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lavender-long-stories · 13 days ago

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I wrote 1 MILLION words in 2024.

This post will act as a Q&A and a retrospective of my experience. In the last year, I have received many questions about what I recommend writing consistently, so I want to dump all that information in one place in the hopes that it might help someone who wants to write a little more.

Questions

Did you expect this at all when you were setting the goal back then? Maybe a hunch? From Asks Inbox

At the beginning of the year, a few people joked that I could hit 1 million words. I didn’t think it was possible, but it was nice that they believed in me. Even when I hit the 500k in July, I didn’t think it was possible because it meant I would have to do the same amount of words in 5 months. That just took me 7 months to do. So then I set it to 800k because that seemed more reasonable. I thought I might reach 900k, but never 1 million. Then I wrote 100k in Aug, and I had another 100k in just the first two weeks of Sept, and that is when I realized I could reasonably hit 100k at the rate I was going. I updated the website code but forgot to push the changes.

How did you feel when you first realized you were surpassing the goal way earlier than you might have expected? From Asks Inbox

Uh, this is going to be a depressing answer, but actually, hitting goals doesn’t feel super fulfilling for me. I think I felt way more excited month after month, watching them build up, and by the time I actually hit them, I was a little numb to it.

I don’t believe it helped that the higher the word count got, I think the less people were excited for me. It's not their fault. I think they got used to it, too. It became more ‘expected’ rather than an achievement.

Is there a pairing you wrote about this year that you didn’t think you would write at the start? From Asks Inbox

ChoHina and KankHina. Those were both requests from @0rent and @nikandrros

Do you have a pairing you're thinking about writing but haven’t gotten to yet or haven’t released? From Asks Inbox

I had a secret goal this year of doing one story for each of the pairings that I wanted to but hadn’t, and with a one-shot out already and multi-chapter coming out before the year ends for Deidara, I will have checked off every single pairing I set out for at the beginning of the year.

I know you wrote a lot of SasuHina, but do you have a personal favorite ship of the year, or is it SasuHina? From Asks Inbox

I think I have the most ideas for SasuHina, and I do enjoy writing them deeply, but my favorite? That is really hard to say because usually my favorite is the last one I was working on. The issue is I love couple dynamics more than anything, and it's really hard to pick between them.

SasuHina is the most versatile as the dynamic can change depending on the situation you put them in, but it usually boils down to pessimism and optimism, but with them both having a little of both. Hinata having pessimism in her skills but optimism for others in general. Sasuke has optimism for his ambitions but pessimism for everyone else.

KisaHina has a lovely big brute and little joy aspect that I love. I really like the idea that Hinata feels safe in a shadow of someone taller and doesn’t judge the scars, and Kisame is sheepish when given affection and trying to be gentle.

HidaHina is funny to me because it doesn’t look like it should work, but Hidan’s brash personality actually fits well with Hinata’s passive one. Hinata appreciates honesty, and Hidan is nothing if not honest. Hidan does what he wants, and no one yelling about him is going to make him change, but I think if made uncomfortable enough, he would tweak his behavior, like Hinata being visibly uncomfortable but not scolding him. It's a very fun dynamic to play with.

GaaHina is warm in a way that is hard to explain. Both are rather calm people in their adulthood. Gaara feels a lot of guilt and has a perception of how others view him and accept that, but Hinata is forgiving and would see new, improved behavior as who he is now and ignore the past, and I think that challenges his worldview in fun ways.

ShikaHina is very comfortable, both quiet, reserved, and smart, but Shikamaru is far more observant and logical, whereas Hinata sees what paints her the worst and others better. Shikamaru makes for an interesting lead for stories where it is clear he is seeing things that Hinata isn’t but not speaking up about it.

SasoHina has a special place in my heart from back in my first fic (Lavender Clouds). The pure difference in seeing the best in people and intentions verse seeing the worst in people and intentions. Sasori being egotistical contrasts well against Hinata, who has nearly less than an ego, particularly when he can become frustrated that she doesn’t seem more in herself. It makes for arguments with chemistry, you can feel.

Bonus Dynamic I have come to love: Fugaku as a father figure/mentor to Hinata. I find the stern but more forgiving father figure a very nice contrast to Hiashi and Hinata’s relationship. I like to see the build-up of seeing Hinata as another pain to appreciating that no matter what, she keeps trying even if she is below rock bottom. And of course, Hinata having a decent father figure to look up to does not hurt.

Do you have goals and hopes for 2025? From Asks Inbox

Oh boy. Having a hard time choosing more than just do it all again, really.

Do it all again. The 100k, the rotation of ships, keep the streak going (hopefully hit a full year in Feb)

Do you make preparations before you write? Do you have to be doing specific things in order to get into writing mode?… I was just thinking if that plays a part in how you could sustainably build up routine From @daifukumochiin

I do not have any kind of routine to get into a writing mood, but that is because I have made the barrier to entry to writing very low. I have ADHD and mental blocks between me and the thing I want to do feel like mountains rather than pebbles, so it is ideal if there is 0 resistance or distraction between me and opening a doc to write.

For this I have a very intense notion board set up that allows me to easily keep track of all of my stories. [If anyone is interested in that, I can make another post on an updated version of that board - here is the old version of my Notion Writing Template]

I can open my writing page, then a story page for its notes, and its current chapter document with three clicks.

Now, of course, that had an upfront setup up, and is might be over kill for someone working on one thing at a time, but once I had it in place, it was low maintenance, and all my notes are in one place, and I can start in a few moments.

Also, getting to a million is not an easy feat. I know you’re a planner than a pantser. But, just as the fics you’ve been posting recently, with Hinata in even more unconventional ships, do you think character/pairing first before plot or do you tend to come up with a plot first and then decide which character would fit it best? From @daifukumochiin

I am not a planner. XD (context planners outline their writing and pantsers “fly by the seat of their pants”’)

I already talked to Mochi about this on Discord, but this still makes me laugh. I think this misunderstanding is because of my organization when it comes to knowing what five or more stories I am working on, what chapters are going up, and what I need to work on next. That is mistaken for actually planning the stories I am working on.

To be clear, I almost never have anything close to an outline on a story. What I tend to have when I am writing is a mildly organized massive note dump that will have everything I have thought of regarding that story, cute fluff moments that could be placed anywhere, main plot points I want to happen (might be subject to change), and key list of things like character’s professions or motivations if I already wrote it in, or it’s important something I want to get to and then maybe the plot to maybe the next 3-5 chapters at most bullet pointed for general direction. There have been a few expectations, but very, very rare for me to have any sort or real outline in place.

I rarely know how a story will end until I get within five chapters of it. This is why I can never answer the question, ‘How many more chapters do you think this is going to be’? I don’t know when it will end or how it will end. It will tell me when I get there.

