Find Your Thrill and Chill with eSports

Competitive video gaming is a rapidly expanding global phenomenon with millions of followers and billions of dollars on the line. Casual gamers have become major stars on streaming platforms and live events, making seven-figure sums and receiving big corporate sponsorships.

Group Play Opportunities

In eSports, you can play as a group, or view others who are playing.  This goes for both traditional team games and also racing. There are numerous e-games to choose from, and they are not all limited to a few alternatives.

Soccer, Basketball, Racing, Pokemon, and TonyBet CA games will challenge you and provide entertainment. For long-term fans, years of experience will pay off well.

What Are eSports?

The realm of competitive, organized video gaming is referred to as eSports. In popular at-home games like Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Madden NFL, players from different leagues or teams compete against one another. Millions of fans watch and follow these gamers from all around the world, whether they attend live events or watch them on TV or online. Viewers may watch their favorite gamers play in real-time on streaming sites like Twitch, and this is generally where popular players establish their fan bases.

Who Plays eSports

Players in eSports, like conventional athletes, may earn a lot of money: Millions of dollars in prize money may be won in tournaments, which is usually shared between the players on the winning teams. That means the best players in the world may easily make seven figures in a year. Ticket sales for these contests help both teams and event organizers. That 2017 League of Legends tournament that was so popular? Ticket sales for the event totaled $5.5 million.

How Far Can eSports Enter Your Life?

More people are participating in e-games and virtual bet-related activities, especially in light of the covid 19 pandemic. As a result, online games have introduced substantial and novel ways for you to participate.

As an example, video games like FIFA, NBA 2K, Madden NFL, and MLB are played by a lot of people globally today. Players who are more comfortable with the notable successful virtual sports titles have the idea on this niche rather than others. The gamers can set the artificial intelligence’s difficulty very easy to very hard.

Virtual Sports on Mobile Phones

This is another example of a very pleasant and popular form of entertainment that we can observe nowadays. Any mobile device with an internet connection can simply access the entertainment. The only thing you have to do is use your mobile web browser to touch on one of the linked eSports links.

Then the graphical interface will adjust to the display’s dimensions, giving an app-like experience. Here you don’t want to download anything. The most exciting thing is that these web apps provide heightened security, which apps are difficult to provide.

 Virtual Sports Vs eSports

Virtual sports and eSports have a lot of standard features. There is one considerable difference that changes the two matches held in a digital environment.

As we know, both virtual sports and esports are technical video games. Virtual sports are games that you compete indirectly, where eSports you participate as a viewer.

In addition to that, esports are multiplayer video games played by teams or single people who compete against one another to accomplish various in-game targets. In the case of esports, the odds work as same as the traditional sports since every team involves actual people.

How to Choose a Bespoke Software Development Company for Your Project

If you are thinking to hire an external resource for your new start-up or small business, it is important that you invest in the right resource. Your best bet is to go for a professional bespoke developer that can implement all your unique project requirements perfectly, keeping in mind both quality and budget.

You can scout platforms like Fiverr to engage the services of all kinds of freelance software developers.

The problem with going for a software development company is that there are a lot of great options available. With all sorts of technological advancements bridging the gap between opposite corners of the world, there are new opportunities for hiring the best possible talent regardless of the geographical distance between you and the vendor. Offshoring versus outsourcing often go hand in hand for this reason.

We have prepared this little guide for you so you can hire the best possible software partner for your bespoke software development project. In this article, we will talk about what factors to consider when choosing a software developer, so that you can make the best choice.

Location

Like we mentioned before, technology has brought the world closer together. However, it is still important to consider the location of potential software development vendors as it affects the cost and quality of the work that they provide.

If you choose a software development company that is based in India, for example, it is likely that they will be able to offer you lower prices since labour is generally cheaper in developing countries. However, this in turn will affect the quality of services. Developing countries are often lagging behind in terms of the usage of the latest technologies and tools. They might not have the expertise or skills that you require for your project. There is also the problem of a gap in communication. Since their native language is not English, you may have a hard time communicating your requirements or feedback to their software developers or understanding their responses.

On the other hand, a software development company in the UK, for example, would have greater exposure to modern education as well as the latest development trends. Their knowledge and skills would be far more refined and valuable. They are more likely to be updated on the latest benchmarks of software development methodologies and tools. Since their primary mode of communication is the English language, it would remove this barrier as well.

Previous Clients and Past Reviews

Nowadays, every type of business has a basic website that acts as a platform where they can showcase their portfolio. The same is common for software companies in this age too. A lot of companies have a list of current and past clients on their homepage. Others publish the details of each project they have worked on in a separate section on their website, often called ‘Case Studies.’ If a company has worked with certain “big names” in the past, chances are that you can expect high-quality work from them.

If you wish to see the reviews for a particular vendor, you can also look that company up on reliable review platforms such as SoftwareWorld, GoodFirms and Clutch. Most of the trustworthy companies are listed on these popular review sites. These sites contact clients and conduct in-depth interviews with them regarding their feedback for the services they availed from a particular vendor. The clients also give a star rating to their software development company.

Costs and Pricing Models

Budget is a crucial part of any new bespoke software development venture. A quick look at platforms like Clutch can give you a brief comparison of the different types of projects that other customers have had built, and how much they ended up paying to their software partner. This can give you a rough idea of how much your project could cost. If you are a small business or start-up, you may also need a flexible payment plan since it can be difficult to pay large amounts upfront. Therefore, it is important to do a proper price comparison when choosing a software company.

While cost reduction will continue to be the key rationale for outsourcing, quality and technological superiority will become equally vital. Outsourcing was mostly utilized to cut total labor expenditures, such as pay, insurance, equipment and supplies, and technology. However, new IT outsourcing trends have evolved, with an emphasis on high-quality solutions.

The price of software development services can vary depending on many factors. If your project has a wide scope that could take a long period of time to cover, you might need multiple team members to fill in various roles in the development team. If the project requirements are highly complex, you would have to hire highly skilled and experienced expert developers. Similarly, for a project that is time-sensitive, your vendor might have to assign extra resources to it.

A great way to conduct a deeper price comparison would be to shortlist a few potential software developers and send them a complete list of your requirements to get an initial quote.

Where to Look

There are two well-known options that can assist you in your search for the best software development partner.

The first option has been mentioned above: review and portfolio platforms. Clutch, for example, compiles a list of top vendors in different categories of software development every year. If, for instance, you are looking for an expert in mobile app development services, you can go through Clutch’s latest compilation of the best app developers for this year. These websites also allow visitors and clients to filter their search for the best service providers according to budget, location, expertise, and several other factors. For example, if you want to look for a software development company in London, you can apply the location filter to your search and obtain a list of vendors based in London, UK. If you are looking for a vendor who provides moderately priced services, you can adjust the budget filter accordingly.

The second option is online business directories. If you are certain of the location of your software partner, you can look up directories that are local to that specific geographical region. From verified business directories, you will be able to obtain the complete contact information (e.g. contact number, address) of the businesses you might consider partnering up with.

How to Start a YouTube Channel – From A to Z

So, you want to start a YouTube channel? Perhaps more accurately, you want to start a successful YouTube channel that will not only serve many subscribers but ALSO earn you a decent living?

The desire to become a ‘YouTuber’ has increased a great deal in recent years. No doubt the average viewer sees an individual making a success of presenting via this social media channel and believes they too can make a similar splash.

The reality is that only a tiny fraction of those who have YouTube channels make a significant sum of money, with the vast majority running channels for fun or in the vague hope of one day ‘making it.’ If you are wondering about how to start a YouTube channel only to make money, then you may be biting off more than you can chew.

Your motivation to succeed is critical. The audience on YouTube is very savvy, and they can spot someone who is desperate to succeed without having the relevant talent to make that success a reality.

Recent statistics suggest that as few as 0.25 of YouTube channels make money. That’s one in 400. Clearly, this isn’t the greatest percentage, and such a statistic should scare the life out of anyone hoping to strike it rich.

However, if these numbers do not daunt you, then there are a few tips you can take on board that could help you battle those statistics and come out on top.

Know Your Market

Whatever niche your YouTube channel covers, it should be one that you have the necessary experience and knowledge of. Understanding YouTube niches is your way to get ahead! The audience on YouTube, overall, can spot a fake a mile off. They are also likely to see through an individual who is winging it. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to stick to what you know.

If you are looking to corner the market in a particular department, then consider the possible angles for your channel. Keep things simple. If you just want to run a channel where you discuss specific topics that interest you, that’s entirely valid. However, for the sake of clarity, try to narrow down the appeal and direction of your channel.

Perhaps the most crucial question to ask yourself before starting the process is ‘What is my YouTube channel about?’. If this is a question you can answer simply, then you are on the right road. If it’s not, then you may have to re-think your objectives.

If your channel revolves around reviewing recent movie releases, then make that the ‘niche.’ If it’s a podcast where you explore historical events, then similarly make that the source of your inspiration. Try to boil down the intention of your channel to a simple and understandable one. That way, your audience knows what to expect.

Consistency

If you are thinking of starting a YouTube channel, you should develop a plan of action. This should include a schedule of content delivery as well as a budget to cover all relevant costs, from the production of your videos as well as appropriate advertising you may well need to pay for.

You can use a YouTube Shorts scheduler to plan and post your short videos at the best times. First, create your Shorts and save them. Then, use a scheduling tool that supports YouTube Shorts. Upload your video to the scheduler and set the date and time you want it to go live. This helps you reach your audience when they are most active. Scheduling also ensures consistent content delivery. It saves you time and helps you stay organized. Using a scheduler can improve your channel’s performance and growth.

You can also use tools like Eklipse which can help you quickly create highlight reels and engaging clips, making your content even more shareable and attracting a wider audience.

