then you should try to improve the usability of that content. You may be able to make the content more visible, or you may need to make it easier to find.

## Optimizing images

Images are one of the most common types of content in an app. Images can be used for many different purposes, such as:

– Adding a background image to the app’s home screen

– Displaying a logo

– Showing a user’s profile picture

There are many different ways to optimize images. The most common way is to resize the images so that they take up less space. This will make the images smaller, and it will also make them faster to load. You also need to reduce the number of images that you are using in the first place. It is better to use only one or two large images than to use many small images. If an image is too small, the user will have to wait for it to load before they can use it. This can make the user experience very bad.

To resize an image, use the ImageOptim tool. This is a free tool that will optimize your images for you automatically. It will reduce the file size of the images without affecting the quality of the image. You just need to upload your images to the website, and the tool will do the rest. You will need to sign up for a free account on the website to use the tool, but it is worth it because it will save you so much time!

You can also manually optimize images by resizing them.

Starting a gardening blog can be a great way to share your love of plants and gardening with the world. But if you’re just starting out, it can be hard to know where to begin.

We’ve put together a list of essential writing tips to help you get your blog off to a great start. Read on to find out more!

1. Choose a Niche

Before you start your blog, it’s a good idea to think about what you want your blog to be about. Do you want to write about gardening in general? Or do you have a specific interest in a certain type of plant?

If you have an idea of what your blog will be about, it will be much easier to decide what kind of posts to write. If you don’t have a clear idea, you can start by writing a few blog posts about topics that interest you. For example, if you like to garden, you could write about the different types of plants that grow well in your area. You could also write about how to grow a particular type of flower or vegetable. The more you write, the more you will find out about your interests, and the more ideas you will have for your blog.

This will also help you to decide whether or not your blog is a good fit for you. You may find that you enjoy writing about a particular topic, but that your audience is not interested in it. If this is the case, it may be better for you to start a blog about a different topic that you are passionate about. Or you could consider starting a blog that is aimed at a specific audience, such as gardeners, or people interested in a particular plant.

Whatever your niche is, make sure that it is something that you can write about in a way that will be interesting to your readers. If your niche isn’ t something that interests you, you may find it difficult to keep your readers interested in what you have to say.

2. Find a Name for Your Blog

Once you have decided on your niche, you will need to find a name for your new blog. There are lots of options to choose from, but you will probably want to choose a name that is easy to remember and easy to type into search engines. You can also use the name of your blog as the title of your posts, which will make it easier for people to find your blog when they search for gardening or plant-related topics on the internet.

3. Decide on a Posting Frequency

The next step is to decide on a posting frequency. This is the number of times that you will write a new post on your blog each week, month, or year. This will depend on how often you are able to write new posts, and how much time you have available to write each week.

You should aim to write at least once a week, but if you have the time and energy to write more often, you should do so. The frequency that you choose will also depend on the type of posts that you write. You will probably write shorter posts more frequently, while you may write longer, more in-depth posts less often.

4. Create a Blog Posting Schedule

You will also need to create a schedule for when you will post new blog posts. This should take into account when you are most likely to be able to post new content, as well as the time of day that you prefer to write your posts.

For example, you might decide to write early in the morning, before you go to work, or at the end of the day, when you have more time to spare. You might also decide to post more frequently during the week, and less frequently on the weekends. Whatever you decide, try to stick to your posting schedule as much as possible, as it will help your readers to know when to expect new posts from you.

5. Write Your First Post

Your first blog post is the most important one you will ever write. It will be the first thing that your readers see when they visit your blog for the first time, and it will set the tone for the rest of your content. Make sure that your first post is interesting and informative, and that it answers any questions your readers may have.

6. Add a Contact Page

Adding a contact page to your blog can help to make your blog more user-friendly. Your contact page should include your name, email address, and phone number. You should also include a link to your social media profiles, so that readers can connect with you on the social media sites that you use.

Your contact page will also be a good place to include links to other gardening blogs that you think your readers will find interesting.

7. Add Categories and Tags to Your Posts

Categories and tags are another way to help readers find the content that they are looking for. They can be used to organize your posts into different categories, or they can be added to individual posts to make them easier to find.

Adding categories and tags to your posts will also make it possible for readers to search for posts that are similar to the ones that they have already read.

8. Add Links to Other Gardening Blogs

One of the best ways to help your blog stand out from the crowd is to add links to related gardening blogs and websites. This can be done in a variety of ways, including by adding links to posts on other blogs, or by including links to pages on your own website.

9. Start Sharing Your Content

Sharing your content on social media is another way of helping your blog to stand out. This could be done by sharing your blog posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or any other social media site that you have accounts on.

10. Promote Your Blog on Social Media

Promoting your blog through social media can be a great way to get more people to visit your site. It can also help to increase your blog’s visibility on search engines, which can lead to more traffic.

There are many different ways to promote your blog, but one of the most effective ways to do this is to use social media to share your posts with your friends and followers.

11. Add an RSS Feed

An RSS feed is a way of letting your readers know when you post a new blog post. An RSS feed will allow them to subscribe to your feed, which means that they will receive an email or text message whenever you post something new.

RSS feeds are a good way of keeping your readers up-to-date with what is happening on your site, and they can also be used as a way to let them know when new content is available.

How to Make a Life Plan in 6 Steps

Creating a life plan can help you feel more in control of your life and provide a clear path toward the things you want. The process of making a life plan starts with creating a document to record your thoughts and ideas either with pen and paper or electronically. However you choose to document your life plan, make sure it is easily accessible where you will remember to review it often. Use this guide to help you make a life plan.

A life plan is a roadmap for your life that helps you prioritize what is important to you, make decisions based on your priorities and move toward the life you want. It should provide a clear path for your life, but it should also be flexible. As your life changes, your values and priorities may also change. A life plan is a living, breathing document that requires periodic attention to ensure it accurately reflects your life. It is your own personal guide to how you want to live, what is important to you and what you need to do to achieve the life you want.

How to make a life plan

Creating a life plan is one of the best things you can do to identify the things you most want in your life and develop the strategy to make them happen. Here are the steps to help you create a life plan:

1. Create a vision

Allow yourself to dream big. Imagine what an average day in your ideal life looks like. Imagine where you work, what kind of work you do and the income you earn. Imagine your relationships with friends and family. Maybe your ideal life means gaining new skills to find a more fulfilling job. Maybe it is honing your skills to increase your marketability and find a higher paying job. Maybe it’s working from home to spend more time with your family.

Imagine the kind of person you want to be and how you want others to perceive you. For example, you may want your colleagues to know that you are reliable in delivering your work. You may want your manager to respect you as someone punctual in meeting deadlines and accountable for your quality of work.

