Video marketing is considered by the majority of online
marketers, to be the most effective method in terms of Return On Investment
(ROI). Studies have also shown that a video on a landing page can result in
increased conversions by 80% or more. So, it is clear that video has a big
place within marketing, but is this reason to hire a professional? After all, we
all know how to use a video camera – right?
How can they help
me?
Well, while you may be able to create a video or two, you
cannot guarantee it will work with your audience, which is why enlisting the
help of an expert can be incredibly beneficial. A videographer does not have to
be a marketing wiz themselves as they will have worked with marketers before
and understand things that traditionally work and things that don’t.
One thing that the videographer definitely does know, is
camera techniques and settings, an important skill when filming any video. This
will help when you are describing how you want to portray your marketing
campaign, it could be professional, fun or informative etc. Ultimately, hiring
a videographer is investing in quality, just like you would do with any other
industry expert.
But what if I
don’t need to use video?
Despite the fact that video marketing is so popular, it is
vital to remember that it is not the only method of marketing, and some people
do not feel the need to carry out any video marketing campaigns. This is
totally normal and a fair argument in a lot of cases, but just because you
don’t need it, doesn’t mean it won’t
be beneficial to you.
It can be a common case where things that aren’t deemed
necessary, aren’t pursued and as a result of this, people can miss out on great
opportunities. So even if you don’t think your marketing campaigns need to
include video marketing, at least plan how you could possibly incorporate it
into future campaigns as the statistics of its popularity don’t lie.
In Summary
Videographers are not essential for marketing success, but as the digital age progresses it is clear to see that they will be in higher demand. Video marketing will progress and will likely dominate other forms of marketing for a while. What better way to keep up with the competition than hiring a highly skilled expert to assist you. Be sure to check out the following infographic provided by J Knowles, detailing the power of video in modern society.
You may have heard of mastermind groups and their potential for elevating your business and personal success. I first became aware of the potential power of masterminds through the iconic book – Think and Grow Rich. Where the success secrets of many of the world’s highest achievers were distilled by author Napoleon Hill.
Mastermind groups work by focusing the combined skills and experience of their members to solve challenges being faced by individuals. In Think and Grow Rich it was reported that Andrew Carnegie, then the richest man in the world, met regularly with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison among others.
After reading the book I was keen to find and participate in a mastermind group to draw upon the collective wisdom with a focus on my financial education business which I had recently started. Here’s where the first serendipity occurred. Shortly after having the thought I received an email from David Ricklan at SelfGrowth.com announcing that they were launching mastermind groups for people in the personal development industry. I eagerly applied and after some time was even asked if I would like to facilitate a group.
While the group memberships were being put together, I began thinking about the first challenge I could bring to my group. I had recently published my first book in the Financial Fairy Tales series, Dreams Can Come True and I was very interested in exploring an audiobook version. I could imagine for example; the book being playing in the car on the school run.
The first member of my particular mastermind group was an
American lady currently living in Japan. During our initial conversation we discussed
her goals and plans and how the group could support her. When we tasked about
my desire for an audiobook I was amazed to hear that not only was she a voice actor,
but also had a friend who was a Grammy award winning musician who she could ask
to provide original music.
Within a few weeks she had produced a fantastic audiobook
version of Dreams Can Come True which has been downloaded and enjoyed by
hundreds if not thousands of children and parents around the world.
For me this story illustrates the power of our intentions
and the reward for taking action. I am sure many of us have experiences
synchronicities such as these which occur when we listen to and act upon our
intuition.
If you feel curious about listening to the Dreams Can Come True audiobook then we have a few coupons allowing a free download from audible. Please comment below with you email address or get in touch via our social media pages and I can send you a unique discount code.
For those that love gaming, the idea of turning this passion into an income may sound too good to be true. However, the reality is that you can earn money playing video games. In fact, there are multiple ways to make money from gaming – some of which can be incredibly lucrative.
Unfortunately, none of these methods are particularly easy. In fact, some of these methods may require you to be particularly dedicated to the point of being utterly obsessed. If you’re a hardcore gamer who would love to make money from this hobby, here are just a few ways in which you could possibly turn gaming into an income.
Play online casino games
It’s possible to earn money playing online casino games. Of course, this is a form of gambling, which means any income will always be down to chance. However, whilst you can’t always be certain of making money this way, you can use strategy to minimise your losses and maximise your earnings.