Be ready to produce content even when you may not be feeling it. If you have a weekly release schedule, then you’ll have to stick to it. Slacking off and altering your content production procedure will not help you to retain an engaged audience.

Do not Expect Instant Success

The biggest obstacle for most individuals seeking to make a name for themselves on YouTube comes in the form of expectations. There is a sense that success will come easily and instantly. Sadly, neither of these assertions are true.

It can, and will, take a long time to firstly build a sustainable audience and secondly to keep up the level of content needed to entertain them effectively. If you want your audience to increase organically, then you can expect it to take time before you have a large enough following for you to make a reasonable income from your efforts.

Produce High-Quality, Engaging Content

On top of all of this, you also need to produce content that is professional in both its delivery and its creation. This means that you should use top-quality equipment to film your content or to edit it. Content that looks amateurish will not go down well, especially given that the relevant tools exist that can help you produce great videos at a fraction of the price that it used to.

If the style of your videos is deliberately rough and ready, then YouTube viewers may accept that, but only if this is part of the overall ethos of your channel. In other words, the delivery of your content should match the tone and style you are trying to convey.

Correctly Use Metadata and Titles to Drive Viewers to Your Videos.

In order to better engage with your audience and the YouTube audience as a whole, you should correctly use the metadata and title functionality. Do some basic keyword research before entering this essential information, as it can drastically affect the reach your videos will get on the platform.

Check YouTube tutorials, and there are thousands of them before you tackle this aspect of the video uploading interface. It can really be the difference between a video that gets a few hundred views and one that might go viral.

Have Fun with It

To be perfectly honest, your involvement with a YouTube channel should never be solely about views and revenue. Clearly, these are vital factors, but above all else, you should be starting a YouTube channel because the subject matter is something you personally have a genuine interest in. The journey needs not to be grounded chiefly in financial gain.

9 Things to Know Before Borrowing Money

A lot of people think borrowing money is a sign of weakness, but it can actually be an act of strength. Borrowing money from the right money lender Singapore with the right terms at the right time can help you achieve your goals faster than if you had saved up all that money yourself. Borrowers often find themselves in this situation because they don’t have enough liquid cash on hand to pay for certain expenses or pay off their debt.

If you’re considering borrowing some money, here are 9 things to know before doing so:

Know your credit score

Check your credit score. This is known to be one of the most important steps to take before borrowing money because it will indicate how much cash you can borrow and from whom.

Non-traditional lenders might offer better rates for borrowers with below-average credit scores who might not qualify for a loan through a traditional lender. Lenders like Western Sky, for instance, offer loans that don’t require a credit check–and they’re available to people who other lenders have turned down.

You should also know if you’re eligible to be a guarantor of a loan. This is when someone agrees to take on responsibility for a loan if the borrower defaults. For instance, if you co-sign for someone else’s payday loan, you’ll be held responsible if they don’t pay.

Only borrow what you can afford.

Sometimes, borrowing too much money at once can come back to haunt you in unexpected ways–especially when there are recurring fees and interest rates that keep adding up every month.

Before taking out a car title loan or any other kind of loan, ask yourself: “Is this reasonable?” If not, it’s probably best to start saving or wait until you have enough money to cover your expenses without having to resort to high-interest loans. Titlelo.com can help you instantly turn your car into cash with simple title loan application processes.

Understand the interest rates and fees

When you borrow money, it’s important to understand the interest rates and fees associated with your loan.

Personal loans, for instance, typically come with an APR of 16 to 24%. Some credit cards carry APR rates as high as 29% or more. On the other hand, most commercial vehicle title loans often come with much lower rates, usually hovering around 8%. If you’re not sure what the terms are for your loan, find out before you sign on the dotted line.

There are also late payment penalties, which can include a fee of up to $25 or more. You might want to avoid paying this fee by setting up automatic payments every month through your checking account or PayPal.

Consider what you’re borrowing the money for

It would be ideal if you considered what you’re borrowing the money for before applying for a loan. Some people borrow money to pay off their bills, and others borrow money so they can travel and go on vacation. But some people borrow money so they can do something nice for somebody else. Doing this can feel like an act of love and kindness, and it might provide a sense of peace and happiness too.

Consider how much you can repay monthly.

The amount of money you can repay depends on your income. For example, if you have a good job, you might be able to afford to repay up to $1,000 a month. If you’re new in the workforce and don’t have a high-paying job yet, then going for a smaller loan that will be an easier repayment each month–say, $200 or so–makes sense.

You’ll also want to take into account how much money you have coming in each month after taxes are taken out. This figure is called net pay. It’s the amount of cash left over after paying taxes and other deductions from your paycheck.

If this number isn’t very high, it might not be wise to take out a large payday loan or cash advance because you might not be able to repay it when your next paycheck arrives.

Be wary of predatory lenders.

Some people get taken advantage of by unscrupulous companies who prey on their desperation and willingness to pay whatever price just so they can meet their financial obligations.

Some companies insist that borrowers have a job or can prove they have enough income coming in before they take out payday loans–even if the borrower is receiving disability benefits. If this happens to you, it’s best not to borrow money from these lenders because many reputable lenders don’t do this.

Ensure to read all the fine print before signing anything.

You should always make sure to read all of the fine print before signing anything. Many people think they understand what they’re getting into when they sign an agreement but later find out that they didn’t fully understand all of the terms and conditions.

It’s easy for lenders to hide sneaky fees in the fine print, like being charged excessive late fees if you do happen to be late on your payment date.

Beware of predatory lenders who might say things like “We’ll do anything so you can have some money” or “Just sign here, and everything will be okay.” These are red flags that show how these companies are trying to trick people into borrowing more than they realize.

Look for lenders who will offer flexible repayment options.

Some people might think they can only get a loan with a fixed repayment period, but some lenders will offer flexible repayment options. You might want to look for these lenders so you can have the flexibility of paying your money back over time rather than in one lump sum.

This can be helpful when you’re trying to repay debt with loans that have short-term obligations–for example, if you have a mortgage or car loan that needs to be repaid quickly. This gives you the option of paying small monthly installments without incurring penalties for late payments.

Avoid taking out multiple loans at once

You should avoid taking on too many loans simultaneously because this can make it difficult to manage all your payments and still make ends meet. If you need to take out a loan, wait until your existing loans have been paid off before taking on another one.

5 Downsides of Solar Energy

Green energy activists, manufacturers, and even the government often shed light on the amazing benefits of solar energy. This makes people assume that the energy source is perfect. But that isn’t true. In fact, it may surprise you to know that utilizing solar energy in homes has a couple of disadvantages. In this article, we are going to be exploring a few of them.

While electricity comparison companies have helped many households find providers that offer power at an affordable price, many homeowners aren’t satisfied, as they still spend thousands of dollars yearly on electricity. This is likely why more people are leaning towards solar energy.

Several reports have shown that many homeowners in Australia are embracing solar energy to cut down their electricity bills.

Negative Impact on the Environment

Solar energy is clean and renewable, but it isn’t perfect. As evident in this study, solar energy fields can take up landmass that could have been used for agricultural activities.

Even more, they affect the plant and animal species in the area where they are present.

The Union of Concerned Scientists has pointed out that large solar farms raise concerns about habitat loss and land degradation. Granted, solar energy is a lot less harmful than many non-renewable energy sources, but it can still harm the environment – for example, when solar panels aren’t disposed of properly.

Cost

The cost of installing solar panels is ever-rising. One report shows that the initial cost of solar panel installation can generate 8kw is around $30,000.

Note that the installment cost covers everything from the cost of panels and inverters to wiring, labor, solar charge controllers, and repairs.

Space

Many residential properties have enough space to accommodate the number of solar panels needed to address their electrical needs.

The same cannot be said of large apartment complexes and office buildings. These buildings just don’t have enough space on their roof for the number of panels needed to power them. Adding to the problem is the high amount of energy that many homes require.  

Many commercial buildings have to utilize electricity comparison companies to find the best energy deals and ultimately save on costs, as they don’t have enough room to install the number of panels, inverters, and batteries they need.

Poor Energy Conversion

Many experts agree that solar panels aren’t very energy efficient.

Multiple studies have supported the claim of these experts. This study, for example, shows that the best panels on the market are only 23% effective.

This means that they can only transform 23% of the energy from the sun to electricity.

Unpredictability

The sun’s unpredictability is one of the main downsides of solar energy.  

As you likely know, sunlight production is linked to factors like time of day, location, and season. This means that people who live in northern latitudes will be at a disadvantage, while inhabitants of latitudes closer to the equator will be at an advantage, as their region is sunnier.

Final note

These are just a handful of the cons associated with solar energy. However, if you live in a region where there is a lot of sunlight, it may be worthwhile to indeed upgrade to solar energy to reduce your energy bill.

And, if your location isn’t the most favorable for solar energy, you can still save money by using an electricity comparison company to find an affordable and reliable energy provider.

Why You Should Buy Rotating Proxy Service – Best Proxy Provider

For people who use a proxy provider, rotating proxies offer a higher level of service. A rotating proxy shuffles your ID with a new one now and then, which blocks your online identity. Having your proxy automatically change enhances both performance and security.

Not all proxy providers are equal. So take time and effort when you buy a rotating proxy to choose the best service.

Today, we’ll show you why you should only buy rotating proxy services from the best proxy provider.

Ample IP Addresses

A dedicated proxy means website owners can easily track you visiting their website. For example, if you visit the same page multiple times per day, it may expose your interest in that product or service.  But maybe you have a different reason to visit the page.  A rotating proxy allows you to be anonymous when you repeatedly view a website.

Buying a rotating proxy service from the best proxy provider can offer you a pool of IP addresses. As a result, you can avoid being banned. Also, anyone who is tracking your online activities can’t reveal your actual IP address. And this is something that an average proxy provider can’t provide.