When it comes to story concepts, verse pairing, how most of my story ideas come about from inspiration from my own writing or talking about a dynamic that a couple already has. So, usually, the couple comes baked into the idea. However, if the idea is just ‘let me put Hinata in a situation,’ that situation may not have a pair attached, and in that case, it goes on a specific general ideas board that I tend to steal from to give to more fleshed-out stories.

Do you think working with a variety of material contributed to you reaching an even higher word count? From @daifukumochiin

I would say so. Mainly because if I ever get bored with one story, I can move to another. If I get bored with that, I can move to ANOTHER. Ping-pong balling myself around means I can rarely get writer's block solidly to the point I can write nothing. And if I am not interested in writing anything that I have active, I have a concepts board with 100+ stories on it all begging to be written.

Did you ever have moments where there’s a scene you wanted to do, but you just didn’t have the words for it, or you didn’t know how to go about it, picking up where you last left off? Do you just dive recklessly into a scene, or did you have moments where you were like, “I think I’ll do this differently than I initially envisioned because it’s too difficult”? From @daifukumochiin

On occasion, I can get stuck on a scene, but it’s rare. I am not trying to make every scene perfect as much as I am just trying to make the story happen, so I usually just write it the best I can and move on and see if I hate it in editing (usually, I was just thinking about it too much and when I read it back it’s fine). If I get particularly frustrated and stuck, I then can just put it down and come back after writing a few chapters of something else, and that tends to wipe my expectations for the scene, and I can look at it with new eyes.

It’s rare and hasn’t happened in months, but there have been times when a scene was so bad that I realized I had written myself in a direction I didn’t want to go and deleted five chapters to go a different way, but that doesn’t happen often and symptom of me trying to push an idea that simply wasn’t going to work.

Generally, I don’t put a lot of weight on individual scenes panning out perfectly as much as I do with the whole story continuing in the direction I want it to.

Which new Hinata ship did you enjoy writing? from @0rent

All of them. XD

How did you keep the motivation to write so many words? from @Orent

I don't rely solely on motivation as much as I have made it a habit to keep writing when the motivation isn't there and abusing the motivation when I have it.

Motivation comes and goes. Use it while you have it but don't wait for it to come to continue writing.

How do you paced yourself? From @kavi_vu_ on discord

Writing every day.

Making monthly personal goals rather than trying to look at the whole year.

Set a daily goal and aim slightly above it. Meaning with any word count goal, know what your daily word count HAS to be and then try to write just slightly more than it so when you have a low day, you don’t have to scramble to make up for it. For example, if you are going for 30k in a 30-day month, that is 1k a day, but aim for 1.2k or 1.5k rather than just hitting the number and calling it a day, especially toward the beginning when you have the most motivation so that you can have a 100-word day or two late and not have the scramble to make up for it.

How did you ended up deciding to write 1 million words? From @kavi_vu_ on discord

I didn’t, I only set out to write 500k.

Would you do this again? From @kavi_vu_ on discord

I plan to do it again next year.

Do you recommend this experience to others including newbie writers? From @kavi_vu_ on discord

I don’t think I can recommend 1 million to anyone who doesn’t make it like their main hobby.

I do recommend tracking words to everyone, if nothing else to have cool data at the end of the year.

Have you seen a change in your writing style/habits? Anon on discord

Not really. I have been writing the same way for a very long time.

What I Learned/Takeaways

I originally had a list of takeaways that I had been piling up, but almost all that I was planning ended up covered in the questions. Here is what wasn’t:

MORE words on the page quicker: Dictation is frustrating to start, but damn, it is useful.

I picked up dictation (speech-to-text) in Aug, and without it, I probably wouldn’t have gone for the home stretch for 1 million. I can type rather quickly, but my spelling is poor, and realizing that a word is spelled horrendously wrong can be distracting. On top of that, no matter how fast I type, it will never be as fast as I can think and speak, and I find it better to get all the thoughts of the chapter out and go back a fix after. If nothing else, I would recommend it for taking bullet notes, just to empty your brain of empty of ideas.

[If anyone is interested in a brief dictation post, I can make that.]

Try not to compare yourself to others.

I want to say this knowing that it will not be received well by everyone.

If your response to someone doing 10k writing days is to say, ‘oh man I can do only 1k’ or ‘it's easy for you, and it’s hard for me’ then you are being way too hard on yourself. You are comparing and I don’t recommend it. It does not serve you to look to anyone else and put yourself under them.

If you tell me you got 200 words in a day, I will cheer you on because that is progress toward your story. I will NEVER tell you it’s not enough, only to keep going, keep writing at whatever pace you can, and I am proud of you for continuing.

I am proud of you for writing whatever you do, and I think you should be, too.

Find Community

I know that this is easier said than done, but if you are writing a story that you care about, go talk about it. There are lots of discords for all kinds of fandoms, and you might find some great story tellers in there as well.

I would like to encourage you to have a place where people can find you to talk to you about your work (like Tumblr) linked in your profile because sometimes, the people who want to talk about your stories as much as you do find you. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find anyone right away. I spent 8+ years hiding from the communities, but I am very happy that I have joined them.

Write until a Nari finds you.

This is where I would like to talk for a little moment to highlight the chaos demon that is at fault for a good portion of the story concepts that have been written in the last two years AND who I go to when I need to talk about a plot, the lovely @nikandrros.

@nikandrros is one of those lovely commenters that writers dream about, who writes comments so long and so unhinged that they exceed the character limit of AO3’s comment system and have to be broken up into parts. They then found me on Tumblr, and we have been bestest friends ever since. They text you at 3 am with lovely ideas like ‘What if we hit Itachi with a car?’ and ‘Let me tell you this thing that happened at the office that is straight out of a Kdrama’ and ‘I need Sasuke crying face down on a couch.’ I literally can’t write out all the examples I want to because that would take forever, but if you have enjoyed anything I have put out in the last year at least, thank @nikandrros for either the unhinged ideas I had to tone down or keeping me motivated when I am 8k deep into a 12k writing night. I adore you @nikandrros, and I hope everyone gets themselves a @nikandrros.

Ready for another 1 million?

Thank you for all the questions! If you have any more, don't be afraid to ask. I will link them here. If you're shy, feel free to ask Annon.

If you are interested in any follow-ups on the processes, let me know.

#writing advice #writing #writing tips #writeblr #1 million words #fanficition #writing fanfiction #2024

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helloquotemyfoot · 2 years ago

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7, 21, and 34!

7. Standalone or series?

I generally write stuff designed to be standalone and LORGE. Mainly standalone because it is LORGE, really - if I'm writing 100k+ on a single idea, or even more like 50k, I feel like that should probably have all the story in it that you wanted. I think it's also just generally easier for me to come up with one idea that's big and expansive rather than a series of related ideas.