Think about the things you want to improve in your life. This can include different areas in life, such as finances, career or health. It may entail some weaknesses you want to overcome. Consider how you will measure your improvement and define success. Clearly define what success means to you.

2. Perform a self-assessment

To perform a thorough life assessment, you need to be honest with yourself and what you want. A life assessment includes considering factors like the roles you have in life, your satisfaction with different areas of your life and your various strengths and weaknesses. Reviewing your life from different perspectives allows you to develop a holistic evaluation. Practice self-reflection to clarify your roles and satisfaction in different areas of life. If you struggle with assessing your strengths and weaknesses, ask several people close to you who will give you an objective opinion.

Everyone fills different roles in life. Brainstorm a list of the different roles you play. Examples of roles include student, coworker, employee, manager, entrepreneur, volunteer, spouse, parent and sibling. In the next step, you’ll prioritize these roles and identify the values you want to bring to each one.

Consider different areas of your life such as career, finances, personal development, community, health, relationships and faith. Look at each area of your life and rank your satisfaction in that area on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being ‘needs a lot of work’ and 10 being ‘best’.

Identify your strengths and weaknesses. These can be either technical skills or soft skills. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses allows you to decide where to focus your energy—which weaknesses to improve or which strengths to highlight.

3. Prioritize your life

Now that you have identified the roles you play in life, the areas you want to improve and your strengths and weaknesses, you can prioritize these to discover what is most important to you.

Review your list of roles and reorder them according to what is most important in your life. For example, your role as a parent or a manager may be more important to you than your role as an employee or student.

Also, prioritize the areas of your life to identify what is most important to you. For example, your health and family may be more important than your work or hobbies. When prioritizing areas of life, it’s also important to consider how different areas are related. For example, you may prioritize family over finances, but some financial goals are necessary to care for your family. Establishing that one is more important to you does not decrease the value of another; it simply indicates the areas you want to focus more attention on.

Prioritizing your roles and the areas you want to focus on will help you identify your values and non-negotiables when it comes to your career. For example, if your family is among your top priorities, you may prefer a career with a good work/life balance that requires little or no travel for an organization that is close to home and respects employees’ non-working hours.

4. Identify your values

Comparing how your life is now and what you want your life to be will help you identify your values. Allowing yourself to feel and analyze the difference clarifies your core values. The person you imagine yourself to be—with the life you imagine—lives by these values. They represent who you are as a person even if you’re still working to realize them.

When you identify your values and what is important in your life, they become a measuring tool for every decision. Decisions become much easier because you can clearly see what does and does not align with your values. For example, you might value work that is gratifying and serves your purpose more than you value the size of your paycheck. Understanding this helps you narrow your job search to opportunities that are more gratifying instead of any position with a higher salary.

How do you write a project plan?

1. Highlight the key elements of your project plan in an executive summary

2. Plot your project schedule visually with a Gantt chart

A carefully planned project schedule is key to the success of any project. Without one, your project will likely crumble into a mess of missed deadlines, poor team management, and scope creep.

Luckily, project planning tools like Gantt charts and project timelines make creating your project schedule easy. You can visually plot each project task, add major milestones, then look for any dependencies or conflicts that you haven’t accounted for.

A high-level roadmap like the one above is probably sufficient for your project management plan. Every team will be able to refer back to this timeline throughout the project to make sure they’re on track.

3. Clarify the structure of your project team with a team org chart

And aligning your team is all about communication–communicating the project goals, communicating stakeholder requests, communicating the rationale behind big decisions…the list goes on.

In an organizational chart you should include some basic information like team hierarchy and team member contact information. That way your stakeholders have all of the information they need at their fingertips.

Create an organizational chart with our organizational chart maker .

4. Organize project risk factors in a risk breakdown structure

The first step in coming up with a risk management plan is to list all of the factors at play, which is where a risk breakdown structure comes in handy. A risk breakdown structure is a hierarchical representation of project risks, organized by category.

Streamline your workflow with business process management software .

5. Plan ahead: create project status reports to communicate progress to stakeholders

But even so, something that’s often overlooked by project managers is a communication management plan–a plan for how the project team is going to communicate with project stakeholders. Too often, project communication defaults to ad-hoc emails or last-minute meetings.

This type of report is invaluable for communicating updates on project progress. It shows what you’ve accomplished in a clear, consistent format, which can help flag issues before they arise, build trust with your stakeholders, and makes it easy to reflect on project performance once you’ve reached your goals.

How to make a business plan that stands out

• Keep it brief. A typical business plan can range from 10 to 20 pages. As long as you cover the essentials, less is more.
• Make it easy to read. Divide your document into distinct sections, so that investors can quickly flip between key pieces of information.
• Know your margins. List every cost your business incurs, and make sure that you’re assigning those costs to each product or service that you sell.
• Proofread. Double-check for typos and grammatical errors. Then, triple-check. Otherwise, you might risk your credibility.
• Invest in quality design and printing. Proper layout, branding, and decent printing or bookbinding give your business plan a professional feel.
• Be prepared in advance. Have everything ready to go at least two weeks ahead so you have time to make revisions in case of a last-minute change.

It’s a good idea to periodically revisit your business plan, especially if you are looking to expand. Conducting new research and updating your plan could also provide answers when you hit difficult questions.

Mid-year is a good time to refocus and revise your original plans because it gives you the opportunity to refocus any goals for the second half of the year. Below are three ways to update your plan.

1. Refocus your productivity

If you only want to work a set number of hours per week, you must identify the products and services that deliver the returns you need to make that a reality. Doing so helps you refocus your productivity on the most lucrative profit streams.

2. Realign with your goals

3. Repurpose your offerings

If your time has become more focused on small projects rather than tangible growth and building a valuable client list, consider packaging your existing products or services differently. Can you bundle a few things together?

Resource:

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-make-a-life-plan
https://venngage.com/blog/project-management-plan/
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/starting-a-business/business-plan-template/

How To Introduce Yourself In An Email + Examples

While email marketing is far from obsolete, getting the recipient’s attention can be challenging. If you’re competing against other businesses that use email as a primary marketing channel, your introduction will have to stand out – otherwise, you risk being overlooked.

If you’re selling a high-quality product or service and already have a decent following, you may think an introductory email is unnecessary. However, you can’t just reach out to a potential client you’ve never met before.

You can establish an immediate connection and develop rapport with a professional introduction email. You might also need to write an effective email introduction to get to know a new team member, tell a prospect about your business, or pitch a partnership with another company.

