#→ assume good intentions and find ways to communicate/collaborate better with them → get along better and maybe make a new friend!

[abstractlesbian]

Find someone slightly annoying but in really small harmless ways so I decide none of the behaviours are worth bringing up with them → realizing: hey, Im also annoying! solidarity! → realizing we have a lot in common and starting to bond → finding out other people find this person annoying and are vocal about it behind their back → finding out this person has ADHD like me that's (at least one reason) why we have all these traits in common → fear.

[rin-and-jade]

How can I gain the trust of my alters as an introject of our system’s abuser?

I hardly get the chance to front and whenever I do I am cut off from my other alters. They do not trust me, they are afraid of me, and many actively hate me.

At first I did struggle to determine that I was not actually literally my source. But at this point I do know better and I am trying to change for the better. But my alters do not see me as my own person. They see me as the one who traumatized them. They don’t understand that I am also a victim.

Unfortunately we do not have access to therapy at this time. Our system seems so fragmented to me, but it is painful to see whenever I front the evidence of my alters collaborating and getting along while simultaneously isolating me and pushing me away. On one hand, I am happy for them and their progress. On the other, it makes me feel even more isolated and alone, because I have never been afforded the opportunity to connect in those ways. My alters run from me and want nothing to do with me. I actively trigger them and our brushes of contact range from them acting cold and terse to downright panicking and fleeing… and this is with me making active efforts to behave in ways that differ from my source.

Any insight or resources for abuser-introjects would be immensely appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration.

First of all, im very sorry that you're going through this. It can be very isolating and difficult to deal with such treatment, and i personally understand this from my own experience through my own developed persecutory behaviors due to maltreatment too,, which all my other parts do struggle understanding. I can say am qualified to help you through my own experience (also trial and error).

Here is a very detailed post i have made about introjection, and this also helps people think more deeper on what's the deal with parts and their sources, good or bad. This would help them--and yourself, understand much better too. Give it a read alright?

Also, persecutors or abuser-introjected parts are highly misunderstood, and only a slight fraction are the ones who are malignant (purposely causing havoc with no goal in mind) which probably caused fears surrounding it.

It will be difficult for them to accept you--or be curious about you even. But it is possible, with time and effort. Let's get to the point:

identify your source, and compare how similar you are to it. This takes a good while to realize, so do not rush and assume, you are here to survey and collect whatever resemblance you can catch.

Dismantle and understand the reason behind those actions. From there on, if you do catch some resemblance, or you recognize what you introjected from the abuser, dig deeper on why do you internalize such behavior or attitude. Be open and curious on what can be done in a different manner, that will not be associated with being bad or evil.

Getting them to see you as who you are is difficult until they know you acted different from your source. Which is why we need to attempt to drag their attention with active efforts for communication. Even if they do not respond to you, or actively isolate you--say them a good morning, send some short acknowledgement for your progress. Saying what you have in mind can help them gauge better on what's your intention better. You can even apologize, an abuser doesn't usually care doing that, right? So that'll totally do something.

This isn't one way either, they also should learn to be curious. Find opportunities to present similar resources (like my linked post) that they have trouble understanding to their fyp, or through a friend, be creative. If that isn't feasible, then asking simple questions like "what are you achieving from this?" about your treatment will also bring answers and underlying problems that they struggle with too. This is the hardest part i personally went through, though. But it totally made their little pea brain turn some gears.

Anywho, i am open to communicate and keep in contact with you through my DMs! It is not my first time having cases similar to this so i might be of help to you.

Also therapy generally sucks if you're from america. I'll do my best to give unconditional hospitality and advices for the community. This blog is made for that.

- j

[sagrawal18ahsgov-blog]

The 3P Assessment: Parties, Political Interest Groups, and PACs

1. Political parties on clean water:

a. The Republican position is that the EPA’s Waters of the United States rule is a travesty because it extends the government’s jurisdiction over navigable waters. They do not want federal agencies to seize control of state waters, and they want to enforce the original intent of the Clean Water Act and not its distortion by EPA regulations. Democrats believe in conservation and collaborative stewardship of our water, and that we need policies and investments to protect public waters so that people can access and enjoy natural spaces. Democrats want to conserve public waters by engaging Americans in the outdoors and protecting natural landscapes by building a diverse workforce. The Libertarian party states that competitive free markets and property rights stimulate the technological innovations and behavioral changes required to protect our clean water. They believe that private landowners and conservation groups have a vested interest in maintaining natural resources, and governments are unaccountable for environmental damage and have a bad track record on environmental protection. The Green Party strongly opposes recent attempts to roll back the federal environmental protection laws that safeguard our clean water. The health of our clean water is of paramount importance, and they want to halt the destruction of the environment that is sacrificed to unqualified economic expansion. Last, the Peace and Freedom Party believes that the corporate forces and economic system that exploit and brutalize the world’s working class people are destroying the world’s biosphere. Socialism is necessary to end the ecological destruction caused by capitalism. They favor tighter regulation of industrial wastes to protect and restore water. 

b. I disagree with the Republican position because they are against enforcing stronger environmental protections and the policies that they want to implement would be harming more than helping our clean water. I agree with the Democrat position because they want to conserve clean water so people can enjoy natural spaces the Earth has to offer. I somewhat agree with the Libertarian view on clean water, because they are for protecting our waters, but their methods for doing so do not seem as direct. I agree with the Green Party’s position because they prioritize the environment and clean water and want laws that protect them. I agree with the Peace and Freedom Party’s belief that industrial wastes must be better regulated to keep our water clean. 

c. I think that I identify most with the Green Party. This is somewhat surprising, because I assumed I might agree closest with the Democratic Party, however I thought that the Green Party had a better platform on environmental regulations, while the Democratic platform on the environment was more broad and did not impose protecting our clean water as strongly. I would vote for the Presidential candidate of this Party. 

2. National Interest Group on clean water:

a. The name of one national interest group that represents the issue of clean water is Clean Water Action. 

b. This interest group wants to develop strong grassroots environmental leadership to bring together diverse constituencies to work cooperatively for changes that improves their lives, focused on health, consumer, environmental, and community problems. 

c. Clean Water Action focuses on clean water, oil and gas, toxic chemicals, waste, climate change and clean energy, and civic engagement. They state that clean water allows for healthy and prosperous communities. Drinking water sources are threatened by pollution and overconsumption. Second, Clean Water works to protect people and areas from oil and gas production’s harmful impacts while pushing for the transition to a clean energy economy. Third, they are fighting on all levels to fix chemical laws and find safer alternatives to toxic chemicals in everyday products. Fourth, pollution from sources like power plants is affecting our water, food, and air. Clean Water Action harnesses grassroots power by engaging and mobilizing members and endorsing clean water leaders in elections from the local to national level. Fifth, Clean Water Action believes Scott Pruitt is unfit to lead the EPA because he has acted in opposition to protect our air, water, and health by silencing scientists and giving polluting industries unprecedented access.

d. Clean Water Action endorsed the 2018 Pennsylvania Primary Election. On May 16, 2018, environmental champions Sara Innamorato, Joe Hohenstein, and Chris Rabb won the election, sending them to Harrisburg. The state legislature continues to attack environmental protections, Pennsylvania voters want to see their representatives stand up for clean water and air. Innamorato and Hohenstein are both coming out of environmental protection work and activism, so their wins give voice to people’s concern for clean water and the environment. Voters are worried about lead in drinking water, fracking coming into Allegheny County, and pollution from industry causing an asthma epidemic in parts of Pennsylvania. 

e. This interest group is located in Oakland, California. I was unable to find any specific local meetings that I could attend that have happened or are going to happen on their website. 

f. There are multiple volunteer opportunities regarding elections and civic engagement, putting drinking water first, rethinking disposable, oil, gas, fracking, and safer chemicals. Volunteer opportunities include helping elect environmental champions, attending and planning events, lobbying elected officials, doing data entry, or performing research. 

g. Regarding additional developments that I found interesting from this interest group, Clean Water Action has an annual conference where they feature dynamic speakers, environmental workshops, and networking. The workshops have different panels of environmental speakers who discuss topics such as electric vehicles and green energy or clean water and environmental justice. 2018′s annual conference was held last month at the Wardlaw-Hartidge School in Edison, New Jersey. 

3. State interest group on clean water:

a. The name of the state interest group that represents the issue of clean water is the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV).

b. The California League of Conservation Voters aims to protect and enhance the environment and the health of all California communities by electing environmental champions, advancing critical priorities, and holding policymakers accountable.

c. The CLVC helps to create environmental champions and pass strong environmental legislation. The areas that the CLVC focuses their attention includes air quality, clean and renewable energy, environmental justice, global warming, good government, green jobs, ocean and coastal protection, open space and parks, recycling and waste production, smart growth, land use and planning, toxics and chemicals, transportation, water quality and supply, and wildlife and habitat conservation. The CLVC conducts rigorous research on candidates to make endorsements in key races; their endorsements are backed with expertise and they assist candidates with the media, fundraising, and grassroots organizing strategies they need to win. The CLVC campaigns to educate voters about candidates’ environmental records. Current actions that the CLVC are pushing include moving California to 100% renewable power and protecting California from offshore oil drilling.

d. The CLVC has many current endorsements for the June 5th Primary Election. One initiative that they endorse is Prop 68, or the Park and Water Bond. Proposition 68 would authorize $4 billion in general obligation bonds for state and local parks, environmental protection and restoration projects, water infrastructure projects, and flood protection projects. 

e. The California League of Conservation Voters is located in Oakland, California. According to their website, anyone can stay informed and make their views heard in Sacramento. Every year the CLVC campaigns for strong environmental legislation in Sacramento, and they collaborate with other organizations on legislation of importance to the greater environmental community. They maintain a full time lobbying presence in Sacramento and work to make sure legislators hear from environmental voters. I was unable to find out the exact dates for when I can attend local meetings or get involved.

f. There is a smaller number of specific volunteer opportunities, but the CLVC makes clear the ways in which anyone can take action. One action is helping to move California to 100% renewable power by voting yes on SB 100. Second, California can be protected from offshore oil drilling by voting no on H.R. 4239, which would bypass California’s safeguards and allow expanded, reckless, and unsafe offshore oil drilling along the state coast. This would reject the giveaway to Big Oil that endangers crucial ecosystems and coastal communities. 

g. At the end of each legislative year, the CLVC publishes the California Environmental Scorecard, which is the definitive barometer of environmental politics in Sacramento, rating the performance of the California Legislature and the governor on key environmental legislation. The Scorecard is distributed online and to 30,000 CLVC members, other environmental organizations, and the news media. 

4. I think that Clean Water Action is a more organized interest group than the California League of Conservation Voters. Since Clean Water Action is a national interest group, it is more successful and is more widely recognized. Clean Water Action’s target audience is anybody who is concerned about the environment for any reason and wants to take action to help protect and conserve it. Similarly, the California League of Conservation Voters targets a similar crowd, only in the state of California. Supporters of both interest groups would be advocates for the environment and people who want to be a part of protecting the planet. I am following both Clean Water Action and the California League of Conservation Voters on twitter.

5. PAC on clean water:

a. The name of the PAC that pertains to the issue of clean water is the Sierra Club. 

b. The Sierra Club PAC wants to protect the environment, practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources, and educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.

c. In 2018 the Sierra Club PAC has raised a total of $99,826, and they have spent a total of $151,828. The amount of cash that they have on hand is $882,379. 

d. 100% of the Sierra Club PAC’s budget is spent on Democrats, so none of their budget is spent on Republicans. 

e. Some donors include Mr. Robert Heil and Ms. Rosemary Heil from Oakland, CA; Loren Blackford from New York, NY; Holley J. Taylor from Penn Valley, CA; Steve Foote from Bethesda, MD; and Pam Miles from Lake Forest, IL. These donors are involved in a career or interest pertaining to protecting or advocating for the environment. For example, Robert Heil is a wildlife and nature photographer whose personal life is also based around nature, and Loren Blackford is the president of the Sierra Club. The interests of the donors run in close parallel with the PAC interests as they both concern the environment. 

[destinationtoast]

Some notes on my fandom stats.

I sometimes get questions or criticism regarding my fandom stats.  (I welcome both.)  Sometimes critics have missed something that I clearly stated in the post, but often, criticism indicates that I could be doing a better job explaining something.  So this is an attempt to explain what fandom data can and can’t show, where I’m personally coming from, and what I’m intending my analyses to do.

This is a v1 attempt -- please give feedback about where I can further clarify! I'll be continuing to revise and update based on responses, so please click through to the original post.  

The most common critiques I get fall into a few broad categories:

Incorrect or misleading. Some of my methods/stats/visualizations are wrong, misleading, or don’t match up with someone’s personal experience.  (See “My goals,” “The limitations of my ability to issue corrections,” and “How you can help with limitations in existing analyses”)

Wrong focus. I don’t do enough stats about some important topics -- e.g., race. (See “The limitations of my methods” and “How you can help with limitations in existing analyses”)

Not representative. I’m overgeneralizing about fandom and misrepresenting fans by only looking at certain fanworks or by failing to give important context.  (See “The limitations of focusing primarily on AO3”)

Overly authoritative. I’m speaking as an authority on fandom and acting as if my stats are The Truth. (See “My goals” and “What fandom stats can and can’t tell us”)

Agenda-driven. I’m using stats to try to justify fandom practices that some people disagree with, such as creating fanworks primarily about men or white characters -- or else I’m using stats to harangue fans into behaving differently, e.g. leaving more comments on fic. (See “The Toast agenda”)

I’ll try to explain where I’m coming from and address some of the most common criticisms here, but if you have more questions or concerns, please pass them along.

My goals

My fandom analysis posts are intended as fanworks -- by a fan, for other fans.  Meaning that:

I’m assuming the audience has personal experience in fandom and goodwill toward fans.  

While I sometimes have beta readers, these are imperfect works, put together in my spare time.

These are shared out of love for fandom and other fans, and because I think other fans will be interested, rather than to further my career.

As some possibly useful context, I didn’t even mean to end up making a bunch of fandom stats posts in the first place. But when I was curious about fanworks and made a few graphs mostly for myself, other fans turned out to be really interested.  So I’ve kept on sharing what I’ve learned as I’ve continued to be curious.  And I started a dedicated stats sideblog because some fans who aren't interested in the other content on my main blog asked me to.

I do the best I can to be accurate and clear in my fandom stats posts.  But I sometimes make errors in analysis, gather unrepresentative data, fail to give context, present something unclearly, etc.  I really appreciate feedback from people who want to engage in thoughtful critique or ask questions when they spot issues with my work. It’s my goal to always update & correct/clarify my posts as I continue to learn more.

I don’t have plans to publish any of my work for a broader audience, or an academic audience. I have a separate career that doesn’t have to do with fan studies, and I do this for fun in my spare time… I think trying to rewrite for a different audience and publish things via official channels would sap a lot of my desire to do it.  When I’ve shared things at cons, they’ve been fan conventions, not academic conferences, and I’ve been there because fans expressed interest in hearing me talk about some of my stuff.

(Note: this doesn’t mean I don’t think fandom analysis can be worth publishing, or worth having a career in!  And I’m happy to share data and methodology with academics or other interested parties, and to have them redo the analyses/do similar analyses & present the results to other audiences.)

It’s possible I sometimes sound like I’m writing/speaking as An Authority On Fandom, but that’s not my intent. In fact, in fandom I rarely feel like an expert -- because I haven’t actually been active in the online fannish community for all that long, and I only have personal experience with a pretty narrow range of fandoms, fannish platforms, and fannish experiences.  I strongly value hearing the experiences and opinions of other fans.  

The limitations of my methods

I tend to do analyses of fanworks only, and I analyze aggregate metadata (e.g., number of uses of tags) about large amounts of fanworks at once (thousands or millions of works).  That means I’m not looking at any individual works.  Those are good techniques for answering questions like:

Which ratings are most common on AO3?

Which are the most common fandoms, characters, or ships?

How has that changed over time?

How many kudos do different AO3 tags get?

What are the most popular genres on Fanfiction.net?

Sometimes I also compare data between archives (AO3, FFN, Wattpad), or look at fandom tagging activity on sites like Tumblr or DeviantART.  And occasionally I get access to a bunch of data taken from a site like IMDB and incorporate that, as well.

These methods/data sets have limitations:

I haven’t hand-categorized the data.  There may be errors.

I’m relying on other people to tell me what’s in their fanworks, so anything that’s not in the tags, my methods don’t catch.  

Different people sometimes use the same tags differently, and I usually can’t detect that, either.  I assume that this usually just adds noise to my large data sets, but I also try to think about any systematic biases that might be introduced and to highlight them in my writeups.

I can’t add new information, like a character’s race, country of origin, canonical (a)sexuality when known, etc.  Neither AO3 nor FFN specify these attributes (although fans can and do sometimes create tags like “Canon Character of Color” or “Canon Asexual Character,” so to the extent that fans widely use these tags, I can do analyses).  I would really love to have data about race and other factors not in the tags; if you have ideas how to get it, I'd be grateful.

I can’t answer anything about the creators of the fanworks (e.g., demographics).

These are the methods that I am personally best equipped to do (in terms of tools, skills, experience).  I’ve enjoyed learning some new methods as part of doing these posts, but I’m definitely not good at everything.  So when my methods can’t provide the right data for someone’s question, it doesn’t mean the question is unanswerable, but I might not be the best person to answer the question.  See “How you can help with limitations in existing analyses” for more information.

