Wednesday, August 31, 2016
How to Prepare to Dazzle and Delight Your Customers This Upcoming Holiday Season
Wondering how you can boost sales and awareness in the coming months? Incorporate these ideas into your game plan.
4 Ways To Remain Productive When Working From Home
The oxymoronic home-office is really a minefield of distractions and temptations, dithering and surfing. Here's a survival strategy.
How to Breathe New Life into Your Online Content Archive
In this episode of Youpreneur FM, Chris dives into the topic of making the most out of your online content archive by repurposing content to help you reach your followers in new ways.
We've all been there before. You work hard on creating a solid blog post, you feel a rush of pride as you hit “publish” and share it with your audience.
Then it disappears into your archive.
There is always such a steady stream of new content for our audiences take in on a daily basis that sometimes even the best of blog posts, podcast episodes, or videos pass people by and don't get the attention they deserve.
This episode is all about identifying that evergreen content that we already have and making the most out of it.
I also go into repurposing content to help reach your following in a different way, as well as a chance to reach new audiences with a fresh take on your evergreen content - hitting two birds with one stone!
This is a great episode, so grab some coffee, a pen, and your notepad and get ready to dive into this episode of Youpreneur FM.
In this 17-minute episode I discuss:
- Why you need to take inventory of what you currently have
- Which powerful social media tool I use to help promote older content
- The importance of keeping aware of what you are linking to
- What steps you can take when freshening up older posts
- How you can use your “Most Popular” section to promote sales
The post How to Breathe New Life into Your Online Content Archive appeared first on Copyblogger.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
There's an easy way to become a better-liked leader - and most people forget all about it
Leadership experts like to talk about the importance of soliciting feedback - of making peace with the awkwardness and asking your team what they think of your performance so far.
In fact, one former Googler told Business Insider that not asking for feedback is the No. 1 mistake she sees leaders make.
But if you've mustered the courage to find out what other people really think of you, you're hardly out of the woods. There's a second step to improving your reputation among your team - and it's arguably easier than the first.
It's called feedforward, a term coined by leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith.
In his 2007 book, co-written with Mark Reiter, "What Got You Here Won't Get You There," Goldsmith writes that feedforward is a simple process that can be as or more effective as feedback.
Here are the steps Goldsmith outlines in the book:
- Pick one behavior you'd like to change.
- Describe your goal in a one-on-one conversation with anyone - it could be your partner, a friend, a coworker, or even a stranger.
- Ask the person for two suggestions for the future that could help you achieve your goal.
- Listen without judgment. The only thing you can say in response is "thank you."
Repeat the same process with another person.
Goldsmith says the feedforward dialogue is generally less uncomfortable than the feedback one, because no one's criticizing the boss's behavior per se, so they're less inclined to get defensive.
"While they don't particularly like hearing criticism (i.e. negative feedback)," Goldsmith writes, "successful people love getting ideas for the future."
Moreover, he says, while you can't change your behavior in the past, you can definitely modify your behavior going forward, which is empowering.
As more companies work to revamp their employee feedback systems, it's worth thinking about how to make feedforward a regular part of communication between coworkers. It's probably less intimidating and just as helpful.
SEE ALSO: 5 insights from a classic leadership book by an executive coach who's helped over 150 CEOs
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs give us the key to leadership excellence
Last Chance to Get 30% Off Everything at StudioPress
Prices go back to normal tonight!
Just a friendly reminder that our big blowout sale ends today (8/30/16) at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
Until then, you can get anything we sell at StudioPress - including the Pro Plus All-Theme Package - for 30 percent off.
To activate your discount, click this link.
Then browse individual themes, and pick up as many as you want for 30 percent off.
Or, locate the button for the Pro Plus Pack (see image below) and get everything for 30 percent off.
With Pro Plus, that means every theme we sell right now, every theme we make in the future, plus 15 additional third-party themes.
It's a great value. We're excited for you to take advantage of it, so you can give your website a fresh look and feel … and fall in love with it all over again. 
Monday, August 29, 2016
A wireless earphone maker is hinting at a big announcement in Cupertino days before Apple's event
Wireless headphone maker Bragi is set to make an announcement just days before Apple's Sept. 7 event where it is expected to announce the next iPhone, 9to5Mac reports.
Bragi teased that the announcement would be made Sept. 5 from Cupertino, California, which is where Apple is headquartered, leading some to speculate the company may have struck a deal with the iPhone maker.
Apple's new iPhone 7 is rumored to be missing a 3.5mm headphone jack that will require users to use an adapter for traditional headphones or opt for a wireless option.
Bragi's Dash earbuds, which feature two separate buds for each ear, were one of the first "truly wireless" headphones to come to market.