To Gain Competitive Edge

If you own a business, using a rotating proxy can allow you to monitor your competitors. Then, you can sign up for service or download their trials to test them out. And you can do that with the same niche without getting blocked. As a result, you can gain a competitive edge.

If you’re buying something online, the prices might vary across different regions. A rotating proxy from a designated region can help you get the best deal to save the most money.

Achieve Increased Conversion Rates

A regular proxy service provider offers only a single IP address.  Over time, you become known to the target website.  As you move through the pages, the tracking on that website will identify your activity.  With a rotating proxy, you can freely get as much or as little information as you need.

Staying on a page for a prolonged period might make the owner suspicious. You might even get blocked by the owner and can’t come back to the site anymore. But, you have to research their content and keywords, which needs a lot of time.

Improved Security

Security is more critical now than ever.  Nearly all website tracking is IP-based.  Every website is tracking every move you make through their site and recording it forever. So if your IP is changing, you can bypass the most common forms of tracking.  This means you see all the web pages fresh, treating you like a new customer.

But for the best security, your IP address needs to be frequently shuffled. Therefore, if you buy a rotating proxy from a good proxy provider, they can guarantee you to cut your chances of getting exposed. For these reasons, you need to choose the proxy provider very wisely.

The security of your proxy relies on the provider you pick. A reputable provider will hold the security of your business in high esteem.

Ending Notes

Your IP address is enough to get your information exposed to the outer world. Choosing the best rotating proxy service provider is critical for your daily internet browsing.

How To Better Manage And Keep Track Of Your Employees’ Payroll Checks

Managing your employee’s payroll checks is a complicated task that should always be carried out with accuracy. You either perform the job using an outsource, a manual system, or an online software service because making errors time and again is a severe threat to small businesses since the employees have the right to report such errors and get compensation. Yet, in the process, the company has to suffer from higher penalties. Even though the claims made by the employees are false, the company can still suffer a significant loss if they fail to keep track of the employees’ payroll checks or manage their records. Therefore, to perform your job efficiently, you need to keep track of the employees’ payroll checks by preserving their working hours, performance level, and salary checks issued in the form of milestones or paystubs. It is a document that businesses usually keep as evidence to hold all the information of the cashed payroll checks. So, here are a few steps to manage and keep records of your employees’ payroll checks.

1. Get Employee Management Software

Growing your business will always require improving your technological tools; today’s world has completely transformed into digital industries. No matter who you ask for advice, they will always recommend using software to manage your employees in the best possible way. Several apps help HR managers manage all employees’ hiring, financing, and other related jobs; businesses often use apps like Connecteam, Remote, Workday, etc., to manage everything.

2. Preserve Employee Payroll Records

All businesses must prove their legal documents, financial deposits, and transactions to be able to get their license. In order to keep an accurate record of the employees’ payroll checks, getting the recording job done correctly should be the highest priority for business owners. Whether they use a paystub creator, an app, a manual sheet, an excel sheet, or an outsource, the medium they choose should always be accurate, time-efficient, and convenient for their business. As a result, companies will be able to prove accounts histories and be able to manage their employees’ payroll systems efficiently and transparently.

3. Apply Diverse Ways to Manage the Payroll System

When managing your employees’ work performance and payroll, you cannot rely on a single strategy to manage your working system.

Diverse techniques should be applied like organizing payroll management by making a strict schedule, following federal and state rules, using different software, websites, and apps to track the working hours, work performance and productivity, etc. You can apply new ways from the following payroll management options:

  • Issue policies to outline the criteria of the payment.
  • Choose a standard system for recording payroll checks.
  • Track the time consumed by the employees by using GPS tracker, software, apps, etc.
  • Follow the federal and state laws.
  • Use outsourcing for managing the payroll methods.
  • Use diverse software to manage and track employee performance.

If you want to manage your employees’ work performance, payroll checks, records, and other financial information, you need to apply several methods to cross-check that your work is done accurately. Besides, staying alert is your topmost priority since you can neither risk your business’s image in the market nor your company’s employees’ professionalism.

What is Optimal and Targeted Media Buying: 4 Useful Tips

Media buying is more than just putting a couple of ads on a website. It requires you to look at your target audience and the media channels that will best help you reach them. Media buying is more than just throwing money at the problem. It may seem easier, but the truth is that there are so many great advantages to focusing on targeted media buying and dedicating your time and money where it really matters: reaching the exact people you want to speak with. These four tips will highlight why targeting your advertising can make all the difference in your company’s success.

Only Buy What Matters

If your goal is to have three million impressions for one month, then don’t just buy up all the cheap ads that are available for that time period. This isn’t targeting or optimizing – this is just wasting money because you’ve made no attempt to choose where your ads will run. Make sure you’re only choosing the most relevant ad placements possible so that you can receive optimal results.

Plan Properly Before Setting Up a Media Buying Strategy

Media planning is not just an important step in media buying, but also an integral part of any successful advertising campaign. The media buying agency helps with the arrangement of ads, purchasing airtime on various television programs, and buying space for print advertisements. This includes finding the right price per advertisement slot to maximize profit while still staying within budget. An efficient way that brands, telco, and data-driven marketing firms can leverage targeted media buying is through proper management of ad buys and having a plan for your target audience. Once the plan is set up, it is passed along to the media buyer, who places these ads on behalf of the company or marketing firm. Therefore, choosing an experienced media planner can make all the difference to help you achieve all your marketing goals.

Test Out Different Languages And Countries If Appropriate

Selecting the right language, especially for sites in foreign countries, can make all of the difference between great results and none at all. If you have the option, get your ads translated for other countries or regions to get targeted results that are relevant to your audience. Use Google Analytics to keep track of every site where your ads run. Sometimes digital campaigns can be so successful that they’re not monitored closely – which is the fastest way to lose money. Google Analytics makes it easy to monitor how many clicks were made on each ad placement so that you know whether or not it’s worth keeping an ad running in a specific area.

Just as important as proper planning is keeping track of where your ads are running so that you can determine what works and what doesn’t. Without monitoring your ads closely, you won’t know which networks give the best results, how much to budget for specific sites, or even where your ad will be most visible. 

You can use Google Analytics for this purpose by targeting a specific site and setting up an AdWords campaign that tracks all of its clicks. This will provide insight into how many people are interacting with each network, as well as the full reach of the campaign overall – which helps you figure out how much to spend on each area.

How and Why to Safely Invest in Cryptocurrency in 2022

As we enter the third year of the COVID era, we see tectonic shifts in the financial industry. From the debt limit crisis, the failure of Gold as a safe asset, Brexit and the looming default of the major financial markets, there comes a need to be flexible.

The way you invested in the past will not likely achieve the yields necessary to fulfill your retirement goals. Willie Sutton, a famous bank robber, was asked why he robbed banks. The oft-quoted reply is “Because that’s where the money is”.

It is time to move your investments to where the money is.

Remember how you got started with investing. In a time when simply holding stocks made a profit, or a safe company like IBM was considered a safe investment. Everyone trading now knows full well that robots dominate the market, and the major wall street firms are stealing your money by trading ahead of you.

Fifteen years ago, I hired a major bank’s investment advisor to invest $78,000k of IRA funds – representing 10 years of my savings. Over the subsequent 10-years, he took the bank took $22,000 in fees and achieved a $2000 return. The APY on that is tiny – one-quarter percent. At this time, even a simple CD returned 0.5%. With inflation running about 2% per year, my funds decreased in value by about 25% during this time.

My Banker retired and put another guy in place, so I pulled my funds and started doing it myself. In the following four years I have made about 50% using index ETFs. i still feel burned that during the middle part of my earning years, the majority of my retirement savings was locked away in an account that only made the bank money. I thought I was getting wisdom and instead all I got was fees and declining assets.

Every time a Financial Advisor tells you not to trade Bitcoin – keep in mind that the value they are protecting is their own fees, and that they may not have your best interest in mind.

Bitcoin was invented in 2009 as an electronic form of value and exchange. In the early days, it was easy to say that it was made of nothing, worth nothing and would go nowhere. In the following 12 years, the value and adoption have exceeded all expectations. If you are not currently invested in Bitcoin, here are some easy ways:

1. Purchase Bitcoin Using a Traditional Stockbroker

Popular brokers are Robinhood which operates as a high-tech operation. You deposit your funds to Robinhood and purchase Bitcoin. They claim to not have a commission. However, they are entirely funded by order flow – a market consolidator that trades ahead of you – scalping higher prices in the process.

2. Purchase Bitcoin Through PayPal or Other Payment Provider

At this point, everyone and their brother handles Bitcoin, including PayPal. You can simply run your purchase through them.

3. Use a Popular Crypto Exchange

The most popular exchanges in the US are Coinbase and Binance.US (Binance-dot-US). Note that Binance.com (Binance-dot-Com) the global company is banned from operating in the US.

Specialty websites like Immediate Alora offer an option with sophisticated trading tools and platforms to trade Bitcoin and other currencies.

My quick suggestion is to make accounts on both of them. Coinbase is handy because they will give you $5 for just opening an account and you get about $40 of free crypto for watching a few movies. My experience is that the UI for Binance.US is easier for me to understand – which is important when moving my hard-earned money.

4. Invest in an ETF that trades in Bitcoin

The SEC and Bitcoin have a fraught relationship. If Cryptocurrency becomes successful, a considerable number of financial corporations and brokers will be unemployed. The SEC runs front man ensuring that Bitcoin is a second class asset in its tax treatment, rules to limit firms from trading it, and ensuring that regular people cannot invest.