What to include in an introductory email

The first time you reach out to a new contact, it’s important to send a short, purposeful, and professional introduction email — while also hitting on all five important pieces. Below, we’ll get into more detail about each of the pieces, and then apply them to some examples of self-introduction emails.

How to write a great subject line for an introduction email

The subject line might be the most important part of your introductory message, since it will be the first thing the recipient sees (and may be your only chance to grab their attention).

The subject line should be short enough that it doesn’t get cut off, even if the recipient is checking their email on a mobile device. In fact, some experts recommend that the best email subject lines should never be more than 100 characters long. But at the same time, they should be detailed and descriptive. The subject line should tell the recipient exactly why you’re reaching out, whether it’s to ask for their time and expertise, inquire about a new job, or get to know a potential client.

How to greet the recipient of your introductory email

There’s some debate about whether an introductory email should be more formal or casual. An intro message sometimes has no purpose other than to say hello, which feels like a great chance for a more casual email.

There are scenarios when a casual tone is right for an introductory email — especially in the age of remote and hybrid work. If you think a casual tone will be welcomed, use it; but if there’s any doubt in your mind, err on the side of a more formal email, just to be sure your message will be received as polite and respectful. That means avoiding things like “Hey” or “Hi” as a salutation. In many cases, it’s best to stick with the classic, “Dear “.

How to craft the opening line of an introduction email

What to include in your introduction email body

What you include in the body of your email should be unique, depending on why you’re reaching out, who the recipient is, etc. But there are still some best practices to ensure your introductory email makes the best first impression possible:

How to sign off an introductory email

While most of your introductory email so far has been focused on the recipient, your signature is your last chance to include any important information about yourself. You should include all of your contact information in your email signature, including your full name, job title, company name, and phone number or social media links, especially LinkedIn, when appropriate. You may also consider including your pronouns, as this promotes inclusivity and warmth.

Resource:

https://people.ai/blog/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-an-email-examples/
https://blog.superhuman.com/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-an-email/
https://emailanalytics.com/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-an-email/

20+ Page-Turning White Paper Examples [Design Guide + White Paper Templates]

There’s a reason why white papers are considered a marketing staple. When created right, white papers boost your authority, solve problems for your clients and stakeholders and act as powerful lead magnets .

In this guide, you’ll learn how to create and write white papers that engage readers, impress clients, and generate sales leads. No expensive agencies, complicated software, or design experience needed.

CREATE A WHITE PAPER

White paper examples we’ll cover (click to jump ahead):

Businesses write white papers for a number of reasons. It’s a great document to showcase a company’s expertise in the field and to win over investors. A white paper can also be used for marketing purposes and brand awareness.

1. Create an eye-catching white paper cover page

2. Highlight key takeaways to summarize the information in your white paper template

As you can see in this white paper example, there’s a whole section that highlights the key takeaways in the report. Because it’s right on the front page, it’s hard to miss, which is a nice touch:

Pro Tip: Not sure which template is right for your use case? Venngage has a massive catalog of 500+ professional and engaging templates you can customize today. No more boring Word documents or endlessly struggling with expensive design tools. Browse our white paper templates.

3. Incorporate photos in your white paper layout which resemble your target users.

Photos help create a connection between the information in your white paper and your reader. Using a photo on the cover also tells the reader what they can expect to find within the pages.

In this white paper template for a health-related paper, the image of a child with a sugary dessert connects directly to the topic. The reader will instantly know what the paper is about.

White Paper Examples (+ The Most Successful White Paper Example)

Big companies often use white papers to inform and educate their customers or huge brand customers about their platform and products. This is to help other brands become familiar with a company’s product.

Types of White Papers

• Overview – This is a product-based white paper that showcases the features and benefits of the product. This type of white paper highlights a product and helps educate a customer on how to use this product.
• Comparison – This white paper compares products to help a customer decide which is the best option for them. These types of white papers are usually promoted towards the end of a sales cycle, when a potential customer is already interested in a product but doesn’t know which one.
• List – This type of white paper is the most similar to a blog post or article. A list white paper gives a reader tips or examples in a list format, making it an easy read.
• Solution-Based – This presents a problem in the company’s industry, current solutions that aren’t working and offers a new solution or approach that works better than any of the other solutions mentioned in the white paper.

The first part is what to include at the beginning of your white paper, and the second part mentions more about the way you structure a white paper and how to end your white paper.

1. Table of Contents/Introduction

The introduction can be a summary of the entire white paper or an introduction to the problem or product mentioned. For the mockup white paper example, I used a fictional SleepAid Tech company, and the paper demonstrates their products and the features and benefits of each product.

2. Important Points

3. Graphs

4. Break Up Your Writing

5. How to Cite a White Paper

How to Cite a White Paper Using APA Style

How to Cite a White Paper Using MLA Style

How to Cite a White Paper Using Chicago Style

Difference #2: The Goal

The goal of the white paper is to direct the reader towards making a specific decision. In one definition of a white paper, this type of document is “a persuasive essay that uses facts and logic to promote a certain product, service, or viewpoint.” The author directs the reader to a specific conclusion using carefully-selected facts and logic, all with the desired result of portraying the product, service, or viewpoint in the best possible light.

In contrast, an academic paper will present the results of a study in order to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge, “warts and all.” That is to say, the author’s goal is to put forward data with analysis that add to the scientific conversation, to help clarify a bigger picture, and hopefully encourage further research. The author will build a logical framework with evidence from previous work, while acknowledging opposing viewpoints or possible contradictions. Every scientific paper will contain clear mention of the study’s strengths and weaknesses, and any concluding statements will be carefully phrased in order to remain open-ended and neutral.

Difference #3: The Results

If the goal of the white paper produced by a for-profit company is persuading the reader to reach a specific conclusion, then the desired result of that document is a sale by the company that sponsored it. A white paper may not contain a sales pitch, but its carefully crafted message is intended to guide the reader to a specific decision: Investment in the product being described.

For a scientific journal article, the goal is to add to the body of knowledge in a meaningful way. Evidence of the relevance of this contribution can be the citation of that work in future presentation and/or articles published in the same field. Authors of significant work may also benefit from career advancement, requests for presentations at conferences and symposia, and availability of granting opportunities to continue their research. These results may seem amorphous to the layperson, but contributing to the vast body of academic knowledge is the pursuit of every research scientist. Just as the teacher aims to awaken a love of learning in a student, or a doctor works to heal a patient, the research scientist hopes to add a brick to the growing foundation of scientific knowledge, knowing that the brick may be the keystone to even greater discoveries.