That said, I have a sort of Horizon mini-series at the moment, in that the two stories I wrote focusing on Sylens are designed to be consistent with each other, and I have plans to work on more Sylens content, so... I may make that an official AO3 series at some point.

21. Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?

Oooh this is a tough one! For me one of the best parts of writing is getting into characters' heads and really making the prose sound like them. I suppose my favourite POVs are ones where you can really make that happen, when there is something really distinctive about the character that translates well into writing.

Two of my favourite characters to write on that front have been Claude (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), because you get to explore the difference between surface-Claude and internal-Claude, and Sylens (Horizon games) because he is a smug little bastard and that is just very funny.

34. What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

Oh jeez. Two tough ones? Not fair!

I think I would have to say that the battle scene from Chapter 15 of my Three Houses long fic, Trust Exercise. It wasn't the only thing that made the chapter take four months to write, but it sure wasn't helping me to write it either. I find fight scenes very difficult to begin with as I don't have a very good visual imagination, so I always need a lot of rubbish-y drawing aids in order to get a grasp on what's going on - and this fight had a lot of different layers as well as two different perspectives on the battle. It was a lot to juggle. I did get it done eventually, but my god was it a rough ride.

Thanks for the ask Froze! My box is always open! <3 These asks were from this writing ask game.

#ask meme #ask #writing #my writing #answer

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ashkazora · 4 years ago

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2020 Fic Roundup

Stats:

Fics Posted (Total): 13

In chronological order: Cold Floors and Warm Hearts - a fluffy shance fic about the three times Shiro accidentally wakes up in Lance’s room. Exchange fic. 3,441 words.

These Boots Are Gonna Walk All Over You - a small klance fillet based on the US tv show, The Blacklist. 639 words.

the water was dark (and it went down forever) - a Lance-centric gen fic exploring his relationship with the Blue Lion, and her control over him. 15,618 words.

Coffee Grinds and Morse Code - a post-s8, Shance fic written for the valentines shance exchange! 3,593 words.

Nectar and Ambrosia - my first Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt fill for the square ‘denied food as punishment.’ Lance whump. 2,641 words.

there ain't no rest for the wicked - another Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt fill for ‘big brother instincts,’ but this time with Plance and Lance whump. 3,508 words.

Of Claws and Steel - a science-fiction, super sentai cat armour AU entered around the Lions as futuristic mecha armour. Most underrated fic here. 14,344 words.

Hairline Fractures - another Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt fill, ‘bleeding through bandages.’ Lance whump (again). 5,059 words.

Leverage - last Bad Things Happen Bingo fill for the year, for the prompt ‘on a leash.’ Featuring Shance, and Lance and Shiro whump. 7,743 words.

Lay It Down To Save It - Leakira Klance AU written for Leakira week. Made in collaboration with @crapoftheworldblr! 18,102 words.

to the stars and back - The Dragon Prince Plance AU with Prince!Lance and Elf!Pidge. In collaboration with @rosieclark! 36,574 words.

Sweeter Than Honey - written for the Blue Moon Lance zine! Features BAMF!Lance as the honeypot on a mission. 4,098 words.

In The Closet - Klance fic for the winner of my fic giveaway. Fluffy, and definitely a bit saucy. 2,363 words.

Fics Posted (Gen): 5

the water was dark (and it went down forever) Nectar and Ambrosia Of Claws and Steel Hairline Fractures Sweeter Than Honey

Plance: 2

there ain't no rest for the wicked to the stars and back

Shance: 3

Cold Floors and Warm Hearts Coffee Grinds and Morse Code Leverage

Klance: 3

These Boots Are Gonna Walk All Over You Lay It Down To Save It In The Closet

Collaborations: 2

Lay It Down To Save It to the stars and back

Ship/Character breakdown:

Ship breakdown:

This year, the biggest ship I wrote for was Shance (3 fics), with Plance (2) and Klance (2.5) coming in from behind. The k/l ficlet doesn’t count as a full fic.

Character breakdown:

Of the 13 fics, Lance is in the most with 13 (insert surprised pikachu face here), then it goes Shiro (12), Keith (10), Pidge (8), Hunk (7), Allura (6) and Matt Holt (2). Other characters appear only once, such as Coran, Haggar and Kolivan. Technically, the Blue Lion clocks in at 2 mentions.

Characters that had the main focus:

Lance had the sole POV for 7 of those fics, and shared POVs (in a collaboration) iin 2 additional fics. Shiro had the second most POVs at a total of 3, while Keith had 1 sole POV and 1 shared POV, and Pidge with one shared POV.

Specifics:

Best/worst title?

Best title: the water was dark (and it went down forever), but honestly so many other fics has titles I liked. This title was based off of the Tim Winton short story by the name name, The Water Was Dark And It Went Down Forever, where the main character swims and debatably drowns. So it’s fairly fitting.

Runners up titles include Sweeter Than Honey, to the stars and back, and Lay It Down To Save It.

Worst title: Hairline Fractures. It’s dumb and it makes no sense. It was the first thing that came to mind.

An honourable mention includes Leverage, which would be first if not for the fact that the title inspired the ending, so it’s not too bad.

Best/worst last line?

Best: From the water was dark (and it went down forever):

Blue’s grasp on him was like an endless expanse; an opulent and brilliant ocean. Her waters were dark, and it went down forever.

This was definitely my favourite, even though it’s pretty cringe. The way it was formatted in ao3 and the way it related to the title plus the reoccurring symbolism of water made it pretty neat!

Worst: From there ain't no rest for the wicked:

Pidge laughed, and turned her back from the darkness.

I’m sorry. This ending was so cringey. I hate it. There’s nothing else to say except I have no idea how to fix it. Oof.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

tbh, I wrote a lot more, considering I had my final exams this year. Breaching 100k was crazy.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

Honestly? Klance. I’m not the biggest fan of the ship but writing it is very interesting, and I enjoyed it.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Of Claws and Steel hands down! It’s the first fic idea I ever had for VLD, and the one I really love the most. One day I’d love to write a continuation of it, but the reception of the fic wasn’t great so idk.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

the water was dark (and it went down forever) even though it was started in 2019, was finished this year and is my most popular fic of all time! It’s got 4k+ hits and 450+ kudos. Crazy, since it was only supposed to be a dumb little warm up fic to get me back into writing in preparation for Of Claws and Steel. Alas, turns out people really liked it!

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Of Claws and Steel. It was the fic I worked the hardest on this year but got the least amount of attention :)

Story that could have been better?

Easily there ain't no rest for the wicked. There was so much plot and so many things I wanted to include but didn't. There’s a lot of things missing and bad plot flow. One day if I got more time, I’d love to write more on it.