While there currently is no ETF that trades Bitcoin directly, the Grayscale Investment Trust (GBTC -1.23%) allows you to own an investment based solely on Bitcoin assets. In general terms, one GBTC share is about 1/100th of a Bitcoin. Recently, due to changes in their management, the “premium” value has moved from positive to negative. GBTC trades with the Pink Sheets, so you can only trade it during market hours. You can trade GBTC from your IRA account.

Information is key when using ETF’s and finding that data on your own can be hard. Using an ETF’s data API can provide that extra bit of critical information for making the best trading decisions.

5. Invest in Etherium

Bitcoin’s younger sibling is Etherium, and Grayscale now offers Grayscale Etherium Trust (ETHE -5.34%). Again, this is a trust and not a real ETF, but it gives a vehicle that can be easily traded from a common stock account.

6. Invest in Blockchain Related ETFs

In addition to GBTC and ETHE, 2021 has brought us some new blockchain-based ETFs – And finally, some new ETFs for blockchain – Vaneck Digital Transformation ETF- (DAPP -1.17%), Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK -1.58%), Siren Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF (BCLN).

7. Invest in Companies that are Bitcoin Merchants or Miners

Bitcoin Stocks – Some companies are so involved with Bitcoin that they trade relative to Bitcoin’s price. None as directly as GBTC but enough to be worth mentioning. Coinbase – (COIN 258.78 -1.23 -0.47%), Marathon Digital – (MARA +0.99%), Riot Blockchain – (RIOT -3.14%), Sphere 3d – (ANY -4.50%).

8. Do NOT Invest in Bitcoin Technology – Soon to be Obsolete

Some call NVIDIA (NVDA -0.02%) a “Bitcoin stock” because their GPUs are used for mining. But this is not trading on the broad cryptocurrency market or even in a sustainable market. You are merely trading the merchant of the current mining technology. The method of bitcoin mining is wasteful both in electricity and electronic waste products. It is already obsolete. You are trading Coke in the era of Rockstar or IBM in the era of Microsoft. Trade Robinhood, not Lehman brothers. Everyone knows that you need to trade emerging technologies and not get distracted by the dinosaurs you see on the road.

9. Move your Money to Where the Action Is

Bitcoin (BTC 2.31%) and Etherium (ETH 2.902%) average about 200% gains per year. However, they tend to run a pattern of going up 400% one year, then going down as much as 80% the following year. So half of Bitcoin investors are thrilled because they’ve been through a couple of cycles and made 400%, and the other half are somber because they lost 80% in their three months of trying it.In 2022, both Bitcoin and Etherium have enough history to become dependable. They have even spawned an investment style to put a fixed amount in per month so as to slowly grow an account without having a considerable risk at the start. For instance, if you want to invest $10,000, you have a massive risk if you invest today – since Bitcoin may drop by 50% next month – burning $5000 of your investment. But if you instead move $500 per month over a 20 month period – you are likely to bridge a number of up and down cycles and good chance to end up with a higher balance at the end of the period. Using platforms like Bitpro Pulse can keep you on track with the current markets.

I can tell you from experience that I own the equivalent of 2 bitcoin at a purchase price of $8,000 each. A couple of years ago, I was on the seat of my chair for every drop. But in 2021, I really don’t care if Bitcoin is worth $40,000 one day and $20,000 the next. I just do not care. It is improbable it will ever again hit my break-even spot and is very likely to hit $100,000. I can state from experience that once you have hit a 400% gain, it becomes far easier to ride out the swings.

10. Investing in Altcoins and 2nd Tier Cryptocurrencies

Once you have a Coinbase and Binance.US wallet, you will see that they allow you to invest in about 100 other cryptocurrencies. It is easiest to look at these in terms of market share. Bitcoin (BTC 2.31%) and Ethereum (ETH 2.902%) still account for 80% of the market. But the next 15% of the market is held by a small number of Altcoins. Cardano (ADA 7.576%), Binance Chain (BNB 1.674%), XRP (XRP 9.95%), Solana (SOL 3.049%), Dogecoin (DOGE 6.069%) and others. These are easy to trade and have regular chart patterns.

Anyone experienced in chart trading of stocks will quickly find comfort in trading the Alt-Coin market. Even if you are not experienced, use this simple formula –

  1. Find any coin trading in a zigzag that represents an upward moving channel
  2. Watch when it hits the bottom of the channel
  3. Buy when it moves up off the bottom (confirming the move),
  4. Sell when it hits the top of the channel and turns over (confirming the end of the move).

The past channel will show you your holding term, and ideally, a channel that runs 14-60 days gives a good ROI. Day traders like to trade intraday channels, but I have always been a fan of 60 day channels. Finding channels that run 14-60 days give you a nice in and out cycle. Just sell when the coin breaks the channel or goes “weird” on you. Not every investment keeps to channels, but finding the ones that are regular is better than trying for a wildcard win.

My own experience is that the Alt-Coin market generally trends in-line with Bitcoin. So the best time to trade is when Bitcoin is rising. This is easy to spot because all the coins follow the same general trend. In an uptrending market, even your wrong decisions become right. Then when Bitcoin falters, move your money to the stable coins.

11. Stable Coins and their Use

There are a number of stable coins – Tether (USDT), Center (USDC) and Binance USD (BUSD) which attempt to remain parity with the US Dollar. When you encounter a down-drafting market, it is often faster and cheaper to park your funds in a stable coin rather than withdraw them to a US Dollar account.

12. Easy Way to Minimize your Risk

A reasonable way to invest in Alt-Coins is to wait for a time when market analysts predict Bitcoin will rise. Currently, with the debt ceiling looming and the COVID cloud on the economy is a good time.

Then invest a small amount of money broadly in many vehicles. I like to put $50 or $100 in a coin for a month or two, so that I can track the action to be sure it looks sane.

Then if it starts trending, I double and quadruple my investment. Right now, I have an alphabet soup of Altcoin investments with $40-60 in them (depending on whether they went down or up) and only about 5 of them with more than $400 in them. If these coins follow the general trend for Bitcoin, which goes up nearly 400% every-other-year, then I am anticipating returns of about 1,200% per year from Altcoins. Keep the tax treatment in mind – as these investments are taxed as income and not as long or short-term gains.

13. Another Warning

Crypto markets trade 24 hours a day. If you have spent any time trading penny stocks or trending stocks, you are accustomed to the rhythm of pre-market, market and post-market hours. With Cryptos, the market runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The market commonly trends as soon as the US stock market closes. On many weekends you can see Bitcoin takes off just after 4 pm Eastern Time on Friday and carries that momentum through the weekend, only to lose it on Monday morning. Beware of the effect on your sleep and worry that your new investment will lose value if you fail to execute a 2am trade on your phone.

14. Investing on the Wild Side using DeFi (DEX) Markets

Starting in 2019, the DeFi markets have come into their own. This is a place you can make significant gains. The DeFi markets allow you to invest in the virtual birth of a Coin, and there are thousands of them. You can easily have a coin with such a low value that 1 trillion of them is not even $100. It raises the imaginary circumstance that if they rise to a penny, you can retire for life.

The DeFi coins all have convoluted reasons for existing and features that their designers hope will bring them into prominence. From the silly coins like WIFEDOGE (0.786%) because DOGE needs a wife to the super-serious Greentrust (GNT -6.661%) which promises to offset the investing with green technology. GNT is now my most significant loss so far at about 85% lost (nearly $60 or 1.5 Chinese Dinners). Trading in these coins is speculation in its purest form – you buy a currency foolishly, hoping only to sell it for a higher price to the next fool.

15. Getting a DeFi Wallet

The vehicle for trading Defi Markets is a Defi Wallet. Popular wallets are MetaMask for your browser or Trust Wallet for your phone. These wallets give access to a trading Blockchain, like Binance Smart Chain or Polygon. Finally, within that chain, you can purchase DeFi tokens.

It is challenging to move money from your Bank to the top tier exchanges, to the DeFi chains. This is convoluted because you are moving through levels of deregulation of your money. So be careful to only move money you can afford to lose – and never borrowed money or your emergency funds.

The Crypto markets use the term “Fiat” to mean US Dollars, which are worthless without the trust of the US Government. So in their words, Crypto is Real because it tangibly exists on the blockchain, and Fiat is Fake because it has no value except that people agree to honor the face value of a piece of paper. So you are moving your money from the Fake world to the Real-world, which takes time and effort.

Both Coinbase and Binance have holding requirements of about ten days before you can withdraw funds to the blockchain world. Then you need a third-party utility like Uniswap or Binance Wallet to effect the withdrawal into the blockchain. The most popular one will be used by Ethereum.

16. Procedure for Moving from Fiat to DeFi – from Dollars to Pancakeswap

  1. Withdraw US Dollars from your bank account into a Binance.US. You can purchase BNB OR BUSD here, but you need to let it sit for ten days.
  2. Then withdraw into a compatible chain – like Binance Chain.
  3. Once in the chain, convert it to a DeFi chain for the token family you want to buy. So convert Binance Chain BEP2 to Binance Smart Chain BEP-20.
  4. Finally, move the money into the more obscure coins supported by that chain. Sift through the features, and make some test investments.

Again, my experience is to start with a $50 investment to start, and then $100 and only if it feels right to work with more significant amounts of money. For me, $50 is the cost of a takeout Chinese Dinner, something we do once or twice a month (with leftovers, it makes two dinners for my family).

17. Staking Rewards add Up To 90% APY to DeFi Profits

One of the things you can do with DeFi coins is to stake them. Staking a coin assists the market and gives you access to staking rewards. When other people trade the coin, or “stake” is rewarded. For this activity, I am most impressed with Pancakeswap and their CAKE ( 3.469%) coin. Currently, if you stake CAKE, you can earn about 80% APY – that is – about 5% per month. Your earnings are dwarfed by the movement in the underlying coin, which has gone up 25% in the last three months. Like Bitcoin – from its recent High in April 2021 to its low in June 2021 was an 80% drop. On the other hand, if you had purchased CAKE in January 2021, you would now have a 2,900% profit.

