Stop Building Traffic, and Start Converting It. Here’s How

I’ll let you in on a little marketing secret.

In the grand scheme of things, building massive amounts of traffic doesn’t really matter. What matters is converting that traffic.

Everyone talks about building traffic. That’s fine, but it’s not the end of the story. If you don’t convert your traffic, building it is pointless.

Building traffic is like building a shopping mall. You can easily get people to come through the doors, but if you have only a few lackluster stores, none of those people will turn into customers. You have to give them a reason to stay.

I’ve seen tons of sites fail miserably because they didn’t convert their traffic. A site can have the best idea in the world, but if it doesn’t focus on conversion, it’ll flop.

Funnily enough, that’s what happened to me with my first website experience.

The first site I ever built was a job board called Advice Monkey. I spent over $5,000 to create it and hired three lousy marketing firms. In the end, I learned how to market it myself, but the site still failed because it wasn’t set up to take payments.

Had I spent less time marketing and more time optimizing the site for conversions, the site would have done much better. Sure, I probably wouldn’t have made millions, but I would’ve converted more of my traffic and made more than $0.

Take a lesson from me: don’t worry much about getting people through the doors while forgetting to build the stores.

Here’s how to take all that traffic you worked so hard to build and successfully convert it.

Getting the right mindset

I firmly believe that conversion is an attitude, not just an action. It takes focus and dedication. You have to internalize your goals until they’re second nature.

I realize this sounds a little philosophical, but stay with me. You need to see conversion as more than just a bunch of numbers. Why? If you become obsessed with converting, you’ll fail.

Here’s an example. Say you’re hyper-focused on converting. You include a few popups and some social buttons, and before long, your site looks like this:

Okay, it’s probably not that bad. But you get the idea.

It’s easy to go overboard, and I get that. But as Social Triggers’s Derek Halpern points out, going too far can actually become your conversion rate’s worst enemy.

You should definitely focus on conversion, but don’t get a death grip on it. Conversion is a long-term strategy, not a short-term win.

Now that you’ve understood the conversion mindset, let’s take a look at how to convert all your traffic.

Publish the right content

If I had to pick a favorite form of marketing, it’d be content marketing.

Great content is wildly powerful. The converse is true too: horrible content is wildly destructive.

In fact, your blog can (and will) fail if you get the content wrong. If you create too much content, you’ll fail. If you create content that’s not relevant to your readers, you’ll fail.

So it’s imperative you get the content right.

First, you have to decide on the type of content you’ll provide. There are many options to choose from: blog posts, webinars, and podcasts, to name a few.

How do you know which type of content is right for you? You have to know your audience. I know my readers are looking for thorough guides, and that’s one of the many reasons I use blog posts.

On the other hand, there are people like Tim Ferriss who use podcasts as their medium of choice.

Tim knows his audience loves interviews with experts, and that’s what he gives them.

The lesson: Study your audience until you know them as well as you know your friends. Find out what type of content they respond to the most.

You also have to get the length right. I’ve found that longform content works best. You might be surprised to know that 3000+ word blog posts get more traffic than shorter posts.

Make conversion easy (but not annoying)

If you want people to convert, you need to make that process easy. If your readers love your content but can’t find an easy way to sign up for your list or buy your product, you’ll lose out.

There are a few elements you have to get right if you want to boost your conversion rate:

1. Make an irresistible offer

First things first: If your offer itself doesn’t amaze your readers, you’ll get zero conversions.

To create an irresistible offer, you have to know what your readers want. Delve into your psychographics to find out what drives your audience and why they behave the way they do.

SumoMe’s blog post called “The Definitive Guide to Content Upgrades” adds a sweet offer:

Everyone who’s reading this post wants to learn more about content upgrades, so SumoMe offers a free e-book. It’s specific, relevant, and valuable.

On the other hand, if your offer is not specific, relevant, or valuable, your readers will have no reason to take you up on it. Don’t beat around the bush with general offers like a cheat sheet on being a better marketer. Your offer should be targeted specifically to your readers.

When you’re working on creating an irresistible offer, make sure it’s specific, relevant, and valuable. Your offers build the foundation on which you’ll build your conversion.

2. CTAs (calls-to-action)

If your CTAs are boring, your conversion rate will be low.

One of the best ways to write a great CTA is to be specific. “Buy now” could refer to anything, but “download your free e-book” reminds the reader what they’re getting.

Your CTA needs copy that’s exciting. It should feel like you’re inviting the reader on an adventure. It should not feel like you’re selling something.

Optimizely uses a straightforward and effective CTA:

There’s no hard sell here. It’s an invitation to test out the software free. Plus, it’s a breeze to fill out.

Design matters too. Your CTA needs to be highly visible so people can find it and click it. It’s so simple, right? But many blogs get this wrong.

Brian Dean from Backlinko uses a yellow box for his CTAs:

The yellow box works because your eye is naturally drawn to it. For Brian, that means higher conversion rates.

Find out what your yellow box is. Don’t forget to A/B test to figure out what’s working the best (and what you should ax).

Put in the time and effort to create an eye-catching CTA that engages your readers, and you’ll be rewarded.

3. Popups

Quiz time: How are popups like Justin Beiber?

As Hunter Boyle of Aweber puts it,

You either love ‘em, or hate ‘em, but lately you see ‘em everywhere—because they still pull in big crowds.

You might find popups annoying, but they work wonders. We successfully used popups on Kissmetrics to double our conversion rate.

Popups play a vital role in converting your traffic, but you shouldn’t go overboard. By tastefully using popups, you can skyrocket your conversion rate.

First, you need to decide which type(s) of popups to use. The days of random popups are gone. Instead, opt for triggered popups.

Let’s talk about two of my favorite types of popups:

1. exit intent overlays
2. scroll-triggered scrollboxes.