This is not to say that all scientific papers add meaningfully to the body of knowledge, nor that all white papers are devoid of scientific value. Not all scientific papers are devoid of corporate influence, with some companies investing in research that then is published in an academic journal (with full disclosures in the publication). And not all white papers are a part of a corporate sales funnel. There are white papers produced by non-profit organizations, including professional associations, that are also persuasive rather than neutral. (An example would be a white paper about climate change produced by an environmental non-profit agency.) In these cases, the goal is to present and defend a specific viewpoint with no direct sales or commercial interest in mind. Some of these types of white papers will be published by trade magazines, appear in conference proceedings, and even be cited in other literature. While they are not neutral per se, they are not commercial in intent.

Commercial white papers can be helpful. For a potential customer considering a product, it can present a lot of information and statistics in a streamlined form, help the reader convince others about their support of a product, and identify practical ways to decide whether or not the product is a good match for one’s needs. It’s important for readers to always keep in the back of their minds, however, that it is a marketing tool that may not present a complete picture. In an academic hierarchy, the scientific paper will be considered superior, since they are unbiased and peer-reviewed. Ideally, a consumer will use both white papers and scientific research to make the best decision for their needs.

Resource:

https://venngage.com/blog/white-paper-examples/
https://elnacain.com/blog/how-to-write-a-white-paper/
https://blog.eoscu.com/blog/3-key-differences-between-white-papers-and-scientific-papers

55+ Inspirational School Quotes for Every Student

From the first day of school to the last, your education is a major part of your life. And, trying to sum up all the hard work and fun times can be a little tricky. Whether you’re looking for the perfect graduation caption or trying to figure out what to write in a yearbook , the following school quotes will help you find the right words. Pick your favorite below, or use them as inspiration to write your own message. With Shutterfly, your kid’s back to school journey will be special because when you personalize supplies with their name, photo, cool graphics, and messages to motivate them.

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Quotes About The End Of The School Year

#1. I have always viewed the mission of Wikipedia to be much bigger than just creating a killer website. We’re doing that of course, and having a lot of fun doing it, but a big part of what motivates us is our larger mission to affect the world in a positive way. – Author: Jimmy Wales

#4. At the end of my first year, I realized I wanted to do more drama, so I actually started an extracurricular course outside of university. So I was at school all day writing, and in the evenings I’d go to drama school. So it was nonstop. – Author: Penelope Mitchell

#5. My parents got me a sewing machine for Christmas during my senior year of high school. I made three pieces of clothing and had a fashion show at the end of the year, where we had to wear the clothes that we made. I took it to a whole new level; I made all my friends clothes. – Author: Kourtney Kardashian

#6. I hate when somebody says, “This may not work.” You’ll never get anywhere with that. I’ve pushed a lot of people out of my way – I don’t mean physically – over them being afraid something isn’t going to work. – Author: Gordon Willis

#7. I work seven days a week and I work about 12 hours a day, from the beginning of September to about the end of May; the school year. I take two days off, Christmas and New Year’s, Thanksgiving sometimes – two and a half. And the result is that I bonded myself to my desk. – Author: James Lipton

#8. When I see people with an interesting gap year, if they can explain it, if they can justify it, if they can show what they’ve learnt from it, it’s sometimes more profitable or more intelligent than having been through a traditional, continuous race from high school to the end of university. – Author: Jean-Pascal Tricoire

#9. It’s quite funny in that I once won Rear of the Year at my school! I was about 17 in the sixth form and we used to have an end of year celebration and give out different awards. I even got a little trophy! – Author: Jessica Ennis

Many of us have childhood memories of the Fourth of July.

When I was young, I remember my family lining up outdoor chairs on the grass of our backyard. My grandparents would come over; my dad would be off of work. We all got our blankets and popcorn ready so we could watch the night sky light up with fireworks. We lived in the Los Angeles Valley, where it was terribly hot especially during the month of July. But we still cuddled together eating popcorn in blankets so the family could be all together.

grilled barbecues on black and gray grill Photo by Evan Wise on Unsplash

Why Fourth Of July is America’s Biggest Frat Party

It’s basically the middle of the summer season and all you’ve seen is the inside of your cubicle. You’re drowning in business casual attire, and if you’re a fool, you’ve spent your 9-5 hungover and getting coffee. Needless to say, summer isn’t everything it used to be. If you’re a working, ‘real’ human this summer, you haven’t worn your letters for quite some time. your boss doesn’t necessarily appreciate a frocket and homemade lunch packed in a painted cooler, so you’ve suppressed the Greek party animal within. The beer hungry, Ke$ha craving beast has been denied all indulgences and you’re sick and tired of being a slave to the man, the clock, and income tax. So when you see Fourth of July on the horizon, the promise of a post game, a day drink, and girls scantily clad in color coordinated attire hangs in the air:

1. You finally have more that two days to get drunk this weekend: Praise the founding fathers that the 4 th falls on a Friday this year. A 3-day weekend means more drinking and more beach time. Cheers Benjamin!

2. You will always have appropriate attire to wear: Thankfully, your fraternity or sorority always designs at least one v-neck or tank that cheesily incorporates your letters into a cliché American slogan

3. Everyone is chillin’, even the cops: Even though school’s out for the summer, that college-cop-radar installed in you is on high alert. especially when the armed forces and friends are everywhere you turn with their beer coozies and Gap American flag t-shirts. Hey, the po-po are free Americans too kids. They too want to fly their USA colors with pride and throw back a few beers.

5. Every house has an open door policy: Even if your not a brother of their frat and don’t have cash for the cover, Fourth of July shows us the bigger picture. Everyone knows USA’s secret handshake—iPhone in one hand, drank in the other, you can’t even handshake so all is well. Welcome my American brotheren!

6. Chubbies are a hot commodity: Heck, they’re even encouraged. Your thighs need the tan and ‘Merica doesn’t have enough stars or stripes to cover the appropriate amount of you. So go ahead, girls aren’t the only ones who can sport short shorts!

9. It gives your partying a purpose, therefore you can go extra hard. Nothing wrong with a weekend rager celebrating the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Plus, you can finally listen to those EDM beats (you know the cool songs you found on Sound Cloud that you’ve been turning down on your ipod during your daily commute to work), out loud and be the trendy kid at the post-game with the under cover super sick songs.

10. When you accidentally sing your sorority song and throw up your gang sign, you won’t have to feel embarrassed, because you’ll know that frat and srat stars all across the USA are right there with ya.

Source:

https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/school-quotes/
https://quotestats.com/topic/quotes-about-the-end-of-the-school-year/
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-quotes-out-end-school-year-slump

To build a website like Nerd Wallet is every affiliate marketer’s dream. They are the leading example of a successful SEO blog that crushes affiliate marketing, and they’re doing so in one of the most profitable (and competitive) industries in the world – personal finance.