We'll have to wait and see what exactly Bragi has in store when it makes its announcement next week.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: The iPhone 7 is hitting stores on September 23 - here's what you're getting
Friday, August 26, 2016
How to Get 30% Off Our Most Popular Premium WordPress Themes
Only a few days left before this offer expires …
On Tuesday, I alerted you to the massive StudioPress blowout sale going on this week.
Basically, it's our big annual Black Monday discount delivered three months in advance.
The details couldn't be simpler: Until the offer expires on Tuesday, August 30 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, you get 30 percent off everything we sell at StudioPress.
Everything.
Want any individual theme? Click this link, and browse all 39 StudioPress themes and all 15 third-party themes - you get 30 percent off as many individual themes as you want.
Want all of our themes? Click this link, and then find the blue box:
Click it, and you'll be able to get 30 percent off our Pro Plus All-Theme Package - plus you lock in your Pro Plus account without the usual recurring annual payment of $99.99.
It's just a one-time payment … and at a big, big discount.
Decisions, decisions …
So … which theme should you choose?
You don't need me to spend any more time stressing the value of the discount. Forty-five percent off anything is pretty darn good.
If you'll indulge me, I'd like to offer a few suggestions for which themes you might want to consider trying on your site.
I'll reveal the three most popular StudioPress themes of 2016. So many customers can't be wrong, right?
And I'll also reveal my own personal favorite, which has received rave reviews ever since I put it on my own website.
The 3 Most Popular StudioPress Themes of 2016
We'll begin the countdown at number three …
3. Digital Pro
This is one of the newest StudioPress themes, and it's wasted no time carving out a niche of popularity.
Why? Because if you're building a business around digital goods, you need a theme that will support your efforts and won't get in the way when you're marketing your digital products.
Digital Pro builds trust with a friendly, open feel and clean, easy-to-read typography.
Here's how it looks:
To get Digital Pro:
- Click your special coupon link
- Scroll down just a bit
- You'll find Digital Pro near the Smart Passive Income theme
We might mention Digital Pro again later. Stay tuned.
For now, let's move on to the second-most popular theme of 2016 …
2. Altitude Pro
Altitude Pro is another relatively new theme, which I've used on one of my personal sites.
It's a visually stunning theme - but don't let that fool you into thinking that it's style over substance. The parallax effects will grab your eye, but it's the features and flexibility that will move your mind.
Altitude Pro is a theme with a purpose, and that purpose is to take you and your online business higher.
To get Altitude Pro:
- Click your special coupon link
- Scroll down past about five themes
- You'll find Altitude Pro near Atmosphere Pro and Parallax Pro
And the #1 best-selling theme so far in 2016 is … well, it's the #1 best-selling of all time at StudioPress.
Still the undisputed champion of the StudioPress world, it's …
1. Foodie Pro
Foodie Pro is one of the 15 third-party themes currently available at StudioPress - and yes, as mentioned above, third-party themes are eligible for the 30 percent discount.
Customers fell in love with Foodie Pro from the day she was released, and the love affair has not subsided.
Foodie Pro is sleek and svelte with her minimalist approach and clean design, but she sure packs a punch when it comes to features. She is the most flexible Genesis theme to date - with a minimalist style and plenty of color and typography options.
To get Foodie Pro:
- Click your special coupon link
- Scroll down past eight themes
- You'll find Foodie Pro near Showcase Pro and Maker Pro
And finally, a quick nod to my personal favorite theme …
My Personal Favorite StudioPress Theme
What do you know? My personal favorite is a theme from our top three. I didn't intend on that happening when I had the idea for this post … but hey, when a theme is good, it's good.
I tend to be a tinkerer with my personal sites. I've tried out almost every StudioPress theme at one time or another.
For my Assembly Call website, I've never been happier with the look, feel, and function of the design as I am right now.
And the theme I'm using is Digital Pro.
Compare the demo image of Digital Pro with how my site looks:
I love the hero image area, which I easily customized with my own image to fit my own brand.
I also love the setup of the widgets on the homepage. (Click here to check out how I have mine set up.)
And the individual category pages are striking in their simplicity.
I could go on and on.
Suffice it to say, I'm enamored with Digital Pro. Can you tell?
Definitely give it a look as you are deciding which themes you're going to get for 30 percent off.
Have fun browsing and deciding!
It's always fun looking through new themes and envisioning what your site will look and feel like with them installed.
It's even better when you can get your favorites for close to half off.
Take some time today or this weekend and see which StudioPress theme will help you usher in the next evolution of your site.
Remember: Make sure you click this coupon link so you get your 30 percent off discount.