The limitations of focusing mostly on AO3

I use AO3 a lot because:

it has the most flexible and best organized tagging system

it's easiest to search, sort, and filter

it already gives you a bunch of stats in the Sort & Filter sidebar, whenever you select a particular tag or combination of tags

I have now written a bunch of scripts to help me quickly get data from AO3

I have the best intuitions about AO3, because I use it the most, so I can do a better job catching errors in my work there

That doesn’t mean I think AO3 contains all fanworks or is representative of all fandom/fanworks.  It’s only one home of many for fanworks, and it’s got a lot of unusual characteristics.  For instance, because it was founded to provide a home to works that were considered sensitive or banned on other archives (explicit works, RPF, slash, etc.), it tends to have more of these kinds of works than many archives.  Initially, I didn’t tend to point this out and overgeneralized about fanworks from AO3.  These days I try to point out the limitations in generalizing.  (Though I do still find it interesting to learn about AO3 as an archive!)

The limitations of my ability to issue corrections

One good aspect of Tumblr is the way that it can reach broad audiences beyond one’s immediate followers.  However, the same easy reblogging that leads to this broad circulation comes with frustrations.  Even if I update the original post with corrections or clarifications, the old version of the post often continues to circulate.  Another difficulty is that not everyone sees the same conversation thread, so I often end up responding to the same concerns from a whole bunch of different people who aren’t seeing my response to others in different reblog branches.

There’s not that much to be done about this, but readers might want to keep in mind that what they see cross their dash is often not the latest version.   You can usually find my latest updates by clicking through to the original post.

How you can help with limitations in existing analyses

I wish I could do more stats about understudied topics like race in fanworks using my methods, and I wish others were studying these topics more, too. Fortunately, my methods are not the only methods, and I am not the only one doing analyses.  As one great example, if you are interested in how race factors into fandom demographics or into shipping, I strongly recommend @centrumlumina​ . They’ve done a demographics survey of 10K AO3 users and annual stats about the most common ships on AO3 (with hand-categorization of race).

There are many other great fandom stats folks as well (I’ve amassed an incomplete list).  If none of us have answered the questions you are interested in, I encourage you to try to answer questions yourself!  A lot of what I do is not actually very complicated (seriously, a lot of it is just doing a search on AO3 and writing down the number of results, or clicking on a tag and writing down the number of results) -- and there are some fan-made tools to help.

As one starting point, I recommend taking a look at the tools at fandomstats.org. I collaborated with @annathecrow​ and @esgibter​ to help fans do some types of quick stats -- right now only on AO3, but we welcome help broadening that!  I’ve also written some tutorials on gathering data, and as part of my fandom stats posts I generally share my raw data, which you are free to use to dig into my work further/continue the effort.

Time permitting, I am also happy to answer questions and help you brainstorm how to do your own analyses.  

What fandom stats can and can’t tell us

I don't think my fandom stats tell deep truths about fandom. They can provide some insights into some aspects of fanworks: what kinds of fanworks exist on different platforms; how fans are using metadata (tags, etc.); how reader/consumer response to fanworks; etc. But trying to figure out what exactly that data means, and why fans are producing/consuming the things they are, is beyond the scope of the numbers.  So is determining the direction of cause and effect between variables that seem related (and ascertaining whether there are hidden underlying causes).

It’s additionally important to keep in mind that the results of fandom stats depend on the questions asked and the types of analyses done. There isn't any one right way to analyze data (there are sometimes bad ways to do it, but often several good ways). Different ways of looking at data tell you different things.  Even a good analyst can only see part of the story, depending on what they think to ask, and how.  My goals are to clearly explain my thought processes and methods in gathering data, doing analyses, and presenting the results -- in large part so other people can spot potential issues with my assumptions and methods.  I always welcome suggestions for follow up work or clarifications, when people think there is more to the story.

A final point: I don’t ascribe any moral judgments to my fandom stats -- that is, I don't intend to imply any opinions about whether fans are doing good or bad things. You can form your own opinions from the numbers, or use them to support arguments.  But I try to keep any opinions or judgments out of my stats posts (though I may sometimes share them in other meta).

The Toast agenda

I’m not setting out to prove anything when I do an analysis -- I’m motivated by curiosity (or sometimes a desire to help other fans answer questions or find rarer fanworks).  I’m also never setting out to justify (or argue against) any fan behaviors.  As I said above, I don’t think fandom stats data can answer questions like “Is it right/good for fans to do [X]?”

A few of my personal tenets regarding data and its role in discourse:

The answer to almost every interesting question about fandom (or any complex system) is “It’s complicated/nuanced, and the answer depends on the details of how you ask the question.”  I try to explain my starting assumptions and to map out some of the complexity of the data, where I can. There’s always more to the story, though.

There are many reasons that groups of people do things.  We shouldn’t ever look for just one reason.  I don’t like questions like, “Is there so much fanfic written about white cis men because of bias in media or bias in fandom?” -- I don’t think it’s an either/or, nor are those the only possible factors.  My own data gathering is not an attempt to support either side of such arguments.

For example, there are strong systemic biases in my society (US) based on race, gender, sexuality, class, size, ability, and other factors.  This leads to, among other things, a lack of balanced representation in media, and a tendency to privilege certain kinds of storytelling narratives over others.  Both media creators and fan creators (and fan consumers) exist in this same stew of biases, and we're all affected by them. This makes it unlikely that only one of these groups is responsible for phenomena like lack of representation in fanworks.

Data is good food for thought and discussion fodder, but can't tell us what to do.

It’s also the case that I have opinions about lots of things.  Nobody is truly impartial.  When I set out to gather data and test hypotheses, I try not to let my own beliefs or assumptions bias my conclusions, and I am often surprised by what I find in the data -- but it’s unavoidable that my own worldview influences the questions I think to ask and other factors in the analyses I do.  

A few facts that may affect my methods, assumptions, and blind spots:

I’m white.

I’m a cis woman.

I’m queer, and I have identified as queer/bisexual for my entire adult life (~20 years).

I’m poly, and I have been in poly relationships for almost my entire adult life.

I live in the US.

I’ve always lived in suburbs or cities.

I’ve always been financially secure.

I’m not religious or spiritual.

I’m liberal to extremely liberal on most political issues.

I have academic background in science.

I work in tech.

As an adult, I’ve mostly been active in the Sherlock fandom, since 2013.  I previously read some fanfic in the Harry Potter fandom in ~2005-2008.  When I was a teen (mostly pre-internet), I was producing fanfic and fanart (for just me and my friends) in the Star Trek and Peter Gabriel/Genesis fandoms.

I write queer fiction of many stripes -- fanfic (mostly M/M and/or queer poly) and original (mostly F/F and/or queer poly).  A lot of it is mature or explicit, and occasionally kinky.

I write het.

I write gen.

I’ve written RPF and self-insert stories.

I love a lot of problematic media.  I’m happy both loving it and critiquing it.

I’m in favor of more people (and more diverse people) writing stories, and I’m fine with people writing any kind of fiction that they want to.  I’m also in favor of having critical discussions about storytelling, and getting creators to think critically about the kinds of stories they are and are not contributing to the world.

Whew -- thanks for reading! :)  Another fact about me is that I’m strongly in favor of self-examination and self-improvement.  I’m always striving to do better, and I welcome feedback on my fandom stats, on these notes, or on anything else.

Edit: Thanks to @flourish and @fffinnagain for some insightful feedback on earlier drafts of some sections of this post.  All errors and issues are mine!

[fly-pow-bye]

I’ll put this huge wall of text under a read more, but I want to get this off my chest.

I will admit that this writing was inspired by something that recently happened on Twitter, though I did want to talk about this before. A well-known cartoon critic got called out on Twitter for being cruel to the crew of a reboot of a show by one of the writers. Said writer went on to talk about how they were harassed by the internet cartoon community, to the point where they considered “ending it all”. This is not overdramatic, as the actor who played Jar Jar Binks went through the same situation. Thankfully, they made up, but this led to me thinking about what I’ve been doing on this blog. I wasn’t called out, I never interacted with anyone in the crew online or offline, but my opinions are public and it is extremely likely at least one of them has seen what I have written.

Part of the reason why I considered doing reviews of this particular show was to see if the show was better than what people assumed it would be. Even before the show premiered, back when we were first getting news about how the voice actresses were being replaced and that the show was going to focus on “girl power”, people were ready to write this show off as a terrible, no-good show to be put in the same pile as Loonatics Unleashed, Yo Yogi, and the post-Q5-interference episodes of The Real Ghostbusters. Sure enough, I managed to find quite a few legitimately good episodes, and I ended up having a relatively positive outlook on the series than a lot of people did.

Even with that and knowing that writing more often leads to better writing skills, I should also aspire to grow as a person. A part of that is admitting when I was wrong. I have definitely crossed the line with a few aspects of my own reviews. Most of this is just from my inexperience with making fair points of criticism, and some of it is just because I grew up in a time where “Squidward torture porn” and “mean spirited” were both common phrases in internet cartoon reviews. I am sad to admit that I wasn’t above using the latter phrase in at least three of them, and I wouldn’t have used them now knowing how misused that phrase was.

Along with “mean spirited”, I should have realized that “the writers” is not something that should appear in a review for anything other than self-published books. Cartoons are a collaborative effort between writers, directors, storyboarders, executives, animators, and even the toy companies in certain cases. Every decision, from the way the characters act or dress to how long a hit flash should last, goes through so many people that blaming one group is just wrong. Everyone goes into a cartoon with good intentions, and they do their best with the circumstances around them. With 40 episode seasons, executives breathing down their backs, toy companies wanting to put the characters in costumes, it is easy to see why this show ended up the way it did. Why did I keep saying “the writers”? Because even with my lack of knowledge of how making a reboot of a cartoon show really works, I knew I couldn’t blame just one specific person.

As I have later regretted, there were times where I was specific. This was mostly early on, but there’s still elements of that in some of the later reviews. One of the worst times was where I ended a review noting that the next episode had the same storyboard duo, with the implication that, “oh, it’s by them, so it’s going to be bad.“ I was not even thinking of the feelings of that storyboard duo when I wrote that, and I will admit that was wrong of me to bring it up. Once I decided to do the WordPress re-uploads, that line got cut out, with an apology hidden in one of the image’s title texts. Even now, I feel like I should have been way more upfront with that, but ultimately I wish I would have thought about that when I wrote it in the first place. That wasn’t the only example, but that was one of the more egregious ones.

This is not to say that cartoon criticism in itself is bad, and it’s not that I regret ever opening this blog and reviewing episodes of this show. It’s just that there’s a difference between criticizing the show itself and taking it out on people who are just trying to do their best. I still want to improve myself day by day, and part of that improvement is admitting mistakes. There were some times that I have crossed the line, I will admit it, I do regret it, and I am sorry.

[nasapeepoplier]

Darkiplier vs Antisepticeye

  I have read many comments and reactions to this video since it released.  I thought I would put my own thoughts out there as well. I have to start off by saying that I adore both Mark and Sean.  They seem like such wonderful people and the fact that they do so much for their subscribers and for others is truly admirable.  I really enjoy everything these guys work so hard to put out there for us to watch.  They deserve nothing but love and thanks for going above and beyond the “Let’s Plays” that their channels are known for.

 I was really drawn in when Mark and Jack decided to do their dark, alter egos because I love horror and sci-fi.  I have really enjoyed their videos involving these characters and was very excited to see them come together.  I will be honest, I didn’t care for the involvement of the others in this one, it would have been much better if it were just the 2 of them.  As the exchange got started, it set the mood and just as I really got into it... it cut away to other people that I don’t watch or even really know.  But I love to see a good collaborative effort and to see people working together instead of tearing others down to further themselves.  

  I could tell that both Dark and Anti were a bit off their game. I’m guessing that this was a last minute decision and probably done quickly while Jack was in LA for only a short time, not to mention busy with other things.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy for these 2 to stand in front of each other and play their role.  While they are good friends and I’m sure have spent plenty of time together acting goofy, this is way different.  If they had more time to work through the awkwardness and the giggles... it may have seemed more comfortable.  

  What I have seen pointed out the most was Anti didn’t have his gauges in his ears, and Dark was missing his tie and his suit was a mess.  Taking the above, and this into consideration, I chose to let it play into the story rather than ruin the experience.  We have all watched these characters come into play in their own unique way but separate from one another up to this point.  For anyone that has watched something similar, 2 evil beings coming together usually results in a clash.  

So here is how I let things play out for me...

  Anti hears that Sean is making the trip to LA for other business.  I can only assume that Anti and Dark are well aware of one other.  He knew he had to find a way to make this trip, which likely means finding the perfect opportunity to tag along.  With Sean being distracted by his other business and likely stressed, this was likely not terribly hard but still a risky move considering the travel.  Maybe the gauges were left at home intentionally, he had to appear to be as normal as possible to avoid detection.  Or maybe just a simple as they were forgotten since the focus was on making the trip.  They also could have been left behind after making it to LA, when the opportunity to finally meet Darkiplier face to face presented itself, there was no time to waste, he had to just go.

  That brings us to Dark, calm in LA enjoying some down time.  Not expecting to hear from Anti at this point, if ever.  Dark was likely caught off guard by Anti showing up, he never would have thought he would have the gall to challenge him this way.   He hadn’t needed his freshly pressed suit for some time, it was likely in the closet starting to wrinkle and he had to dress in a hurry.  You know how it is when someone you want to either impress or intimidate comes along, you want to look at your best but they get in your head which means things can be missed.  After throwing on the suit, Dark is unable to find the tie.  I can imagine Dark frantically searching which mumbling to himself looking for the tie.  At this point, I assume he is quite irritated and you can probably hear the high pitched squeal... people are wondering what is causing the noise.   It’s nowhere to be found... so he unbuttons his shirt, making the messy look seem intentional.  His ego leads him to believe it will only play into his sex appeal.  He figures he can use his calm demeanor and intoxicating way with words to keep the focus off of his absent tie and wrinkled suit.  Anti clearly caught Dark off guard which created a bit of panic, this explains why Dark seemed to stumble with his words.  Anti could pick up on this, and he found it hilarious, he could barely contain his excitement and keep from cackling during their interaction.  I also think the other people interrupting the moment threw off the focus a bit.  You could also see it another way, perhaps Dark was otherwise ... occupied at the time.  Maybe his tie was currently in use when he was interrupted.  If they meet again, I am almost certain it will be more of what we have come to expect from Dark and Anti as individuals.  

  All in all... I really loved the interaction between these guys.  Even more, I loved the bloopers to see Mark and Sean interacting as well and completely cracking up with their friends because of their silly antics.  I would love to see something like this happen again.  But, unlike others, part of me doesn’t want to see these guys go head to head because I don’t want to pick a side,  I would love to see them team up to accomplish their goal.  Dark & Anti vs Mark and Sean, trying to take over.  But I know that in the end, one would have to betray the other to take ultimate control... it would still be fun to see.  

  Don’t let the flaws ruin the experience for you.  Both of these guys had said that a collab between Dark and Anti would likely not happen.  They knew the community would love for it to happen so they did it.... they did that... for US!  We all owe these guys a huge thanks and round of applause for making this happen.  The entire team on both sides.  Because we all know that the magic of Darkiplier and Antisepticeye is in the editing.  So a huge thank you to Robin, Kathryn, Amy, Tyler, Ethan, and anyone else that may have been part of this. I don’t know how involved Wiishu is in brainstorming or creating but thanks to her for being so wonderfully supportive of what Sean does.  Also thanks to all of the other YouTubers for coming together to create, that’s what they are all here to do.  I would much rather see their love for their craft bring them together than to split them apart, it makes for much happier people.  Thank you all for all that you do!

[nadaelkoshairy]

Freakish Greek Mythology Stories

Well, well, where to start with Greek mythologies? When you hear the word Greek gods and goddesses, I am certain your mind have just clicked that it’s most probably a topic about the wise, however it’s completely the exact opposite. It’s just a chaotic world, that pretty much needs a superior other god to just control this mess. However, they just managed and lived with.

Just as it comes to this part of the world, I get pretty sure I can find more than a whole community living up there on Mount Olympus maintaining the light, rain and sea, etc... Even history can’t compliment them with anything further than being called nutty by nature.  

Even though, these bizarre stories have been as lessons for the Greek, I bet it has something fun revolving around it, because having an affair with a swan, protecting your baby in your thigh or mistaking your son for a plant are definitely not just lessons.

Last but not least, condoms would have solved most of their problems and saved a whole lot of innocent souls. And please, the gods should never try being funny. Thank you.

 10.  Zeus

While being the king of Gods on mount Olympus and the god of the sky and thunder, he has had so much fun using his status in the community of Gods. Zeus was the typical jerk who possibly made most of the female population hate guys and hold a grudge against them. Even though, we haven’t heard of him for a while now, but his stories have been revolving all around us ever since. Zeus does have a rank for the biggest assholes in the Greek history and most probably the first. He had a thing for cheating on Hera, with anyone and in sometimes could be anything.

And yes, you most probably guessed his story of the next lines. A typical cheating story, but of course with a “Zeusian” twist. Well, it started when he was allured with Leda, and to get to her he had this perfect most logical decision to shift into a swan. Even worse, she was actually lured to have an affair with a swan. Pretty Sure the only good thing we got out of this is blessing our world with Helen of troy.

 9.      Hera

Of course, Hera wasn’t any better than her husband was; both wackos were literally made just for each other. Also being the queen of Gods was much of a punishment for every creature in the universe. Although she had a knack for creativity more than her husband did, but anyways the devil is most probably clapping for her ever since. Hera has been throwing dozens of punishments on so many Greek women and of course thanks to Zeus for that.