How to Become a Blogger in 5 Simple Steps

Want to create something meaningful? Why not start a blog? Why not become a blogger? Creating this blog is one of the best decisions Ryan and I ever made. After all, our blog is how we earn a living. More important, it’s how we add value to other people’s lives.

So you’re thinking about starting a blog, but you don’t have any idea where to start, right? Guess what—neither did we! Before we became “The Minimalists,” we wanted to start a blog to communicate our thoughts and express our feelings, but we were overwhelmed with options.

Clueless, confused, and confounded with choices, we had no idea how to start a blog or how to be a blogger. When should we start? How do we register a domain name? What is hosting? Which blogging platform should we use? How do we choose a blog theme? What is a plugin? What should we write about? Heck, we could hardly spell HTML, let alone build a blog!

But good news: it turns out that starting a blog is much easier than you think. We’ve learned a ton of lessons during our ascent to millions of readers, and now you can learn from our pain and suffering to avoid much of the tedium involved in setting up a blog.

Disclosure: The Minimalists’ blog is hosted by Bluehost. For 5000.75 a month, Bluehost can help you set up and host your blog. Because The Minimalists are a Bluehost affiliate partner (i.e., we earn some revenue, at no additional cost to you, when you purchase using our links), our readers can use this link to receive a 50% discount off the monthly price and a free domain for the first year.

Step 1 Choose your blog name and get your blog hosting

Blogging Quick Start – Step 1

Choose your domain name

Your domain name is an important part of your blog because it creates a first impression—it is the name of your blog. Also known as your URL, your domain is also your address on the web. For example, our domain name is www.theminimalists.com.

So, what do you want to call your blog? Maybe it’s YourName.com. Maybe it’s YourBusinessName.com. Or maybe it’s a creative brand name you thought up. If you’re having a hard time thinking of a good domain name, try Wordoid, a wonderful naming tool that will give you plenty of great options. Just make sure you don’t buy the domain from them since Bluehost will give you a free domain. (If you’ve already purchased a domain elsewhere, that’s okay, too, because Bluehost will make it easy to transfer your existing domain during the setup process.)

Set up blog hosting

Once you’ve decided on a domain name, you’ll need to set up hosting for your blog. While WordPress itself is free (see Step 2 below), you need a reliable place to host your WordPress blog (your blog needs to be on a server somewhere on the Internet).

• We Use Bluehost. We personally use Bluehost to host The Minimalists. If you recommend a company, you better be willing to use their product yourself. We also use them to host several other websites of ours.
• Outstanding Customer Service. Bluehost’s customer service is 100% US-based. With hold times that average less than 30 seconds and 100% in-house, on-site staff in their Texas offices, you can rest assured that the person helping with your site knows how to help. In other words, if you have any questions, they will help you through the entire setup process.
• Great Pricing. TheMinimalists.com is a Bluehost affiliate partner, which means that in addition to using their service, we also receive a commission for referring new customers. To be fair, though, we would still use Bluehost even if we weren’t an affiliate—we’ve used them for a long time. Ergo, we don’t recommend Bluehost just because we’re an affiliate (every hosting company offers a similar affiliate program); we recommend Bluehost because they are the best, most reliable option. Plus, because we’re a partner, Bluehost offers a 50% discount for The Minimalists readers: only 5000.75 a month for the first year.
• Free Domain. When you sign up for hosting, Bluehost will give you a free domain name, which allows you to avoid the upfront and recurring fees associated with purchasing a domain on your own. If you’ve already purchased your own domain name, don’t worry; you can still use your domain with Bluehost (it’s just one extra step).
• Money-Back Guarantee. Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so there’s no risk if you change your mind.
• Reliability. Bluehost’s facilities are world class. They have their own custom-built 20,000-square-foot datacenter with enough backup generators to power a city.
• Friends & Family. Many of our friends and family also use Bluehost to host their blogs.

How to Start a Blog Ebook

Step 3 Pick a simple theme to make your blog your own

A theme allows you to pick a design for your blog without the need for coding expertise or design knowledge. In other words, a good theme helps you to design your blog exactly how you want it to look. If you’re not a coder (I’m certainly not a coder), then a theme makes the design work a million times easier.

Blogging Quick Start – Step 3

Our blog design is from BYLT, a platform created by our good friends at SPYR. They have several beautiful, simple WordPress themes to choose from, and, in fact, you can purchase the same theme we use if you like.

Simply go to BYLT and find the minimalist WordPress theme that best fits your desired aesthetic. Their themes are feature-rich; plus, once you buy your theme, you will have the same team supporting your work that we trust to support ours.

Tree Hugger

Treehugger is the leading media outlet for news on sustainability. They are pushing to make sustainability a mainstream topic and they are doing well at it considering they receive over 3M visitors per month.

They offer amazing articles on sustainable design, technology, business, clean living and transportation. Other than their amazing articles, they also have weekly podcasts on current news conspiracies and new ideas about sustainability around the world.

They have a pretty solid team built up of 9 writers all with backgrounds in writing and some kind of education related to environmental sustainability. Treehugger makes revenue by putting ads on their blog and was last reported to make approximately $10.4M in annual revenue.

What they do well in: Staying true to their mission. Many blogs in this industry have been guilty of writing about things based on what’s trending – oftentimes publishing things that have nothing to do with their mission. Not Tree Hugger.

Brain Pickings

Many of us these days have trouble reading complex pieces of writing. No matter how good it is, it can be extremely frustrating trying to pick the words apart and digest them without truly knowing what they mean. Luckily, there’s Brain Pickings.

The solo blogger, Maria Popova will spend hours reading, listening and rewriting complex topics into easily digestible language. You will find no ads on this website as it is funded solely through donations. Readers can decide to donate monthly or just one time.

What they do well in: Keeping a website afloat based off of donations and consistently pumping out content as a solo writer. She publishes 3 posts per day for her 150,000 email subscribers.

Authorship:

https://www.theminimalists.com/blog/
https://www.theminimalists.com/blog/#:~:text=How%20to%20Start%20a%20Successful%20Blog%20in%205,and%20now%20it%E2%80%99s%20time%20to%20start%20blogging.%20
https://alphainvestors.com/blogging/examples-successful-blogs/

The greatest advantage, arguably, for having marketplaces for contractors is that it fosters healthy competition. It is a good old free-market tenet where superior goods and services get selected over inferior ones. If you subscribe to this view like those who do the valuations for Decacorn companies, then it is time to monitor the gig economy. Why? If it continues and grows, there may be things that will get phased out.