You’re probably familiar with exit intent popups that appear when your mouse moves to close the tab. An exit intent overlay is a full-screen popup that appears when a user gets ready to leave the site.

Smartblogger uses an exit intent overlay with a cunning strategy:

This popup immediately engages the reader. Instead of being presented with just one option, you get two. And one of them has to be applicable to you. At the very least, it raised your eyebrows, right?

And here’s the best part: There are two different lead magnets for the two answers.

You don’t have to copy this popup, but I hope it gets you thinking about using exit intent popups. They perform well, but you have to put the work in.

Next up is scroll-triggered scrollboxes. These are the little boxes that pop up on the lower right-hand side of the screen. Usually, these popups appear after you’ve scrolled down the page.

For example, when you scroll to the bottom of any Crazy Egg post (like this one), you’ll see this:

These are great because they’re not intrusive. They take up a small amount of real estate, and they’re far less annoying than random popups that cover up half the screen.

The most important takeaway here is that popups should not distract from the user experience of your site visitors. Don’t cover up the content or make closing the popup difficult. Respect your readers.

Conclusion

You’re probably drawing in plenty of traffic.

Remember, however: what matters most is what you’re doing with that traffic.

Create an irresistible offer, and make it accessible to your visitors. People are willing to check out your offer, but it has to be worth their time. So, add as much value to your offer as possible.

I won’t lie. Conversion optimization isn’t a walk in the park. But it pays off.

And if you nail conversion, you’ll have a bunch of satisfied customers in no time.

What are your biggest problems with converting traffic?

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85 Black Friday Deals For Digital Marketers, Bloggers & SEO’s [2016]

Look:

We both know that digital marketing tools are expensive.

But:

It’s Black Friday and I have rounded up all of the cheapest deals for digital marketers that will help you to save upto 90% off normal prices!

Check out all of the best deals now before it’s too late-

http://ift.tt/1OqUeA5

I have also negotiated a range of exclusive discounts that you can’t find anywhere else.

There are 85 deals to choose from broken down by category.

So whether you are an SEO, blogger or social media specialist – there is something for you!

Don’t forget:

Most of these discounts expire tomorrow!!!

But I have also listed all of the expiry dates so you don’t get caught out.

Important Updates

I am going to be adding more deals as I find them over the weekend so don’t forget to check back often.

I will also be adding any relevant Cyber Monday deals as they go live.

So what are you waiting for?

This is going to be the biggest Black Friday ever and there is something for everyone!

http://ift.tt/1OqUeA5

85 Black Friday Deals For Digital Marketers, Bloggers & SEO’s [2016] was originally published on Matthew Woodward

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Why I Choose to Focus on One Marketing Channel at a Time

I feel like there’s an overarching maximalist mindset in marketing these days.

And it’s easy to see why.

Brands have never had more strategies to choose from.

There’s content marketing, social media, SEO, email, PPC, and influencer marketing, just to name a few.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, and this doesn’t even take into account more traditional offline techniques that many companies still utilize.

In turn, I think many brands are suffering from exhaustion and fatigue.

They’re experiencing marketing overload.

I also think marketers don’t always extract the full potential from their strategies.

Before they can see one channel through to completion, they’ve already started working on three more channels.

If I’ve learned anything during my years as a marketer, it’s that simplicity is usually the key to success.

Because of that, I choose to focus on only one marketing channel at a time.

Here’s why.

I don’t spread myself too thin

You know that old saying that if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one?

I think this applies to marketing as well.

Jumping in head first and attempting to manage, say, four or five different channels can be overwhelming, and you’re unlikely to kill it at any strategy.

Even if you’re a savvy marketer who knows the ins and outs of the process, you simply can’t devote the necessary time to extract the full potential of any single channel.

Just look at the amount of time most marketers spend each week performing routine tasks:

But when you concentrate wholeheartedly on one channel, you can give it a 100% effort.

This helps you not only run your marketing campaign at a high level but also achieve the desired results faster.

Working on too many marketing channels at once is kind of like being a jack of all trades and master of none.

Placing your attention on a single channel allows you to master that channel before moving on to the next strategy.

Managing multiple channels can quickly become chaotic and stressful

Did you know that the average B2B content marketer creates 13 types of content?

You heard it right—13!

That, in and of itself, is a lot of work.

And just imagine combining that with multiple other channels at the same time.

Things would get hectic in a hurry.

Social media can be pretty intense as well. The average B2B content marketer is active on six different networks:

Even if you’re posting the same content on each network, it’s still going to be time-consuming.

I can almost guarantee you’ll feel burned out and the overall effectiveness of each channel will be marginal.

And this is going to be even worse if you’re new to marketing and/or have a small marketing team.

Or what if you’ve got a mountain of other business-related tasks on your plate?

There are just not enough hours in the day to devote to your marketing to ensure everything is operating at full capacity.

As a result, certain areas of your marketing campaign are bound to suffer.

Focusing on one marketing channel allows me to continually chip away at it and be highly effective.

I’m far less likely to become overwhelmed, and I can ensure that the specific channel I’m working on is reaching my target audience, generating leads, and leading to conversions.

In other words, it allows me to maximize my ROI without losing my mind along the way.

I ensure I get it right

Would you rather be a virtuoso at playing one musical instrument or a sub-par musician playing four or five?

I personally would prefer to be an expert at a single instrument.

I apply the same approach to marketing.

I would much rather devote the majority of my time to a single channel and completely crush it instead of working on a handful of channels and being painfully mediocre.

After all, what’s the point of spending any time whatsoever on a tactic if it’s not giving you any tangible results?

To me, it makes way more sense to give maximum effort to a single channel and make it incredibly successful rather than working on multiple channels half-heartedly.

Multitasking minimizes my impact

Working on multiple marketing channels simultaneously is a lot like multitasking because you’re constantly bouncing from one technique to another.