Sexiest story?

In The Closet, hands down. It gets a bit steamy with a k/l makeout session. Originally it was going to be a lot saucier but I wasn’t too comfortable in my ability to write it well ahaha.

Saddest story?

None of my stories were sad, per se. Most of the sad ones were more scary/foreboding rather than actually being sad. I guess to the stars and back right now, because it’s dealing with Lance’s insecurities and Pidge’s desperation to find her brother (and a lot of other things, which will be revealed in the future!)

Most fun?

Sweeter Than Honey! It was fun to write and is my most fun fic. BAMF!Lance and his witty commentary is always a great laugh.

Story with single sweetest moment?

I can’t choose :,). It’s a three-way tie between Cold Floors and Warm Hearts’s last scene where Shiro realises Lance bought him the necklace, Lay It Down To Save It’s scene that I can’t say because it’s technically unpublished ;), and to the stars and back’s scene where Lance and Pidge talk about what they would like to be in life (ch3).

Hardest story to write?

Probably Of Claws and Steel, as I completely stagnated on the story for a long time. It took me 8 months to write it. Without Rue’s help, I probably would have taken so much longer. Runners up is Leverage, as it took me like a solid week to write 90% of it, and 3 more months to write the remaining 10%. For some reason, parts of that fic were such a pain to write.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

The easiest was definitely to the stars and back. I could relate to a lot of Lance’s actions and thoughts in the fic, so writing his POV was super easy and rather cathartic ngl. However the most fun was probably Sweeter Than Honey, as it was super self indulgent ahaha.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Lay It Down To Save It changed my perception of Keith. I don’t particularly like Keith in canon, but I’ve warmed up to his fanon self and general character after writing from his POV.

Most overdue story?

Of Claws and Steel easily! It was the first VLD fic idea I had but took 8 months to write. Oops?

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

For the first time I incorporated HTML coding into my fics, which taught me a lot about coding and different ways to convey certain messages and detail things. These codings altered fonts and colours, which you can see in

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Write my tua/vld au fic, which will be my first solo multi chapter fic, and hopefully finish it by the end of next year. Also, sticking to a consistent writing schedule and try to write at least 100 words a day, plus finishing TSSAB. I’d also like to finish some more BTHB prompts!

That’s all, folks! Thank you all for sticking with my writing! Hopefully 2021 brings even more writing, fun times, and great fics. Happy New Years (in 24 hours), everyone!

#ashka writes #fic roundup #2020 fic roundup #MASSIVE shoutout to rue for giving me these questions #if you've read ocas ur officially my favourite person #ao3

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yaldev · 4 years ago

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As of today, we’re celebrating: 365 Yaldev posts, 4 years of this nonsense, and being exactly 7 years behind Beeple!

CELEBRATION:

365 posts! That’s one year of Yaldev! Well, if I had been writing one every day, which I absolutely haven’t.

It continues to be the case that looking back on posts even from less than a year ago, I think “man this sucks,” and I either know how to improve it at least a little bit while I’m there, or I can’t stand to even look at it and I just have to escape from it. I don’t feel too much pressure to fix the bad posts at this point; as of today, Yaldev’s been going for exactly four years now (if you skip leap days :thonk:), and in a sense it’s chronicled my progress as a writer during that time. Some entries have been modified since them, some changed entirely except for the name and art chosen. I think it only makes sense that reading through it in storyline order will be like traveling through different points of my creative skill, in much the same way as it means traveling through different points of Beeple’s art quality.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL UPDATES:

People I know in real life are bugging me to start a Patreon. It’d certainly be reasonable to start one now that I’m four years in, but I can’t justify setting one up without:

A more consistent creative output than I’m currently hammering out, so I’m not taking your money for less utility than I’m giving you

Something to offer patrons without compromising the project for non-patrons

Existing interest from some of my audience in throwing cash at me (dance, monkey!)

A possible solution to the first one is setting myself a bar: if I don’t write at least X words by the end of the month, I don’t receive anyone’s money for that month. Hopefully that makes people feel more comfortable backing someone inconsistent, since they’ll still receive their benefits during the down periods but not have to spend anything. For the second, I have ideas for what to offer, but they’d have to be on top of my current output rather than replacing it, so at present I can’t really work ahead on them without detracting from the main project. It’s hard juggling part-time school, full-time job, getting enough sleep, Yaldev, another creative project I have a stronger obligation to, a paper I’m writing for a conference, relaxation, and generic life stuff. That said, I could be happily coerced into making a Yaldev a higher priority if I have a financial obligation to a couple supporters. The real question is whether there’s any interest in that. I worry that when the project has gone on as long as it has, interest actually decreases over time if it’s seen as old news. On the other hand, maybe older followers have a sense of being with me since the early days, like they’re invested in this ride as well. I have little clue.

In any event, if a Patreon goes up, I absolutely won’t be shoving it in people’s faces at every opportunity, since I’m not in a position of financial need and money was never the point of this. The main project would continue to be 100% free, and benefits would only be for additional goodies; nothing you can currently see would be moved behind a paywall.

STATISTICS:

This is the fun part, lads! Get ready for some stats and some commentary!

Total Stories: 365

As should be obvious, all numbers are only for the point at which I'm writing this post. These only include the posts that are canon and which I wrote.

Project Age: 1460 Days

Exactly four years! I think it’s a fun coincidence that it lined up with the 365th entry.

How Long You Have to Wait, on Average, For the Next Post: Approximately 4 Days

My output has slowed down since the last update. Feelsbad, but I don’t hear much complaining and I hope that higher quality makes up for lower quantity. Even still, I’m trying to blitz through my to-do list and speedrun my coursework to make more time for this. I hope to eventually bring that down to 3.5, for an average of two posts per week across the project's history.

Readers Across All Platforms: 536 (107 on Tumblr, 135 on Facebook, 140 on Instagram, 154 on Reddit)

Howdy y'all! Thanks for being here and reading my steadily-improving crap. I really struggle with talking about my creative projects in real life, including Yaldev, primarily out of a self-trained instinct to shut myself up about it on the understanding that nobody cares—especially not other creative types, since we're all too invested in our own creation to pay much attention to others. I've been trying to overcome that, and you're helping me just by being here to read. That tells me there's potential in this and that it's something that at least some people genuinely want to see. Artists shouldn't attach their sense of self to their creations, but I can't help but feel validated through that.