2022 Business Trends: Challenges, Strategies & Goals

Business leaders continue to note that talent issues, supply chain and inflation concerns are challenges across all industries. We offer perspective into the business landscape over the last 12 months and expectations for the new year, specifically focusing on the changing business environment, performance and strategies, as well as key business topics for the coming year.

While many businesses saw significant growth over the past two years, in 2022 U.S. businesses overall have returned to a strong year-over-year growth following stagnant or declining growth during the pandemic. Recovery is well underway across all industry segments. The economic outlook has risen above pre-pandemic levels and for some businesses, expansionary activity has resumed.

Top Business Challenges

According to the National Center for the Middle Market, top challenges include supply chain, finding and retaining talent, and customer engagement. The way we work now with more of a hybrid workforce has redefined what the employee experience looks like. Customer engagement and how we interact with our customers has evolved. Growth opportunities are dependent on how we solve these challenges, and digital transformation will likely be one solution. We’ve seen rapid change during the pandemic, and new challenges are necessitating optimization within companies.

“Companies with employees working from their homes in states across the country need to be aware of how this impacts their state tax filings. If you have a team member working remotely in a state where you don’t already have employees working, you could be required to start withholding payroll tax on that employee’s wages in the state where the employee lives and works. Also, this payroll may require you to begin filing income and/or sales tax returns in the state where you did not previously have nexus and a filing requirement.”
BEN CARVER, CPA, SHAREHOLDER, TAX

Supply Chain

The worldwide interdependence of the supply chain was illustrated during the pandemic and has become a top challenge for businesses. Supply chain disruptions have negatively impacted growth due to strong demand coupled with COVID-related supply disruptions. When people were stuck at home, they slowed spending on discretionary items, such as restaurants, entertainment, and other services, and more money was spent on food and consumer goods.

On the supply side, China, the manufacturing capital of the world, temporarily shut down regions and ports. We expect the demand to return to more normal levels in 2022, and supplies should improve as COVID recedes. However, the semiconductor shortage is believed to be harder to resolve and will likely continue through 2022. Demand for goods that use computer chips will remain high, and the prolonged shortage has driven up prices of goods and made some items nearly impossible to buy. At this stage, Intel, Samsung and TSMC have announced plans to build chip plants in the U.S.; however, these kinds of facilities can take years to open and will not likely change the situation anytime soon.

As companies move from efficient to resilient supply chains, this will depress growth over time. While deglobalization has been occurring for several years, the pandemic increased the speed. Nations are setting up industrial policies to protect the supply chains of companies headquartered in their domain, and policies are meant to ensure that key inputs, such as semiconductor chips or rare earth metals, for example, are not being held hostage by the nations that control those inputs.

These policies are accelerating the trend for Western companies to re-shore and diversify their supply base. Diversification won’t occur overnight, and China has the greatest advantage in terms of infrastructure, skilled labor base and manufacturing know-how.

Finding and Retaining Talent

Labor shortages are impacting company growth, making finding and retaining talent a top challenge in 2022. According to world economists, this trend is largely the result of a more selective workforce. In a survey conducted by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), nearly 90% of 1,200 employers said they were struggling to fill open positions in 2021, and 73% said they’re seeing a decrease in applications for those hard to fill positions. Three million U.S. workers retired during the pandemic, noting COVID-19 and health concerns as a primary reason. For younger workers, financial payments from the government allowed them to delay their return to the workforce and be more selective in what jobs they would take. We expect that these younger workers will return to the workforce at a more normal level in 2022.

During the pandemic, training for skilled trades came to a halt due to the hands-on nature of learning. These vocational schools are back in session, and the need for these types of workers will be high in 2022.

Business Performance/ Strategies

Business performance and strategies for 2022 are primarily focused on sales and profitability, capital spending and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). A hot topic for the coming year will likely be around M&A. We continue to see much activity in the M&A space across industries, especially with our clients in the technology and healthcare sectors.

Sales & Profitability Strategies

The top strategy for profitability revealed in our survey was improving productivity and efficiency, followed closely by decreasing operating expenses and technology improvements. It’s common to see business leaders focus on the things they can control and offer less risk. Therefore, it’s no surprise these are at the top of the list.

At the beginning of 2021, executives were more interested in selling existing products to existing markets, confirming a lower risk strategy. With increased confidence in 2022, this could present a great opportunity for companies should they want to shift the risk from low to high and get into those new markets or offer new services to existing markets.

Many of our clients are learning to do the same thing in new ways, bringing increased focus to existing markets and customers, whether that’s by location, how they connect or how they deliver their services. Some of these shifts were out of necessity, such as new telehealth services that many of our healthcare clients have implemented. Telehealth allows physicians to serve patients through voice or video calls instead of the traditional in office face-to-face visits. This strategy focuses on existing markets and customers with the same outcomes, but with a different way to connect and deliver services.

Capital Spending

The largest driver of business capital spending is economic growth, with additional impacts from high labor costs and low interest rates. Companies are being pushed into expanding their investments in 2022 due to supply chain demands and labor shortages. Companies are looking to spend, with many of them having plenty of cash on hand resulting from Payment Protection Program (PPP) funds or CARES Act advances and forgiveness.

Many of our clients were being conservative with funds through the pandemic. Supply chain demands and long lead times potentially restrained spending. However, as we enter 2022 with these funds being forgiven, businesses are looking to spend their cash in more effective and efficient ways. Many of them have labor shortages which are driving them to invest in more computers, technology and machinery to automate processes and enhance efficiencies.

We’ve also seen more companies purchasing equipment in an effort to repatriate manufacturing and supply chain demands. One example could be that the business has a product that’s 98% complete, but they are missing one piece, such as a computer chip. We see businesses proactively regaining some control by bringing that last piece onshore to navigate the supply chain issues making shortages, transportation issues, or shutdowns from other countries irrelevant.

High Growth versus No Growth

It’s not a surprise that high growth companies are leading the way in capital spending. What is surprising is that in these difficult times, marketing is top of list just ahead of acquiring new locations and/or new facilities. While marketing was more likely to be cut from the budget in the past, brand awareness has become very important for high growth businesses today. By cutting marketing and public relations, these companies run the risk of potentially damaging the demand for their products and services.

We have seen this firsthand as a high growth accounting and consulting firm. In the last few years, we have been very intentional about enhancing our marketing spend to elevate our specific marketing technology efforts as well as go to market segment needs. We’ve also been purposeful with a keen focus on building brand trust with both clients/prospects and talent needs with the expansion of our Corporate Brand and Employer Brand initiatives.