The 2,900% profit in 9 months is completely dwarfed by SAFEMOON ( 10.078%), which launched in March 2021. If you had invested $1,000 at launch, you would have made $3.5 million two months later.

As Willie Sutton observed – “Because that is where the money is.” For 2022, where you want to be is in Altcoins, Staking and watching the breakout opportunities.

18. Build a Blockchain App

With Rapid Innovation you can build a blockchain app of your own. They will help you get from concept to launch, and offer software and blockchain consulting. Rapid Innovation can help you build, test, and launch with a team of experienced blockchain developers.

Summary

If you ever dream of being one of the early Bitcoin investors, spending 10,000 bitcoin for a Pizza, only to have that amount grow to be worth $400 million in 10 years, do not think those days are over. A simple strategy of investing $100 evenly over 100 coins, total $10,000 investment, will likely yield 50 complete losses, 40 break evens, and 10 winners. But if even one of those winners makes $100,000, you would call this the best investment of your life.

Stay safe and only play with money you can afford to lose. But it may be worthwhile to skip a Chinese dinner tonight and to push the $40 over to walk on the wild side of DeFi and DEX Cryptocurrency.

Different Types of Insurance Medical Practitioners May Need

With the rising cases of medical negligence lawsuits against a medical practitioner, medical malpractice insurance has been prevalent over the years to protect the livelihood and assets of such professionals. Overlooking this important aspect has cost heavily for many doctors so far. 

According to Washington Post, 2016 “The medical negligence payouts in 2014 in the New York alone stood at $690 million”

It has also been observed that there are other forms of insurance which a medical professional is required to cover under the law. But due to the lack of inadequate knowledge, most of this coverage is likely to be missed by them resulting in huge losses at the later stages.

Most of the doctors focus on medical liability coverage, which is the largest premium paid by them on account of medical malpractice insurance. However, they tend to ignore the other types of insurance which are equally crucial in protecting their livelihood and assets.

In fact, under several circumstances, these insurances are required by the law which most of the doctors are unaware of. 

In this article we are going to discuss different forms of medical insurances:

Medical Malpractice Insurance

It is one of the prevalent insurance sought by medical professionals. Medical malpractice insurance carriers are protected against the financial losses that arise due to the lawsuits filed by their patients claiming professional negligence leading to an injury/death of the patient. 

Hence the patient’s claim of negligence is covered under medical malpractice insurance for the doctors.  

Business Auto Insurance

Some medical practitioners facilitate their patients with home visits and require using their vehicle for the commutation. Hence the need for commercial or business auto insurance is imperative. 

Most auto insurance policies do not cover the damage that occurs due to business use. Thus business auto policy is designed to cover the vehicles used for business purposes.

The insurance primarily covers the property damage and medical expenses for bodily injury on account of such accidents. Depending on the coverage, the insurance company will replace or repair your vehicles due to theft, accidents, or any natural calamity.

Medicare Insurance

Many people assume that Medicare, the federal government’s health-care program for people aged 65 and over, will cover all of their medical bills. Unfortunately, it does not. The truth of how much you’ll have to spend for health-care services out of pocket might be a significant budget buster.

It is important to understand how to decipher Medicare’s various expenses and keep them under control. MedicareWire.com explains how much Original Medicare costs to better understand and pick your coverage carefully.

Professional Liability Insurance

The unfortunate event of lawsuits made by your patients to claim negligence on your part is a re-occurrence when you are practicing as a medical professional privately. 

Due to the lack of a one-size-fits-all policy, this special insurance coverage helps in covering the legal defense cost that can even run up to hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Most of the private small physicians do not have enough resources to cover such claims, thus malpractice insurance for professional liability is a must. 

Practice Overhead Insurance

Individual liability insurance is relevant for the inability to practice medicine due to illness or injury. While this type of insurance is usually kept as a backup to recover the medical expenses on such an inability, the prime concern should be – Who will replace your absence in such an event?

However, when you are temporarily out of office, expenses like salaries, rent, taxes, and utility bills are still in place to handle. Practice Overhead insurance helps in recovering such overhead expenses in the event of loss of income due to injury. 

Worker Compensation Insurance

When you come up with a private clinic, you require employing dedicated employees to maintain it. If anyone gets seriously injured, how to continue with your practice? Most of the states in the United States make it a mandate to such business owners to obtain workers’ compensation insurance if they have more than the prescribed limit of employees. 

This type of insurance helps in paying off the loss on account of wages and medical expenses to the employees who get injured while discharging their duties. In the event of the death of the employee, the insurance companies compensate the employee’s family. 

This insurance is significant for most businesses to ensure the livelihood of employees in the event of accidents. 

Property Insurance

Like every business, opening a clinic requires a lot of time, effort, and investment for the right medical equipment, fixtures and furniture, and other medical supplies. But, in the event of a natural disaster, how will you ensure safety?

Property insurance is the best way to secure your property in the event of unwanted theft and fire. It exhaustively covers the physical building along with the medical equipment and other fixtures used for your practice. Especially in the event of leasing your space, property insurance is a must.

Business Interruption Insurance

Some places are likely to be affected by natural calamities and disasters at a higher rate than others. If you choose to practice in such areas, this insurance is of utmost importance for your business. In the event of a catastrophic event, the business operations will suffer.

A reliable business interruption insurance policy helps in running and getting back on your toes. 

Compared to property insurance, this type of insurance aims at covering the income stream from the business, which is adversely affected due to the disaster. 

The temporary closure of business and structural rebuilding to overcome the adversity of natural disasters are the reason for stagnation in business operations. Business Owner policy is a comprehensive insurance solution to cover the property insurance policy and business interruption insurance. 

Medigap Insurance

Medigap insurance protects you against the expenses that Medicare does not pay, which are referred to as “gaps” in coverage. Medigap policies help you budget for your out-of-pocket medical expenses. Giving you peace of mind by protecting your cash from unforeseen medical expenses. You’ll simply have to worry about the monthly cost with Medigap insurance. Aside from your monthly payment, the expenditures are relatively low. Depending on the letter plan you choose, your cost-sharing might be as low as $0.

Life Insurance

Although it is not directly related to your practice, life insurance is a significant form of insurance that extends financial protection to your family member in the event of accidental death. 

Your appointed beneficiaries receive financial protection in the event of your death under life insurance. Not just your family members, your business partner gets their peace of mind too. It is the best way to compensate for the loss of income to your family members in the event of accidental death. 

Summary

The right type of insurance is the best way to avoid major financial losses to any medical practitioner in case of catastrophic events. The day you begin your medical practice, you are certainly exposed to various liabilities. 

Having suitable insurance in place helps a doctor to protect their practice from the various kinds of potential risks. 

Top 10 Must-Follow Marketing Tips for SAAS Start-UPS in 2021

The SaaS market is promising but it also brings incredible competition. With new software products getting launched every day across every vertical, building a viral product is harder now more than ever.

No matter how challenging and saturated the market may look, it is not impossible to gain the attention of your audience. With the right mix of product-market fit and smart email marketing tactics, you will witness the ball to be at your side. This is what we are exactly going to talk about in this blog post.

We take a deep dive into the 10 marketing tips that can create the foundation of your marketing success for your SaaS business in 2021.

10 Marketing Hacks To Skyrocket Your SAAS Start-up in 2021

No matter what marketing technique you use to acquire customers if your product does not meet the demands of your target audience. In other words, build something that people want.

This makes developing a unique selling proposition the heart of every growth hack technique.

Yes, you heard that right.

If your product is just like your competitors then no one is going to care about what you build. Did we tell you that you can use your audience research data here?

Finding the bridge to connect what your audience want and competitors fail to deliver is going to make you unique. The best part? Your perceived value in front of your audience will grow. But once you have developed your USP, the rigorous part comes in; marketing.

Ideally, you would have to undergo multiple experiments and iteration in your strategy to find out what works and what doesn’t but we make that easier for you so here are some examples of a good marketing plan.

The following 10 tips can streamline your SaaS customer base in no time.

1. Adopt a freemium model

If there is one strategy that opens up your software adoption rate like no other, it is the freemium model.

In an oversaturated market, where your customers are overwhelmed with product choices, a freemium model makes it easier for them to make the final decision. You empower them to make their own decision.

There are multiple strategies to experiment with here. From a 30-day trial window to lifelong freemium access, you can sample tests on real audiences.

2. Word of mouth marketing

There’s a good reason why word of mouth marketing is so popular amongst the SaaS startup community. More than often, SaaS startups include this model to gain their first customers.

It is the most effective, sustainable, yet low-cost strategy to gain loyal customers. But all its sweetness comes in one condition.

You need to deliver a superlative customer experience to your early customers. If your first customers do not find you valuable, there is little chance that they would tell their community about you.

This means to turn your customers into brand evangelists you would not only need to satisfy their expectations but exceed them. Be obsessed with customer delight. No matter what you have to do, be it give discounts, create a hyper-active response team, be there in there to answer their needs.

3. Viral marketing

Creating a viral effect with one marketing technique is often hard yet not impossible.

All you need to do is look closely into your process to identify the growth lever that can make it possible. Infact, there are a few established ones already available in the industry. The best part?

They always give results.

From referral schemes, loyalty programs for existing customers to giveaway contests any of them can give you results. It can not only give you the opportunity to establish new relationships with customers but improve the total value of your existing customers.

4.  Content marketing

There is so much value that content marketing can bring to your SaaS process.

Content is king after all.

But while you get invested in developing the heart of this scalable marketing strategy, do not forget to market your content.