At the same time, I do often fear that mine is the sort of content that just gets a like tossed at it for the pretty visuals on the way down the endless content scroll, without having made a real impression on anyone or created a lasting memory. I'll probably always have that worry, which comes as much from a disdain for general Internet culture as anything else. Late in 2020 I took a step away from social media, and I’ve only partially returned, with the result that scrolling through newsfeeds takes up much less of my time than it used to. Feels good. I’d encourage you to do the same, but then you wouldn’t be seeing my own crap as often. :^)

Stories Per Reader: Approximately 0.68

Makes it sound like a decent growth rate, if on average I'm getting one new follower per story half the time, and two new followers the other half of the time. I guess "good growth rate" is somewhat subjective and depends on your goal, but for me, having a tangible unit of increase for each feels good.

It’s actually a lot more variable than that, of course. Usually a given entry will either attract no new followers because I only put it up in my own spaces, or it’ll draw in a few if I post it to a space for content like mine.

Total Word Count: 89,721

I typically operate under the assumption that most novels are about 75k, while sci-fi and fantasy novels tend to be longer since their authors are physically incapable of shutting up, putting them at around 100k. We’ll definitely reach that, and it probably won’t even take that long.

Average Story Length: Approximately 246 words

The 245-255 range is what feels good to me. Part of Yaldev’s appeal compared to books, in theory, is that if you’re consuming it the normal way, you’re getting it in bite-sized chunks as part of your scrolling experience. So I theoretically prefer to keep them on the short side, even if in practice I actually go ham and write stuff that’s quite long. The average here is really being dragged by 100-word posts previously being a lot more common than they are now.

STORY PLANS GOING FORWARD:

So the most recent entry, Gemstones as Mana Sources, was Beeple’s art from February 15, 2014. Today’s exactly 7 years from then, so I actually have an easy bar now for whether I’m catching up to the dude or not.

When I started this project, I began with his art from July of 2014 and then started moving forward. I got to about September 2015 before I decided that I wanted to go hardcore and go through all his art from the very beginning, at which point I warped back to his art from the very beginning in 2008, and started going through it in chronological order. I think I made that shift back in 2019, and now we’re getting back to the era of his art that I actually started this project with. All of this is to say that soon you’re probably going to notice an uptick in the art quality, either to something new if you’re new, or to what it was like in the Good Ol’ Days™ if you’ve been following this for a long time. As mentioned earlier, I no longer feel super bound to what I’ve written before: I prefer maintaining consistency, but some threads not being tied up and some contradictions are fine. I think the biggest one is that the state of magic’s legality in the Ascended Empire has never been made super clear, but I’m actually okay with that. I know that in the Imperiomancy entry I mentioned how its use by officials varied depending on who held power in government, and magic as a whole could be an even more complex issue that varies by time as well as region. I unironically think that Yaldev is the kind of world that has room for headcanon, so while I’ll try to fix egregious errors, you’re also quite justified in having your own handwaves for my screwups.

I don’t have any updates for any of the storylines really, except for the stuff with Inzohm and the Lone Traveller, for anyone keeping up with that: consider all of it to be in rough-draft at the moment. It’s the kind of long-con story that I really can’t coherently tell the way I do with the rest of Yaldev, so everything I write for it is more like notes that I can later on collect, shuffle, remix and rewrite until it’s semi-coherent. Turns out that Yaldev has helped me develop a number of skills as a writer, but telling better character-driven narratives isn’t one of them—partially because my chosen process, medium and inspiration-artist doesn’t lend itself too well to such stories.

Thanks for being here. What I always wanted as a kid was for other people to be as excited about my worldbuilding as I was, and while I doubt I've hit that extent with Yaldev, I hope my work's had some impact on you, or that it has parts you remember and enjoy. If you have any questions or comments you’ve been too shy to put elsewhere, feel free to drop them here! If not, just stick around and I’ll see you again at post number 400!

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siarven · 7 years ago

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Tagging Game :D

Thank you so much @jfictitional for tagging me – and I know that it took me incredibly long but I finally found some time and so here are the answers :D

Rules: Answer the ten questions given and write ten new ones for ten other people.

1) What do you consider your most consistent or fruitful source of inspiration?

I’ve got a folder called “Reference and Inspiration” on my laptop and inside are lots of folders with digital and traditional art, writing prompts, short stories and films, photography… on lots of different topics. Some of these are meant as a reference (especially my collection of anatomy references, or stock images or things like that) but most are just things I find inspiring and beautiful. Whenever I want to create something but have no idea what exactly I want to make I look inside that folder and just browse through it, and by now it’s about 38GB big :D

2) Have you ever been surprised by the direction a work in progress took?

YES. All the time, and it doesn’t even matter if it’s writing or painting or sculpting. In my current writing project there was this one scene that was just supposed to be a sort of “transitional” scene of max. 500 words? Only, suddenly it was 11K long and opened a lot of new avenues XD I ended up cutting that scene but took the idea and put it somewhere else where it would create a bit more conflict :) Also I wanted to sculpt a reptile-like creature but now it’s got fur because scales just didn’t seem to work out all that well. Hm. Sometimes WIPs just actually want to become something else xD

3) What is your oldest story idea you have yet to act upon?

Uh… I acted on most of my story ideas, most of the early ones were just really horrible and didn’t get to be longer than a few chapters xD I still have about 4 or 5 first drafts of things that never got even close to finishing (most of them started during NaNoWriMos) and the oldest one of that has at least 300K words invested in it already. As in, I started writing it during NaNo and continued on with that for some time, then I invested some time in the worldbuilding and especially the magic system, then I re-wrote it, and then I put it to rest for some time with the decision to come back to it when I’m better at writing – it’s a very complex story with 12 POV characters that had already developed into a trilogy because it kept getting more and more detailed. It’s kind of difficult to explain but even after four years I still really want to get back to it because it was the first actually kind of “good” idea I had that wasn’t half a knock-off of the latest great book I’d read (which often happened to me when I was younger^^). If I do return to it, I’ll change a lot of the plot. I still love the worldbuilding and magic system though :)

4) Do you try to hold yourself to a particular goal when writing (such as x number of words per day, or hitting a particular plot point before stopping)?

I try to write at least an hour every day which sometimes works nicely… and sometimes not that well. So it’s more of a commitment goal rather than a plot or word goal. I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNo since four years without skipping even once, and I never wrote less than 50K -- so I know that I can write a lot in a month. Quantity isn’t really my problem, quality is. It usually ends up being rather unsatisfying because I get frustrated with where the plot is going, or with the pacing. So even if I do write 100K or 150K I usually throw that away afterwards and start again, taking only the idea or the characterizations of the characters that I’ve worked out during those drafts. And that is a bit frustrating :P So I’ve stopped caring about word goals, more or less, and now it’s more plot point goals, or finishing chapter X or scene Y before stopping :> At least writing an hour a day if I can manage =)

5) How do you read? (For example, I read the words aloud in my head, and give each character a voice, and cast all the parts, and-)

Hm, I never thought about that! I think I read the words aloud in my head, too, imagining the landscape and the places, how it would feel to be there. I’m a very empathetic reader so I often have to put a book away during a scene that’s too embarrassing or has too much conflict between characters I care about. I have a lot of secondhand embarrassment and usually have to stop reading when something like that happens, or when I can see where a plot goes and really don’t want that to happen. Also, I really don’t like characters that are just black or white cut-outs, good or evil, with no grey morality. And I kind of lost the question here xD

6) If you were to collaborate with someone on a project, who would your first choice be?