But numerous studies have found that multitasking isn’t as good as it may seem.

In fact, it can be quite detrimental to your efficiency and overall productivity.

A study from the University of London even “revealed that subjects who multitasked while performing brain-intensive tasks demonstrated IQ drops similar to people who are sleep-deprived or smoked marijuana.”

If you’re looking for a scientific explanation of this phenomenon, neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin offers one.

According to him,

Multitasking has been found to increase the production of the stress hormone cortisol as well as the fight-or-flight hormone adrenaline, which can overstimulate your brain and cause mental fog or scrambled thinking.

The founder and chief technology officer of Wordstream, Larry Kim, even stated in an article for Observer that…

…you’re actually hurting your brain by juggling several undertakings at once.

The bottom line is that trying to focus on too many marketing channels at the same time is usually counterproductive and is only going to reduce the impact of your overall campaign.

But focusing on just one at a time allows you to be as effective and efficient as possible.

It costs less

There’s also the topic of money.

It’s been found that 89% of marketers are maintaining or increasing their inbound budgets.

Implementing only one marketing channel at a time will cost you considerably less than pursuing a multi-channel approach.

According to an article on LinkedIn,

…it has even been estimated that a single-channel marketing strategy can cost as much as one-third less than multiple-channel strategies.

If you’re dealing with a fairly small budget, utilizing several techniques may simply not be in the cards for you from a financial standpoint.

Things can get especially ugly if more than one of those techniques tank, and it’s obviously going to hurt your ROI.

When I was starting out, the financial resources were often scarce.

Focusing on one marketing channel at a time enabled me to maximize the money I funneled into my campaign.

It allows me to outperform my competitors

When it’s all said and done, the absolute most important part of any marketing campaign is its ability to target the right demographic.

And let’s be honest. Using a smorgasbord of techniques typically means that each individual technique is less likely to hit its target.

When I divvy up my time across multiple channels, I minimize the effectiveness of any single one.

For this reason, it makes it really difficult to truly stand out from the competition and thrive within my industry.

I’m not really doing anything special or excelling at any particular strategy.

But concentrating on only one channel puts me in a position for success.

Because I eat, sleep, and breathe that one channel for a period of time, it’s more likely to flourish and grow.

In some cases, I can even dominate.

That’s because most of the competition has a maximalist mindset, trying to have their hand in everything rather than focusing on—and succeeding—in one area.

A final note

Just to be clear, I’m not saying you should limit yourself to just one marketing channel.

That’s not what I’m saying at all.

In fact, I would never recommend putting all your eggs in one basket.

What I am saying is that you’re likely to reduce your marketing impact if you go overboard and spread yourself too thin—especially during the initial stages of a campaign.

For me, it makes way more sense to focus on a single channel, bring it to full capacity, and maximize its impact.

Once it’s established and stabilized, you can move on to the next channel.

In other words, simplify your efforts by working on one channel, and get it running like a well-oiled machine before moving on.

Over time, this approach should help you develop a strong marketing campaign, with no weak links but with techniques that carry their weight.

Conclusion

I know it may seem tempting to experiment with a plethora of marketing channels.

After all, you’ll want to see what sticks.

But I know this mentality has gotten me into trouble in the past, and I know it can curtail the progress of each individual channel.

For me, a more effective and practical approach is to focus on one marketing channel at a time.

Doing so allows me to:

• Manage each channel at a high level
• Minimize my stress
• Maximize my impact
• Save money
• Better reach my core audience
• Outperform primary competitors

Only once I’ve gotten a channel to where it needs to be, I move on to the next.

That way I know I’m never shortchanging a marketing channel, giving it the best possible chance to prosper.

How many marketing channels are you currently implementing?

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How to Start Blogging if You Fell off the Wagon a Long Time Ago

People always ask me how I’ve built up such a huge audience for my blogs.

Part of my secret sauce? I’ve been blogging for well over a decade now.

But not everyone has been blogging for years, and I get that. Some of you may have started a blog years ago but abandoned it.

I can relate. There were several times when I almost quit blogging. I was scared it wouldn’t pan out for me. And it does take time. But I stuck with it, and I’m so happy I did.

And here’s the best part: It’s not too late for you to start blogging.

I know what you’re thinking: “There are a million blogs in my niche. Why should I even try to compete with them?”

There are two main reasons. First, you bring something unique to the table. No one else has experienced everything you have. And besides, your blog should be different from your competition’s, not a carbon copy.

Second, start seeing competition as a good thing. Competition means the niche is popular and profitable. You can actually leverage that competition to get more views on your blog.

If you fell off the blogging wagon a while back, you can (and should!) jump back on. Here’s how to get (re)started.

1. Pick up where you left off

Here’s something that will relieve you: You don’t have to start from scratch.

If your old blog is still up, pay it a visit. It’s probably a barren wasteland, but you can salvage some useful scraps from it.

If you want to blog in the same niche you did before, I highly recommend repurposing content. It’s one of the easiest and most efficient ways to get extra mileage out of existing material.

If you still have access to any old material, pull it out and dust it off. Chances are it’s still relevant to your niche. Or maybe it just needs a few edits to make it shine again.

Assuming you remember (or can retrieve) your login information, you can use this blog to restart if you want. If you still own the domain name (and if you want to blog in the same niche), there’s no reason not to reuse your old blog. Edit your content, give it a redesign, and you’ll be off to the races.

But if you do opt for a shiny new blog, you can simply transfer your content over.

Either way, you’ll take advantage of what you did in the past to make the future easier.

2. Make a big comeback

You want to re-enter the blogosphere with a bang.

There are two ways you can do this.

The first approach is to jump right back into the game and start blogging regularly. If you’ve got a lot of motivation and ideas, this could be a good approach for you.

For example, you could follow in Seth Godin’s footsteps and start blogging every day.