There are so many methods to do so. From microblogging, SEO optimized knowledge base, webinars, infographics, time-sensitive promotions, to lead magnets, you can test all. For promotions, you can consider guest blogging or sponsor the content for an influencer to do so. Another cost-efficient way would be to use user-generated content.

5. Branding

Building a successful SaaS product is almost impossible without building a brand. Unsure why?

Here is the answer.

A successful branding venture can bring multifarious benefits to your SaaS product. From faster adoption rate, strong community, higher retention, optimized marketing costs, and the best part, market capture.

You can basically become synonymous with the category of product you are building. Does that suddenly sound like Google?

There are so many ways to do this. From SEO optimization, press review, authority review, influencer marketing to affiliate marketing. But to ensure performance, you need to keep in mind your unique situations. The budget, constraints, and goals.

6.  Optimize all the time

In business, there is no such thing called maximum sales. Ideally speaking, even if you have reached the saturation point of your total market size, it doesn’t mean your growth potential has reached the roof. You can always work on improving the perceived value of your product in the eyes of your target audience.

But to do so, you would need to optimize your processes which makes it so valuable to realize your startup potential.

There is so much you can do here. From aligning the micro-level factors like landing page elements to macro-level factors like product-market fit there is always room for improvement. The best part? It will help you yield better results without investing more resources in your marketing.

What follows is a significant improvement in the LTV (lifetime value), CAC (customer acquisition cost), and the final ROI (return on investment).

7. Create API integrations

APIs are the best scalable customer acquisition techniques you can integrate into your marketing operations.

It can not only open doors to new audiences but reinforce the foundations of strong partnerships with your collaborators. The best part? You automatically gain the position of authority in the market.

But here’s a word of caution.

Partnerships can make or break your brand’s reputation. While the right partner can fast pace your growth by years, the wrong choice can deter your speed by many years. An effective way to think about it is to ask a vital question. Whether your collaborating brand is an extension of your product’s value? If yes, then it is often the right choice.

8.  Paid marketing

Although there is no substitute for what you can accomplish with organic marketing in time, only depending upon organic growth will slow down your SaaS startup significantly. This makes paid marketing and campaigns incredibly vital. But here’s a thing.

Before you jump into paid marketing, ensure you have a complete strategy laid out. With the increasing expense of paid ads, chances are you will invest significant resources with little to no returns.

There are so many techniques to do this right. Use FOMO (fear of missing out), time-sensitive offers. Campaigns that are contextual and personalized on the basis of audience profiles and channels of distribution tend to perform better. But the best piece of advice is to develop a mindset of testing and optimizing.

The more you are open to A/B tests and campaign optimization, the better your long-term results will be. Chances are you can even witness exponential growth.

9.  Invest in building trust and authority

Trust is one of the most crucial elements for your SaaS product to succeed. No matter how promising your product may appear, if your target audience does not trust your brand, they will not engage with your brand.

This puts authority building as one of the top priorities for your marketing team.

The best part is there are many cost-effective ways to do so.

Use social proof like customer testimonials and peer reviews to do so. Platforms like G2, Quora, and ProductHunt are great ways to kickstart this. You can later integrate the best reviews of your clients on your website too. But this is not all.

You need to make sure the payment gateway is safe and secured. Using end-to-end encryptions and third-party vendors like Paypal is a good strategy to do so.

10. Collaborate with experts

Collaborations and partnerships are undoubtedly one of the most sustainable strategies for building a robust SaaS business. But if you thought that your partnerships are limited to indirect competitors, influencers, and authorities, then think again.

There is so much value that a domain expert can bring to your SaaS startup.

A SaaS growth marketer brings their domain expertise. Some of the best SaaS marketing agencies can optimize your growth levers to unleash the true potential of your product. From reducing marketing costs, finding new sales opportunities to improving customer acquisition and retention, there is so much a specialist can do.

They can prove to be your biggest asset when it comes to growth in the long term.

Conclusion

Building a successful SaaS product is hard and going to be even harder in the future.

But that doesn’t mean there is no room for winning. All you need to do is shift your mindset about the development process. Think of disrupting the existing process even in a small way possible.

Keep on reiterating and evolving your product-building methodologies and even your product if required.

This dynamic landscape makes the requirement of a nimble marketing plan incredibly important. Sure, the above tips are to give the foundational speed for today. But to sustain that growth you need to optimize the process and make changes from time to time.

Only then can you see true success with your SaaS startup.

Author bio

Atreyee Chowdhury works full-time as an Instructional Designer and is passionate about writing. She has helped many small and medium-scale businesses achieve their content marketing goals with her carefully crafted and compelling content. She lives in Bangalore, India with her husband and parents. She loves to read, experiment with different cuisines, travel, and explore the latest content marketing and L&D trends in her free time. You can reach her on Linkedin or write to her at atreyee.c@gmail.com for any content writing/marketing requirements.

When Does the Payroll Tax Cut Start?

On Aug. 8, 2020—during the first spike of COVID-19 in the United States—President Donald Trump issued an executive order to institute a “tax holiday.” If you’re still wondering when it starts, I’m afraid you’ve missed the mark. The tax holiday started on Sept. 1, 2020, and ended on Dec. 31, 2020. Moreover, it wasn’t a true tax cut, but a tax deferment.

So let’s look at what the tax holiday entailed and how it affected businesses and employees.

The Executive Order

The Executive Order contained three sections that directly affected businesses and their employees. Here is what these sections entailed:

Section 1 & Section 2

These two tie into each other. Section 1 states the COVID-19 pandemic is “of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant an emergency declaration,” and Trump directed the Secretary of the Treasury (then Steven Mnuchin) to “use his authority to defer certain payroll tax obligations.” In simple terms, it’s like an essay introduction: It states the issue and the way Trump intended to fix it.

Section 2 goes into more detail about Trump’s policy. In it, he directed Mnuchin to defer the “withholding, deposit, and payment” on wages between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. In sub-section (a), the order states the deferral will apply to anyone who makes less than $4,000 before taxes per bi-weekly paycheck (or the equivalent, if they aren’t paid bi-weekly).

Finally, sub-section (b) states this deferment will not incur any penalties, interest or other additions to the taxes deferred. In other words, the tax deferment is almost like an interest-free loan.

Section 4

Section 4 is short and to the point. In it, Trump directed Mnuchin to “explore avenues” through which the deferment might become permanent. In other words, Trump asked Mnuchin to look into any methods through which the deferred taxes might be forgiven entirely.

In the end, however, these taxes were not forgiven. Everyone who received the tax deferment was required to pay it back through extra tax withholdings between Jan. 1 and April 31, 2021.

What It Meant for You

If you’re the owner of a private company or one of its employees, it probably never meant much at all. Most private entities opted out of the payroll tax holiday and decided to deduct taxes from paychecks as normal. It was never law, it was never mandatory and most private companies thought it was short-term relief with an impending reckoning.

Think about it: Trump gave the option to not pay taxes for four months, but you’d have to pay double taxes during the next four months to make up for it. At best, it would be a lot of work to accomplish nothing; at worst, it would harm employees by cutting their paychecks during the repayment period.

Companies Can Learn From the Payroll Tax Cut

Even though the payroll tax cut proved to be irrelevant to most businesses, it did provide some value. Most notably, it compelled businesses to think carefully about their processes and how they affect their bottom line.

How to Choose the Best Payment Processor for Your Business?

For most small businesses, selecting your payment process is one of the most critical decisions you can make.  Anyone who has experienced a day or two of downtime knows that network service will break your business if it is not dependable.  Dependability has a cost, and the monthly fees can add up to significant amounts of money.

A payment processor is a company that acts as a go-between allowing your customer to move money from their own account to your account.  Allowing your customer to pay using a credit or debit card requires a payment processor to mediate the transaction.

If we talk about the best payment processor for small and medium businesses, then we are familiar with numerous companies which are offering these services.

Helcim

Helcim is a payment company with high standards for ethics and transparency.  It offers many different types of banking services. They rank highly on Helcim review websites.  Their common products aim to provide quick and convenient services to their customers. 

Helcim was founded in 1993 by two entrepreneurs who had previously worked with the Swiss National Bank. The company has grown steadily since then due to Helcim’s innovative solutions for financing needs.

Today Helcim provides various products and services such as loans, deposits, investments, and credit card processing through their branches in North America and online on the Helcim website.

 Why People Prefer Helcim over Stripe?

Helcim vs. Stripe is a really worthy table talk among the people doing or promoting their small businesses. 

Considering the Helcim, so it is a better choice for merchants based in the US and Canada than Stripe. Let’s compare their differences here: 

 1-Helcim has an easier-to-use API and a lower monthly fee.

 2- Helcim allows you to run your credit card terminal at home without any additional fees

3- Helcim is cheaper and has a more flexible credit card processing plan for nonprofits

4- Helcim allows you to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Interac debit payment

5- Helcim charges no monthly fee on business accounts with $3000+/month of volume. They do not even charge per-transaction fees

6- Helcim has a higher payout and more payment options than the Stripe

7- Helcim allows you to choose the length of your contracts, while with Stripe, there is no option for this 

8- Helcim’s merchant account signup process takes less time. With Helcim, it takes only one business day to get approved and activated, and you can start accepting payments in your store immediately 

9- Helcim has a real person (like Matt Kaplan) to answer specific questions about their services, while with Stripe, there is no such option. You only get general information that does not apply to merchants like you 

10- Helcim has a higher approval rate (it takes less time for the application process), and there is no need to provide any documents besides ID, which means you can get your merchant account faster. With Stripe, on the other hand, it often takes several days to get approved 

11- Helcim accepts businesses with bad/no credit, while Stripe does not. With Helcim, you can have multiple bad business accounts connected under one Helcim account, and they all work together as a team if needed

12- Helcim gives merchants the ability to manage their statement preferences – this is a very convenient option, especially for Helcim merchants who have to send statements via email instead of snail mail

13- Helcim has a better customer service department by far. With Helcim, if you need help with anything specific, you can call Helcim, and a real person will answer your question. With Stripe, on the other hand, if you need to speak with someone via live chat or email, it takes several minutes until anyone responds

14- Helcim has better sales tools and credit card processing solutions for local businesses than Stripe does. With Helcim, you can use a wireless terminal or buy your own and connect to the Helcim network

15- Helcim’s credit card processing fees are cheaper than Stripe’s. Helcim charges $0.08 per transaction and 0% of the total sale, while with Stripe, it is $0.15 plus a percentage fee.