I’m actually not sure about that because I’ve got a lot of amazing friends, some of whom aren’t on tumblr in the first place. Probably @romenna because we came up with a horribly amazing dystopian novel parody idea about one year ago … which we still need to write one day XD I’ve never collaborated with someone on a writing project before, though.

7) What is your process for coming up with character names?

In many cases the name is one of the first things I have when I create a character, funnily enough. Or I just go to one of the many name collection lists I’ve saved on my hard-drive. Or I visit one of the many character name generators. Usually I end up slightly changing a generated or found name so I like the sound better, or it fits better into the story that I’m writing. There’s also the name generator on scrivener where you can search for a specific meaning which has been extremely helpful on many occasions :)

8) When your writing is frustrating you, what do you do to blow off steam?

Paint, watch Brooklyn Nine Nine, sing... ignore it for a few days until I can’t any longer :P

9) With so many other things to do in life, why write?

I don’t even know. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t invent stories, it’s been something I do since what feels like forever. Back when I was still really small I sometimes made up bedtime stories for my little brother during summer vacation (when we didn’t sleep in different rooms, on “special” occasions). I also used to tell them out loud to myself, never knowing where they would go but just wanting to find out, when I couldn’t sleep. I still do that when I can’t sleep, but by now I don’t have to talk out loud anymore :P It’s a bit like drawing/painting, I’ve done both of those things for as long as I can remember and I wouldn’t be myself without them. Part of the reason why I study film (as in 3D Animation and VFX) is because you tell stories using images. Even if I’ve now decided to somehow become a creature concept artist one day (no matter how long that takes or how hard it is… I’ll find a way :D) I’ll never give up writing because of that, and I’ll also never stop working on my stories. It’s always been incredibly difficult for me to decide which one is more important and I still don’t really know the answer so I’ll just do both and find out where that leads me 😊

10) When you finish a story, who is the first person you’d want to show it to?

Especially with the story I’m writing right now that’s @yoojas3d :D She’s incredibly supportive and I’m really happy to be her friend :D Also she read the first draft which is entirely horrible in addition to being the first story I ever finished and a NaNoWriMo non-edited first draft, and she was still supportive of it, even after finishing. She also helped me immensely with her feedback :)

Soooo… Now that I’ve finally managed to answer these questions I need to come up with some new ones for:

@madmooninc, @romenna, @ink--and--paper, @ephirae, @merigreenleaf, @mythopoet-hime, @brynwrites, @goodbibarbarella, @afragilestrongsoul, @yoojas3d

1. What’s the last book that you read/are reading, and do you like it or not? Would you recommend it to other people?

2. Favourite book/ book series and why?

3. Name a character that you love to hate.

4. If you could switch places with one character, who would it be?

5. Do you prefer to write by hand or computer?

6. What’s the first story you ever wrote?

7. Do you listen to music when writing or not? If yes, instrumental or with lyrics?

8. What’s your favourite writing spot?

9. When do you prefer to write? In the morning, during the day, on commute or during breaks, in the evening or night?

10. What drew you to writing, and what’s keeping you here?

#tagging game #I love tagging games :D #thank you so much for tagging me #writeblr tagging game #not art #writing related

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makeitwithmike · 7 years ago

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How I Generate 300,000 Unique Blog Visitors Per Month

By Pauline Cabrera

Alright, so you’ve taken the plunge and decided to start your own website. Love it.

It shows that you’re serious about your business. You may have even made some financial investments, via design or web hosting.

Whatever it is, just know that the time you’re putting in, and the money you’ve spent will come back to you.

Now that the pep talk is out of the way, we need to face certain realities.

YOU HAVE NO VISITORS.

I’m sure it’s no secret to you guys how crucial web traffic is if you want to grow your business.

Despite all of your hard efforts, something just isn’t clicking. You don’t have to feel alone.

Many bloggers just starting out can barely crack 100 visitors a day, let alone thousands.

As a fellow blogger, I know EXACTLY how you guys feel because I was once there. There is no secret formula. You just need a strategy.

Here’s the overview of my users in 2016 for TwelveSkip.com. See how I’ve consistently generated 300,000+ users per month throughout the year?

Here’s what you can do to generate a big amount of traffic in no time:

1. Invest in social media marketing

I’ve learned that every social media channel is different. Some networks may work for you while others may not.

While I use every major social media network myself, I choose to focus on two channels – Facebook Groups and Pinterest. I did invest in other social networks too but I figured that only these two work well for me, mostly because of my niche.

Check out this stat from 2016: (see how Pinterest and Facebook bring the most social traffic?)

In Pinterest, most of my own pins generate thousands of repins. Some of them get over 10,000 repins. My Pinterest generates over 900,000 views per month. In Facebook, I started a group where bloggers help promote each other. Now it has over 7,000 members and 100+ bloggers active daily.

Image Source: Pinterest

How did I do this? Besides reading a lot of tutorials, I also followed some successful people and observed how they use social media. Like they say, learning from the best is always one of the best methods to generate ideas and techniques.

Lesson here? Be active on all social media by using a scheduling tool (to save time) but only focus on those that work well for your niche. Determine where your target audience hangs out the most. Each network works differently so research for tutorials on how to promote on each social network effectively. Lastly, watch how your competitors use social media.

Here’s what I’ve noticed:

Pinterest works well for those who are in the creative industry (bloggers, fashion, makeup, weddings). Most people use Pinterest to search and curate ideas.

Facebook works well for those who are in the entertainment industry. The audience here usually likes and/or shares content that sparks emotion.

Instagram works well for those who are in the creative industry as well. It’s similar to Pinterest but you share your own photos and you need to be active daily in order to make it work well for you.

Here are some useful tutorials: Generate Traffic from Pinterest, Driving More Facebook Traffic, How to Grow Followers on Instagram

Social media should be a part of your daily marketing and that is a non-negotiable – at least until you are able to build up a big enough following.

2. Provide freebies that your target market craves

People think that in order to sell, that making money must be their entire focus. Of course, you want to make money.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t throw out a free nugget of wisdom every so often for your new or loyal visitors.

People LOVE free. If you keep churning out free content that is relevant, you create trust with your visitors. The more they trust you, the more often they will visit your site, and eventually purchase whatever product or service you are selling.