A great way to maximise earnings is to rely only on free games. Sites such as Slotathon.com can help you to find free slot games that don’t require you to pay to sign up. You should also look out for sites that offer free bets. These free bets are essentially free money to play with, meaning that if you lose you’ll have lost none of your own money, but if you win you’ll earn money without having invested anything.
As for minimising losses, it’s important to always have a spending limit when playing these games. By only ever betting what you can afford to lose, you’ll stay happy and not feel you’ve wasted money.
Earn cash prizes through tournaments
It’s also possible to make money by taking part in gaming tournaments. Many tournaments award cash prizes to players that come first, second and third. In the case of the biggest tournaments, the cash prizes can be as much as millions.
To win a tournament, you obviously have to be a very skilled player, which is where the hard bit comes in. If you’re not regularly topping leaderboards when playing online and playing with friends, you’re probably not going to stand much chance in a tournament. However, if you do consider yourself a pro and have been looking for a new challenge, entering a tournament could be worthwhile.
Visit sites such as checkmategaming.com to learn more about these tournaments. Don’t forget to also do your local research. You could even consider putting on a small local tournament yourself and asking everyone entering to pay a small amount to go into the winnings pot.
Record Youtube walkthroughs
Gaming walkthroughs on Youtube are hugely popular – such videos contain recorded footage of a gamer playing a game and narrating over the top. The likes of PewDiePie have become multi-millionaires through these types of videos. How exactly? By allowing ads to be shown on your videos you can make money through ad revenue – the more views you get, the more ads will be displayed and therefore the more income for you.
Because there’s a lot of competition out there, creating a hit gaming walkthrough series on Youtube isn’t easy. People watch these videos either for advice or entertainment, so make sure that your videos serve either of both of these purposes. Some of the ingredients that will help include a good quality microphone, an engaging personality and the ability to record and edit videos well. This guide at AlloySeven.TV offers more advice on how to set up a successful gaming channel on Youtube.
Get paid to review video games
You can also play video games for a living by becoming a gaming critic. As a critic, you must play video games and then write up reviews. The most well-paid critics tend to work for major publications, however it’s possible to set up your own successful blog and make money off of ad revenue.
To make an income this way, you need to be a good writer. Being able to analyse and pick apart games in an entertaining way will help you to secure gigs at major publications. Most critics have to work their way up by writing other journalistic pieces for other smaller blogs and publications first, helping to build up a portfolio that gives them credibility. You could argue that these people are being paid to write and not simply play video games, however playing games is a big part of it – you can’t review a game without playing it.
Those eager to break into this career field should read this guide at TiredOldHack.com. As with the other ways to turn gaming into a career, this can be highly competitive.
Get into video games testing
It’s also possible to make money by testing video games. Gaming developers often hire testers to ensure that the gameplay is smooth, helping to spot any bugs or glitches and iron them out. This could be a great way to play video games whilst making a regular wage.
Because testers must deliberately try to break the game in order to find faults, a level of problem solving is needed as well as a basic knowledge of programming in many cases. It could be worth taking a course in coding or having some kind of qualifications in maths and science to show that you have an analytical brain.
Testing vacancies don’t come up very often – rather than simply replying to the few ads you can find, try contacting companies directly even if they’re not advertising jobs. It’s this proactiveness that often gets people a job in testing.
In fact, many retirees are considering continuing working after they retire, and this may well include the formation of a business. It’s a challenge, but to some it is preferable to spending days relaxing.
This article isn’t about whether or not a retiree should start a business. Instead, we’re going to focus on how you can gain funds to help start a business in retirement.
This is probably one of the ‘fears’ that prevents people in this stage in their life from taking the plunge. However, it is possible to get some money in place to start and maintain a profitable business after retirement.
We’ll take a look at several of them.
Downsizing
A relatively new term, ‘downsizing’ allows you to release money in the sale of your property. Normally, downsizing means moving to a new, smaller property, and enjoying the equity you’ve released alongside that.
This is an interesting situation, because downsizing does indeed release funds through selling. However, you obviously have to live somewhere, so much of the downsizing profit may be spent on living expenses.
There may, however, be some money there afterwards that can be spent on pulling together your business. It is again a good idea to sit with a finance professional who will be able to tell you, realistically, what you can expect to gain from downsizing, and whether the amount of money will cover business expenses.