Summing up all the points, we can conclude that Helcim is the best choice rather than Stripe. We said this based on the pros and cons discussed above.

Other Options for Payment Processor

PayPal

PayPal Credit Card processing means that you can accept all major payment types from your customers right on the site. The checkout process is simple, customizable, and scalable for businesses of any size!

PayPal knows how important it is to offer their clients fast & secure online transactions without compromising their ability to get a great customer service experience – which is why each transaction through this platform comes complete with 24/7 support via phone or email.

As well as auto-reloading funds into an account so there are no delays during peak hours due to lack of cash flow like what often happens when using other platforms. These days there are even specific debit card for teens; having a payment processor that accepts a wide range of payment methods is crucial.

Paytm Business

Paytm, the fastest growing payment platform in India, and over 17 million merchants are already using it! It’s time for your business to get on board. With a variety of solutions, including eCommerce integration with magneto or eCommerce – Paytm will make accepting payments easier than ever before.

• Get familiarized with all their features like Online Bill Payments & Cheques.

• Send money instantly anywhere around the Indian subcontinent within few seconds by choosing a one-touch option among many other options available at their site. You can also sell goods& services through online marketplaces such as OLX.

Stripe Connects

Stripe offers solutions for web and mobile payments that are built to empower developers. With a set of unified APIs, Stripe enables businesses to accept online payment instantly on any device with iOS or Android apps available at launch in July 2013!

The company provides tools like credit card processing as well, so your customers don’t need another app installed before being able to purchase products from your site – just enter them through the checkout process, which automatically generates invoices based on their shipping address too ensuring no one gets left out when paying over email etc.

EBiz Charge

Century Business Solutions, a leader in integrated B2B Payments

Is a payment gateway capable of processing payments inside your CRM/ERP or online shopping carts such as QuickBooks? 

The EBiz Charge team is always working hard to stay up-to-date with new technologies and offer full support for all their clients’ needs. They can also provide you PCI compliant mobile solutions so that it will be easy!

Authorize.net

Authorize.net is a payment gateway that helps make it easy to accept electronic and credit card payments in person or online, giving you the freedom to do what your business needs. 

When you need it most, Authorize.net will take care of everything so you can focus on running things smoothly without worrying about whether there will be money left over at closing time because another customer didn’t have enough cash on hand!

BlueSnap

BlueSnap is a payment processing platform that streamlines businesses’ operations for B2B and B2C transactions. By integrating their service, you can accept payments from any angle in just one click! 

BlueSnap supports integrated credit card sales as well as invoice or manual orders through an easy-to-use virtual terminal which gives us complete control over your entire operation, so there’s no risk involved when accepting new customers online today.

The Blue Snap team designed this All in One Solution (AIS) with global retailers at heart – and they know how hard it was before all vendors were separate entities working against each other.

Buffer vs Post Planner: Best Tool for Social Media Posts

If you are an entrepreneur with a digital business, you most likely will need a social media management tool to optimize your social profiles. Buffer and Post Planner both are popular social media management tools. Both tools provide an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that comes with a variety of features. 

They offer services such as post scheduling, content creation, and data analytics, which helps to grow popularity and get instagram followers. Thus making it challenging for professionals and businesses to pick the right option for their social media management. 

In this blog, we will provide you with an in-depth review of both Buffer and Post Planner. This will help you decide which of these social media management tools is best suitable for you. 

Overview 

Buffer 

Buffer is the most efficient tool for content creation. It is perfect for bloggers and small businesses who want to enhance their online visibility. Buffer provides a wide range of amazing graphic designs, visual cues, and images that help to get more engagement. Besides this, Buffer also helps in scheduling and publishing content with complete automation for all social media platforms. 

The best part about Buffer is that it has a well-organized user-friendly interface that provides straightforward navigation. You also get access to a data analytics tool that provides information about all social media metrics that impact your social media performance

Post Planner

Post Planner is an excellent social media marketing tool for managing social media campaigns. It offers an intuitive interface that allows content managers and entrepreneurs to create, schedule, and publish content regularly on all social media networks. 

Post planner also offers a wide range of tools that help to optimize your social media profiles. Thus helping you grow popularity and gain more engagement. Its automated post-scheduling tools help in updating your social media feed with constant streams of content.

Product Features 

Buffer 

The first striking thing about Buffer is that it is compatible with all the popular social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linked In, and many more. It also integrates well with third-party applications that offer content creation tools. Talking about content creation, Buffer has a tool called ‘Pablo’ which helps to design amazing graphics and visual cues within a few seconds. 

Post scheduling tools are another feature of Buffer that helps to organize your posts and schedule them in advance for each social media profile. It provides a content calendar where you can customize and color code posts so that it is easy to review. 

Besides this, Buffer also offers two excellent sets of tools – data analytics and team management. Data analytics provide deep insights into your performance rate and audience engagement. This helps in building sound marketing strategies to grow popularity. 

The team management tool provides a platform for all team members to coordinate and work efficiently. They can plan content, schedule posts, get feedback and save drafts for approvals. 

Post Planner

Post Planner also provides similar features as Buffer. Here, you can get access to a social media publishing calendar that is fully customizable to suit your needs. With this tool, you can publish posts when your audience is most active. This helps to get more engagement on your social media profile. Post planner also helps in optimizing your posts for all social media networks especially Facebook and Twitter. 

Post Planner’s database offers a library of top-performing content for any keyword or hashtag. You can use relevant content from this database and publish it on your social media profiles to keep the audience engaged. In addition to finding relevant content, you can use the feature called ‘Status Idea Engine’ to publish quick status updates. 

A unique feature of Post Planner is that it allows you to post both links and images on your feed. You can even post a link as an image to maximize the call-to-action and lead generations. 

The data analytics tool provides a detailed analysis of your profile that can help to target the right audience. It also provides the time-zone conversion tool, with which you can seamlessly cater to the international customer base. 

Pricing Plans 

Buffer 

Apart from the 14-day free trial pack, Buffer offers three monthly subscription plans – 

  • Pro Plan at $15 per month – This provides access to one user account and 8 social media channels. Although the scheduling option is limited in this plan (only 100 posts per channel), you get access to all integrations and community support. 
  • Premium Plan at $65 per month – This provides all the features in the Pro plan along with an extended scheduling option (2000 posts per social media profile). You also get access to team management tools that are not included in the Pro plan. 
  • Business Plan at $99 per month – This is best for large corporations as it provides access to 25 social media channels with 2000 scheduled posts per profile. Here you can add up to six user accounts to access the complete Buffer toolset. 

Post Planner

Although there is no free trial pack, Post planner offers four incredible subscription plans at the most affordable rates – 

  • Starter Pack – It costs $3 per month with access to 3 social media accounts. You can schedule 300 posts at one time and publish 30 posts per day across all social profiles. 
  • Love Pack starts at $9-$11 per month and is perfect for small businesses. Here, you can connect up to 10 social media accounts, publish 100 posts a day, and schedule 1000 posts at one time. 
  • Guru Pack – Priced at $19-$24 per month. This pack allows the registration of up to 5 team members. You can connect 25 social media profiles, publish 500 posts in a day, and schedule 5000 posts at one time. 
  • Agency Plan – This plan costs $99-$125 per month. This comprehensive plan allows the registration of 12 team members to manage 100 social media profiles. You can publish 200 posts a day and schedule unlimited posts at one time. 

Pros and Cons 

Buffer 

Pros 

  • Efficient in post scheduling and publishing 
  • User-friendly interface with seamless team management feature 
  • Excellent content creation tools 
  • 24/7 customer support 

Cons

  • Offers only 14 days of a free trial
  • Does not offer paid advertising features

Post Planner

Pros 

  • Provides a database for high-performing content to publish
  • Best integrates with Facebook and Twitter
  • Excellent tool to boost social engagement 

Cons

  • Limited integration with other social media networks 
  • Poor customer support 
  • Lacks in-depth analytics in starter packs 

Conclusion – Which is the Best Tool for Social Media Posts?

Both Buffer and Post Planner offer incredible tools to create, schedule, and publish your social media posts. But when it comes to choosing the best tool for social media, we would recommend Buffer. Buffer offers more flexibility when it comes to creating visually stunning content and post scheduling. You can even gain instagram followers for your profiles through this. 

As compared to Post Planner, Buffer provides a powerful customer support facility that takes care of every query at any time. Moreover, it integrates well with most of the popular social media networks. The team management feature is a game-changer for large corporations and marketing companies to manage their social profiles efficiently. 

All these benefits make Buffer better than Post Planner. However, if you are looking for an economical option to manage your social media profiles, Post Planner may be a good choice. The best way to choose among the two is to understand what you want to achieve with these tools. 

