Spring Cleaning for Your Blog
The birds are singing, the posies are popping and spring rains are making everything look shiny and new. Here are 10 tips to dust off your blog and give it a fresh spring feel. Update Your About Page Have you gained experience or earned new credentials since you set up your blog? Has the objective for your blog changed? Have YOU changed? One of the most frequent complaints that online daters have is that “in person, they looked nothing like their picture” — meaning that the picture showed a younger (and probably skinnier) version…
St. Patrick’s Day Sale at HostGator
Starting today – Monday, March 16th, 2015 at 12am CST, HostGator is running a St. Patrick’s Day Sale, featuring 55{0e584ec94eaa64d073763ee1dc286a1f4d0f941424b1448bbfd01af7d90f9475} off all new hosting packages, plus $8 domains! The St. Patrick’s Day Sale will run for a full 72 hours and end on Wednesday, March 18th at 11:59pm CST. Your Coupon Code is: GOLD NOTE: The offer is only valid on new hosting packages, not applicable on renewals or existing hosting plans. jQuery(document).ready(function(){items_str = “facebook,twitter,google,pinterest,linkedin,stumbleupon,reddit”; items_arr = items_str.split(“,”); ism_load_counts_from_db(items_arr, ‘https://rosalindgardner.com/blog/feed/’, ‘#indeed_sm_wrap_1758’, 1); ism_save_share_counts = 1; }); #indeed_sm_wrap_1758{ top : 20px;left : 20px;}#indeed_sm_wrap_1758 .ism_item{ }#indeed_sm_wrap_1758 .ism_item_wrapper{ display: inline-block;}0000000
280+ Spam Filter Words and Phrases to Avoid
Do you ever wonder how many of the emails you send to your newsletter subscribers get caught up in spam filters and junk mail folders? While checking my Gmail today, I was surprised to see how many marketers’ messages – to which I’d subscribed – were in the spam folder. A quick scan down the list and it was easy to see why Gmail deemed those messages to be junk… they were rife with spam trigger words and phrases. Here’s partial screenshot of what I found. I’ve circled and blurred the names of marketers (and affiliate networks) and placed rectangles around the spammy words and phrases. I particularly like ‘…
Responsive WordPress Themes for 2015
I had a problem on one of my blogs this week that I (wrongly) assumed was due to over-tweaking of its WordPress theme. To fix it, I went in search of a new theme to install on the site. Boy, was I surprised by the number of beautiful themes available, particularly the responsive theme designs and those with parallax scrolling. Parallax scrolling is where background images move slower than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2 dimensional scene. Parallax and other long scroll themes are best suited to business and ecommerce sites, i.e. a membership site. …
Former Student Hits it BIG
I feel like a proud mama every time I hear how one of my students has taken what they learned from me (and others) and gone on to become uber successful affiliate marketers. In this case, Jamie is a 38 year old musician — but it’s affiliate marketing that has put bread on his table. Really BIG bread. There’s an Aston Martin in his garage thanks to the 12 million bucks he’s earned as an affiliate marketer — primarily on Clickbank. Yes, that’s for real — he shows his actual tax returns on the net, something he probably learned from me. He’s now decided to teach others what he’s been doing so successfully — because he HATES the fact that ‘…
Get Mobile-Friendly by April 21st or Risk Lowering Your Rankings
In February, Google announced that it would start favoring mobile-friendly sites starting on April 21st. Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. Contrary to some bloggers’ interpretation of Google’s latest algorithm change, your site will NOT be de-listed if it is not mobile friendly. (Oh yes, all sorts of doom and gloom was unleashed, including coining of the fanciful term “Mobilegeddon“, which I quite liked — enough to use on this post’s main graphic. Google’s John Mueller posted the following on Google+ to allay those fears: It’s great to get people motivated to make their website mobile-friendly, but we’re not going to be removing sites…
Why is Responsive Website Design A Big Deal In 2015 and How It Can Boost Your Rankings
Google has been rolling out some really stringent updates like Panda and Penguin. This time Google is back with one more update – Mobile Friendly which basically aims to improve site rankings of the websites which are responsive. The algorithm will affect all the websites which have mobile usabililty issues and hence, it is now imperative for businesses to move to a responsive website. Google has officially announced too that responsive design pattern is their favored pattern as it is easier …
Free Marketing eBook, Invest In Loyal Audiences, Link Graph Primer, #Speedlink 16:2015
Hi everyone, hope you all had a great and productive week! Free Marketing eBook Brought to you by Brother CreativeCenter, SmallBizTrends.com has made available to download, the Innovative Marketing Tips ebook, to help marketers and just about any small business owner help thrive in today’s world of online marketing. The ebook contains many useful and insightful tips, as a result of many responses received from marketers that were asked to share its best tips and advice on how to use visuals in content and marketing. …
SEO of Tomorrowland