Spending the kids inheritance
This has become a growing trend in recent years. Rather than spend money on the future of their children,some retirees opt instead to spend it on themselves.
This has become more popular as people live longer. Money that has been saved up or has reaped returns on investment is simply used by the parents for other purchases. And these purchases are all about the parents, not the kids.
Using this money to start up a business is perhaps something new. The whole point of spending the inheritance is to enable a better standard of life. Many retirees take that money and go on a long holiday, for example. However, it is possible to use it to fund a business.
Whether that fits in well with a retiree’s own views on what they want from life is up to them. But if it is a large sum (and most parents now save up a lot for their future generations) it can be used very effectively to develop a business. For example, it is accepted wisdom that you shouldn’t start a business without ‘buffer money’. Buffer money is money you have ready for the first six months of the business.
Business can be challenging. If you are able to gather a good sum of money to protect against the ups and downs of business for those vital first few months, you’re in a great position. Of course, this option is appealing because you have more control over how the money is spent. If you just want to use a small amount of the money to fund one key aspect of starting a business, that is entirely up to you.
Equity release
Equity release is a situation where the borrower can take out an equity release contract, which releases money that is equal to up to 60% of the value of your home.
This can mean you can take on a potentially large amount of money very quickly. There are a couple of options in equity release that you can take advantage of. This is encapsulated in two products available to you, the borrower:
The lifetime mortgage. This allows you to take money out against the value of the property.You have to be at least 55 years old to do this. One key aspect that makes this option an attractive one is the option to pay off all the interest, some or even none of the interest before the mortgage ceases. It ceases when you have to enter care, or you die. Another key aspect is you not having to take out the full amount. And you only pay interest on the amount you withdraw.
The home reversion. This is a little more complicated than the lifetime mortgage. You can sell all or part of your property to a specialist home reversion company. You no longer own that whole or part of the property. However, you do have the right to remain in the property until you die or move onto long-term care.
If your business is dynamic
By ‘dynamic’ we mean looking like it’s going to grow quickly. If it is looking this way, then consider seeking investment.Bear in mind that not all investment runs into the hundreds of thousands. Some investors can pump money into a business for a small slice of profits, and they are much more likely to do this if you have an idea for a business that looks like it will grow quickly.
It’s worth considering seeking investment,simply because it allows you to have that early head start, without having to find money from more traditional lenders. Obviously it relies upon you having a strong idea that will make money for investors. But if you do, the power investment can bring is considerable.
Your choice
Many retirees look for funding from banks and their home value. Whatever you do, bear in mind that for the first six months of your business, you will have to work incredibly hard to make sure money is handled wisely, and your business gets your complete focus. Using some of the methods in this article to gain finance can help you on your way to running your ideal business in retirement.
This may seem like a question that is asked very commonly in recent years and rightfully so. Security software has become more vital than ever especially for businesses when trying to protect sensitive information. There have been significant increases in cases of cyber-attacks in the form of viruses, phishing, spying and many more. This has led to a heavier focus on endpoint protection platforms, which are a set of security tools used to provide protection to all endpoint devices connected to a certain network.
Anti-virus software is essential for protection against viruses, which come in many forms including malware and spyware. This can give cybercriminals the capability to cause damage on devices, obtain sensitive information and commit fraud. Antivirus does not cover every single cyberattack, but it is still very important for shutting out potential intruders.
Anti-virus software does have to be bought, which is why it is incredibly important to do your research prior and find a program that is well known and generally considered to be very reliable. This is important as some viruses disguise themselves as anti-virus software and end up exploiting vulnerability in your device which can provide a gateway to potentially everlasting attacks.
Anti-spyware software is used for protection against spyware. Spyware is a specific type of malicious software that infects your device, commonly thought to be one of the most dangerous, allowing the attacker to be able to spy on your activity on said device. This means that they can potentially see everything that you are doing, including bank transactions and form submissions that require sensitive information.
The worst thing about spyware is that you are usually unable to detect whether this software is installed into your computer as it operates in hidden mode. The only slight signs that you could maybe pick up on is that the speed of the device may decrease sufficiently, but bad connection could make this a hard thing to tell. For more information on mobile security solutions, check out this infographic about everything you need to know regarding cyber attacks.