Of course, your posts should be longer. But as an example of consistency, Seth’s blog stands head and shoulders above the rest.

But you don’t have to blog every day—you just have to blog consistently. Otherwise, there’s no point.

Decide how many posts you’ll publish per week, and get to it. You absolutely have to stick to your schedule if you want to come back on a strong note.

The second approach—and the one I wished I’d taken when I started blogging—is to stockpile your ideas before you blog. This takes a little more time, but it gives you a little more flexibility.

If you choose this, you’ll need to do two things:

First, get to writing! You’ll want to have as much content as possible when you officially start up your blog again. There’s no hard-and-fast guideline here, but about 3-4 weeks of content will give you a huge advantage.

Second, create an editorial calendar to schedule your posts. I recommend reading this post from HubSpot that shows how you can use Google Calendar to set up your editorial calendar.

Like I said, I wish I had taken this approach when I started blogging. There were many days when I was racking my brain for ideas, and a lot of them turned out to be crap.

But if you have the motivation to get out there and start right now, do it! The most important thing is to make a plan and stick to it.

3. Build (or rebuild) your audience

You may have heard this line repurposed from the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”

But that’s not true for blogging.

You have to build your blog and your audience.

You might have built an audience in the past. If you have, don’t be shy about leveraging that. If you know who read your blog, drop them a line about your return. You can also go through your old blog’s comments to see who was checking out your content.

And if you have an email list, that’s even better. Send out an email saying “I’m back!” More than likely, those subscribers will be glad to flock to your new blog.

In fact, getting your audience involved is one of the best things you can do at this point. Ask for feedback, and use that to improve your new blog.

The blog team at Unbounce did exactly this. They took a 2-week hiatus and asked readers to send in their thoughts:

Even a simple offer like this goes a long way in your readers’ minds. So, if you’ve still got a list floating around, use it!

But what happens if you have no audience at all?

It’s time to build one.

I’ll describe a couple of my favorite methods here, but I highly recommend you check out Quick Sprout’s Complete Guide to Building Your Blog Audience.

First, get a social media game plan. Lots of bloggers start out by relying on SEO, but the truth is that good SEO takes years to develop. Driving traffic through social media will help you out in the short run.

You can either buy ads or build your social profiles from the ground up. If you have the resources, I recommend a combination of both. Don’t rely 100% on ads—get involved with the community and share value with others. That’s how you’ll get people to visit your site in droves.

Second, use outreach. Outreach happens when you contact people asking them to share, promote, or look at your posts.

Reach out to your own network initially. Since you have personal connections, you can be somewhat informal here.

Next, reach out to the big names in your field—the influencers. But here’s the catch: In order to catch the attention of influencers, you’ll need top-notch content.

One of my favorite techniques for creating top-notch content is the Skyscraper Technique. Basically, you take an existing blog post, improve upon it, and send it to influencers. (You can read more about this on Brian Dean’s blog Backlinko.)

When you’re contacting influencers, you’ll need a solid email script. Here’s a good one to use:

Personalize this, and send it to your target influencers. If you’ve put some hard work into your post to make it an ultimate resource, you’ll likely get some responses.

4. Do your research (again)

You might have done lots of research when you started blogging. Now, you need to do more research.

You want to be at the forefront of your niche. You need to know the latest trends and ideas so you don’t fall behind.

Most importantly, take some time to size up your competition. What’s changed over the years? What types of content are your competitors posting and why?

Use this information to find your angle. You have a few options here:

• Make an existing angle better
• Add your personal experience/opinion/stories
• Combine two angles to make something new (e.g., 7 Valuable Marketing Lessons Pokémon Go Has Taught Us)

Whatever you decide, make sure your angle stands out in some way. You either need to be a super high-quality or a super unique resource (ideally, you should aim to be both).

5. Build your email list

There’s a ton of truth behind the statement “it’s all in the list.”

That’s because an email list is hands-down the best way to grow and promote your blog.

Earlier, I mentioned that if you still have an email list from an old blog, you should use it. But you can’t stop there. You have to build your list every day.

List building is a long-term process, so don’t get discouraged early on. If you keep at it, you will see the results.

The best way to start is to optimize your site for capturing emails. Yes, that means popups! You might hate them, but they work.

You can have a full-screen popup like the one Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You To Be Rich uses:

Or you can have a scrollbox like the one we use on Crazy Egg:

Or you can use one of my favorite tools, Hello Bar:

There are a lot of options, so look around and choose carefully.

You should also consider creating a fantastic lead magnet to get more subscribers.

But I have to emphasize something here: a good lead magnet isn’t enough. It should be so good that your subscribers would be shocked to see you giving it away.

Conclusion

Even if you gave up all hopes of creating a successful blog, it’s not too late.

In fact, blogging is easier than ever. You’ll still need to invest some serious time and money, but there are more resources available now than ever before.

If you make a plan and stick to it, you can build a huge audience like I did.

You want to know one of my secrets? I’m nobody special.

You’re probably thinking, “Yeah, right, Mr. Huge Blogger.” But it’s true. All I did was follow some simple rules that anyone can follow and use to succeed, and that includes you.

Now, it took me years to really succeed with blogging. But I didn’t do everything right when I started out. In fact, I spent years recovering from some rookie mistakes I made.

But you don’t have to fall into the same trap. You can get off to a strong start, do things the right way, and find blogging success a lot sooner.

So, if your blog is lying around collecting dust, pick it up and brush it off. You might be surprised at the results.

Are you going to start blogging again? Or for the first time?

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6 Neuromarketing Hacks for Maximum Content Impact

What do humans and lab rats have in common?

We both have predictable behavior patterns and react similarly to the same psychological stimuli.

And while we humans are certainly more complex and sophisticated than lab rats, you can still pull the right levers and hit the right buttons with your content marketing to elicit the response you’re looking for.