We now live in an age where technology and the internet are rapidly being integrated into our daily lives. With the dawn of the “internet of things” and the proliferation of smart watches, tablets, not to mention the ubiquitous smartphone, it seems hard to imagine a time when our devices existed in isolation without the internet capabilities that we have all become accustomed to today. This also means that people are interacting with the web in ways that we have never seen before. While desktop use is still the norm, mobile searches now account for roughly 30{0e584ec94eaa64d073763ee1dc286a1f4d0f941424b1448bbfd01af7d90f9475} of all web traffic, which makes sense considering that there are now more smartphones and mobile devices…
Mobile Friendly FAQs, SEO Value From SERPs, WordPress 4.2 Powell, #Speedlink 17:2015
Hi everyone, hope you all had a great and productive week! So you probably have heard about all the fuzz that has been going on for weeks about the “mobilegeddon” thing. Mobilegeddon is suppose to be the dreaded Google mobile algorithm update. Dreaded becasue it not only impacts your site on mobile search, it may also affect your overall rankings. Well, the wait is over. Google announced that the roll out has started 100{0e584ec94eaa64d073763ee1dc286a1f4d0f941424b1448bbfd01af7d90f9475} and provides in this blog post, a series of answers to questions arising from what could you do and not do in the event that you …
4 Free Ways To Stay Active
Staying active is very important to me and I’m constantly finding new ways to exercise in fun ways, but also free. I work from home, and sometimes staying active can get away from you.Staying active when you are so busy in all other areas in your life is very important. It helps keep you refreshed and motivated.Incorporating different activities in my life is very important because it mixes things up and keeps me excited. I tend …
How To Not Be A Broke College Student
Being in college doesn’t have to be so difficult to save money. You don’t have to be broke either.Use being a student to your advantage while you can because it can save you a decent amount of money.You can always keep your student ID card and use it after, even if you aren’t currently a student, it will still work!1. Invest in a ISIC card. I just bought one today for $25 and I’ve basically already been paid back when I use it for my Machu Picchu trip. I will save about 30 dollars. This card …
How Medical Tourism Saved Me Thousands as a Recent Grad
The way I see it, for recent grads, Obamacare was a blessing and a curse. When it passed in 2010, I was a few months out of college, 22 years old, freelance writing and under-employed. I was buying my own health insurance for (what I thought at the time) was an astronomical fee of $120 per month from BCBS North Carolina. I had vision and dental coverage, and regardless of the care I got, my insurance almost always helped me out with something – even if it was just a reduced co-pay for seeing a specialist.It was a total God-…
Kaiku Visa Prepaid Card Review
If you are looking for a prepaid card, I found the BEST one for you. I recently had the opportunity to review the Kaiku Visa prepaid card and it did not disappoint.I used the Kaiku Visa prepaid card for a little less than two months so I know I am giving an honest review today. I had no problem whatsoever with the card and it was accepted everywhere I went because of the universal Visa symbol.Below are two main questions you may be wondering when it comes to the Kaiku Visa prepaid card. If you have…
Never Let a “Writers Block” Leave Your Site Paralyzed Again
So you’ve found a niche for your money making ideas, identified your keywords and phrases, and set up your website. It’s time to start (and keep) adding content.After all, site visitors aren’t going to hang around long enough to see your ads or listen to your affiliate pitch if they don’t find something on the page that interests them. No matter what your monetization strategy is, you want your site to be something that provides people value so they will keep coming back for more. The only way you are going to…
8 Things You Must Do Before You Even Start Looking for Clients
So you have decided to give freelancing, one of the most popular money making ideas, a shot.Great!What now? Where do you get started? Well, considering that the three most important words in the world of freelancing are – clients, clients and clients, we may as well get started there.Freelancers work based on the demands of their clients, and without clients, a freelancer would be just another couch potato.Finding clients is the ultimate goal for freelancers, but before you even you start looking …
5 Ways To Improve The Look Of Your Office
My last job was a complete bore. The work was hard and stressful, but still boring at the same time. It showed too. I never spent a second longer in my office than I had to and I was always practically running away from the office.This meant that my office was ugly. Since I didn’t care, I didn’t spend any time on making it look nicer.However, everything is completely different now. I’m constantly looking up different ways to …
3 Reasons To Have a Business Credit Card
If you have a business, then you might want to look into getting a credit card for it.As I always say, only do this if you are actually good at managing credit cards though. Getting a credit card for any reason is not worth it if it just leads to credit card debt.A business credit card has so many positives, and I only recently realized this. I should have done this years ago as it has helped me earn money and it has made life a little easier as well.Below are three reasons to have a business credit card. If you are currently only using…
Are Post-Secondary Degrees Really Necessary Anymore?