I use this tactic all the time and it works.

In my blog post, 100+ Blog Post Title Templates That Grab Attention, I break down the simple, yet effective way to create catchy blog titles. Here’s an example:

This article really generated a lot of positive feedback because, not only did I write about what works and what doesn’t, but I also provide over 100 title templates for them.

People need information but they don’t necessarily have a lot of time to implement the new information they are absorbing.

This step-by-step formula made it easy for people to create powerful titles, without having to waste precious brain power to create them.

This gives entrepreneurs more time to focus on their business, rather than small details that can often drive people crazy.

What do I get in return? I’ve been racking up relevant backlinks and email subscribers. More backlinks = better search rankings = more traffic = more email subscribers.

This is Google GOLD!

3. Prioritize email list building

Imagine, I started prioritizing this method after about a year of blogging and I really wish I started earlier than that.

As of 2017, here’s my current number of subscribers – 100K!

It does bring a decent amount of website traffic, and no it’s really not as hard as you think.

Here are the methods I use to generate subscribers:

Offer an incentive. Remember, people love free stuff. So offer them something they crave in exchange for their emails.

Place your opt-in in multiple places. Create several catchy opt-ins and place them somewhere visible on your website. This can be done via pop-ups, top bar, bottom right or within your blog posts.

Make it easy to subscribe. Remember, you want to make people’s lives easier. Only request 1 or 2 pieces of information (email and name).

Take advantage of your most popular blog posts. This is actually the most effective method for generating subscribers. 50% of my subscribers come from my most popular blog posts. Check your most popular pages via Google Analytics and offer freebies that are relevant to the current article. For example, you’re offering advice on how to write a catchy title, create a template for them with sample title templates.

You can check out my website (TwelveSkip.com) and see how I place my opt-in forms. There is one on the top, there is one pop up, some within my blog posts and at the bottom of every blog post.

Here’s an example post:

Encourage your readers to subscribe by using beautiful visuals and an effective call to action button. Let them know exactly what they’re getting.

4. Make your content easy to read

Remember, one of your goals is to make a good impression (to keep your visitors coming back).

You want people to remember that your content is easy to follow or scan. You don’t want to scare them off with lengthy, uninterrupted text.

Organize your content in an easy-to-follow format. This includes everything from having images that are big and clear, to making sure your content is easy to read.

Here’s what I do:

Keep your paragraphs short. I like to break up my paragraphs, so users don’t get bogged down by too many words. When you break up the paragraphs, users can read a lot faster. This is particularly useful for articles, which are over 1,000 words.

Use lists. Not only does it make your content look more appealing but it also give your readers a visual break.

Use readable fonts. Use fonts that are easy to read. I recommend using commonly-used ones such as Arial, Georgia, Times New Roman or Trebuchet MS. Do not use less than 12px in size.

Use visual aids. Keep your readers’ attention and make reading a lot more enjoyable with relevant and appealing visuals.

5. Infuse SEO

SEO has always been my most favorite method for driving website traffic. Here’s a stat from Google Analytics. In 2016, about 70% of my visitors came from search engines. Amazing, right?

Let’s take a look at this example post with over 1.8 million views:

When you type “Twitter Header” or “Twitter Cover” on most search engines, you will see that my The New Twitter Header Dimensions + Templates Included (2017) post is on the first page of the Google search.

Why? Not only is it useful, but it’s also optimized for search engines.

See how I use long tail keywords in the post title itself? Instead of just using “Twitter Cover Dimension”, I added “NEW” and “2017” because I know Twitter keeps changing their layout, and people would always search for the latest and most updated template.

Here are some other methods I use to get better search rankings:

Generate backlinks. In order to generate backlinks, create useful content, provide freebies and link to authority websites. Be active on promoting your content by spreading out on social media, engage with other bloggers within your industry, and guest post for high-quality blogs.

Use keywords effectively. Determine what keywords you need to use by defining your target market’s wants and needs, and by watching your competitors. Here’s a good guide for you.

Improve user experience. One of your goals is to get visitors to stay longer on your website and decrease your bounce rate. How? Make your website responsive (mobile friendly). Use a reliable web hosting company. Remember, your website’s speed impacts search ranking so be sure to choose the right web hosting for you. Make your website easy to navigate and easy to scan (ask yourself: when you go to your website, do you immediately understand what it’s all about?)

Apply on-page SEO methods. I optimize my content for search engines by using SEO-friendly URLs, linking to authority websites, using ALT tags on images, removing duplicate content, optimizing meta tags, using headings and doing internal links effectively.

Wrapping up

You may be feeling all alone when it comes to increasing the traffic of your website. But I promise you that if you start implementing these tips, you will experience massive amounts of growth in no time!

What are your favorite ways to increase traffic? Time to share!

Guest Author: Pauline Cabrera is a digital strategist based in Toronto, Ontario. She helps bloggers & businesses get noticed online using effective internet marketing strategies combined with web design, SEO + email marketing.

The post How I Generate 300,000 Unique Blog Visitors Per Month appeared first on Jeffbullas’s Blog.

The post How I Generate 300,000 Unique Blog Visitors Per Month appeared first on Make It With Michael.

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golshxd-blog · 6 years ago

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During our time in New Hampshire over Christmas, Rebecca and I went back and forth quite a few times about how we wanted to travel this year. We had originally been planning on taking the camper, but during our Appalachian Adventure we discovered that regular camper towing was just not always super fun, and decided to give extended a shot.

I began researching a number of different vehicles, everything from Chevy Astros (gotta love that AWD!) to 12 and 15 passenger vans (after truck camping, they seemed so spacious!). We even looked at some really cool little Toyota RVs that were only about 20 feet long. However, everything in each category was either A) too expensive, B) rusted out (thanks, New England winters!), or C) more of a project than we were looking to take on.

So eventually, we decided to use our trusty Tahoe for 2017 — and I decided to reconfigure our entire camping system. In January ’16, I had built our first camping platform in the back of the truck, and it worked GREAT. We camped all over Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma, and then used it over the summer in Virginia and West Virginia.

Sexy.

It was great — it let us use our rears seats when we needed, it stored a ton of our camping gear, had special areas for our camp chairs and food, and it even boasted a slide-out table! We loved it and used it to death.

However, as we traveled, we realized that as organized as we felt, there were still a number of things that we still didn’t have a dedicated place for — things that were constantly rolling around on the floor and being generally annoying. So when we decided to go for a full 9-10 months camping in the truck in 2017, I realized we’d really want some increased functionality and storage. My motto on this new build quickly became “a place for everything, and everything in its place.”

To accomplish that, I needed to free up every inch of available space. So after I finished giving Franklin the Tahoe his well-deserved makeover of cleaning, repairs, and improvements, I pulled out the middle seats. Already there was a ton more space!