Zeus as we all know was playing around a lot and it doesn’t matter what he would do to reach a women. Whenever he was having some fun, a nymph called “Echo” would have some nice talk with Hera for matters of distraction. However it wasn’t a good idea, because when Hera made the discovery she had that nymph voiceless, unless if it had to repeat someone’s last couple of words!

Pretty much, no one could get bored of Hera’s stories, saying another one can give you another laugh for next couple of hours. It always has been thanks to Zeus, this time Hera impregnates herself (because she’s an effing strong independent woman, let alone she’s actually a goddess.) Giving birth to Hephaestus and just throwing him off Mount Olympus because he had some deformities and she can do better. Bet some of them just wished they had condoms.

 8.      Athena

Well yes we have been just through the first two in the list and it’s almost like we’ve had enough, but nothing worse than starting a war for no…logical reason?

We see here, Athena the goddess of wisdom, craft and of course war, had some issues too. It was a normal beauty competition between her, Hera and Aphrodite and the judge was Zeus until he rejected and gave this choice for shepherd from Mount Ida called Paris. Unfortunately, this poor Paris was a judge between three goddesses with supernatural powers, who tried to bribe him. Choosing Aphrodite (not because she’s the fairest, but she promised him with Helen, so yeahh.) While he was promised with Helen, Aphrodite promised to start the Trojan War. Of course in collaboration with the other fellow maniac and partner in crime, Hera.

Maybe, Athena can have more than one story, too. Apparently, winning over one of the gods in anything is assumed as a sin. Because she had troubles with being first over everyone, otherwise you don’t have a place in this world. A normal lady called Arachne was an exceptional weaver as she got the talent perfectly. Nevertheless, as soon as Athena heard of that, there was instantly a competition to be set between both of them. And as winning over Athena isn’t the best thing to do, Arachne was transformed into a spider. Now she’s just weaving forever. Still better than you Athena.

No wonder they had to have their capital called Athens.

 7.      Ixion

Ixion was a just a pathetic guy until things got better and Zeus had some pity for the guy to the extent of taking him up in Mount Olympus. Shouldn’t have trusted your instincts, Zeus. Because as soon as Ixion was there along with this community, he had a thing for Hera. A bit bigger than just a thing. Zeus was doubting Ixion’s loyalty so he had to be put under a “Zeusian” test. He created a cloud looking just as Hera and left it for Ixion’s fantasies to become real. Not enough weirdness he was actually seduced by a cloud, but the cloud was impregnated with what we know today as a centaur.

 6.      Kronos

Out of all the gods, I truly believe Kronos is the biggest asshole, even topping over Zeus who is his son. But now we actually have an explanation for Zeus messed up life. It’s genetics.

This dude was obsessed with power as much as Zeus was obsessed with getting every women in Greece. However, Kronos was a typical-god freak with anyone who would try to surpass him and his power. For that reason, he just had to kill all his children and end their lives. How he killed his children? He ate them all, except Zeus who was lucky enough. However, I am sure, the whole woman population would have been very grateful if Zeus was another delicious feast for his father.

Don’t forget, Kronos castrated his father. For the same exact reason.

 5.      Apollo

Before we start this story, we shall give a round of applause for Apollo taking the prize for the smartest way to escape an island. Apparently, his only solution was shifting himself into a dolphin. Yes, just as you read it and weird enough, it worked. Escaping 101.

He was left to grow up on an island, which somehow can never leave it and almost just stuck there for the rest of his life alone. Until this plan just clicked in his brain and he decided to embark on an adventure of his own. Because being a dolphin is so badass, he just had to discover his way. However, while on the way he found a ship that was having some hard time in a storm, so as a typical dolphin he jumps in a helps this ship to find somewhere safe. All while being a dolphin. Ehm... Apollo Dolphin, I mean.

 4.      Tantalus

Honestly, this guy was just trying to have some fun and might as well entertain Demeter who was really sad for her kid was kidnapped. And we also may call it gods’ humor, because that was never a lesson for anyone.

He was having a feast for god buddies and fellows. A barbecue actually (Yup, barbecues are a pretty old thing now.) Tantalus, being a funny guy just decided to barbecue his own son and feed him for the guests (Well, maybe meat was a bit expensive for him, or the meat he had saved for this feast was just rotten so he had no other choice.) However, well gods can of course differentiate between human meat and red meat, so he was busted and left to die out of hunger and thirst.

 3.      Hercules

Definitely, not all of this community are assholes and jerks, you get to see a hero every once in a while. Also, while some heroes can have their jerk-moments, Hercules was one of the purest in this chaotic environment. He was always seen as a very strong and brave man who would rescue the people of Greece and help the gods in different missions. And when he died, he was instantly sent to Mount Olympus to live among the gods and goddesses.

The story here tells that there once was a giant called Antaeus who was thought to be immortal while having his feet touching the ground (Perks of having your mother Gaia as the Earth.) The said beast was just killing anyone who would go to challenge him, until Hercules discovered the mystery behind his immortality and it no longer became a mystery. How he killed him? Picked the beast of the ground until he drained the life out of him. Pretty easy.

 2.  Erysichthon

A very rich and greedy man of the name Erysichthon was never really one who fears the gods and pretty sure didn’t get anything of those lessons. Once upon a time, he just cuts pieces of the sacred trees, and may we put more than a million line under the word “sacred”. Of course, the gods had to take an action, and Demeter was the one in chare this time for what this rich guy did. And as creative all them gods were, Erysichthon’s punishment was to live hungry for eternity. He ate everything he had or bought, he almost sold his daughter for food (Lucky he didn’t eat her.)

At the end, he just ate himself to his death.

 1.      Minos

Minos was just another man with no super powers like gods, but he was the king of Crete, which gave some sort of power, of course. And as normal as its getting, and we are acquainted now to the Greeks’ weird mythologies, Minos just had a whole lot of bad deeds and intentions.

He had some help from the King of Megara’s daughter by tricking her, to kill her father. But then, Minos decided that the best way to say thank you is to actually punish her for the crime by drowning the girl.

[ourmrmel]

Mel Feller MPA, MHR, illustrates Building an Accountability Structure in Business

Mel Feller MPA, MHR, illustrates Building an Accountability Structure in Business

 Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching. Mel Feller is an Innovator and Business Leader. Mel Feller currently maintains an office in Texas. Mel is currently an MBA Candidate.

 Building a culture of accountability within an organization is a key element to making a business sustainable over a long period. Not surprisingly, all high-performing organizations are moving toward more empowerment, enlightenment and creating a culture of accountability.

 So what is accountability? To some, it is something you make people do, as in “making people accountable.” However, as long as you think accountability can be purchased, mandated, or motivated, you are trapped in trying to create high accountability in a low-accountability culture.

  So let us consider what accountability is, and how we can create an organizational culture that encourages it.

  By definition, accountability is being answerable or responsible for something. Accountability opens the door to ownership – not necessarily financial ownership, but certainly emotional ownership, where someone acknowledges they are responsible for some aspect of the organization.

  Accountability is not something you “make” people do – it has to be chosen or accepted by people within your organization. People must “buy into” being accountable and responsible. For many, this is a new, unfamiliar way to work. Most importantly: individual purpose and meaning come from assuming responsibility and accepting accountability.

  With accountability comes a measure of discipline. Accountability is the opposite of permissiveness. Holding people accountable is really about the distribution of power and choice. When people have more choice, they are more responsible. When they become more responsible, they can have more freedom. That is what building a culture of accountability is all about.

  So, how do you build a culture of accountability?

First, you stop doing things that undermine accountability—stop overseeing, legislating and micromanaging. Realize the power of reflective questioning, conversations, and collaborations.

Companies that can clearly identify, articulate, and execute their strategic goals are well positioned to be able to create a culture of accountability. In order to effectively achieve these goals, companies must measure and manage actual business performance against these goals in a highly coordinated manner.

   A six-step framework to build a culture of accountability is to:

1. Decide what’s Important (develop an authentic mission, vision, values, strategic position)

 2. Set Goals That Lead (planning that includes measures, targets, projects)

 3. Align Systems (streamline processes and resources so everything supports the goals)

 4. Execute the Plan (each employee’s plans and activities support the goals)

 5. Solve Problems innovatively (get to root causes quicker, make more informed decisions)

 6. Develop Leadership (step back, assess results, develop leadership from within)

 Building a culture of accountability requires not only a framework or a systematic methodology based on proven best practices. It also requires technologies that make the framework practical to use and implement on a daily, weekly, monthly quarterly and annual basis. In addition, it takes an outside coach or strategic advisor to help you along the way to make it “stick” – to make it last. Finally, it takes an organization that is ready and able to accept accountability, the ownership  and the freedom that comes with the new responsibility mindset.

 One thing I have learned (the hard way) from founding a rapidly growing company is without ownership and accountability you literally cannot grow your business. In fact, without employee ownership and accountability, your business is dying.

  Ownership offers the freedom for employees to deliver results. It is about them taking initiative and responsibility for their work. Where there is an opportunity to take initiative or bring ideas forward, it happens. Best of all, employees that rate high on taking ownership think like leaders.

 Accountability is the other side of ownership. It is about following through and delivering on everything you own. True accountability is key, because there is an exponential impact (a detrimental one) to a team when one person cannot make timelines or complete work as expected.

 When a team exhibits both ownership and accountability, a high-trust environment is created, and you will see the makings of a high-performance team.

  Not only does ownership and accountability create higher performance, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management also indicates it results in improved competency, commitment to work, increased employee morale and work satisfaction. It is also known to improve creativity and innovation because employees are more invested in the organization’s future.

 However, according to AMA Enterprise, there is significant lack of accountability on the part of employees. In fact, 21 percent of respondents stated that unaccountable employees make up 30 to 50 percent of their workforce.

 How to Create a Culture of Accountability and Ownership

 Clearly, accountability and ownership are important. So, what can leaders do to create a culture of accountability that influences employees to take responsibility over their work? Here are five ways to instill a culture of accountability:

 Make ownership and accountability a lived value.

 Do not just ask yourself how you can get accountability and ownership in the workplace — make employees live it! Living values and communicating values are very different. I have found that the easiest way to embed these as values in your team is to start with goals and metrics.

 Provide everyone on your team with their own meaningful goals and measurable metrics that align with the company’s. Clear goals drive many important behaviors, including accountability. Without good measurable goals and clear timelines, it is almost impossible to effectively enforce accountability.

   Another important aspect of good goals is how the help define what does not get focus. Often accountability suffers when too many commitments get made. Goals need to be achievable and priorities must always align with these goals. This allows employees to prioritize their work easily, for example, “Which task contributes to my goals?” Objectives and key results (OKRs) allow us to focus on our priorities, create clarity and accountability.

  Draw a box and let the employee own what goes on inside it.

  Similar to commander’s intent, establish expectations by defining what the end goal is and the results you are looking to achieve. Highlight these goals to your employees, without prescribing how to achieve them.

  Demonstrate that you trust employees by allowing them to figure out the course on their own. If you instill trust in them to get it done, you will empower them to succeed and take responsibility over the outcome.

  They will also find the work more rewarding, which contributes to their taking ownership over tasks. Goal-oriented employees are comfortable working autonomously and require little oversight from manager and leaders. This leads us to the next point:

  There is no such thing as half delegating.

 Micromanaging leads to resentment, stifles initiative and makes employees feel like a simple cog in someone else’s wheel. The compulsion for you to micromanage results from a lack of trust in employees, teaching them that they should seek constant guidance and check-in often, even when they feel like they are on track. It is also very difficult to take ownership over someone else’s playbook.

  Give your employees an opportunity to problem-solve on their own rather than doing it for them. Productive employees are high performing because they are proactive about identifying and solving problems.

 Explain why their box even exists in the first place.

 Do your employees understand how their work contributes to the organization’s success? When leaders were asked this question as part of the 2013 study by AMA Enterprise, the results were staggering. More than half of the leaders questioned said that only 49 percent of employees fully understand the extent that their responsibilities contribute to the organization’s success.

  Remember that box you drew for your employee? If you do not connect it to organizational success, an employee does not get a clear picture of the purpose of their job. Communicating how they directly cascade towards the organization’s future success gives employees not only a sense of meaning and impact but also information that will allow them to improve the organization.

  This goes beyond the metrics and outputs and into the “why” of the organization and team.

  Become an active listener and let them make their box better.

  If employees are taking ownership of their work, it is your job to help them do a better job, faster. You become their coach, not their manager.

  Creating a company culture that encourages employees to express themselves and share ideas with you is not easy, but listening is the first step. Listening shows that their opinions matter to the business. Let them propose a plan to you, and work with them, if needed, to make it happen. Active listening also means explaining to the core when something is a “yes,” versus “no,” versus “a not now.”

  Workplace accountability and taking ownership is all about acknowledging what is on the line for your team and using it to motivate employees to achieve their goals. It is a simple, human-based and very effective approach to avoid organizational mistakes and to improve overall performance.

 Accountability and organizational change come through a new set of conversations. You can start having these conversations in your organization. Do not wait - start today!

 Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, is a well-known real estate, business consultant, personal development consultant and speaker, specializing in performance, productivity, and profits. Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching, a real estate and business specific coaching company. His three books for real estate professionals are systems on how to become an exceptional sales performer. His four books in Business and Government Grants are ways to leverage and increase your business Success in both time and money! His book on Personal Development “Lies that Will Sabotage Your Success”. Mel Feller is in Texas.

[nehapatel64]

Devakshi’s Guide to Friendship

Devakshi have one of the most realistic of stories because it progressed from hatred to cordiality and sprung forth from a deep rooted friendship. This friendship is what helped them flourish in their dating days, and the regression of this component is what killed them in the end. Throughout their marriage, Devakshi worked so hard on being husband, wife and DIL, that they forgot how to be friends. Years later, we are again seeing bittersweet cordiality sprout into the beginnings of a friendship. Here are a few lessons Devakshi taught us about friendship followed by an analysis on what they had lost as spouses and are regaining again.

1. Given the right circumstances, even the dearest people who you trust the most can fail you. Not because they started loving you less but because something along the cores of friendship (communication, patience, understanding), started faltering.

2. It’s never too late to apologize or to forgive. Don’t regret the lost time. Make up for it. Forgiveness may take time and won’t be complete immediately, but with baby steps, it can happen.

3. Some people are more prone to forgiveness and less prone to long-lasting anger than others. People need their time and space, but only communication can eventually revive what was lost. In this case, Dev is far more optimistic and eager than Sona for full recovery of the “good old days”. 

4. Mistakes, though some worse than others, are never one-sided. The quicker you can accept this, the easier it will be. 

5. Love is not unconditional- friendship is. It’s friendship that makes you respect a person at all costs and friendship only that gives you the right to kick someone to reality AND help them back up. 

6. Friendship is the foundation of all great relationships. Making friends may come easy for some, but staying friends is a true attestation to love. Never forget to cherish that above anything else. 

“LOVE IS FRIENDSHIP THAT HAS CAUGHT ON FIRE...

     Every love story incorporates a deep friendship, but not all friendship is necessarily romantic. In the last three episodes, we saw Dev’s misunderstanding about Jatin clear up and a bond of friendship reforming between Dev and Sona. Upon seeing Jatin and Sona’s bond, Dev did perceive Jatin as a friendship that had amplified to something more. As much as he tried to believe Sona (and boy did he try to believe her), overhearing two shady conversation and seeing Jatin and Sona together at Devakshi’s favorite date place tipped him over the edge. The first of 3 episodes started with a drunk Dev saying “Ms. Sonakshi Bose. Tum yehi thi. aur yehi ban ke rehna chahti thi”Aur aaj ke baad to Ms. Sonakshi Bose ban ke hi rahogi.” De is implying that Sona was inherently inclined to break her relationship with Dev, and to break relationships in general. In the next second, Dev had a repeat self-realization that he has no right or reason to think she shouldn’t move on or there was something between them left to mend. As expected, Dev at this point decided he is never going to try to win her back, as if he is convincing himself to move on. 

  Jatin was circumstantially dragged into this mess and stayed there as Sona’s guardian and best friend. When he showed up with the police, Dev did a double take , as if he was gauging whether he should be upset that Jatin is helping Sona or thankful that he did so much for his family. To be honest, I thought it would take time for Dev to believe that Jatin and Sona weren’t together. But Sona had proved her trustworthiness at various points before Khatri’s arrest that he was ready to keep and open mind when listening about her and Jatin’s collaboration.

IT IS MUTUAL CONFIDENCE....

     As friends, Devakshi had a confidence in each other’s judgement, strength and kind heartedness. This included things as small as Dev calling Sona about taking sleeping pills or the way he took care of Sona during her accident. In fact, this was one of the biggest reasons they started falling in love with each other. Devakshi’s greatest asset as lovers was their confidence in each other’s love and the unhesitant promise to stay together forever. It wasn’t until after marriage that Dev and Sona stopped talking, understanding and listening. For Dev, explaining his intensity, his past and his family dynamics became an exhaustive task he barely tried to do. Sona, on the other hand, struggled to make Dev understand her intentions as a new married woman of the house and how her marriage to him can’t be separated from her marriage to his family. This became most prominent with the jhula track, where neither Sona understood how fast she was trying to change Dev nor Dev maintained the honesty required of a husband, and it only got worse from there. (This is where Asha aunty and my FAVORITE Dev and Ish hug come into play :) ). With worsening communication came decreased trust. Weakening of trust led to decreased confidence in each other and their promises. Dev and Sona had no doubt, that they really loved each other, even if that was the easiest bitter accusation to make 7 years later. If anything, they were disappointed with themselves and each other that they couldn’t maintain the promises or confidence in each other that had started brewing with their friendship. Seven years later, Dev and Sona started off showing off that they don’t need each other, trust each other, love each other and never did. However, Jatin and Khatri’s secret brought a turning point to both of their psyches that brought them to something resembling friendship. When Khatri asked Sona what Dev was to her, she confidently admitted that they have a relationship of maan, maryada and dosti. Even thought she hadn’t yet confronted a raging Dev since the fight, distance from Dev made the heart grow fonder, and Asha’s words on trusting brought a new epiphany and ray of hope for Sona. She wasn’t ready to love him again but became aware of the advantages of opening up to her friend and trusting him again. 