What is Product Liability Insurance? 4 Things You Need To Know

Large business manufacturers produce goods at a massive scale every day, and there are always products that will have defects that cause malfunctions and a decrease in quality. Because of this, production lines always include a quality testing stage in the whole process to ensure that all products are tested and Inspected for any type of defects. After a product passes quality control, it can now be packaged and shipped to outlet stores and distributors. Still, some products get damaged during transport, and these can still make it to the store shelves and the consumers. When consumers purchase a defective product while being unaware of its condition, it may cause serious harm to the user if an accident occurs due to the malfunction of the product. These situations usually lead to lawsuits being filed against the company, and the consumers may sue them for the damages caused by their products. Lawsuits regarding defective products and damages to customers usually lead to million-dollar lawsuits that can greatly affect the company’s sales and reputation, leading them towards bankruptcy. To avoid such situations, manufacturing companies can avail product liability insurance that can protect them from lawsuits and damages to their company’s name and sales. The next part of this article will cover the basic knowledge that one must know regarding product liability insurance.

Several phone manufacturers also avail of product liability insurance packages.

1. What is product liability insurance?

Product liability insurance is a type of insurance package that companies and manufacturers can avail to protect their companies from lawsuits and claims of personal injury or property damages from their customers. Companies take time to set up product liability insurance since this can help them cover the legal costs brought by lawsuits. The insurance package can also cover costs of medical damages and property damage. Insurance companies offer different insurance packages depending on their client’s business scale, which ranges from small business owners to large conglomerates.

2. How does product liability insurance work?

Whenever a malfunction occurs on a product purchased by a customer, the product liability insurance package of the company will help pay for the damages done by the malfunction of the product. An example of this occurrence can be observed on a Samsung Note 7 lawsuit that happened on a flight of Jet Airways.

In October 2017, a female passager was boarded on a flight to India on Jet Airways when suddenly, her phone burst in flames while stored in her handbag. The passenger observed smoke coming out of her handbag approximately 15 minutes after boarding the flight. A flight attendant immediately responded to the situation and tried to use a fire extinguisher on the device, but the fire extinguisher failed to operate. The attendant then submerged the device in a tray full of water to prevent any possibility of fire or explosion. Fortunately, the device stopped smoking, and nobody was harmed during the incident. In the aftermath, the female passenger was furious over the lack of preparation of the airline’s safety precautions and was planning on filing a complaint against the company as well as the phone’s manufacturer.

In this incident, the phone company was expected to pay for the damages caused by their product. This was not the first time that Samsung has encountered smartphone problems as they had to recall some of their products in the past year. The company did not have product liability insurance, and they also had to recall the note 7 series products in the previous year due to other claims of malfunction and exploding batteries, so they were expecting a loss of over $17 billion in total revenue. There are a number of other companies that have received lawsuits or even class action lawsuits when a large number of people goes through a similar issue with a product and due to the large number of people the combines settlement is usually high and sometimes proof is not required by some of the plaintiff and plaintiff can claim there share without the proof of purchase and can get compensated from such no proof class action lawsuits.

Had they availed a product liability insurance for this product, they could have lessened their losses significantly. They could have avoided a product liability lawsuit that could affect their resources and brand reputation.

3. How much is product liability insurance needed?

To decide how much a product liability insurance package will cover, the scale of the business must be considered. A large-scale business will typically produce a thousand units of products in a single day, which means there is a larger possibility of occurrence of defective products. A larger yield will mean more defective products, so the insurance must cover the majority of the price of production to avoid major losses in case of a recall or a lawsuit. Smaller business owners will only need to avail a basic package for product liability insurance since their production rate is less than that of large-scale companies.

Insurance can help secure a business against liabilities.

4. What is the difference between general liability insurance and product liability insurance?

General liability insurance is a type of insurance purchased by businesses to protect their companies from all types of claims and lawsuits that may affect their sales and profits in any way. This type of insurance covers all types of services provided by a company. The difference between general liability and product liability is the range of the compensation that the insurance will provide. General liability insurance can cover all the services provided by a company, which includes consulting, estimates, and customer service. In contrast, product liability insurance only covers the products sold by the company to its customers.

How to Make Effective Employee Training Videos

Many companies waste a lot of money and resources on training. For example, if a new employee comes on the scene, a current employee will have to teach them all they need to know. Not only will this put extra strain on the other employee, but it will also prevent them from fulfilling the job that they were supposed to do.

Training videos reduce the costs of training to almost nothing. Indeed, you may have to make an initial investment for the equipment and the creation of the video – but after that, you’re all set. This article will tell you everything there is to know on how to create a training video.

What Is a Training Video?

A training video is a kind of video that has an educational goal. Its purpose is to teach a skill or knowledge to anyone wanting to learn. Simply put, training videos are there to teach someone how to do something.

Training videos could be for employees coming on board, software education, compliance training, and many more. They can be corporate or non-corporate, depending on whom the target of the video is. Training videos can spare several resources because rather than using a person’s time, you are getting the information that you need from a video.

Why Choose Video for Training?

On average, videos are much more engaging and compelling as compared to texts. You can access them anytime and anywhere, and you don’t have to wait for your peers to come over and teach you anything. They reduce costs and effort, something that will help not only the employer – but the employee as well.

Types of Training Videos

There are several types of training videos to choose from, all of which will depend on your audience, your goal, your resources – and sometimes, just your personal preferences. Here are some of the training videos that you may utilize for your business:

1. Instructor-Led Training Videos

As the name suggests, these training videos have an instructor at their core. It’s like in-person training – only instead of talking to a live person, you see them digitally on the screen.

With instructor-led training, the instructor will show up on the screen and explain the topic to an audience online. These training videos are also referred to as “talking head videos,” because basically, the only thing you can see is the head and bust of the speaker.

These employee training videos are mostly recommended for beginners and intermediate individuals that are still in the learning process. It’s perfect for delivering the information in an engaging way, as it makes the audience feel like they are talking to someone right in front of them.

2. Screen-Capture Videos

For skills that are slightly more technical, such as a program tutorial or a demo, seeing that person’s face on the screen will not help you much. What you need to see is how to use that program in particular. And this is where screen-capture videos with a voice-over come in handy.

These videos will tell the employee exactly what they need to do from start to finish. It’s a “show and tell” kind of video for people that learn more from seeing than listening.

3. How-To Videos

For processes that require a step-by-step approach, how-to videos are generally the most recommended type. Also referred to as demonstration videos, these training videos will take you step-by-step through a process that you wish to learn.

Various topics may be approached in these training videos. For example, if your company needs its employees to write in an APA format, then a “How to write in APA format” training video might be exactly what you need.

4. Animated Videos

These training videos make use of visuals that are fully animated. They are a great option for explaining data, ideas, and complex processes. It makes explaining much easier when everything is made in the form of animation. Also, these types of videos are much more engaging.

5. Interactive Videos

For many people, interactive videos represent the most efficient way to train someone. These videos work on a scenario basis, where the viewers will see a small clip and be given a path choice. They are less restrictive, and they are also highly motivating.

Resource-wise, they might take the highest budget. On the other hand, they are also very efficient, as they test the knowledge of the person watching them. If possible, these interactive training videos should be used as much as possible when it comes to training new employees.

6. Videos Created by Employees

We learn the best from our peers, which is why employee-created videos are usually the best options to go for. After all, it’s not the employer that usually knows best; it’s the employee that has already been doing this for a while.

Plus, by creating these videos, the employee will get a better understanding of their tasks and the right ways to put their skills into practice. The employees will offer their tips and tricks so that the newcomers will know exactly how to do their job.

Steps to Create a Training Video

There are five steps to keep in mind when creating a training video, and they go as follows:

1. Set Objectives and Goals

The first thing that you will have to do is to understand your goal. What outcome are you planning to achieve by creating this video? Understand your goal, know your audience and then define what the learning objective should be.

2. Plan the Video

You already have a big idea in mind – now it’s time to move onto planning. Build the staff, decide on the video type that you plan on using, prepare the equipment, and create a project plan. Set up the atmosphere for your team. Get to know your SMEs and make a video knowing that your SMEs are most likely busy.

3. Design and Script

The planning is done, now you need to move onto the designing part. Write a script for what you are planning to add to the video. Sketch out the ideas and try to figure out how to make them more entertaining. Decide on the tone; can you add jokes and other stuff, or does it have to be more on the serious side? Plan everything out nicely.

4. Record and Edit

This is where the action starts. Take your tools and start recording. Whether you want to create an instructor-led webinar or you want to set up an interactive workshop, use the tools that are most convenient to you. You may film yourself, record the screen and your voice, and then edit them in the way that you see fit.

5. Share the Video

Your video training piece is done. Now, all that is left for you to do is to share it. LMS platforms are good for smaller companies, but for larger ones, you may use other tools as well. Vimeo and YouTube are the most popular options in that regard.

Requirements for a Good Start

To start on a good note, you’ll need certain pieces of equipment. Here is what you need to put on your checklist. 

· Equipment

First things first, you will need a webcam, a computer, and a good microphone. When it comes to microphones, you might want to go for a lavalier microphone, as you clip that one onto your clothes. This way, you can make sure that the audio quality is high.  

· Software

To have a good start when it comes to video creation, you might also want to be very careful about using the right creation and editing software. There are various tools that you may use here, such as iSpring, Wistia video software, Kapwing, and FilmoraX. If you want a more accessible online video editor, you may also try Fastreel. All of these options are great when it comes to creating an online course.

Depending on the type of video that you are making, you might also want to get a screen recorder program. However, some video editing programs also have the option of recording your screen.

Examples of Effective Training Videos

There are many examples of effective training videos that you may learn from. Here are just a couple of examples:

Retail POS: After upgrading the POS of their system, many employees would once more have to learn how to be productive.This is why Retail created a 10-part video series that would teach the users how to efficiently use the new system.

Supply Chain eLearning Video: Supply Chain has more than 12,000 employees, and more people keep coming around each time. This is why they created very effective 12-course learning videos on best practices for the end-to-end supply chain.

The Bottom Line

Training videos are a great way to maximize time and productivity. This is why, as a business owner, you should ensure that you make the most use of them. Check the tips above, gather your equipment, and start filming.