With so many alternatives for career advancement available these days, there’s a hot debate over whether post secondary degrees are even necessary for success any more. Certainly there are fields, like science, medicine and engineering, where an advanced degree is a requirement, but what about those who aren’t interested in pursuing careers in those fields?Aside from the cost of a higher education and the delay in beginning your professional life, there are many more benefits to furthering your education beyond a high school diploma or undergraduate degree that go beyond a much higher pay rate, sometimes up to three times more than a bachelors degree alone. For example, courses are often taught by instructors who have extensive knowledge and …
3 Key Questions for Finding the Best Types of Marketing Strategies For You
The reason I decided to write this blog post is best explained by a short story, so sit back with your cup of coffee and join me on my journey across the Internet. I was browsing around, flicking through some social media strategy posts to get information, and I noticed something that I've seen far too often. As I ventured from one post to the next, they had completely opposite advice, with supporting statistics for each. Isn't that just enough to make you throw all your papers (or the more expensive but modern version: your laptop) off of your desk and walk out, proclaiming that the internet is too confusing and you’re going to some …
Monetize That Mobile Site: 3 Sources of Mobile App Affiliate Programs
Don't let the title fool you. Yes this is about monetizing your mobile site (or your mobile app, if you have one), but these mobile app affiliate programs are not only for mobile sites. You can monetize any site with them, as long as the mobile app is within your niche. Entrepreneur.com wrote in August last year that the mobile apps market is big and bound to get even bigger. The site claims that by 2017, "over 268 billion downloads will generate $77 billion worth of revenue." Think about how engaged you are on your phone, tweeting, updating Facebook, downloading new apps — maybe you've even purchased through your mobile phone. And you wouldn't…
How to Get More Subscribers On Your Mailing List With These 5 Relationship Rules
A lot of the relationship rules that I'm about to cover may seem a little cliché, and anyone who's active in the relationship niche will recognize them pretty quickly. But the interesting thing is how these simple rules are so in tune with the best practices for an amazing opt-in process for your mailing list. You might be thinking, how on earth did you make this connection? It all started when I was talking to my brother about my view on marketing, considering I come from a media background. I admitted that once upon a time, with a dream of creating movies that make tears leak from people's eyes, I really thought that anything to…
How to Choose Keywords in a Way That Makes Sense: 5 Easy Steps
Now that I've told you to forget keywords just a few weeks ago, and I've given you time to mull that over, it’s time to revisit them. If you’re not sure what I'm talking about, check out the blog post here. It’ll make a lot of the following information a lot more straightforward. Yes, a unified content front is the most important thing, and yes there are many other ways of getting your content in front of …
$13,500 a Month in Ebook Royalties. Kara King’s Success Story with “The Power of the Pussy”
Read this post on its original blog here for it and all its relevant images to render appropriately.Nothing is more gratifying than being able to help someone else achieve their goals and objectives. My favorite emails and messages received on social media platforms are those from people who are able to implement the information I share on this blog and as a result experience success after taking action. Although this blog makes money, I did not start it to primarily make money…