I would by no means consider myself an expert in psychology, but over the years, I’ve learned a lot about how the human mind works.

I’ve found out that nearly everyone is predictable to some degree.

By understanding a few key psychological insights, I’m able to better understand my audience and deliver content that clicks with them and maximizes my results.

What’s the secret?

Neuromarketing.

What exactly is neuromarketing?

TechTarget defines this term as

“the study of how people’s brains respond to advertising and other brand-related messages by scientifically monitoring brainwave activity, eye-tracking and skin response.”

It’s basically a sexy word that you get by combining neuroscience (the branch of psychology that deals with the nervous system/brain) and marketing.

The idea is that using cognitive research findings allows marketers to do their jobs with greater efficiency and ultimately boost conversions and sales while providing an optimal user experience.

Although neuromarketing is a fairly new phenomenon (it began in the 1990s), it’s gained a lot of momentum in the past 20+ years.

There are even academic institutions and publications that are devoting massive amounts of time and money to this type of research.

Of course, some people are skeptical because neuromarketing often goes against conventional wisdom.

But I’ve found it to be incredibly powerful once I started using it in my marketing.

Here are some specific neuromarketing hacks I recommend.

1. Appeal to your audience’s emotions

As hard as we try to be logical and rational, we’re all emotional beings to some extent.

There’s just no getting around it.

If you can form an emotional connection with your audience, I can guarantee that your content will have a significant impact.

There’s a particular quote I love from an article titled “The Feelings Economy.”

It goes like this:

In an oversupplied economy, customer feelings drive purchase decisions and profitability.

I think this really nails it. The brands that tend to thrive are the ones that are able to elicit the right emotions and hit the sweet spot.

How exactly do you appeal to your audience’s emotions?

Well, you start by understanding which specific emotions on average generate the biggest response:

According to research from OkDork and Buzzsumo, your best bet is to create content that evokes:

• Awe
• Laughter
• Amusement
• Joy

More specifically, I recommend using images and stories in your content to trigger these types of emotional responses.

That’s because they’re great at targeting the limbic system, which controls basic emotions.

2. Incorporate images of faces

You might have noticed that I use a lot of images of people’s faces in my content.

Case in point:

I also place an image of my own mug on my website:

Why?

Because, as it turns out, there is power in facial expressions. It’s basically the universal language.

Allow me to explain.

Say you’re trying to interact with someone from a foreign country who speaks an entirely different language. Communicating with words is likely to be pointless.

What they’re saying sounds like gibberish to you and vice versa.

But you can always understand facial cues.

In fact, that’s how babies largely understand the world. Before they develop language, they primarily rely upon their parents’ facial expressions and tone of voice to extract meaning.

The point I’m trying to make here is that the human brain has an innate ability to process facial cues, which makes images of people’s faces ideal for conveying emotion.

Images can also help you establish trust.

Notice how Tim Ferriss’s photo gives off the vibe that he knows his stuff and that signing up for his course should prove helpful:

You can do yourself a big favor by weaving images of people into your content. Doing so can make your audience feel a certain emotion as well as perform a specific action.

3. Use colors to elicit emotion

What’s another way to get your audience to feel a particular way?

Using the right colors.

Each color has a certain meaning, so using the color that matches the emotion you’re looking to target can be highly advantageous.

Here are some examples of the meanings of color in the western world:

The key is to identify the particular emotion, feeling, vibe you’re going for and incorporate the relevant color(s) in your content.

I don’t have enough time to adequately explain this topic to do it justice here. But I’ve covered it in depth before, and you can learn all about it via this resource.

4. Focus on relieving pain points

Conventional marketing wisdom says that showcasing the benefits of a product/service and ways it will improve your customer’s life is the best way to go.

By explaining the positives, you can target the intrinsic pleasure-seeking part of the human brain.

But in my opinion, this isn’t the best approach to take.

In one of my posts on Inc.com, I mention the fact that “neuromarketing experts say that the brain’s pain avoidance response is almost three times stronger than the brain’s pleasure seeking response.”

I also point out that neuromarketing expert Christophe Morin states that

…humans are pain-avoiding machines.

The bottom line here is that you’re usually better off explaining how you can relieve a pain point than discussing the pleasures of using a product/service.

In other words, focusing on how you can eliminate a negative should have a bigger impact.

5. Capitalize on the law of reciprocity

Have you ever had someone do something really nice for you, even when they didn’t have to, without asking for anything in return?

How did you feel toward them afterward?

The odds are good that you felt a sense of gratitude and probably wanted to consciously (or subconsciously) return the favor in some way.

This is the law of reciprocity at work.

At its core, the law of reciprocity explains why we feel indebted to someone when they do something for us.

This could be something as big as saving one’s life or as small as giving away a copy of an e-book.

Much research has actually been performed on this topic.

In fact, a study back in 2002 explored how patrons tipped in restaurants. The researchers examined how people tipped under three types of scenarios:

• Scenario 1 – Patrons received a small piece of candy with their check
• Scenario 2 – They received a larger quantity of candy
• Scenario 3 – They received no candy at all

The researchers found that “the gift of candy increased the average tip from 15 percent to just under 18 percent.”

Although this wasn’t a dramatic increase, it definitely proves the law of reciprocity and that people feel indebted when you do something nice for them when you don’t have to.

By offering your visitors something like a free trial, a free e-book, a free online course, etc., you can expect more conversions in the long run.

6. Use scarcity as leverage

We humans have some interesting tendencies and preferences.

If there’s less of something, our desire for it increases. If there’s more of something, our desire for it diminishes.

This phenomenon is known as the scarcity effect.

A now-classic psychological study from 1975 conducted by Worchel, Lee and Adewole examined the effect of scarcity on people.

It was a very simple study involving cookies, but it was very telling nonetheless.