And don't wait too long, because the big discount expires this upcoming Tuesday, August 30, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
The post How to Get 30% Off Our Most Popular Premium WordPress Themes appeared first on Copyblogger.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
2 men in Nevada standoff case plead guilty in federal court
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Two defendants became the first on Thursday to plead guilty in Las Vegas to federal charges in an armed confrontation with U.S. officials over grazing rights near cattleman and open-range advocate Cliven Bundy's ranch.
Gerald "Jerry" DeLemus and Blaine Cooper each admitted conspiring with others who engaged in a tense gunpoint standoff with federal Bureau of Land Management agents in April 2014 near Bundy's property about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
Each also pleaded guilty to another felony in the case.
Both said they weren't physically present for the standoff. "I was calling people to participate," Cooper told U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro.
Their plea deals call for sentences of six years in federal prison, although their defense attorneys can seek leniency at sentencing Dec. 1. Each also could be fined up to $500,000 and be subject to up to three years of government supervision after prison.
Cooper, 37, from Humboldt, Arizona, also pleaded guilty to assault on a federal officer.
He told the judge he interfered with the execution of federal court orders by recruiting armed gunmen to display support for Bundy and sons Ammon, Ryan, Mel and Dave Bundy and stop the roundup of Bundy cattle from the scenic Gold Butte area.
DeLemus, 61, of Rochester, New Hampshire, also pleaded guilty to a felony alleging that when he drove cross-country with guns he intended to display "force and aggression" to stop the roundup.
DeLemus, a former U.S. Marine, arrived in Nevada hours after the standoff.
He spent weeks afterward living in a tent and organizing armed patrols near Bundy's ranch outside Bunkerville. He said at the time the goal was to prevent government agents from returning to harm or arrest Bundy family members, and that if someone pointed a gun at him he would point his gun back.
DeLemus was also politically active at home in New Hampshire, where his wife, Susan DeLemus, is a Republican state assemblywoman.
He stopped several times Thursday to confer with his attorney while entering his guilty pleas.
"I don't know that I threatened anyone," DeLemus told the judge at one point, "but I made public statements hoping it would end peacefully."
Prosecutors characterized DeLemus and Cooper as "mid-level organizers" and leaders of the conspiracy to prevent federal agents and contract cowboys from rounding up Bundy cattle that federal authorities said were trespassing on public land.
"Federal law enforcement officers must be able to engage in their official duties, including executing federal court orders, without fear of assault or losing their lives," U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said in a statement after the pleas.
DeLemus and Cooper became the first among 19 defendants to take plea deals in the Nevada case.
The government agreed to drop nine other felony charges against them.
Trial for some of the remaining 17 defendants is scheduled to begin Feb. 2 on charges also including threatening a federal officer, carrying a firearm in a crime of violence, and obstruction.
Seven defendants in the Nevada case, including Cooper and Bundy sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy, are also among 26 people charged in Portland, Oregon, with conspiracy, weapon, theft and damaging government property counts stemming from a 41-day occupation of a wildlife refuge earlier this year.
Eleven people have taken plea deals in the Oregon case, including Cooper. He pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy and is expected to be sentenced to six months in prison, with credit for time served, and six months in a halfway house or home detention.
The pleas Thursday by DeLemus and Cooper didn't specify whether the two men would be called to testify against others in Nevada or Oregon.
The Oregon trial is scheduled to begin next month.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Southwest Airlines: A Case Study in Employee Engagement
Having employees apply innovative thinking outside of the scope of their daily functions benefits both employees and employers.
These Social Media Tips Will Make You Rethink Recruiting
Enlist your current employees to help seek out the best talent.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
The 37 highest-paying jobs in America
C-Suite executives are known for pulling in a pretty penny. But as it turns out, doctors make even more.
That's right: On average, those sporting scrubs and stethoscopes bring home fatter paychecks than those donning suits and ties, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates survey.
The survey, which reflects May 2015 salary and employment data gathered from more than 1 million businesses, found that nine of the nation's top 10 highest-paying occupations are in the medical field.
The best-paying job of all: anesthesiologist.
On average, anesthesiologists in the US earn an average annual salary of $258,100 - which is more than five times what the average American earns.
According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, these medical doctors are responsible for the safety and well being of patients before, during, and after surgery. In the US, they're required to complete a four-year undergraduate college degree, four years of medical school, and a four-year anesthesiology residency program. Most anesthesiologists become board certified, and many complete an additional fellowship year of specialty training.
A 2014 physician compensation report by Medscape found that nearly 80% of anesthesiologists spend 40 hours or more per week with patients.