Areas in Which Increased Capital Spend is Anticipated

Mergers & Acquisitions

Stock prices have been strong, financing has been cheap, and corporate balance sheets have ample cash from PPPs and CARES Acts funding. These factors have set the stage for profitability strategies and capital spending to be highly focused on expanding business. This has mostly come by way of merging with or acquiring a company or a portion of a company.

Many businesses are making strategic moves, whether it’s merging, selling, acquiring, or listing as an IPO. It should not come as a surprise that private equity groups have capitalized on this trend in 2021. Private equity exit activity in the U.S. has already notched record annual deal value through Q3 2021.

Marketing

Spend on social media will increase.

The leading social media platforms have billions of users between them, so it is no surprise that social media has been a growing target for marketers. That rapid growth won’t stop in 2021. Estimates from insurance firm Finaria suggest that social media ad spend will increase by 15% in 2021, growing the total spent on social media ads to $105 billion. That’s nearly double the $54.4 billion total social media ad spend in 2017.

“Year over year, we’re seeing spend on social media increase – and this year it was a dramatic increase,” said Ari Zoldan, CEO of Quantum Media Group. “Everyone was forced to pull back on traditional brick-and-mortar marketing. They were forced into digital, and many of them see that it is working really well.

While social media advertising is increasingly important, it is increasingly competitive. Small businesses should focus on a multichannel organic approach to build an audience and brand awareness. While ads can bolster organic growth, small businesses should avoid getting into a social media arms race with competitors when organic approaches like content marketing could have a better return on investment.

Paid placement advertising will increase in traditional media outlets.

From 2012 through 2019, spending on paid placement advertisements in the U.S. grew from $4.75 billion to $11.44 billion, and that trend is only going to continue in 2021, Zoldan said. Additionally, the line between sponsored content and non-sponsored content is likely to blur, since audiences clearly prefer authenticity to an advertisement, he added.

“I think we’re going to see a lot more paid placement in traditional media, because it is really hard to get earned media,” Zoldan said. “Paid placements are going to be very immersive and very video-centric; it will be hard to tell the difference between paid and earned.”

Multimedia spend will generate better ROI than conventional press releases.

In part due to the difficulty of securing earned media, Zoldan said, press releases are becoming less effective. Brands are likely to bring press releases in-house and produce video announcements of newsworthy company developments rather than send text-based releases to media outlets in hopes they will be published.

Augmented reality and virtual reality come into their own.

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have been in the zeitgeist for some time now, but 2021 might be the year they break new ground in terms of business adoption. Best of all, small businesses could take the lead on the trend.

“Virtual and augmented reality allow us to experience the world in a different way. And especially during a pandemic, it’s extremely powerful,” said Joe Apfelbaum, founder and CEO of B2B marketing company Ajax Union. “If you want to go to networking events, you can go to VR networking events happening right now. You can create trade show exhibits that are VR and AR experiences in an affordable way.”

AI and big data will drive personalization.

Other technologies businesses can’t get away from are artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics. These two technologies are a match made in heaven that allows businesses to not only collect massive troves of data, but use machine learning to make sense of that data. The insights businesses gain in this way can be used to better target marketing campaigns or find new efficiencies in internal processes.

“For example, this call is being transcribed by AI,” Apfelbaum said during an interview with Business News Daily. “If I say ‘action item’, it will automatically take action items. If I say ‘fifty dollars,’ it will automatically create a section for money we’re mentioning.”

“Depending on what your business is and what you’re looking to accomplish, you can leverage AI and automation in a very affordable way,” Apfelbaum said. “You can just get one personal business license for a lot of the tools out there.”

Small businesses will drive new tech adoption.

“If you’re a small business and some new tech comes out, you can implement it immediately,” he said. “A big company has to test and test, and by the time they test and set everything up, they don’t want to change it again because they’ve invested so much.”

That ability to be nimble and adapt to developing technology gives small businesses an edge, and that’s why it will be small businesses that drive mass adoption of technologies like AR/VR and machine learning in 2021.

Did You Know? Developing technologies like AR, VR and AI will start to be adopted by mainstream businesses and consumers. Small businesses will be important in driving this mass adoption.

Human resources

The world of human resources could be in for some significant changes with the changing of the guard in the White House, said Aaron Holt, a labor and employment attorney at Cozen O’Connor. This could result in policy changes impacting businesses of all sizes.

The federal minimum wage will be increased.

“Right now, it’s $7.25, and [the] last time [it was] amended was 2009,” Holt said. “The Biden administration talked about [a] $15 minimum wage, which would be a substantial increase. Whether they go through with that level of increase remains to be seen, but I would expect some sort of raising of the minimum wage.”

Federal paid leave could become law in 2021.

Amid the pandemic, the call for paid family and medical leave has been greater than ever. Recently, with the passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the federal government extended the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the unpaid leave it provides. However, that could soon become paid leave, Holt said, especially if Democrats take control of the Senate.

“The other big piece we see coming based upon what has been said in Biden administration is some type of new paid leave laws. Biden was pretty vocal about that throughout the pandemic,” Holt said. “I would expect for Biden, especially if Democrats control both houses of Congress, to try and pass some type of codified paid leave at the federal level.

OSHA will step up pandemic-related enforcement.

Many small businesses might not have heard much from the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA) last year, but that is likely to change in 2021. Holt said small businesses should ensure they have the required safety protocols in place in preparation for increased monitoring.

“During the pandemic, OSHA has been relatively quiet as far as enforcement actions or aggressive investigations, or mandating compliance with pandemic-related safety precautions,” Holt said. “I would expect that the Biden admin is going to change that. I would expect to see much more forceful guidance and active enforcement from OSHA, both at federal and state level relative to pandemic restrictions.”

“The best thing to do is monitor the CDC guidance to what businesses should do to protect themselves, employees and customers,” Holt said. “Also, make sure you’re checking state and local ordinances. County officials or state officials impose lockdowns or requirements on businesses, and it is incumbent upon employers in that geographic area to comply with those ordinances. If not, there is usually some type of penalty that can be assessed.”

Small businesses will need a COVID-19 vaccination policy.

As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely available, businesses will need a policy on how to address vaccination requirements. Entrepreneurs should begin crafting a policy now, Holt said. Consult with an attorney to ensure all local, state and federal regulations are followed when developing your policy.

Tip: The change in presidential administrations will come with changes in the minimum wage and paid-leave regulations. Small businesses should also be wary of stepped-up COVID-19 regulation enforcement and consider developing a vaccination policy.

“Once the vaccine becomes more generally available, employers are going to be faced with [the] decision as to how they deal with that in [the] workplace. Are they going to require it? Recommend it? Incentivize employees to get it?” Holt said. “Getting those policies and practices drafted and tweaked, and making sure they match operational needs of the business now is going to be important, especially for SMBs that won’t have an HR department.”