The researchers “put 10 cookies in one jar and two of the same cookies in another jar. The cookies from the two-cookie jar received higher ratings—even though the cookies were exactly the same!”

What does this mean from a marketing standpoint?

It means that you’re far more likely to maximize your impact by leveraging scarcity. For instance, you might say that there’s a limited time offer on a product/service, or you may have a sale that only lasts 24 hours, etc.

That, right there, can increase a person’s urge to buy significantly.

Conclusion

Neuromarketing is legit and something I’ve found to be incredibly powerful in regards to content marketing.

Besides making it easier to build trust and rapport and generally connect better with your audience, neuromarketing is often the catalyst for increased leads and conversions.

And the hacks I covered here are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s ongoing research being conducted to better understand the psychology behind marketing and what resonates with consumers.

By putting these tips to practice, you can make your content marketing more potent and get more bang for your buck.

Can you think of any other psychological principles that can help you level up your content marketing?

from Quick Sprout http://ift.tt/2fFvI26

These Are The Best Survey Sites To Make The Most Money

Imagine if you could just share your opinion and make money.

How great would it be to sit on your couch, in your free time, and make extra money just by saying what you feel about products, services, and newsworthy topics?

You’re already doing it with your friends and on Facebook, so why not get paid for it?

Well…now’s your chance.

With online survey sites you have the opportunity to earn a side income by saying what you feel and shaping the future marketplace for products.

And you can start making real money from it right now.

In this article, I want to give you a complete breakdown of everything you need to know to make money taking surveys.

So, if you have an opinion and want to get cash for it, it’s time to read on…

What You Will Learn

• Why should you be taking online surveys?
• How much money can you make?
• The 6 best survey sites to make money from
• How to make money taking surveys TODAY!
• FAQ: Your Most Asked Questions, Answered
• Bonus Tip: How to make your first $20 in 15 minutes

You’ll also see quick tip boxes throughout the article

Why Should You Be Taking Online Surveys?

Online Survey sites allow you to start making money from performing simple online tasks.

If you have a computer, and internet connection and some free time that you want to get paid for – you’ve got everything you need. There’s no need for special qualifications or requirements.

While they are still called Survey Sites, many of them have branched out to give you lots of different opportunities to earn money.

You can find yourself getting paid to play games, watch YouTube Videos, talk about the products you love and even test them at home. Some of them will even pay you to shop through them.

They’re the tasks you were going to do online anyway, and now you can get paid for them.

But how much can you get paid?

How Much Money Can You Make?

You can easily make an extra $75-$100 per month if you use the sites and strategies in this article.

For example, Gretchen from the Retired by 40 blog uses just one site to generate $1,205 extra cash per year.

All by playing games, shopping and performing simple Google Searches. (You’ll see her exact strategy later in this article).

By adding a handful of these sites together, you can start to create a second income for just a small investment of time each day.

And, imagine what you could do with an extra $1,2000+ a year? You could:

• Pay for your next holiday
• Cover the down payment on a new car
• Invest in a new online business
• Buy a brand new laptop

Heck, that’s just what I’d do with the extra cash.

Survey Sites aren’t going to make you rich, but what they can do is provide you with a constant amount of extra cash to add to your disposable income (or put towards your debts).

Okay, so if you like the idea of earning extra money, where do you need to go to do it?

Well, that’s where this next list comes in…

Quick Tip

Many sites use ‘points’ as the currency on their site. These points all have a cash value when you cash out.

The amount of points, and their dollar value, changes from site to site, so it’s worth checking the site to find out how many points equals what amount of dollars.

What Are The Best Survey Sites To Start Making Money From?

In this section, you’ll find the six best survey sites for you to start making money from. But, what makes them the best?

I’ve handpicked only the most tried, tested and proven sites with the best track record. And, all of these sites will pay you in cold hard cash and not try to make you redeem gift cards instead.

Read about each site, find the ones that you like, and sign up for them. Then you can head to the next section where I outline how you can make money taking surveys right away.

#1: MintVine

• Average Payment: $0.50 – $5.00 (£0.35 – £4.50)
• Time Invested: 10-20 minutes per survey

MintVine has a perfect blend of payment amount and quantity of surveys. It’s not uncommon to earn in the region of $5.00 (£4.50) for a 15-minute survey.

You can also make money through them by:

• Redeeming offers
• Shopping for local deals
• Research studies
• Referrals

It’s simple, user-friendly, and gets good feedback from being part of the Better Business Bureau. So, you know you can trust spending your time here, too.

>> You can sign up for MintVine here <<

#2: Swagbucks

• Payment Range: Starting at $0.52 (£0.40) per Survey
• Time Invested: 10-20 minutes per survey

Swagbucks gives you the most opportunities to earn money. Surveys and Polls are the backbones of this site. However you can make money in 13 different ways:

1. Complete daily Poll’s
2. Answer opinion surveys
3. Use the Swagbucks search function
4. Watch YouTube videos or clips (Desktop and Mobile)
5. Shop online through Swagbucks
6. Play games
7. Find trial offers
8. Install the Swagbucks toolbar on your browser
9. Complete specific tasks
10. Print and use coupons from their site
11. Read online articles
12. Hit your daily target of Swagbucks (or get on a winning streak and get more points)
13. Redeem Swag Codes

There’s money to be made here. In fact, users over on the Money Saving Expert forum have reported making at least £25 per month from the site:

They even run a yearly challenge to see how much money can be made with hundreds of active participants, so there’s no shortage of money for you to get your hands on.

>> You can sign up for SwagBucks here <<

#3: PrizeRebel

• Average Payment: 60 to 85 points
• Time Invested: 5-10 minutes

PrizeRebel points are worth $0.01 each. But, they have a minimum payout of a $5 Amazon Gift Card, and it seems really easy to get your hands on.