Here are the 37 highest-paying jobs in the US- all of which earn more than $115,000 a year, on average:
SEE ALSO: 17 high-paying side jobs you can do in your spare time
37. Computer and information research scientist
Mean annual pay: $115,580
Number of people who hold this job in the US: 25,510
Projected growth (2014 - 2024): 11%
36. Optometrist
Mean annual pay: $115,750
Number of people who hold this job in the US: 35,300
Projected growth (2014 - 2024): 27%
35. Judge, magistrate judge, or magistrate
Mean annual pay: $116,100
Number of people who hold this job in the US: 29,020
Projected growth (2014 - 2024): -1%
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Thursday, August 18, 2016
ACI partners with Ethoca for fraud protection
Payments technology firm ACI Worldwide will give merchants access to a robust e-commerce fraud alert system through a new integration partnership with commerce tech company Ethoca.
Ethoca Alerts, the firm's core product, notifies merchants about cardholder fraud as soon as its reported to the bank so that they can resolve consumer complaints through a refined or otherwise before fraud reaches the chargeback stage. The service will be available to over 130 payment service providers (PSPs) that use ACI Worldwide's UP platform, who can then provide it to their “thousands” of merchants.
E-commerce fraud is becoming a larger problem. BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, forecasts that US e-commerce retail sales will reach $631 billion by 2020, up from $341 billion last year. That growth and safer card-present purchasing is pushing fraudsters online, which in turn is increasing the cost per dollar of fraud losses on these channels by three to four times the rate of physical channels.
As a result, BI Intelligence estimates that fraud losses will cost US e-commerce merchants $6 billion this year. Finding ways to simplify the fraud resolution process before costs spiral out of control will help mitigate costs while providers search ways to block fraud entirely. And ACI Worldwide, which is an industry leader and counts a huge client base, could help influence other firms to implement similar solutions, which could help combat the larger e-commerce fraud problem facing the industry.
Fraud cost U.S. retailers approximately $32 billion in 2014, up from $23 billion just one year earlier. To solve the card fraud problem across in-store, online, and mobile payments, payment companies and merchants are implementing new payment protocols that could finally help mitigate fraud.
John Heggestuen, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on payment security that looks at how the dynamics of fraud are shifting across in-store and online channels and explains the top new types of security that are gaining traction across each of these channels, including on Apple Pay.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:
- EMV cards are being rolled out with an embedded microchip for added security. The microchip carries out real-time risk assessments on a person's card purchase activity based on the card user's profile. The chip also generates dynamic cryptograms when the card is inserted into a payment terminal. Because these cryptograms change with every purchase, it makes it difficult for fraudsters to make counterfeit cards that can be used for in-store transactions.
- To bolster security throughout the payments chain encryption of payments data is being widely implemented. Encryption degrades valuable data by using an algorithm to translate card numbers into new values. This makes it difficult for fraudsters to harvest the payments data for use in future transactions.
- Point-to-point encryption is the most tightly defined form of payments encryption. In this scheme, sensitive payment data is encrypted from the point of capture at the payments terminal all the way through to the gateway or acquirer. This makes it much more difficult for fraudsters to harvest usable data from transactions in stores and online.
- Tokenization increases the security of transactions made online and in stores. Tokenization schemes assign a random value to payment data, making it effectively impossible for hackers to access the sensitive data from the token itself. Tokens are often "multiuse," meaning merchants don't have to force consumers to re-enter their payment details. Apple Pay uses an emerging form of tokenization.
- 3D Secure is an imperfect answer to user authentication online. One difficulty in fighting online fraud is that it is hard to tell whether the person using card data is actually the cardholder. 3D Secure adds a level of user authentication by requiring the customer to enter a passcode or biometric data in addition to payment data to complete a transaction online. Merchants who implement 3D Secure risk higher shopping-cart abandonment.
In full, the report:
- Assesses the fraud cost to US retailers and how that fraud is expected to shift in coming years
- Provides 5 high-level explanations of the top payment security protocols
- Includes 7 infographics illustrating what the transaction flow looks like when each type of security is implemented.
- Analyzes the strengths and weakness of each payment security protocol and the reasons why particular protocols are being put in place at different types of merchants.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
- Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
- Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT
The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you've given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of payments security.
Clinton's foundation to alter donations policy if elected
NEW YORK (AP) - The Clinton Foundation will no longer accept foreign and corporate donations if Hillary Clinton is elected president.
Former President Bill Clinton tells staff members on Thursday that it will also hold its final Clinton Global Initiative meeting in September in New York, regardless of the outcome of the November election.
The former president made the announcement in an afternoon meeting with foundation staff, according to participants who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement.
Bill Clinton said if Hillary Clinton wins the White House, the family's foundation would only accept contributions from U.S. citizens and independent charities.
He added the foundation will continue its work, but plans to refocus its efforts in a process that will take up to a year to complete.
All Business is Personal -- Especially in Ecommerce
Grow your marketing with a focus on retention and value-added experiences built around your community of customers.
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