Sona herself was wondering how she could get Dev to believe and react appropriately to Khatri’s and Jatin’s truth. In order to stop Dev from killing Khatri (as expected from him), Sona started by establishing her trust on him rather than asking him to trust her. “Maine zindagi main tujhse zyada kisi pe barosa nahi kiya”.  The fact that she paused in completing this sentence showed it was something even she hadn’t fully accepted in a long time. But with Asha’s recent emphasis on trust, and Dev’s recent distrust, she subconsciously found the perfect point on which he could believe her. By not telling him how he should feel but rather showing her faith in him, Sona got Dev to calm down. Having Sona accidentally call Ishwari maa during her explanation yet again served a similar purpose. Dev started sensing how Sona had truly accepted his family’s problem as hers and how Sona still feels that emotional connect with the people who he knows had hurt her so much. From that point on, Dev became more prepared to verbalize his guilt and appreciation. Dev saw Sona standing with Khatri and couldn’t even dream that Sona would have come there just for his well being. This made Dev think she was involved in Khatri’s planning, and Jatin showing up could have also ended in something worse. However, all of these small moments collaboratively helped Dev be grateful to Sona and again cleared Dev’s doubt on Jatin’s role. Dev’s helplessness, guilt, fears, faults and regrets started coming out like uncontrollable word vomit post Khatri’s arrest, and he was once again taken aback when he saw Sona TRULY meant it when she said she trusted him. Dev was shocked seeing Sona consoling him and worrying about him, which forced him to recognize that his Sona, his best friend, was again at his side. 

IT IS QUIET UNDERSTANDING...

     A friend will joke with you confide in you and love you. But only a best friend has the patience, generosity and foresight to make you understand something about yourself better than you do and to tell you how they feel without needing to say much at all. In many cases, the body language ends up speaking louder than the words. There were several instances where Sona’s actions were more effective than all her explanations, but I’ll just discuss the best ones that come to mind. 

      As stated before, we saw Dev’s breakdown soon after Khatri’s exit. As soon as Khatri left, Dev assumed that his mom’s crime must be money related, as money was the one thing that the family could have been desperate enough for.  That doesn’t mean that this is all there is to the crime, or that what Dev is assuming is actually true. Now coming to Dev’s assumption that Ishwari robbed a family. Immediately after it dawned on him that the crime could have been a robbery, Dev started describing the desperate situations of his old life. Dev understands the plight of a poor person, and can see Ishwari’s act from that angle. Furthermore, it is an initial instinct to be in shock and denial when the mother you worshipped for so long may have potentially been involved in crime. Dev never once claimed this crime as okay. Rather, he emphasized just that he wishes he could have done something to prevent it. Dev has always been selfless. Even when he has hurt people, it’s because he didn’t know how to find a permanent balance between all the people he loved. In trying not to break hearts, he broke several. It’s this trait that makes Dev reprimand his 10-year-old self for not being the man of the house and made him confess to Sonakshi that he was unable to fulfill whatever little she had demanded of him. Sonakshi tried to reason with Dev regarding all his issues, but Dev only wiped his tears once she grabbed his arm and said, “It’s fine. It’s ok.” All of Sona’s previous words, though true, sounded like justifications to what Dev considered his faults. But when she grabbed his arm and said nothing but “It’s ok”, the cloud seemed to have lifted for now. It was as if Dev didn’t need someone telling him where he was right but a best friend who would patiently stand by him even when he was wrong. 

     Dev started outwardly expressing this comfort by subtly holding her hands a few time. Eventually, his emotions took over, and Dev couldn’t resist wrapping Sona in a bear hug. He thanked her not only for helping with Khatri but for coming back as the best friend he has needed for years. Golu was the closest to this kind of support Dev has ever had, but neither he nor Sona, could calm his heart’s turmoil like Sona did. Sona, on the other hand, only half hugged Dev. She was not fully ready to allow Dev into her bubble but knew how much he needed that at the time.

      We see Dev’s second breakdown when he thought about how unaware he was about the inner guilt that Ishwari had suffered through by herself. Ishwari’s secret lends to why she was so overprotective of her children, and potentially to why she had such a paranoia of Dev leaving her or no longer loving her. Dev is now realizing that this aspect of Ishwari’s behavior runs far deeper than basic insecurity and is feeling guilty that this was something he could never tune into or relieve. When Sona walks into the room, she immediately recognizes that Dev needed to release all of his emotions and for now just needed a shoulder to cry on. Therefore, she initially sat there with a hand on Dev’s shoulder while he continued his conversation with himself. We see Sona’s squeezes Dev’s shoulder even harder when he says he was a bad husband, as if to non-verbally assure him that neither was his love meaningless nor was her hatred for him real. Sona served as his silent shoulder to lean on until Dev had run out of things to say.

     Devakshi had their first light-hearted conversation as friends after the anniversary celebrations. Here we saw how Dev approached Sonakshi so carefully and started opening up upon seeing her smiling phase and receptive mood. Dev became so hopeful that he leaned in for a hug when Sona was only willing to to give a handshake. While this did lend to a humorous moment, we also saw the most understanding exchange between the friends, which happened just by picking up on each other’s indirect cues. When Sona silently offered her hand, Dev immediately admitted that it will take time for them to open up, but they will start to understand each other more with time. When Dev was unable to let go of her hand, Sona picked up that he didn’t actually want her to go and actually gave him a few chances to hold her back. 

     This ability to understand what the other needed or wanted better than he/she could was something Devakshi possessed prior to their marriage and started dying in their relationship. The scene that immediately came to my mind was when Dev quite literally asked Sona to understand his heart’s desires, which was something he knew even he couldn’t do. In comparison to this, Devakhi’s marriage showed increasing disconnect between the two in which even things said directly went insanely misunderstood or ignored. 

SHARNG AND FORGIVING ...

Devakshi have again reached a point where they take time to reflect on things that happen in their lives. They have reached a point where they can at least share their feelings, if not forget about them, and show each other a mirror where it’s most required. I love how Sona was able to compare Dev to Ishwari without a single ounce of bitterness. Instead, Sona took it as a moment to show Dev that he is doing to himself exactly what he regrets Ishwari doing: keeping all her pain contained and releasing it in an unwise way when he can’t take it anymore. To this extent, we can say Sona has forgiven Dev. She is not ready to forget and make the same mistakes again, but she is able to talk about the people who hurt her the most in a way that will help them the most. She was always able to identify Dev’s flaws, but after 7 years is attempting to at least understand what she can’t fully justify. 

     Even Dev, who was keen on calling Sona the obodro that left him, had huge moments of self reflection he was able to confess. When Devakshi were at the farmhouse, he admitted he was the reason that Sona had become an obodhro, and that she used to be the girl who laughed at his stupidest jokes. 

We see in the conversation after the anniversary, that Devakshi aren’t just opening up about their problems but actually taking time to enjoy each other’s company. Sonakshi is sitting here laughing at Dev’s stupid joke when, not even hours before, he was regretting that he changed her from the woman who laughed at his stupidest jokes to an obodro. Dev is almost more hopeful for full recovery of "the good old days”, and Sona is more hesitant. He doesn’t take long to ease into making jokes and friendly conversation once she welcomingly smiles and gives him the green light. By the end of the conversation, he’s even prepared for a friendly hug that she, albeit politely, declines. 

     It seemed throughout their entire marriage, Devakshi grabbed at the small happy moments they could to flow through the whirlwind called life. Devakshi stopped appreciating each other’s presence and stopped reflecting on those happier moments. Positive vibes became a needle in the haystack that they struggled to find and had no moment to cherish before the next problem arose. 

IT IS LOYALTY THROUGH GOOD AND BAD TIMES...

     Trust and loyalty are two components that require all the previously mentioned characteristics. When the understanding goes down, the confidence in each other decreases as well. When the confidence in someone decreases, it’s hard to trust them, and lack of trust makes loyalty all the more difficult. We aren’t talking just about a dying love or an extramarital affair. There was nothing in Devakshi’s relationship suggesting they loved each other less or really had plans to move on. Even though the circumstances for the break up had been building for eons, the intention was there to be with each other through everything. Devakshi stopped trusting each other’s ability to be there with each other against all odds. That’s why by the end, when Vicky put the blame on Dev for the prenup and losing Bose house, Sona believed it. As much as Dev had tried to balance his life, he had failed to do it and failed to realize that he had failed. At this point in time, Sona had reached the maximum point of her tolerance and was willing to believe that Dev could do anything of any caliber (even hurt her) for his family. Dev, who was still ether oblivious or in subconscious denial of his faults or his family’s faults, trusted his log-changing, superhero woman to be by his side through all difficulties. He didn’t think there was any problem so big that they, especially she, couldn’t handle. 

Eight years later, Dev is standing outside of the farmhouse admitting that he had failed as a husband and couldn’t provide Sona with what little support required through good and bad times. He is questioning why she is still there standing by his side when he couldn’t do the same and realizing on surface level, where he went wrong in their relationship and where he has gone wrong since they reunited years later. On the other hand, Sona voices that “Ek problem kya aa gayi, aur maine haar mani.” I’m sure many of us raised our eyebrows at how Sona reduced their marriage to one problem. However, the idea of that statement was that she was recognizing from what angle Dev would say that she left him too. Both had made promises they couldn’t keep. The main difference is, while Dev’s was a gradual downfall, Sona’s tolerance started declining exponentially. The Dev who had broken down his hard shell for this woman became so soft, he couldn’t handle the necessary struggles. The woman who found a best friend in her enemy and considered him her first and last love even when she was losing him to Natasha, couldn’t stand up to the promise she made once she had him. Now, Sona is able to be that person again, and Dev is able to recognize and appreciate that. 

At the end of this anniversary day, Dev is laying awake in bed, worrying about all of his new revelations. Conversely, Sona is unable to sleep while thinking specifically about him. She was there to hold his hand and wipe his tears. In some time, we should be seeing Dev do the same. 

IT SETTLES FOR LESS THAN PERFECTION AND MAKES ALLOWANCES FOR HUMAN WEAKNESSES.”

Some of my favorite scenes of all time have been when Dev or Sona are sitting below and against the other. These scenes are always full of impromptu calming motions such as holding hands, caressing the face and playing with fingers. Furthermore, seeing one kneel before the other amplifies the helplessness of the tormented person and portrays how they are with each other through their ugliest cries and weakest moments. Sona loved Dev even more when he was able to show her his weak side. Dev loved Sona even more for accepting it wholeheartedly. The first time we saw this was during Neha’s wedding. As a boyfriend, Dev had plans to keep his pain within and not worry his girlfriend, But he immediately broke down when she reminded him that she will always be a friend first. This was followed by a very appreciative and intimate “thank you” by Dev the next morning. In this instance, and in Dev ki Deewangi, Dev poured out his woes as non-stop tears. In both instances, Sona worried for him from within but stayed strong and practical to (quite literally) help him get back up on his feet.

We never saw such effective release of emotion through Devakshi’s entire marriage. When they said something, they fought about it. When they had a breakdown, it was more accusatory and usually resulted in the other person denying it or the hurt person forgetting it. The most recent example was just prior to Devkashi’s break up, we saw Sona’s least effective breakthrough of all time, She yelled her heart out, only for him to divert from the main point. They forgot it all in the heat of a romantic night, and it only became worse when Sona jumped up with joy at the thought of seeing Ishwari the morning after. 

Today, Sona is kneeling before Dev. We have seen in the past that the one having the roughest breakdown is the one usually on the ground. But this time, Sona came and kneeled down in front of him. That’s when I realized it’s not the person having the breakdown who is always on the ground. It’s the person who is ready to have all the emotions (whoever’s emotions they may be) come pouring out. Dev was stressed, but stoic. Sona showed up to hold his hand, comfort him and make him accept what was still bothering him. With her help, Dev was able to reason through the fact that Ishari’s past may have tarnished the hard work Dev put into this family but does not define it. By talking to Sona, he realized it’s time to stop blaming himself for not being able to prevent Ishwari’s guilt, and that the only way she would be able to absolve from any sins or guilt is the face the problem up front. As Sona always used to, she provoked Dev to release his deepest worries and used this knowledge to strengthen him rather than judge him or his family. 

[nathanbuhl-blog]

“Aint Nobody Got Time!”

Being a teacher or administrator is tough. If you haven’t experienced it, there really is no way to truly understand the challenges faced everyday. A few years ago, I was at a conference and I overheard a group of educators “venting” their frustrations about how much was on their plates. As they were talking, the common phrase kept coming up...over and over and over again...”Aint Nobody Got Time for That!” While the grammar isn’t exactly the best, the point being made was very clear--the teachers felt overwhelmed, pressured, and stressed about what they were “supposed” to do, or for that matter, what they perceived they were “supposed” to do. 

The reality of it is there has always been and there always will be feelings of overload as educators grapple with the various challenges and expectations they are dealt with each school year. So with that being said, I don’t have a “silver bullet” that will make this go away, but here are a couple of tips that I hope you might consider and offer encouragement to you. 

1. Stay focused on the “Why”

Why are you an educator? For what reason did you become a teacher in the first place? I’m under the assumption that it wasn’t to be really good at filling out paperwork, completing beautiful lesson plans, having flawless parent teacher conferences, attending what seems to be at times meaningless meetings, and becoming the wizard at data analysis. On the contrary, I would assume that the main reason you entered the profession was because you enjoy working with children, you desired a career that would make a difference, and you knew that teaching was something that you were “called” to do. With all of the additional tasks and responsibilities that consume much of your time, thinking about the “Why” brings you back to why you entered the profession in the first place. 

2. Control what you can Control.

It is easy to think of all the barriers you are dealt with everyday. Students come to you from all sorts of backgrounds, demographics, and walks of life. In public education, we take them all and welcome them with open arms. There are numerous external factors that are simply outside of your control--policies, initiatives, programs, and circumstances that can easily frustrate you and overwhelm you. Think about and act upon those factors that you can control, those areas where you can make a difference and have an impact. Being prepared, delivering high quality instruction, communicating with stakeholders, working collaboratively with your colleagues, and fostering a positive and nurturing learning environment are all under your sphere of control. 

3. Stick Together.

Get out of silos and work in circles with your colleagues. The profession is simply too difficult to do on your own. Be deliberate in meeting consistently with other teachers sharing best practices, problem-solving together, offering each other encouragement, and building each other up. Simple words of encouragement and kindness go a long ways--be intentional about sticking together! 

4. Less Sometimes is More.

It amazes me how many initiatives and programs we have in schools. One week we are focused on technology and the next week we are talking about differentiation. We attend one meeting on Curriculum Standards and the next meeting on student discipline procedures. Write down a list of all the initiatives and/or strategies you and your team are focused on. From the list, pull out 2-3 strategies that serve as anchor strategies that you will commit to doing. More often then not, you will find that working on two or three and sticking with them will elevate all of the other areas where improvement is expected. For example, if you are working on differentiating instruction, by default you will be looking at standards, knowing student needs (data), using technology to address student needs, and structure lessons that are highly engaging and impactful which consequently will lower behavioral issues in the classroom. If you looked at all of these separately, you can see how quickly you can feel overwhelmed. Less sometimes is more! 

5. Find Balance. 

Take care of yourself. Period. Choose to go home at a decent time. Choose to spend time with your family. Choose to carve out space for a hobby or passion. Prioritize and plan increments of rest and relaxation. A rested you is a better you. We so easily get bogged down into the misconception that rest is not necessary and that doing so will be detrimental to my career. I know this is easier said than done, but proactively reflecting and planning ways to take care of yourself are critical to eliminating stress and feeling overwhelmed.

So..when you find yourself saying, “Aint Nobody Got Time for That!”, I hope that at least one of these tips will help you along the way. 

This is a blog I will be sharing on a weekly basis. I plan to run through the alphabet (A-Z) with the hope of providing educators encouragement, motivation, inspiration, and practical tips to help you on your journey. 

Respectfully,

Nathan Buhl, Ed.D.  Chief Academic Officer, FocalPointK12, Inc.

FocalPointK12 enables a scientific approach to improve student academic achievement. We empower school districts with tools that enable research based practices leveraging technology to help support 21st Century Learning environments. To learn more, please visit us at www.focalpointk12.com or feel free to email me at nathan.buhl@focalpointk12.com 

[riichardwilson]

How To Create A Compelling Landing Page

About The Author

Paul is a leader in conversion rate optimisation and user experience design thinking. He has over 25 years experience working with clients such as Doctors … More about Paul …

Creating a compelling landing page involves a combination of clear focus, persuasive copy, considered design and relentless testing. Without all four your page will fail.

If you want more leads or increased sales, you need compelling landing pages. According to Hubspot, those companies with over 30 landing pages, will generate seven times more leads than those with fewer than 10.

A landing page is a standalone webpage created to support a specific marketing agency campaign or targeting a particular search term. They are where users “land” when they click a link in search results, email or an ad.