If you’re planning to use PrizeRebel, though, I’d suggest leaving the surveys here and taking advantage of redeeming their offers or watching videos instead.

This is where you’ll get the biggest return for your time!

>> You can sign up for PrizeRebel here <<

#4: CashCrate

• Average Payment: $0.50 – $3.00 per survey
• Time Invested: 5-10 minutes

CashCrate is another good payer for surveys. They also work all of your earnings in dollars, and not points, which is a breath of fresh air here.

They have a payout minimum of $20, and it’s sent by paper cheque. You’ll receive your payment around two weeks later, according to reports from long-term users.

You can make money taking surveys, offers, and playing games. It’s one of the more fun sites to use, that will also pay you quite handsomely.

>> You can sign up for CashCrate here <<

#5: Pinecone Research

• Average Payment: $3.89 (£3.00)
• Time Invested: 15-20 minutes

Pinecone is the highest paying survey site of them all.

You’ll spend a little longer on your surveys, but you’ll receive the most cash for them. They’re also surveys that feel like you’re making a difference to a product.

The site is usually invite only, but the loophole is to find sign-up forms on websites or banner ads. Luckily for you, I have a sign-up form for you right here…

>> You can sign up for Pinecone Research here <<

#6: Inbox Dollars

• Average Payment: $0.50 and $10
• Time Invested: 10-20 minutes per survey

Inbox Dollars has been running its service for well over ten years now, and it was even featured on Good Morning America as one if it’s work from home options.

It’s one of the most reliable systems for making money online. And you get $5.00 cash just for signing up – not bad for all of 30 seconds work, right?

You can get paid for:

• Shopping online
• Searching the web
• Playing games
• Grocery shopping
• Taking surveys

There are also some incredible payouts, too. While it’s uncommon, it’s not unheard of to get paid $10 for a 10-minute survey.

>> You can sign up for InboxDollars here <<

How Can You Start To Make Money Taking Surveys?

These strategies will help you make as much money as possible by choosing the most effective parts of each site is.

Don’t forget I have only included the best survey sites in this list so focusing on them will help you to make the most money.

Step #1: Sign Up To All Of The Best Paid Survey Sites

Have you ever heard of the compound effect?

It’s where you take small, incremental, changes and add them together to create one big overall result.

For example, earning $1.00 a day extra doesn’t sound like much, but over a year that’s $365 – a much more handsome sum of money.

That’s the approach you need to take to earning money from these sites. The more sites you have access to, the more:

• Surveys
• Games
• Offers
• Deals
• Polls
• Referrals

You’re going to be able to make money from. Not all sites offer surveys every day, and not all of them have great deals, so it’s best to keep your options open.

If one site doesn’t look worth your time today, you can swap to another and cash in there. And on the days that all the sites are offering great deals, you’ve got access to an absolute goldmine.

So, go ahead and sign up to as many sites as you can and then meet me in the next step.

Quick Tip

All of these sites have a cash out threshold. That means you need to reach a certain amount of points, or cash, before you can redeem them.

It’s in your best interest to at least reach this threshold on the site you’re working on, so you can definitely get paid for the work you’ve done.

Step #2: Cash In All Of Your Sign Up Options

When you sign up to a site, they’ll give you lots of options to start earning extra points or cash.

For example, when you sign up to Inbox Dollars you have the opportunity to accrue $20 in cash in your first 15 minutes.

As the guys on the Pennyroll blog outline, you can do it in a few simple steps:

1. Sign up through this link: Click here to sign up and you’ll get a $5.00 bonus
2. Download the Inbox Dollars toolbar – $1.00
3. Sign up for a Bing Rewards account – $2.50
4. Enroll in the Small Business Network program – $2.00
5. Join Nielson Online Free and use their search engine – $6.00
6. Join MyView.com and Take one survey – $2.00
7. Join Opinion Square Survey Panel – $2.25

Tick all of those boxes and you’ll be $20.00 richer for little work.

Swagbucks also gives you a lot of options to earn, too. In 61 seconds you can make around $1.00, and all you’ve done is click a few buttons.

Explore all of these options when you sign up, on all of the sites you choose, and you can find yourself with a fistful of cash that you didn’t have when you woke up this morning.

Step #3: Take (And Apply For) As Many Surveys As You Can

Some sites, like Global Test Market, will require you to apply for surveys. Don’t worry; it’s nothing strenuous.

You’ll be asked to fill out some criteria that will test whether you fit the product or service. And, then they’ll decide if you’re a good candidate.

This may sound like you could waste time here, but you’ll get points just for applying, which all add up for when you do land a survey:

You won’t always need to apply for a survey – some will be offered to you, or be readily available, like the ones below. But the more opportunities you give yourself, the better.

But remember, this is the ultimate way to start making money from Survey Sites – taking the surveys that they offer.

They’re the most consistent, and most plentiful source of money on these sites.

I’d love to tell you that there is an amazing, foolproof, system that gives you $5 surveys every time.

But, sadly, there isn’t. Instead you need to check the sites every day for surveys and complete them.

Some days they’ll be worth pennies. Others, like on Pinecone Research, will be worth much more. Keep in mind this is a long-term strategy for making money, and it will pay off over time.

Just be consistent and focus on the highest paying surveys when they come available.

However, if they’re not available, there are many ways to keep on making money…

Quick Tip

Short on time?

Focus your time and effort on the Prize Rebel site. In 15-20 minutes you can take lots more surveys than you can on any other site. And, while the pay is less per survey, you’ll be able to get a much higher amount done.

So where you may only earn $1.00 for a 15-20 minute survey, you may make $1.50 – $1.75 for 20 minutes on there instead.

Step #4: Take Small, Daily, Actions On Swagbucks & InboxDollars

Remember at the start of the article I told you about Gretchen? She makes $1,205 a year from Swagbucks.

She performs small, daily tasks that mount up to create a big chunk of money.