Get on the Influencer Marketing Train

Influencer marketing is like celebrity endorsement prevalent in the age of mass media. Instead of just gunning for movie stars or musical artists, marketers place their products on social media channels and other digital touchpoints like podcasts of influential people in their given realm. And because of their relatively low cost and extensive market reach, 25% of small businesses use influencers for their social media marketing (Visual Objects, 2020). And this is why many SMBs are increasing their marketing budgets on Instagram.

A modern example of which are MMA fighters who are active on social media. Health and fitness brands pile up to sponsor outspoken personalities and those with fun content to help them get their products out to their target segment. Another would be marketers tying their product up with musicians to create popular how-to videos.

This approach is quite easy to do as everyone is really easy to reach nowadays. Almost everyone has a Twitter handle or a Facebook account. Furthermore, brands do not really have to go with high-profile celebrities. They can target micro-influencers or personalities who have a strong following ( Impact BND , 2019) that’s within the range of a thousand to a million.

What’s great about micro-influencers is that their social media channels are very active. Their followers and peers (who might also be influencers) engage more with their content rather than just view them and leave “likes.” Furthermore, they are not really as expensive to do business with compared to more traditional celebrities. As such, you need to get on this wave sooner rather than later before competitors get to the top micro-influencers of your target segments. For this, you’d do well with a good social media monitoring tool to determine micro-influencers and influencers.

Influencer Marketing Highlights

Key Takeaways Concerning Small Business Trends, Opportunities, and Ideas

Trends come and go from time to time. COVID-19’s worldwide impact will likely shape the new “normal,” and businesses, both small and large, have no other choice but adapt to thrive and survive in these emerging trends. Also, this can be said to the same thing about small business ideas and small business opportunities. Their timeliness is dependent on the wider market forces and movement.

And sometimes when you are a small business owner you don’t really get to see these market forces at play. We tend to just stick to what we ordinarily see in our own localities. However, unlike other market forces, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to remain to dictate how small businesses should be operated. And this makes employers become very anxious about the health of their business in the new market landscape.

With the new norm shaping further into a more contact-less business environment, business owners need to be more conscious of their digital touchpoints. The pandemic, indeed, has compelled small business owners to finally roll-out their long-delayed plan to take the big leap away from offline to online operations. Current ecommerce trends offer powerful insights to facilitate that significant shift.

Authorship:

https://www.lbmc.com/blog/business-trends/
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7605-business-trend-predictions.html
https://financesonline.com/small-business-trends/

Email is okay to thank for a coffee or meal that was casual or whose invitation was extended by email in the first place. It’s also okay for very small favors. But for dinner parties, big favors, an actual gift, or being a houseguest, handwritten thank-you notes are your best bet for an expression of warm, heartfelt thanks.

Thank-You Messages: What to Write in a Thank-You Card

You know that wonderful, warm-fuzzy feeling that comes over you when someone goes out of his or her way to spoil you, feed you, treat you, welcome you, bless you, support you or help you out? Of course you do. The feeling is gratitude, and it feels even better when you express it!

A handwritten card or note of thanks is one of the most heartfelt and meaningful ways to express gratitude. Maybe you can’t repay your recipient for the nice thing he or she has done, but you can reflect the thoughtfulness with the time and care you put into writing and sending a warm, gracious thank-you card or note.

If you need a little help getting beyond, “Thanks so much…,” you’re in the right place. Our “What to Write in a Thank-You Card” guide is full of thank-you-writing inspiration and message ideas from Hallmark writers. Whether you read the whole guide or skip to your specific thank-you situation, we hope it adds to the feel-good factor of putting your thanks in writing.

Who should you write thank you notes to?

How do you know when sending a thank you card is appropriate and who should you write thank you notes to? This question is actually not as tricky as it sounds. Whenever someone has done something nice for you like presenting you with a gift or going out of their way to help you, it’s definitely worth writing them a thank you card. No, sending a thank you text message is most definitely not the same thing.

Of course there are actual occasions when thank you notes are basically expected, but huge life changing events are not the only time a thank you note is called for. In fact, the more surprising the thank you note is — the more special it will make your recipient feel. Below are some good solid reasons to mail a thank you note, but don’t let that limit you…

Special occasions when thank you notes are expected.

From diaper cakes to a helping hand, your friends and family have done all they can to make your life as a new mom and dad as smooth of a transition as possible. Even though it may seem like you have zero time on your hands to give a proper thanks, you should try to get a few minutes each day to write out a thank you. [Plus, with Postable you can type the thank yous online and we’ll mail them for you.]

Who to send a baby shower thank you card to?

As with wedding thank you cards, it’s best to try to keep a guest list close by when the gifts are opened so that you can keep track of who gave what. When a gift arrives in the mail, make sure to add to the list as soon as it gets in so that nobody goes un-thanked.

Examples of Thank You Notes

Professional Sample:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me on Monday. I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about your team and look forward to working together over the coming year. Please feel free to reach out to me if I can help with anything during the transition. Thanks you again and I can’t wait to get started.

Social Sample:

Thank you so much for sending the new baby blanket you made for Anisha. It is simply the softest thing that has ever touched our little one, I don’t know how you make such wonderful things. You are beyond thoughtful. I do hope that you will make time for a visit as soon as it is possible, we can’t wait to see you in person. Thank you again for everything, we can feel the love from here.

Teaching Your Kids Why & How to Write Thank You Notes

Sure, it sounds like a dream: Your children running up to you and begging to write thank-you notes to their aunts, uncles, and cousin Pete. It could be a reality—if you cut out the obligation and play up the gratitude. Explain the value and purpose of the notes: “Thank-you notes are a special way to tell Nanna & Grandpa how much you liked their present.”

Being Thankful: Thank-You Note FAQs

Thank-You Notes: To Send or Not To Send?

Different Ways to Say Thank-You

The Importance of the Handwritten Thank-you Note

Video: Handwritten Thank-You Note Tips

How to Write a Thank-You Note

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Recommended Articles

Being Thankful: Thank-You Note FAQs

Thank-You Notes: To Send or Not To Send?

Different Ways to Say Thank-You

The Importance of the Handwritten Thank-you Note

Video: Handwritten Thank-You Note Tips

How to Write a Thank-You Note

Sources:

https://ideas.hallmark.com/articles/thank-you-ideas/thank-you-messages-what-to-write-in-a-thank-you-card/
https://www.postable.com/blog/how-to-write-a-thank-you-note-the-ultimate-guide/
https://emilypost.com/advice/complete-guide-to-writing-thank-you-notes