Typically they encourage users to complete a specific call to action such as making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter or getting in touch.

So how do we create landing pages that encourage users to act, without resorting to manipulative techniques or dark patterns? The answer lies in a combination of a clear focus, compelling copy, considered design and relentless testing.

It is tempting to leap straight into creating your landing page. However, before we begin, we must have a clear focus, and that starts with defining our value proposition.

How do we encourage clicks without shady tricks? Meet Click, our new practical handbook on how to increase conversion and drive sales without alienating people along the way. By Paul Boag. May 2020.

Jump to the details ↬

Define Your Value Proposition

When a user arrives on your landing page, you have less than eight seconds to grab their attention. That means the first step in creating any compelling landing page is to understand what it is that the page will offer and how you can express that compellingly and concisely. That is typically known as a value proposition.

Start by writing a single sentence that communicates what it is you are offering to the user. This sentence should consist of two parts; what problem you are solving or benefit you provide, and how you achieve that.

For example, Skype’s value proposition is:

“Skype makes it easy to stay in touch. Talk. Chat. Collaborate.”

The first part outlines what benefit it provides, while the second explains how it delivers.

Skype’s value proposition outlines both the benefit they offer and how they deliver that. (Large preview)

However, be careful. It is easy for your value proposition to become meaningless. For example, talking about “best-in-class” or “friendly and approachable” is the kind of thing any company could, and does, say.

To avoid becoming too generic, ask yourself whether the opposite of what you have written would still be a valid option. For example, if your value statement reads:

“We offer high-quality products at an affordable price.”

The opposite would be ridiculous:

“We offer terrible quality products at an astronomic markup.”

So effectively, your value statement is stating the obvious!

However, by contrast, if you wrote:

“We offer handcrafted products for a discerning buyer.”

The opposite would be equally valid:

“We offer factory-produced products for the mass market.”

Not that your value proposition isn’t just limited to this one sentence. Make a list of all the benefits you provide to customers and then any features of your offering that allow you to deliver those benefits.

Pipedrive does a good job at backing up its benefits with a list of features. (Large preview)

With that done, you can turn your attention to your calls to action.

Identify Your Calls To Action

Every landing page needs obvious calls to action. That means you need to ask yourself, what is it you want users to do?

To keep your landing page focused and improve your chance of users acting, resist the urge to add too many calls to action. Asking people to follow you on social media, for example, is just going to distract them from completing your primary call to action.

That said, it is often wise to have a secondary call to action. If you have done your job right, your landing page will have convinced many users to take action. Nevertheless, others will not be ready.

Instead of just giving up on these users, it is often worth offering them a secondary call to action, that requires less of a commitment.

For example, if your primary call to action is to get in touch or make a purchase, your secondary call to action could ask people to signup for a newsletter.

To avoid this secondary call to action distracting, ensure it is not too prominent. That might mean showing it lower on the page or even as an exit-intent overlay. That said, be careful. Some audiences react extremely negatively to popups. They should, therefore, be used sparingly.

Although popups can be annoying, there is a case for showing a secondary call to action on exit-intent. (Large preview)

Finally, consider ways of incentivising people to complete the call to action. Perhaps you could offer a free ebook if people subscribe to your mailing list or a discount if they buy via your landing page. Sometimes, something this small can be a nudge that encourages people to take action now rather than put it off to another day.

Of course, a gift is not going to make any difference if other elements put people off. To address that you need to understand what the issues are and find a way to deal with them. That is known as objection handling.

Understand User Objections

What are the reasons that might stop somebody acting on your landing page? Is there a delivery charge or might they be worried about privacy? Do you seem expensive compared to the competition?

If you cannot easily write a list of objections that users might have then you need to do some user research to find out.

Don’t worry that it will be time consuming or expensive. A one-question survey on your landing page is all you need. If people go to leave your site without acting, you can ask them a single question:

“If you decided not to act today, it would be useful to know why.”

You can then show them a list of possible options for them to choose between or they can add their own.

A simple one question survey can uncover why users are not taking action. (Large preview)

Once you understand the reasons why people are not acting, you can then start to address them.

Ideally, that means eradicating the obstacle, such as offering free delivery or money-back guarantee. But failing that, you need to reassure people the best you can in your landing page copy. It is always better to address an objection than it is to ignore it.

For example, McDonald’s knows that many people claim their chicken comes from the less favorable parts of a bird. Instead of ignoring these concerns, they address them directly on their site.

McDonald’s are not afraid to address users concerns directly. (Large preview)

There is, however, one more consideration to take into account when dealing with user’s concerns. You need to make sure you address them at the right time and in the right way.

An excellent example of this is privacy and security. People don’t worry about these things when reading a privacy policy. They worry about it as they are about to submit their email address. That is why it is so important to address data protection and privacy while users are completing a form. Users are not going to search your site for the answers; they will simply assume the worst.

Closely associating reassurances regarding privacy with a newsletter sign up form often increases conversion. (Large preview)

With our offering laid out and objections addressed, we have done the hard work of appealing to people’s logical minds. Now it is time to give them that positive feeling.

Shape Your Personality

Much of our decision to act happens on a subconscious level. In fact, according to research published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology, people form an initial impression about a site in 50 milliseconds. They go on to say that due to the halo effect these initial impressions last.

In other words, the branding and aesthetics of a site shape our impressions of the actual offering, despite there being no causal relationship between the two.

So what does all of this mean in practical terms? For a start, it goes to show how much aesthetics matter. However, more importantly, it means we need a clear picture of what first impressions we wish to convey and then be confident that our design does precisely that.

Decide On What You Want To Convey

A good starting point is to create a shortlist of words that convey the impressions you want users to have upon seeing your site.

There will be some words that will be universal. For example, you will probably want your landing page to convey “trustworthiness”. However, many of the terms will depend on your audience and offering.

Once you have your list of words and the designer has produced a design that they hope convey those words, the next step is to test.

Testing Your Design Aesthetics

If the designer has produced multiple approaches, then a simple preference test works well. For example, you can ask the user which of your designs do they consider to be more “approachable”.

A simple preference test is often the best way to find the best design aesthetic. (Large preview)

When there is only one design, you can run a semantic differential survey, in which you ask users to rate a website against your keywords. For example, is a design more “approachable” or “unapproachable”?

A survey can be used to ascertain whether a design is creating the right feeling in users. (Large preview)

Of course, aesthetics is not the only consideration when it comes to design. You also need to make sure your visual hierarchy is right too.

Create Your Visual Hierarchy

Establishing a strong visual hierarchy for your landing page will ensure that users see the right information at the right time and won’t be distracted by irrelevant or secondary content.

Answer The Right Questions At The Right Time

The first step is to ensure you are presenting the right information to the user are the right point on the page. To do that you need to understand the thought process that goes through people’s minds as they view your landing page.

Of course, we cannot be sure of that, as everybody is different. Even usability testing can only give us an indication. However, we can make an educated generalization.

Typically, a user subconsciously asks a series of questions when viewing a landing page. These are, in order:

What is this page offering? (Value Proposition)

How will that help me? (Benefits)

How does the offering work? (Features)

Why should I trust this page? (Social Proof)

What should I do next? (Call to Action)

It is, therefore, essential that any visual hierarchy for a page reflects the order a user asks these questions, at least to some degree.

For example, a typical landing page hierarchy might look something like this:

A landing page should combine your value proposition, benefits, features and social proof. (Large preview)

Getting the flow of your content on the page right is only half of the battle when it comes to creating a strong visual hierarchy. The second challenge is ensuring that users see the most critical screen elements.

We can draw attention to essential screen elements in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to:

Positioning

Colour

Size

Imagery

Animation

Negative space

However, probably the most effective technique is to minimize other distractions on a page.

Simplify Your Interface

To achieve this, consider adopting a three-step approach, where you systematically review every element on your landing page from the logo to the privacy policy link.

For each element, you will ask three questions in turn.

Have a robust process for simplifying your landing page. (Large preview)

Start by asking could I remove this element? If I removed it, what would the consequences be? Would those consequences be more damaging than the increase in cognitive load that additional screen elements create? If not, you are better removing it.

If you feel that the content is too valuable to the user or aids in conversion, the next question you need to ask is could I hide this element? Could I put it on a sub-page, under a tab or in an accordion?

Vibecast hide secondary content under an accordion. (Large preview)

This approach works well for secondary content, that although useful to some users who want more detail, is not something the majority of people will be interested in.

Finally, if you cannot hide content, because all users must know it, ask can I shrink this element? For example, people may well want to know about your return policy, but that isn’t as important as the features or benefits your product offers. It, therefore, makes sense to visually deemphasis it, so it is less prominent.

That simple approach together with other design techniques should enable you to create a page with a strong visual hierarchy that draws the user’s attention to the most crucial screen elements, such as calls to action. However, to be sure you should test.

Test Your Visual Hierarchy

Fortunately, there is a quick and inexpensive way of testing whether users see the essential screen elements. It is called a five-second test.

As the name implies, this test involves showing the users your design for five-seconds before taking it away. You then ask the user to recall what elements they remember.

Usability Hub makes running five-second tests easy. (Large preview)

By paying attention to what the user remembers and the order in which they recall elements, you will gain a better understanding of how effective your page hierarchy is in drawing attention to items that matter the most.

Indeed, when it comes to designing a great landing page, testing will be crucial, even once you launch.

Monitor, Iterate And Test

No team will create the optimal landing page on their first attempt. There is always room for improvement, which is why post-launch testing is such an essential part of shaping the most effective landing page possible.

Once you launch your new landing page, you must monitor it carefully using a session recorder like Hotjar or Fullstory. These tools allow you to watch user behaviour on your page, that should suggest ideas for improvements.

You can test smaller improvements to copy, imagery and color using A/B testing, while more significant changes can be prototyped and tested through usability testing.

Whatever approach you adopt, ultimately it will be a cycle of monitoring, iterating and testing that will ensure the long-term success of any landing page.

(ra, il)

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/how-to-create-a-compelling-landing-page/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/616077142747463680

[laurelkrugerr]

How To Create A Compelling Landing Page

About The Author

Paul is a leader in conversion rate optimisation and user experience design thinking. He has over 25 years experience working with clients such as Doctors … More about Paul …

Creating a compelling landing page involves a combination of clear focus, persuasive copy, considered design and relentless testing. Without all four your page will fail.

If you want more leads or increased sales, you need compelling landing pages. According to Hubspot, those companies with over 30 landing pages, will generate seven times more leads than those with fewer than 10.

A landing page is a standalone webpage created to support a specific marketing agency campaign or targeting a particular search term. They are where users “land” when they click a link in search results, email or an ad.

Typically they encourage users to complete a specific call to action such as making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter or getting in touch.

So how do we create landing pages that encourage users to act, without resorting to manipulative techniques or dark patterns? The answer lies in a combination of a clear focus, compelling copy, considered design and relentless testing.

It is tempting to leap straight into creating your landing page. However, before we begin, we must have a clear focus, and that starts with defining our value proposition.

How do we encourage clicks without shady tricks? Meet Click, our new practical handbook on how to increase conversion and drive sales without alienating people along the way. By Paul Boag. May 2020.

Jump to the details ↬

Define Your Value Proposition

When a user arrives on your landing page, you have less than eight seconds to grab their attention. That means the first step in creating any compelling landing page is to understand what it is that the page will offer and how you can express that compellingly and concisely. That is typically known as a value proposition.

Start by writing a single sentence that communicates what it is you are offering to the user. This sentence should consist of two parts; what problem you are solving or benefit you provide, and how you achieve that.

For example, Skype’s value proposition is:

“Skype makes it easy to stay in touch. Talk. Chat. Collaborate.”

The first part outlines what benefit it provides, while the second explains how it delivers.

Skype’s value proposition outlines both the benefit they offer and how they deliver that. (Large preview)

However, be careful. It is easy for your value proposition to become meaningless. For example, talking about “best-in-class” or “friendly and approachable” is the kind of thing any company could, and does, say.

To avoid becoming too generic, ask yourself whether the opposite of what you have written would still be a valid option. For example, if your value statement reads:

“We offer high-quality products at an affordable price.”

The opposite would be ridiculous:

“We offer terrible quality products at an astronomic markup.”

So effectively, your value statement is stating the obvious!

However, by contrast, if you wrote:

“We offer handcrafted products for a discerning buyer.”

The opposite would be equally valid:

“We offer factory-produced products for the mass market.”

Not that your value proposition isn’t just limited to this one sentence. Make a list of all the benefits you provide to customers and then any features of your offering that allow you to deliver those benefits.

Pipedrive does a good job at backing up its benefits with a list of features. (Large preview)

With that done, you can turn your attention to your calls to action.

Identify Your Calls To Action

Every landing page needs obvious calls to action. That means you need to ask yourself, what is it you want users to do?

To keep your landing page focused and improve your chance of users acting, resist the urge to add too many calls to action. Asking people to follow you on social media, for example, is just going to distract them from completing your primary call to action.

That said, it is often wise to have a secondary call to action. If you have done your job right, your landing page will have convinced many users to take action. Nevertheless, others will not be ready.

Instead of just giving up on these users, it is often worth offering them a secondary call to action, that requires less of a commitment.

For example, if your primary call to action is to get in touch or make a purchase, your secondary call to action could ask people to signup for a newsletter.

To avoid this secondary call to action distracting, ensure it is not too prominent. That might mean showing it lower on the page or even as an exit-intent overlay. That said, be careful. Some audiences react extremely negatively to popups. They should, therefore, be used sparingly.

Although popups can be annoying, there is a case for showing a secondary call to action on exit-intent. (Large preview)

Finally, consider ways of incentivising people to complete the call to action. Perhaps you could offer a free ebook if people subscribe to your mailing list or a discount if they buy via your landing page. Sometimes, something this small can be a nudge that encourages people to take action now rather than put it off to another day.

Of course, a gift is not going to make any difference if other elements put people off. To address that you need to understand what the issues are and find a way to deal with them. That is known as objection handling.

Understand User Objections

What are the reasons that might stop somebody acting on your landing page? Is there a delivery charge or might they be worried about privacy? Do you seem expensive compared to the competition?

If you cannot easily write a list of objections that users might have then you need to do some user research to find out.

Don’t worry that it will be time consuming or expensive. A one-question survey on your landing page is all you need. If people go to leave your site without acting, you can ask them a single question:

“If you decided not to act today, it would be useful to know why.”

You can then show them a list of possible options for them to choose between or they can add their own.

A simple one question survey can uncover why users are not taking action. (Large preview)

Once you understand the reasons why people are not acting, you can then start to address them.

Ideally, that means eradicating the obstacle, such as offering free delivery or money-back guarantee. But failing that, you need to reassure people the best you can in your landing page copy. It is always better to address an objection than it is to ignore it.

For example, McDonald’s knows that many people claim their chicken comes from the less favorable parts of a bird. Instead of ignoring these concerns, they address them directly on their site.

McDonald’s are not afraid to address users concerns directly. (Large preview)

There is, however, one more consideration to take into account when dealing with user’s concerns. You need to make sure you address them at the right time and in the right way.

An excellent example of this is privacy and security. People don’t worry about these things when reading a privacy policy. They worry about it as they are about to submit their email address. That is why it is so important to address data protection and privacy while users are completing a form. Users are not going to search your site for the answers; they will simply assume the worst.

Closely associating reassurances regarding privacy with a newsletter sign up form often increases conversion. (Large preview)

With our offering laid out and objections addressed, we have done the hard work of appealing to people’s logical minds. Now it is time to give them that positive feeling.

Shape Your Personality

Much of our decision to act happens on a subconscious level. In fact, according to research published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology, people form an initial impression about a site in 50 milliseconds. They go on to say that due to the halo effect these initial impressions last.

In other words, the branding and aesthetics of a site shape our impressions of the actual offering, despite there being no causal relationship between the two.

So what does all of this mean in practical terms? For a start, it goes to show how much aesthetics matter. However, more importantly, it means we need a clear picture of what first impressions we wish to convey and then be confident that our design does precisely that.

Decide On What You Want To Convey

A good starting point is to create a shortlist of words that convey the impressions you want users to have upon seeing your site.

There will be some words that will be universal. For example, you will probably want your landing page to convey “trustworthiness”. However, many of the terms will depend on your audience and offering.

Once you have your list of words and the designer has produced a design that they hope convey those words, the next step is to test.

Testing Your Design Aesthetics

If the designer has produced multiple approaches, then a simple preference test works well. For example, you can ask the user which of your designs do they consider to be more “approachable”.

A simple preference test is often the best way to find the best design aesthetic. (Large preview)

When there is only one design, you can run a semantic differential survey, in which you ask users to rate a website against your keywords. For example, is a design more “approachable” or “unapproachable”?

A survey can be used to ascertain whether a design is creating the right feeling in users. (Large preview)

Of course, aesthetics is not the only consideration when it comes to design. You also need to make sure your visual hierarchy is right too.

Create Your Visual Hierarchy

Establishing a strong visual hierarchy for your landing page will ensure that users see the right information at the right time and won’t be distracted by irrelevant or secondary content.

Answer The Right Questions At The Right Time

The first step is to ensure you are presenting the right information to the user are the right point on the page. To do that you need to understand the thought process that goes through people’s minds as they view your landing page.

Of course, we cannot be sure of that, as everybody is different. Even usability testing can only give us an indication. However, we can make an educated generalization.