Here’s what she does every day, week or month, to get her results…

1. Searching each day = 50 SB a week = 2,600 SB per year
2. Redeem 10 coupons each week = 100 SB a week = 5,200 SB per year
3. Take The Daily Poll = 365 SB per year
4. Do One Survey Each Day = 60 SB = 21,900 SB per year
5. Earn 100 Bonus Swagbucks per Month = 51,200 SB per year
6. Play 2 Games per day = 2 SB = 730 SB Per Year
7. Complete Daily Offers = 2 SB = 730 SB Per Year
8. Watch Videos Each Day = 20 SB = 7,300 SB per year
9. Play Videos on the Mobile App = 50 SB = 18,250 SB per year
10. Shop through Shop & Earn once a month = 100 SB = 1,200 SB per year
11. Earn Daily Goal Bonuses = 3 SB per day = 1,095 SB per year

That’s 110,570 Swagbucks which is at least $1,105 in gift cards or around $100 extra every month.

Many of these tasks don’t take effort from you, either.

Watching a video doesn’t require any real watching as long as it’s running in the background.

You can even plug your headphones in and leave them out of your ears so you don’t have to hear it.

And, if you perform your Google searches through Swagbucks you can find yourself earning money for stuff you were going to look for anyway.

You’ve just been extra smart and monetised it.

These tasks can be performed through multiple sites as well.

You aren’t tied to Swagbucks here.

You can apply the same to InboxDollars (if you can make the time) and any other sites that follow the same system and almost double that income.

Step #5: Make Money Buying Products You Like

Buying products through your Survey sites can mean not only do you get some products for free, you can also make more money back on them.

Here is where you get the most money for the least time invested.

Take a look at this example from Survey Chris…

He bought an Audible Membership through a survey site at a discounted price of $1 (usually $7-$10). He likes audiobooks and was going to pick up the product anyway.

As part of that offer, he was able to redeem a certain amount of points for buying the product and for keeping it:

In total, Chris was able to earn $8 from a $2 purchase ($1 to buy and $1 to hold it for the second month), which is a $6 gain overall.

Not bad for doing what you were going to do anyway, is it?

You can earn money like this through:

• Swagbucks
• MintVine
• InboxDollars

And, they also give you the option to earn cashback on the other purchases you make online.

If you were to shop at your favourite high-street retailers through the options on the site, you can earn points or cash back on every $1.00 you spend.

Before you spend online, take an extra couple of minutes to look and see if there is an offer through any of the sites you’re signed up too.

Who knows, it could just make you a profit.

This Section In Short

Okay, I just want to quickly talk you through each of the last points, so you know what you need to do to start making money from Survey Sites.

Here are the steps you need to take:

Step #1: Sign Up To All The Best Survey Sites

The more sites you’re a member of, the more opportunities there are to make money.

Not every site is full of offers and surveys each day, so having more options help maximise how much you will learn.

However I would highly recommend you only stick to all of the best survey sites that I have listed for you above-

• Mint Vine
• Swag Bucks
• Inbox Dollars
• Prize Rebel
• Cash Crate
• Pinecone Research

Step #2: Redeem The Sign Up Offers

There are lots of sign up offers on each site, so be sure to cash them in.

You can earn $20+ in your first few hours just be changing a few of your internet settings and signing up for a few free extras.

Step #3: Take (And Apply For) As Many Surveys As You Can

When surveys are readily available take them and focus your time on the highest payers.

If you have to apply – even if you think you might not be eligible – do it anyway.

You’ll receive a small amount of points that will give all add up for when you do get onto one of the surveys.

Step #4: Take Small, Daily, Actions

Much like Gretchen, find small things to do every day on each site.

Search, spend, redeem offers and activate toolbars to accrue points that will add to your total. It may sound small now, but it’ll make a huge difference over 6-12 months.

Step #5: Redeem Offers And Shop Online

Before you make any purchases online, be sure to check out what offers are being made on your different sites.

You could earn cashback, or even make more money than you spend on some of your purchases.

Frequently Asked Questions: What Do You Need To Know?

In this section, I want to explore some of your biggest concerns and put your mind at ease.

Are There Scam Survey Sites?

None of the sites on this list are scam sites. All of them have a good track record of paying (even if it’s a slow process).

There will always be people who have a negative experience with a site. So, you will be able to find bad reviews if you go looking for them.

But the sites here are all part of the Better Business Bureau, or larger organizations, to ensure they have excellent customer service & are all legitimate paid survey sites.

How Will You Be Paid?

This depends on the website.

While some sites are forward thinking and pay through PayPal, many of them opt to pay by cheque.

Will You Be Wasting Your Time?

Only if you don’t cash out.

While the sites are there for you to make money, they aren’t against you doing the work for free.

That’s why it’s important that you always try to hit the payment threshold, no matter how long it takes.

When you get paid, it’s not time wasted.

Can I Automate The Work?

Lots of people ask about if they can get the work done…without doing the work.

While it is possible on individual sites, it’s really not worth it. You’ll waste more time and effort setting it up than it’s worth.

And, if you get found out, you’ll have lost a lot of time for nothing.

Wrapping It Up

Okay, there you have it, that’s everything you need to know about the best free survey sites & how to make the most money with them.

If you have spare time, an internet connection and the desire to earn more money, you’ve got no excuse not to start using them.

It really is money for old rope!

Remember…

• Volume is key: The more sites you sign up to, the better.
• Don’t only rely on Surveys: They are the most consistent way to make money, but explore the bigger money options around them too.
• It’s about the long game: This isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but after time you’ll find you have a solid amount of money to work with

Now, it’s over to you – where are you going to start with surveys?

Let me know in the comments…

These Are The Best Survey Sites To Make The Most Money was originally published on Matthew Woodward

from Matthew Woodward http://ift.tt/2f4jEeG