Typically, a user subconsciously asks a series of questions when viewing a landing page. These are, in order:

What is this page offering? (Value Proposition)

How will that help me? (Benefits)

How does the offering work? (Features)

Why should I trust this page? (Social Proof)

What should I do next? (Call to Action)

It is, therefore, essential that any visual hierarchy for a page reflects the order a user asks these questions, at least to some degree.

For example, a typical landing page hierarchy might look something like this:

A landing page should combine your value proposition, benefits, features and social proof. (Large preview)

Getting the flow of your content on the page right is only half of the battle when it comes to creating a strong visual hierarchy. The second challenge is ensuring that users see the most critical screen elements.

We can draw attention to essential screen elements in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to:

Positioning

Colour

Size

Imagery

Animation

Negative space

However, probably the most effective technique is to minimize other distractions on a page.

Simplify Your Interface

To achieve this, consider adopting a three-step approach, where you systematically review every element on your landing page from the logo to the privacy policy link.

For each element, you will ask three questions in turn.

Have a robust process for simplifying your landing page. (Large preview)

Start by asking could I remove this element? If I removed it, what would the consequences be? Would those consequences be more damaging than the increase in cognitive load that additional screen elements create? If not, you are better removing it.

If you feel that the content is too valuable to the user or aids in conversion, the next question you need to ask is could I hide this element? Could I put it on a sub-page, under a tab or in an accordion?

Vibecast hide secondary content under an accordion. (Large preview)

This approach works well for secondary content, that although useful to some users who want more detail, is not something the majority of people will be interested in.

Finally, if you cannot hide content, because all users must know it, ask can I shrink this element? For example, people may well want to know about your return policy, but that isn’t as important as the features or benefits your product offers. It, therefore, makes sense to visually deemphasis it, so it is less prominent.

That simple approach together with other design techniques should enable you to create a page with a strong visual hierarchy that draws the user’s attention to the most crucial screen elements, such as calls to action. However, to be sure you should test.

Test Your Visual Hierarchy

Fortunately, there is a quick and inexpensive way of testing whether users see the essential screen elements. It is called a five-second test.

As the name implies, this test involves showing the users your design for five-seconds before taking it away. You then ask the user to recall what elements they remember.

Usability Hub makes running five-second tests easy. (Large preview)

By paying attention to what the user remembers and the order in which they recall elements, you will gain a better understanding of how effective your page hierarchy is in drawing attention to items that matter the most.

Indeed, when it comes to designing a great landing page, testing will be crucial, even once you launch.

Monitor, Iterate And Test

No team will create the optimal landing page on their first attempt. There is always room for improvement, which is why post-launch testing is such an essential part of shaping the most effective landing page possible.

Once you launch your new landing page, you must monitor it carefully using a session recorder like Hotjar or Fullstory. These tools allow you to watch user behaviour on your page, that should suggest ideas for improvements.

You can test smaller improvements to copy, imagery and color using A/B testing, while more significant changes can be prototyped and tested through usability testing.

Whatever approach you adopt, ultimately it will be a cycle of monitoring, iterating and testing that will ensure the long-term success of any landing page.

(ra, il)

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/how-to-create-a-compelling-landing-page/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-to-create-compelling-landing-page.html

[scpie]

How To Create A Compelling Landing Page

About The Author

Paul is a leader in conversion rate optimisation and user experience design thinking. He has over 25 years experience working with clients such as Doctors … More about Paul …

Creating a compelling landing page involves a combination of clear focus, persuasive copy, considered design and relentless testing. Without all four your page will fail.

If you want more leads or increased sales, you need compelling landing pages. According to Hubspot, those companies with over 30 landing pages, will generate seven times more leads than those with fewer than 10.

A landing page is a standalone webpage created to support a specific marketing agency campaign or targeting a particular search term. They are where users “land” when they click a link in search results, email or an ad.

Typically they encourage users to complete a specific call to action such as making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter or getting in touch.

So how do we create landing pages that encourage users to act, without resorting to manipulative techniques or dark patterns? The answer lies in a combination of a clear focus, compelling copy, considered design and relentless testing.

It is tempting to leap straight into creating your landing page. However, before we begin, we must have a clear focus, and that starts with defining our value proposition.

How do we encourage clicks without shady tricks? Meet Click, our new practical handbook on how to increase conversion and drive sales without alienating people along the way. By Paul Boag. May 2020.

Jump to the details ↬

Define Your Value Proposition

When a user arrives on your landing page, you have less than eight seconds to grab their attention. That means the first step in creating any compelling landing page is to understand what it is that the page will offer and how you can express that compellingly and concisely. That is typically known as a value proposition.

Start by writing a single sentence that communicates what it is you are offering to the user. This sentence should consist of two parts; what problem you are solving or benefit you provide, and how you achieve that.

For example, Skype’s value proposition is:

“Skype makes it easy to stay in touch. Talk. Chat. Collaborate.”

The first part outlines what benefit it provides, while the second explains how it delivers.

Skype’s value proposition outlines both the benefit they offer and how they deliver that. (Large preview)

However, be careful. It is easy for your value proposition to become meaningless. For example, talking about “best-in-class” or “friendly and approachable” is the kind of thing any company could, and does, say.

To avoid becoming too generic, ask yourself whether the opposite of what you have written would still be a valid option. For example, if your value statement reads:

“We offer high-quality products at an affordable price.”

The opposite would be ridiculous:

“We offer terrible quality products at an astronomic markup.”

So effectively, your value statement is stating the obvious!

However, by contrast, if you wrote:

“We offer handcrafted products for a discerning buyer.”

The opposite would be equally valid:

“We offer factory-produced products for the mass market.”

Not that your value proposition isn’t just limited to this one sentence. Make a list of all the benefits you provide to customers and then any features of your offering that allow you to deliver those benefits.

Pipedrive does a good job at backing up its benefits with a list of features. (Large preview)

With that done, you can turn your attention to your calls to action.

Identify Your Calls To Action

Every landing page needs obvious calls to action. That means you need to ask yourself, what is it you want users to do?

To keep your landing page focused and improve your chance of users acting, resist the urge to add too many calls to action. Asking people to follow you on social media, for example, is just going to distract them from completing your primary call to action.

That said, it is often wise to have a secondary call to action. If you have done your job right, your landing page will have convinced many users to take action. Nevertheless, others will not be ready.

Instead of just giving up on these users, it is often worth offering them a secondary call to action, that requires less of a commitment.

For example, if your primary call to action is to get in touch or make a purchase, your secondary call to action could ask people to signup for a newsletter.

To avoid this secondary call to action distracting, ensure it is not too prominent. That might mean showing it lower on the page or even as an exit-intent overlay. That said, be careful. Some audiences react extremely negatively to popups. They should, therefore, be used sparingly.

Although popups can be annoying, there is a case for showing a secondary call to action on exit-intent. (Large preview)

Finally, consider ways of incentivising people to complete the call to action. Perhaps you could offer a free ebook if people subscribe to your mailing list or a discount if they buy via your landing page. Sometimes, something this small can be a nudge that encourages people to take action now rather than put it off to another day.

Of course, a gift is not going to make any difference if other elements put people off. To address that you need to understand what the issues are and find a way to deal with them. That is known as objection handling.

Understand User Objections

What are the reasons that might stop somebody acting on your landing page? Is there a delivery charge or might they be worried about privacy? Do you seem expensive compared to the competition?

If you cannot easily write a list of objections that users might have then you need to do some user research to find out.

Don’t worry that it will be time consuming or expensive. A one-question survey on your landing page is all you need. If people go to leave your site without acting, you can ask them a single question:

“If you decided not to act today, it would be useful to know why.”

You can then show them a list of possible options for them to choose between or they can add their own.

A simple one question survey can uncover why users are not taking action. (Large preview)

Once you understand the reasons why people are not acting, you can then start to address them.

Ideally, that means eradicating the obstacle, such as offering free delivery or money-back guarantee. But failing that, you need to reassure people the best you can in your landing page copy. It is always better to address an objection than it is to ignore it.

For example, McDonald’s knows that many people claim their chicken comes from the less favorable parts of a bird. Instead of ignoring these concerns, they address them directly on their site.

McDonald’s are not afraid to address users concerns directly. (Large preview)

There is, however, one more consideration to take into account when dealing with user’s concerns. You need to make sure you address them at the right time and in the right way.

An excellent example of this is privacy and security. People don’t worry about these things when reading a privacy policy. They worry about it as they are about to submit their email address. That is why it is so important to address data protection and privacy while users are completing a form. Users are not going to search your site for the answers; they will simply assume the worst.

Closely associating reassurances regarding privacy with a newsletter sign up form often increases conversion. (Large preview)

With our offering laid out and objections addressed, we have done the hard work of appealing to people’s logical minds. Now it is time to give them that positive feeling.

Shape Your Personality

Much of our decision to act happens on a subconscious level. In fact, according to research published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology, people form an initial impression about a site in 50 milliseconds. They go on to say that due to the halo effect these initial impressions last.

In other words, the branding and aesthetics of a site shape our impressions of the actual offering, despite there being no causal relationship between the two.

So what does all of this mean in practical terms? For a start, it goes to show how much aesthetics matter. However, more importantly, it means we need a clear picture of what first impressions we wish to convey and then be confident that our design does precisely that.

Decide On What You Want To Convey

A good starting point is to create a shortlist of words that convey the impressions you want users to have upon seeing your site.

There will be some words that will be universal. For example, you will probably want your landing page to convey “trustworthiness”. However, many of the terms will depend on your audience and offering.

Once you have your list of words and the designer has produced a design that they hope convey those words, the next step is to test.

Testing Your Design Aesthetics

If the designer has produced multiple approaches, then a simple preference test works well. For example, you can ask the user which of your designs do they consider to be more “approachable”.

A simple preference test is often the best way to find the best design aesthetic. (Large preview)

When there is only one design, you can run a semantic differential survey, in which you ask users to rate a website against your keywords. For example, is a design more “approachable” or “unapproachable”?

A survey can be used to ascertain whether a design is creating the right feeling in users. (Large preview)

Of course, aesthetics is not the only consideration when it comes to design. You also need to make sure your visual hierarchy is right too.

Create Your Visual Hierarchy

Establishing a strong visual hierarchy for your landing page will ensure that users see the right information at the right time and won’t be distracted by irrelevant or secondary content.

Answer The Right Questions At The Right Time

The first step is to ensure you are presenting the right information to the user are the right point on the page. To do that you need to understand the thought process that goes through people’s minds as they view your landing page.

Of course, we cannot be sure of that, as everybody is different. Even usability testing can only give us an indication. However, we can make an educated generalization.

Typically, a user subconsciously asks a series of questions when viewing a landing page. These are, in order:

What is this page offering? (Value Proposition)

How will that help me? (Benefits)

How does the offering work? (Features)

Why should I trust this page? (Social Proof)

What should I do next? (Call to Action)

It is, therefore, essential that any visual hierarchy for a page reflects the order a user asks these questions, at least to some degree.

For example, a typical landing page hierarchy might look something like this:

A landing page should combine your value proposition, benefits, features and social proof. (Large preview)

Getting the flow of your content on the page right is only half of the battle when it comes to creating a strong visual hierarchy. The second challenge is ensuring that users see the most critical screen elements.

We can draw attention to essential screen elements in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to:

Positioning

Colour

Size

Imagery

Animation

Negative space

However, probably the most effective technique is to minimize other distractions on a page.

Simplify Your Interface

To achieve this, consider adopting a three-step approach, where you systematically review every element on your landing page from the logo to the privacy policy link.

For each element, you will ask three questions in turn.

Have a robust process for simplifying your landing page. (Large preview)

Start by asking could I remove this element? If I removed it, what would the consequences be? Would those consequences be more damaging than the increase in cognitive load that additional screen elements create? If not, you are better removing it.

If you feel that the content is too valuable to the user or aids in conversion, the next question you need to ask is could I hide this element? Could I put it on a sub-page, under a tab or in an accordion?

Vibecast hide secondary content under an accordion. (Large preview)

This approach works well for secondary content, that although useful to some users who want more detail, is not something the majority of people will be interested in.

Finally, if you cannot hide content, because all users must know it, ask can I shrink this element? For example, people may well want to know about your return policy, but that isn’t as important as the features or benefits your product offers. It, therefore, makes sense to visually deemphasis it, so it is less prominent.

That simple approach together with other design techniques should enable you to create a page with a strong visual hierarchy that draws the user’s attention to the most crucial screen elements, such as calls to action. However, to be sure you should test.

Test Your Visual Hierarchy

Fortunately, there is a quick and inexpensive way of testing whether users see the essential screen elements. It is called a five-second test.

As the name implies, this test involves showing the users your design for five-seconds before taking it away. You then ask the user to recall what elements they remember.

Usability Hub makes running five-second tests easy. (Large preview)

By paying attention to what the user remembers and the order in which they recall elements, you will gain a better understanding of how effective your page hierarchy is in drawing attention to items that matter the most.

Indeed, when it comes to designing a great landing page, testing will be crucial, even once you launch.

Monitor, Iterate And Test

No team will create the optimal landing page on their first attempt. There is always room for improvement, which is why post-launch testing is such an essential part of shaping the most effective landing page possible.

Once you launch your new landing page, you must monitor it carefully using a session recorder like Hotjar or Fullstory. These tools allow you to watch user behaviour on your page, that should suggest ideas for improvements.

You can test smaller improvements to copy, imagery and color using A/B testing, while more significant changes can be prototyped and tested through usability testing.

Whatever approach you adopt, ultimately it will be a cycle of monitoring, iterating and testing that will ensure the long-term success of any landing page.

(ra, il)

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/how-to-create-a-compelling-landing-page/

[talabib]

The Secrets Of True Leadership In Today’s World.

The world is changing more rapidly than ever. This means two things for leadership. First, it means that leaders are needed more than ever. Sure, in times of stability we can survive with just managers. But when facing the unknown, we need strong leaders to guide us through uncertainty. Second, a changing world means that leaders themselves need to stay agile.

Today’s secret to enduring success as a leader is the ability to be nimble and agile, and to leadershift: to make leadership changes that will boost not just the leader’s growth, but that of his or her organization.

This post will take you through the personal leadershifts  that make positive impact on organizations and on the world.

Great leaders bring out the best in everyone, rather than seeking to shine themselves.

Too many would-be leaders think mostly of themselves. Focused on their own goals and aspirations, they don’t realize that being a leader is not about what you can do for yourself; it’s about what you can do for others.

To be a true leader, you need to make the mind-set shift from me to we.

A great way to think of this is in terms of an orchestra. Many would-be leaders are stuck in the mind-set of the soloist – the elite performer whom everyone else serves. True leaders behave more like the conductor, focusing on how they can help everyone else produce a great result. After all, as South Korean cellist-turned-conductor Han-Na Chang says, conducting offers the opportunity to draw limitless potential from an entire group of people.

Key to making the shift from soloist to conductor is ensuring that you truly understand the people around you. One evening in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Malcolm was speaking on leadership, he was invited to watch two hundred people dance the tango, in perfect rhythm and harmony.

His host explained that the secret to the exquisite perfection on show was for each dance pair’s leader truly to understand his partner; to be able to lead effectively, you need to know what it’s like to be led. Well, the trust, cooperation and mutual understanding required to make the tango look beautiful are just as important in the world of work.

So just like any good conductor or tango lead, you should be focused on helping others to shine. You can do this by making sure you have the right attitude toward your people and your relationship to them. Center your leadership around their needs. Listen to them first, before you expect them to listen to you. Work out what your people do well, and compliment them on it. If you set out a big picture for your organization, make sure they are in it. And don’t just tell them your vision – invite them to help you achieve it.

These actions are simple. But they’ll only work if they’re backed with an intentionality that says, “My focus is to help others shine.” And none of this is to say that you shouldn’t focus on your own growth. You just need to do that in the right way. Let’s take a look at what that right way is.

Developing a growth mind-set is a better approach than focusing on hitting simple goals.

When Malcolm was a young church leader in a small town in Ohio, he set himself a goal of making his church the largest in the state. He doubled the size of his congregation in a single year. And by 1975, his church was recognized as the fastest-growing in Ohio.

But after celebrating, he started to reflect on his achievements. And what he realized was that the personal growth he had experienced along the way – his experience and understanding of leadership – was much more important than hitting his numerical goal of growing church membership. That led to another key leadershift: from a goal mindset to a growth mind-set.

A goal mind-set emphasizes achievement and status, whereas a growth mind-set values development and stretching oneself. A goal mind-set prioritizes hitting a target and asking how long it will it take to get there, whereas growth mind-sets simply ask, “How far can I take this?”

If you do adopt a growth mind-set, you may be surprised by the results you achieve. When Malcolm was younger, he met Elmer Towns, a Liberty University professor and someone he admired. He discovered that Towns had sold 110,000 books, and decided that selling that many copies of his own books would be his goal.

But in time, his shift from goals to growth occurred, and he focused instead on simply becoming a better writer, and not worrying about sales. Years later, his publisher presented him with a crystal trophy engraved with the words “one million books sold.” It turned out that by focusing on growth, he had achieved far more than he would ever have set for himself as a goal.

The key to embracing a growth mind-set is to have a teachable spirit. That means not just saying you want to learn, but taking practical steps to do so. Think of it like gardening: just wanting your garden to grow into something beautiful won’t achieve anything. You need to plan, prepare and work at cultivating it. So each day, recognize that opportunities to learn and grow are there, whatever you are doing and whoever you are with. Stay curious, and be intentional about learning.

And make sure other people with a growth mind-set surround you. Elmer Towns, who became a mentor to Malcolm, taught him something he called the hot-poker principle. Likening people with a growth mind-set to fire, he’d say that if you can keep your poker near the fire, it stays hot. Take it away, and after a while, it grows cold. Stay close to the fire.

Great leaders don’t simply climb up the ladder; through mentoring, they build ladders for others to climb.

You probably know one or two supposed leaders who are self-focused. The question at the forefront of their minds is, “How high up the ladder can I climb?” True leaders, however, make the shift from climbing up the ladder themselves to thinking about how they can build ladders for others.

Now, it’s certainly true that climbing the ladder successfully yourself is a prerequisite if you want to help others do the same. A good rule of thumb is to aim to be in the top ten percent of your chosen field. That’s the magic zone in which you’ll stand apart from the rest. Get to that top ten percent, and you can safely assume that you have a lot to offer others.

And that’s the best way to look at your success – as a great resource to use to help others. As Kevin Myers, leader of 12Stone, a Wesleyan church based in the US state of Georgia, says, true leaders want more for their people than they want from them.

So how can you build those ladders for others to climb? Well, if you’ve hit that magic top ten percent, then think about mentoring.

The first thing to do is decide whom to mentor. Think carefully. Time is limited, so if you can only invest in one or two people, they’d better be the right ones. To ensure you choose wisely, ask yourself a few key questions.

First, are these people just hopeful, or are they truly hungry for knowledge and learning? There are plenty of people in the world who hope for better things, but only a few who are hungry for it, who don’t simply say, “There should be a way,” but rather, “I’ll find a way.” Invest in these people.

Second, ask yourself whether your candidate has true leadership potential. That’s because a leader will influence many other people. So investing in shaping their future has a wider impact than if you mentored a follower.

Once you’ve selected your mentee, what should you offer that person? Well, any good mentor offers bite-sized truths distilled from the complexity of life, and options and considerations for the future.

Connecting with people achieves better results than simply directing them.

Malcolm witnessed the benefits of leadershifting from directing people to connecting with them when he visited the locker room of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team, coached by Pat Summitt, a legendarily successful coach.

When the players came in at half time, instead of talking to Summitt straight away, they huddled around a whiteboard on which were written three questions: What did we do right? What did we do wrong? and What should we change? Only after the team had discussed and agreed upon its answers did Summitt come and talk to them. She heard them out, reflected on their answers and made a few observations before sending them out onto the court for the second half of the game.

Too many leaders lead based on assumptions. Instead of assuming where her players were mentally and simply telling them what to do, Summit preferred truly to understand them by asking questions and listening to them.

Summit had made a leadershift to leadership based on connection, not direction – leadership that embraced collaboration rather than authority, and listening rather than talking. If you want to take the same step, you need to do the same. So learn to listen well.

Malcom spends a great deal of time in meetings, and if you are a leader, you probably do, too. So try out what Malcolm does. Every time you meet with someone, take out a pad to write notes. And at the top of that pad, write a big L, standing for “Listen.” That will act as a reminder that when you meet with people as a leader, your job is less to talk than to listen.

If you really want to improve your listening, tackle it with your growth mind-set. Be brave enough to ask your colleagues – or friends or family members – how good a listener you are, on a one-to-ten scale. Pay attention to their answers, and act on them. And ask them to let you know any time they feel you aren’t listening to them in the future.

Leading with connection is better for everybody. It leads to better relationships, better communication and a two-way flow of ideas. Embrace this leadershift, and you’ll soon start to see results flow.

Making the shift to valuing diversity will bring greater value and richness to your leadership and life.

When Malcolm was a young man, in Circleville, Ohio, there was absolutely nothing diverse about his environment. His community was almost completely white. The leaders in his protestant church were white men. They looked alike, and they acted alike. As a young pastor, conformity to tradition was drilled into him.

But over time, he came to realize that the most important lessons and insights often come from outside your own group. He learned this from his first discussions with a Catholic priest, who reinforced his faith, despite coming from a different denomination; and, later in life, from his move to Atlanta, a city rich in African-American culture and far removed from Circleville.

Similarly, teams are more effective and valuable when they embrace diversity, because diversity brings insight and perspective that can fill the knowledge gap. As a leader, you can’t know everything. You rely on your team to fill in those gaps, and it can do so most effectively when it brings different perspectives to the table.

If you need convincing, why not look to some of history’s great leaders? Abraham Lincoln built his cabinet from a very diverse group for that time. Its members were sworn political rivals, not allies. But the tough demands of the civil war required the skills of the best thinkers and diversity of perspective, not homogenous group thinking, if the Union was to be a success. Or look to Winston Churchill, Great Britain’s masterful wartime leader, who brought the leader of the opposition, Clement Attlee, into his cabinet and making Attlee instrumental in strategy meetings in his underground London bunker.

If you’d like to bring more diversity into your life, first take a critical look at your friendship and professional circles. If you are like most Americans, they likely reflect your age, social background and skin color. Cheryl Moses, founder of Urban MediaMakers, an organization in Atlanta dedicated to promoting diversity in the media-arts industry, was so struck by reading a study that stated that 75 percent of white Americans had no non-white friends that she decided to host an event called “Come Meet a Black Person,” focused on starting more diverse conversations and connections.

So if looking at your friends and contacts is a little too much like looking in the mirror, make an effort to get to know and to learn from people of different races, ages and political persuasions from you. You may be surprised by how refreshing it is to be surrounded by people with new, interesting and different ways of thinking from yours.

Embracing moral authority rather than positional authority is the pathway to great leadership.

Leadership is influence. But where does a leader’s influence come from?

Well, in his first weeks as pastor of a small church in Indiana, fresh out of college, Malcolm learned that influence doesn’t come from the position you hold. By the rules of the church, he was its leader. But as his first meeting of the church’s board kicked off, a respected farmer and church member, Claude, took command. Claude asked Malcolm to open the meeting with a prayer, and Malcolm then said almost nothing until Claude politely asked him for a closing prayer at the end of the meeting.

It was a tough, early lesson that titles do not equate to leadership. So Malcolm started thinking about what gave Claude influence. He wasn’t particularly rich, well-educated or impressive in any obvious way. But he had moral authority as a good, honest, fair and hardworking man who had lived these values with consistency for decades. Claude would never have called himself a leader, but he was. Every inch.

But what are the qualities inherent in moral authority? Well, integrity – the ability to align your actions with your words and live your values consistently – is important. Integrity makes you dependable and trustworthy – followable, in other words – in the eyes of your team because they know that you will do what you say you will, and that your actions are rooted in strong moral values. When we look at a moral hero like the late Nelson Mandela, we see someone we can rely on to behave in a way that is in line with his values, time and time again.

Also important is courage. That’s because acting with courage allows not just you but those around you to achieve their full potential as well.

You probably know the biblical story of the Israelite David and his defeat of the Philistine giant Goliath. What you may not know is that while David stepped out to meet the giant, the rest of the army of Israel, including its king, was hiding in fear. But David’s heroic courage inspired his fellow Israelites to find their own. With the giant slain, they stepped out of their fear and defeated the Philistines.

Combine courage with integrity, and you’ll be a leader people will be happy to follow, whatever the destination.

The best lives have meaning, so embrace the leadershift from career to calling.

According to a famous proverb, in the Middle Ages, a passerby came across three craftsmen at work and paused to ask them what they were doing. The first said that he was laying stones, the second that he was building a wall. The third? He replied, with a sense of pride, that he was creating a magnificent cathedral.

Some people do a job. Others have careers. And still, others are lucky enough to have found their callings in life. The members of this last group are the lucky ones, who have found something greater than themselves to pursue. As Presbyterian author and minister Frederick Buechner wrote in his 1973 book Wishful Thinking, they have found a place where their deep gladness intersects with one of the world’s deep needs.  

Wouldn’t you too like to discover a calling and a richer way forward in life, with a clear reason and purpose for living? Well, there’s no reason why you can’t. If you understand what a calling is, you will be well-placed to find your own.

The first thing to know about a calling is that it matches who you are. No one ever got called to something not suited to them. So ask yourself: Is there one thing that you could do for hours on end, that you would happily do for the rest of your life, and that can make a positive difference to others? If so, that might just be your calling.

The second thing is that your calling will be something you are passionate about. Malcolm was a fan of the advice of Harold Thurman, the famous African-American philosopher and civil rights leader. Thurman advised people not to ask what the world needs, but to ask what makes them come alive. Because what the world needs is people who are truly alive.

But remember that a calling isn’t just about you. The significance of a life dominated by a calling, and not just a career or a job, comes from giving, thinking and serving beyond yourself.

Live without a calling, and you are likely to feel a nagging anxiety that your life has not achieved its true meaning. Find it, and everything changes. Nothing else in life is as satisfying. Why do you think so many celebrities champion causes? They are pursuing the richness of life that can only come from a calling. Make the leadershift from career to calling, and a fulfilled life lies ahead of you.

The best leaders change and adapt. They leadershift – that is, they make leadership changes that boost both their own and their organization’s growth. They focus not just on directing but on connecting with their teams, and they pursue not just short-term goals and career moves, but deep personal growth, moral authority and their true calling in life.

 Action Plan: File away everything you learn. To maintain your personal growth and learning, file away whatever you learn. The same goes for quotations. Do the same, and you’ll always have access to the knowledge you’ve acquired and easily be able to reinforce your learning.

[cameronwjones]

Event Budgeting: The 2019 Guide for Event Marketers

Is your event budget setting you up for success? In this guide we'll look at tips, best practices and examples for creating a reliable event marketing budget in 2019 and beyond.

The many moving parts of a live event strategy are bound together by the event budget. Given that an event's financial foundation is directly related to the event outcome, creating a thorough and realistic event budget is a key ingredient to the recipe for event success.

In fact data from the 2019 Event Marketing: Benchmarks and Trends report shows that most businesses are spending nearly a quarter of their marketing budgets on live events. Meanwhile, the most successful businesses are spending 1.7x the average marketing budget on events. 

However, the data also shows that approval of leadership (and consequently the overall budget for events) is contingent on being able to prove event ROI. With growing budgets comes a growing need to properly allocate and intelligently spend each dollar.

In this guide you'll learn the steps you need to take an event budget. Along the way, you'll encounter common pitfalls, best practices, advice from event experts and budgeting templates.

How to Approach an Event Budgeting Strategy

Before diving into the components of the event budget and getting neck-deep in vendor research, certain best practices should be kept in mind. If you solidify a mindset that is composed of the following tips, your event budgeting process will be much smoother and streamlined than if you did not.

1. Establish Your Goals

The main purpose of an event budget should not be to solely keep tabs on spending. Rather, the purpose should be to help the organizer properly allocate funds to the event elements that are of most value.

By stating how much you will spend on each component, the budget becomes a reflection of what parts of the event are most important to you. For example, the event marketing manager at ZoomInfo makes sure she allocates her budget based on the most important pieces that will lead to event success.

“Your event budget is a direct reflection of your event vision and what it is you want to achieve. Because the Growth Acceleration Summit is a conference focusing on the impact of aligning marketing and sales, we wanted to make sure to secure a venue that would facilitate communication and collaboration. For that reason, finding the perfect venue was a big part of our budget.”       

- Morgan Santapaola, Zoominfo, Event Marketing Manager

2. Use Historical Data

In the case that you’ve executed an event marketing strategy before, make sure to utilize all previous data and templates that either you or a previous team member have used. Doing so will help save a lot of time and help inform decisions you will have to make during the budget planning process. Let’s say that you’ve recently joined the events team of a company that is putting together their 4th annual digital marketing summit. Before diving into your own research, you’ll want to ask other members on the team for resources and research they had used for the previous three events.

Having this information on file will make the budgeting process much simpler and quicker as you will already have the right people to reach out to, especially if the partnership worked well for previous events.

It may be easy to get caught up in the upcoming event and become obsessed with finding the perfect deal for each event element, but doing so may lead to lot of time and energy wasted. Rely on previous research and data to make things simpler for everyone involved.

3. Pay Attention to Detail

When it comes to an event budget, there is no such thing as being too detailed. Every piece of information relevant to that particular budget item should be included in a “description” section within the budget plan. This will help you make decisions further down the line as and will also be a boon to future event planners who refer to your budget plan.

For example, if you are looking to purchase event swag to hand out to attendees, be detailed with each item. If one of the items being ordered are T-shirts, specify how many of each size are being ordered and cost per shirt. Have a description section for any additional notes such as arrival date or design specifications. It would also be helpful to include a screenshot of the T-shirt so you can visualize the end product. The more details, the better.

4. Over-communicate with Stakeholders

When it comes to financial planning, all relevant stakeholders should always be on the same page. Internally, this means communicating key budget information with the team members who are in charge of financial oversight of the event. For example, if there’s been a budget cut on venue expenses and the person in charge of venue sourcing is unaware, you may end up securing a space you can’t afford.

Similarly when dealing with external communication, you’ll want to be overly communicative and crystal clear with all relevant event vendors. Let’s say that during the early stages of the buying process, you and the venue owner discussed a certain price but after a few more discussions, you’re about to sign the dotted line and you see the price rose by 15%.

Assuming there were no ill intentions on the vendor’s part, there were definitely details that were overlooked or not properly communicated. To avoid surprises like these, be transparent and upfront every step of the way. In other words, over-communicate.

5. Stay Aware of the Latest Event Trends

Effective budgeting doesn’t only consist of finding the best deals. It also means knowing what to spend money on. The best way to properly allocate your funds is to be aware of event industry trends and understand what will be good investments for your event overall. Similarly, being knowledgeable of event trends will let you know which solutions are no longer as effective as they were in the past.

For example, if you are attending a tradeshow as an exhibitor, you might be considering to hire an onsite entertainer such as a magician. However, if the tradeshow is heavily focused on technology (which many are), then a magician might seem a bit past the times.

A better use of your budget may be to invest in a virtual reality headset that allow people to experience a scenario that relates to your product. By having a good sense of what is gaining traction in the industry and what has become outdated,  you’ll end up having a much smarter and effective event budget.

  Capturing the proper mindset before diving into the budget planning process is just as important as the budget itself. Clearly state your objectives and be disciplined in how you approach the process. Doing so will save you much time, energy, and headache down the line.

Event Budget Expenses

There are plenty of ways disassemble the elements of an event budget. However you wish to do so depends on your personal preference and the flow of your planning process. For most cases, you’ll find the following breakdown to be similar across budget plans. Here’s a basic breakdown of the most important expenses of an event budget.

Onsite Expenses

The majority of your budget will most likely consist of onsite expenditures. After all, an event is about the live experience so you will want to invest as much that is necessary to ensure a memorable a rewarding experience. The following items will be the main elements of your onsite spending.

1. Venue 

For larger events, the venue will incur the largest cost from the entire budget. Because this will be such a large spend, you will want to be carry out all budgeting best practices for this process.

First, make sure that the venue aligns with your overarching event goals. If the objective is to facilitate as much networking and creative collaboration as possible, book a venue that provides ample space and a natural flowing walkway for attendees to easily converse with one another.

When it comes to the actual reaching out process, use the information you have on file. If there are venues you’ve worked with or considered working with in the past, use those contacts as a starting point.

Once the negotiations are underway, this is when you will want to gather as many details as much as possible. Make sure to overcommunicate your specific needs, your goals for the event, and the amount of support you’ll want from the venue which may be onsite staff and catering. Because this will be a larger expenditure, be sure to have multiple venues in the running.

Having options to choose from will give you a better idea of what you ultimately want as well as provide leverage when negotiating with each vendor. Choosing a venue is an important decision so make sure to allocate enough time and funds to the process.

To learn more about perfecting the venue search process, read the ebook below. 

  2. Speakers

The speakers will also be a very important and significant part of the event budget. This is an area that will require a high willingness to spend because having a strong speaking panel will be a main way to attract attendees. In many ways your speakers will be the “face” of the event as you will use their personal brands to elevate your own event brand.

But also make sure to choose speakers who align with your event vision and will add an interesting angle to your event content. If your conference is focusing on the future of smartphones, it would make more sense to book a senior engineer from Apple as opposed to a social media thought leader. Though the latter may be more well known, choosing an Apple engineer would align more closely to the event content and actually offer value to attendees.

 3. Staffing Costs

One expense that can sneak up on you on the day of the event is the cost of onsite event staffing. The team that will help you with registration, directing attendees to their relevant rooms, and greeting them upon arrival will prove to be a vital part of your event experience. Thus, you will want to keep them happy and energized for the duration of the event.

Meal costs, travel plans, and accommodations should be things to consider for your event staff. If it is communicated beforehand that these costs will be covered, you will want to include them on your budget sheet as they can easily add up to a significant sum.

4. Signage and Event Branding

Creating a memorable event experience requires you to bring your event brand to life. Discuss and strategize what this might look like and make sure to set aside sufficient funds to purchase enough visual elements that will make for an amazing onsite experience.

Below you’ll see how HubSpot uses ample branding all across their annual INBOUND event. From large banners to massive 3D signs, the INBOUND conference becomes its own universe due to the strong event brand throughout. Having a vision like this in mind when planning the event budget will help you better understand what is needed and how much should be dedicated to creating the event brand.

Source: b2bnn.com

5. Unique Attendee Experiences

With interactive technology becoming more advanced each year, having specific areas dedicated to enhanced attendee experiences will make your event more memorable. The rise of artificial intelligence and virtual/augmented reality makes it easy for attendees to engage in onsite activities that expand their imagination. Look into technologies that align with your event content and will be a unique experience for attendees.

Companies like VNTANA are transforming how consumers are engaging with products. Their patented interactive hologram technology allows people to see themselves next to or inside a physical product they are demoing. VNTANA is currently building a hologram car configurator that will allow customers to actually see themselves inside their dream car.

Source: vntana.com

Technology like these are what will take the attendee experience to the next level. Make sure to do research on the gadgets and devices that would align with your specific event content and have the potential to be the “wow” factor at the event.

6. Emergency Fund

Though this part may not only be relevant to onsite needs, it is definitely a fund you will want to set aside early on in the planning process. Event organizing is an unpredictable journey and there will surely be situations in which you will need to tap into your emergency fund.

Perhaps a keynote speaker cancels a week before the event and you need to find an equally impressive replacement. Chances are the new speaker will cost more than the original speaker because he or she is being asked to present on such short notice. Having an emergency fund for scenarios like these will ease the chaos of the situation and allow you to still have enough focus and energy to execute a successful event.

Event Technology Expenses

If you plan on investing in events, than being able to prove ROI is critical. Having a well-integrated event technology stack can make proving ROI simpler and less painful.

Here's we'll review several event technology solutions to consider when building out your event stack.

  1. Event Success Platform - An event success platform that fits your event goals will likely be the best investment you can make with your event budget. This is because the right management software will be the gift that keeps on giving. The amount of organization, streamlining, and insights that you will gain from this technology will help inform decisions for not only the event you are currently planning but for all future event strategies as well. 

From event registration to contact management, choosing the right event management software will be a foundational piece to your event planning process as well as the attendee experience. So make sure to allocate sufficient funds and decision-making time for the particular part of your budget. It could make all the difference. 

For more information on how to choose the right platform for you, check out the Event Software Buyers Guide.

2. Event App - An equally important aspect of the event planning process and the overall attendee experience will be your event app. Often times your event management software provider will have an event app that they offer as part of the package. You’ll want to allocate sufficient funds for the event app as it will be a great source of data from the backend as well as a pivotal portion of the attendee experience. 

Learn more about choosing an event app in the Event App Guide.

3. Integrations - While some software solutions will be able to integrate with others right out of the box, others may require additional integration solutions. These solutions could be something like an open API (where a tech team connects to solutions together), Webhooks (a similar process), or an integration platform as a service (like Zapier or Mulesoft).

You can learn more about software integrations in this guide.

Promotional Expenses

Once the event technology has been chosen, another significant chunk of the budget should be dedicated to your overall marketing strategy for the event. Of course there are countless channels and methods that you could put your money towards, but here are a few popular event promotional strategies that event organizers take.

1. Paid Search - If you anticipate that many potential attendees will be using online search to find events similar to yours, consider dedicating some of your promotional budget towards SEO and paid search. The most popular platform used to paid search strategy is Google AdWords.

To give a brief breakdown of its functionality, Google AdWords allows advertisers to bid on certain keywords that they wish to rank for. For example, if you are organizing a low scale startup event in San Francisco, below are a few keywords you may want to bid for.

Based on information such as monthly search volume and overall demand for that keyword, you’ll want to decide on a price that keeps you competitive among others who are also bidding for that keyword. Also keep in mind that for Google AdWords, you will only be charged when someone clicks on your link. Take these factors into consideration as you strategize how much of your budget you should allocate to paid search.

2. Public Relations - Investing in more traditional forms of event promotion could be a worthwhile investment. In today’s digital age, public relations largely consists of having your event information be published on all relevant outlets. This is where investing in PR can come in handy. A PR team or agency will have both the knowledge and the network to make sure that your event information and all articles surrounding your event will be published on the relevant outlets and publications that will maximize event exposure.

Instead of using an agent, you can also do the PR yourself by being a part of a PR network or using specific platform that is designed to help you with PR. Below is a list of PR networks you can explore. Note that each comes with different price tiers and analytics functions:

Business Wire

Marketwired

PR Web

PR Newswire

SB Wire

1888PressReleases

3. Paid Social Media - Another popular form of digital advertising, putting money behind social media campaigns could prove to be a great use of your event budget. All major social media platforms have an ad offering and thus the main task would be to come up with the right balance of funds for each platform to ensure a wide yet still targeted reach. 

As illustrated in the Guide to Facebook Event Promotion, the platform has one of the more robust advertising platforms out there—giving advertisers the ability to achieve massive reach with minimal effort. Ads can be served based on specific demographic information such as age and geographical location. They can also be served to those who have visited your event website which is a form of retargeting.

Ads can also be served on a “connections” basis which means the ads will be seen by those whose friends have already registered for your event. This is just a brief summary of what Facebook ads are capable of. For more tips on this form of event promotion and overall best practices, you can take a look at what the social media experts had to say on the topic.

Event Budgeting Template

Putting together the key elements of an event budget, below you can find a simple event budgeting template that provides an overview of the main expenses.

Category Description Contact Estimated Cost Actual Cost  Onsite  Venue 5 day rental hello@venue.com $50,000 $45,000 Event Staffing 12 member team - all expenses paid team@staff.com $6,000 $5,400 Speakers 1 speaking panel presentation@speakers.com $10,000 $12,000 Promotional    Paid Search  Google AdWords  help@keywordconsultant.com  $6,000 $5,000  PR  3rd Party Agency agent@PRagency.com   $5,000 $4,000 

Of course you can add more columns as you see fit. This example is The above template can be organized into a spreadsheet either through Google Sheets or Excel. Wherever you choose to store your budget plan, make sure that this data is made available to only those who need this information as you’ll want to keep finances as confidential as possible.  

Balancing Event Budget and Event ROI

Now that we’ve discussed the basics of event budgeting and the standard costs that go into the budget plan, it would be worthwhile to explain the relationship between event budget and event ROI. The main reason for an event budget is not only to keep tabs on your spending. Understanding the bigger picture, organizing a comprehensive event budget is a crucial step in properly calculating your return on investment.

By definition, everything that is spent within your event budget is an investment. You are hoping that these expenditures will lead to favorable business outcomes such as greater pipeline value, increased sales opportunities, or, more simply, a profit from event ticket sales. Similar to how we discussed the importance of articulating your event goals, establishing event ROI is a related process. Outlining the event ROI is simply the act of making your goals more measurable.

For more in-depth information on event ROI, read through the Event ROI and Marketing Attribution Guide. Combining this guide on event budgeting with the event ROI guide will help paint the bigger picture that encapsulates event success.

Key Takeaways for Mastering Your Event Budget

A detailed, organized, and comprehensive event budget will help you allocate your funds intelligently as well as provide the necessary data to calculate accurate event ROI. 

Set specific event goals. Your goals will dictate the scope of your event and its budget. Will you be hosting an intimate dinner for VIPs or a large-scale user conference? Each have unique needs.

Do your research. Look at historical data, consult with your peers and colleagues, speak to different vendors. This will help you accurately gauge your event budget and will make you a more informed buyer.

Map it all out. Your event budget will need to cover venue procurement, promotional campaigns, food, staff, tables, chairs, event technology, lighting, swag...the list goes on. Make a detailed map of your needs to help you keep it all in check.

Hedge your bets. Catastrophes will happen. Costs will suddenly appear. Have a back-up plan and a back-up reserve of funds planned for just these situations. 

As you put together your own event budget, we hope this guide will help you get a bit closer to your definition of event success in 2019 and beyond.

from Cameron Jones Updates https://blog.bizzabo.com/event-budgeting-guide

[phaylenfairchild]

Separating Allies From The All-Lies: When Angry Friends Weaponize Your Gender Status

“Good day to you, Sir.”

That was how the email ended.

It was from a friend, a gay man, who was very much aware of my Trans status and my basic pronouns. Beyond that, it was from someone I loved very much. You see, most Trans people keep a very small circle of friends. It’s as much about personal safety, emotional steeling and simplifying an otherwise incredibly chaotic life as personal preference. When you have everyone from lawmakers to evangelists throwing bricks at you from high windows, it hurts. So, naturally, it’s important to have stability in your relationships; people you can trust to remain in your corner as you dodge those missiles. Those people can be hard to find.

It’s easy for people, typically, to feign acceptance. To smile to your face, and feebly shake your hand before turning around and spewing venom, or using you for the comedic relief of their own friends. That’s why friendship is a cautionary tale if you’re a transgender or non-conforming individual.

So often, people accuse Trans* people of being stand-offish, aloof or disinterested. Many of us don’t actively integrate ourselves into publicly social spaces like LGBT bars or nightclubs, primarily because there’s always one… whether it be by a cold stare, pointed enough to make Zoolander jealous, or hushed remarks from shadowy corners, that makes you keenly aware that you’ve crossed some territorial boarder. Thus, we tend to stay in familiar places with people who allow us to feel comfortable.

We don’t casually build friendships. Ultimately, we can be a difficult shell to break. Unexpected circumstances usually bond us with others on a more intimate level. While I can count the number of friends that I have on one hand, I can also tell you how we found each other and that the relationship developed over a period of time- I am fortunate enough to say that, despite not having an abundance of friendships, the ones I have have lasted years, in some cases, decades. Over time you inadvertently demonstrate your loyalty to each other; You find yourself there in dark periods of their lives and vice versa, which strengthens the bond. You discover true friendship isn’t contingent on any one thing; It’s not reliant on the satisfaction of one party, nor does it mean constant maintenance and high levels of expectation. True friendship is you being you, and them being them; Finding the ability to laugh, cry, argue and show yourselves at your worst- and still getting a call a few days later asking if you watched the latest episode of your favorite show. You both apologize; sometimes cry with regret… the whole: “I’m sorry…” “No, I’m more sorry…” You move forward. It is events like this, when the terrain of friendship finds itself jagged, that each individual demonstrates true intent, the quality of their character and it bonds of further… or it tears us apart. Friendship shouldn’t be hard work. If it is, call it work, not friendship… and clock out.

It’s tragic when a friend; One who you’ve trusted, built a bond with and demonstrated your loyalty to time and time again suddenly goes rogue when they’re unhappy with you. When they find themselves dissatisfied by a choice you made or a miscommunication, and instantly, as if by their sheer nature, they start climbing the the walls with rest of the primates who already perceived themselves as superior, to join them in their brick hurling.

They leverage the first opportunity to weaponize your gender against you because they have mapped where to hurt you in the most destructive way. In my case, it was because I opted out of doing a project for a friend who became combative, and although I was happy to do what I could to make him happy, I realized that collaborating was toxic to our friendship. I valued the friendship over the work, despite it being his project primarily, and one I agreed to do in effort to benefit him. I found myself at a crossroads: Resent him in the end, or walk away now and preserve the integrity of our relationship.

I chose to walk away. I’m not sixteen anymore, and I’m past the part of my life where I’ll take it on the chin and then stick around to ask for another. I don’t like conflict. I have enough of it. We, as Trans and gender non-conforming people, all do. Just open any social media and get out the popcorn as you scour the volumes of Trans hate. The moment conflict in my real life presents itself, if it’s avoidable, I spin on one heel and make tracks. That’s not selfish. That’s self respect.

I will stand up and speak out for friends. I will lock arms and defend my friends. But, I won’t dispose of them over a dispute. There are two sides to every story. It doesn’t take work to see the other side, it takes simple things like compassion, kindness and a willingness to set your pride and ego aside to accept accountability… or to ask for it. Sometimes we find the latter is not possible.

When a one-time friends assumes privilege and begins taunting you with anti-trans rhetoric once you aren’t either advantageous, an emotional crutch, offering opportunities, or able to be exploited for their gain anymore, you have to acknowledge that was never a friendship to begin with. I had to accept that. I had mistakenly presumed I had become a fantastic judge of character and could see all the signs, certainly, with decades of experience behind me, yet, I was wrong.

When I read the email that came and reached the final words, “Good day to you, Sir,” I recognized that I harbored no anger. I should have seen that coming from miles away. I had seen him do the same thing to others and turned a blind eye thinking “Well, he’s a good friend to me…” and that’s the lie you tell yourself. Why I presumed I would be exempt from the scathing, retaliatory abuse he is notorious for is my own fault.

Regardless, I still cared about him. Even as my eyes lingered over the words, I couldn’t be mad. I had no right. It was there all along, only now in black and white, on my screen. Along with a plethora of “Never in my life…” comments that people use to gaslight you into thinking you’re just absolutely the worst person imaginable. Reading between the lines, there was a lot of truth that I benefited from, things I needed to hear from an outside source and take on board for self improvement. I had to be more honest with myself and others about my limitations, and even though the email was filled with misinformed hyperbole, I understood the source and respected it for it’s truth… until the signing off.

“There you are.” I said to myself. “There it is.”

At that point, I wasn’t going to fire back another rage fueled email, but instead, thanked them for telling me things I needed to hear. In friendship, we benefit from people willing to hold us responsible, to speak to us from an outside perspective and give us the opportunity to grow. In leveraged relationships, that is usually inhibited or delivered with painful, unnecessary blows that demonstrate no intelligent or conscious action. I don’t imagine his intent was to deliver me home truths, but instead, attack my self-image; Personally degrade me. However, the truths cannot be discounted, and it would be negligent to have ignored the contents just because of the damaged box in which they were presented.

I ended it with “I love you.” Because it was true. However, there was no point in arguing facts, disputing their claimed victimhood or explaining extenuating circumstances, because I knew it wasn’t a friendship I cared to nurture anymore.

That’s when the dissolution of a friendship is a parting gift.

You can beat yourself up for not recognizing an ally from an opportunist or a liar. That’s how we thicken our skin and commit to making better choices regarding who we let through the gates of our life. Then, give yourself a break. You’re not perfect. The social conditions in which we, as gender diverse people, are thriving under are not normal. Hate and bigotry is not normal. It is not a typical life experience for most, to walk around dodging those figurative bricks slung by people from their windows. However, it is our reality and occasionally, one of those bricks will hit harder than most- especially when you look up and see it coming from someone you know and cared about.

But you will keep walking.

In a recent, highly public dispute between pop culture icon TS Madison and singer-songwriter, Khia, the very same thing happened. The two had, since this past year, collaborated on a social media show called The Queen’s Court. TS Madison is a brilliant businesswoman who, as a Transgender woman, used the opportunity of a viral vine video to launch herself into the stratosphere of celebrity. Through her touring, over the years, she met Khia and the two developed a friendship and then struck gold with their series, garnering offers from Hollywood executives and even a musical legend, Nicki Minaj to take their platform to larger audiences via other mediums. It was an unusual pairing for sure, given Madison was a rising star and an out Trans woman, and Khia has a disastrous track record with the LGBT community. One might say, all the signs were there for it’s inevitable implosion.

On the fateful night of February 5th, the show, which was to feature Oscar winning actress Mo’Nique as a guest, was beset by technical difficulties. As audiences watched the events unfold live, Khia stormed off the set, angry that Madison didn’t have things under control.

What would follow is a scenario all to familiar. Khia, in the days afterward, took to her own social media and dubbed Madison “MAN-die Manwhore” and said to her audience of Madison, “She smells like balls and testosterone.”

She launched an attack so vile that it created a divide between the bigots and the trans allies who once sat in the same stadium cheering them on. Khia has leveraged the one-sided feud and attempted to maintain relevance by starting her own web based show, Gag Order, in which she slams the LGBT community that had been previously championing her alongside Madison. She attempts to generate laughs and giggles through hate-speech.

Claiming that she owed her fans an explanation for teaming up with a Trans woman, she said;

“Cause a lot of my thugs — and like I said a lot of my ‘conscious brothers’ was like, ‘Why are you fucking with these people? They not right. They not conscious. They not living. You know, they taking in the ass; they ass is connected to the spine; the spine is connected to the brain; they all brainwashed. They doing this, they doing that. You know the queen, why-why-why?’”

And then she admitted to using Madison, and the platform that she created “…For the money, it was work.”

She has persisted in referring by TS Madison by her male name, and incorrect pronouns. Madison, however, has not bitten back. She has taken the high road, rather than getting down in the mud and trade insults, saying only, “I want her to win… I loved Khia like a sister.”

But, she also also expressed her disappointment and heartbreak over the friendship stating…

“I thought I knew her. I thought I knew Khia, who she is now, that person going on saying those hateful things; I don’t know that person. She never showed that to me about herself until now.” -TS Madison

But, she had. Just not to Madison, or toward Madison. In 2016, with their collaboration in full swing, Khia was disinvited from appearing at Rupaul’s Dragcon after referring to the LGBT community as “Sissies and Punks and Women with D*cks.” She retaliated on Instagram.

… and then on a youtube show… where she used slurs like “F*ggots,” among many other things, reference to LGBT people.

But, Madison’s desire to unearth the good in someone who she knew had a penchant for homo/trans-phobic abuse backfired. And, like myself, she doesn’t have the luxury of claiming ignorance to it. Sometimes, we deliberately reject people’s true colors, no matter how boldly and unapologetically they present them, with the naive belief… that’s not really who they are.

And that’s where we fail ourselves. We must believe people who show us their truth, especially if that’s what we ask of others. We wight be disappointed, shocked, or hurt, but it’s more valuable to us in knowing, rather than shielding ourselves from the reality.

We must stop attempting to change minds and instead improve our lives by limiting their access to us and those in our orbit. Your job is not to change the opinions or world views of other or to change yourself to accommodate it.

Your job is to live a life of quality, enjoy friendships of quality; To find and exceed your own potential and expectations; To share this journey with the people who contribute to that goal, and who allow your contribution to theirs.

If someone is discreetly holding your gender above your head and laying in wait to use it to provoke you or damage you, acknowledge that their words are a reflections of who they are, not who you are, nor do they define who you can be.

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