So much room for activities!

I was trying to be as resourceful and thrifty as possible, so my brother-in-law Jay (who helped me every step of the way as we got the truck ready for 2017) and I pulled apart the first build, and were able to reuse almost all of both the lumber and the hardware.

Just like last year, I drew up pretty extensive plans, and we started to rebuild based on them. Since I didn’t have the living space of a van, I decided to try to make the interior of the truck as multi-functional as possible this time around. For this build, that meant designing a modular couch/bed platform with storage underneath the entire thing. I had grand visions of us parked out in the desert, platform in couch mode, working away on our computers in home-like comfort, sipping lemonade and occasionally looking deep into each other’s eyes with that peaceful, we’ve-finally-arrived way that Hollywood keeps promising me if I follow my heart and just believe ;-D

Measurements, measurements, and more measurements.

The platform actually came together pretty quickly, and my experience building the first version really helped as I hinged and mounted and supported and braced everything together.

And pretty soon we were ready for a dry-fit! I basically designed it to be 78 inches long (a 6 inch increase over the last build), divided into 3 26-inch panels. The front one would be removable to make legroom when in couch mode, and the back two I hinged to access the storage beneath them.

I took the indoor/outdoor carpet we’d removed from the top of the previous build, and put it underneath the new build to protect the floor underneath. It also seemed to be an easier way to clean–I can pull out the carpet and shake it out whenever I need to, no vacuum necessary!

The front part of the front panel sits on top of two supports behind the front seats, and the rear of the panel sits on on the front of the platform, held in place by several dowels that it nestles down onto.

When it’s all laid out, it’s very spacious!

I gave it the weight test, and was very happy with the results.

Confident that it fit, we pulled it out, sanded it, and got to painting. I had spent a ton of time applying multiple coats of stain and poly to the first build, but this time, it was 15 degrees out, and I was cold and impatient. So instead of all that loving care, the Mach II got 2 coats of Rustoleum spray paint. It looks just fine, and matches the interior of the truck nearly perfectly.

Couch mode activated!

Another change we had decided to make after using the first build was that we wanted to upgrade from backpacking air mattresses (though we love our Thermarests!) to a sturdy foam mattress. We had been fine during 4-6 week trips with the air mattresses, but since we are going to be travelling consistently over such a long period of time, we wanted to be as comfortable as possible. The foam we’d gotten for the couch in our camper has been very comfortable and worn very well, so we went back to The Foam Factory and got a queen-size cut of 4-inch thick foam.

I measured it all out (protip: it is NOT perfectly square when it arrives), and cut it down to size using an electric bread knife. If you ever do this, make sure you get one as well — I’d tried previously with both a razor blade and a circular saw, and those were both utter hack jobs. This time, however, it came out rather nicely.

We really wanted the truck to be adventurous looking, and bright and vibrant, and we spent a lot of time both in Joann Fabrics and Hobby Lobby trying to find the perfect fabric for our cushions. Finally we found a crazy, loud, Aztec-style fabric that we both loved, and Rebecca put her secret seamstress skills to work upholstering our new bed cushions!

The other thing we wanted to do differently this time was to cut more Reflectix for the front windshield and front side windows. On the last few trips, we’d hung curtains right behind the front seats, and while we still have that option, we wanted to have easier access to the front seat at night, and also for the whole space to feel roomier. By getting rid of the curtains, and covering the window, it feels significantly more open when we’re inside at night.

We also wanted the Reflectix to look a little nicer from the inside — if you woke up in the night in the truck and turned on a flashlight, the inside lit up like noonday. So, we bought some inexpensive felt, and I used a heavy duty 3M adhesive spray to attach the felt to the Reflectix. So far, it’s held great, and the inside of the truck is much darker and cozier when we set up at night!

Finally, with all those projects done (and a few more I’ll be writing about soon), we were able to assemble everything! And let me tell you — we LOVE the final product.

Shelves and cushions and colors, oh my!

As you can see, our cushions came out great, and are super fun to look at! They also happen to be a perfect mixture of firm and comfortable, so we’re very happy with them. I’ll show the shelves more in detail soon, but for now, I’ll just tell you that we really needed a space for our books, glasses, and other nighttime loose items, and these have been the perfect solution.

We also have the option to switch to couch mode! The rear panel swivels up, the supports pop into place, and we have a very comfortable place to read, work, eat, or even watch a movie! We’re excited to discover all the different ways we use our couch this year all over North America.

When the platform is in couch mode, there is a tremendous amount of legroom, adding to the comfort level. I’m 6 foot, and when I’m sitting on the couch, I can’t even touch the front seats with my feet. To protect the floorspace there, I covered the carpet with two trimmable cargo floor mats from Walmart. They make cleaning that floor area super easy — you can sweep it or wipe it with paper towels, no vacuum needed!

And obviously, this platform was created for storage — and there’s a ton of it. When the platform is in bed mode, the entire floor area underneath the front panel is wide open for storage: lately, that’s where we’ve been keeping our duffel bags and extra shoes so they’re nice and handy as we jump from house to house, visiting our way south.

The back two platform panels are hinged, and open to display a tremendous amount of storage space under them.

In the very back, the couch back supports also serve to keep the panel from falling on you when you’re digging out fresh pants!

Below, you can get a better view of how I bolted the couch supports in place, ready to swivel up and brace the couch back when needed. There’s also another hinge at the bottom right of the picture that shows where that part of the 2×6 frame can be swung in toward the middle of the truck to allow access to the jack panel. As we found out in Big Bend last year, that jack can come in handy!

All in all, we are very, very happy with how the new platform came together, and very excited to use it this year as we explore the western US all the way up to Alaska! We love our adventure rig — here’s to getting another 100K miles out of Franklin the Tahoe, and sleeping comfortably the whole way!

#vanlife

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businessthreesixfive-blog · 6 years ago

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Insightful Study of 386 SaaS Start-up Prices Pages

Late last year, I combed through theMontclare SaaS 250-- a directory site of the biggest SaaS companies in the world-- to find typical trends in what I thought would be a substantial dataset. As it ended up, 80% of the 250 most significant SaaS companies didn't have a pricing page at all.

Expecting to discover a set of information more representative of what I'm used to seeing around (basically startups), I relied on a bigger sample, scraping information from the first 400 startups inAngelList's 'Trending' category.Of the staying 386 which hadn't closed down, I discovered that start-ups are around twice as most likely to show their pricing than their enterprise SaaS big siblings. 39 %of the 389 startups I evaluated had prices plainly offered. As I took a look at> because previous short article, there's often excellent factor behind covert prices, and, for the leading 250 SaaS firms, that reasoning was mainly that they are selling to enterprise clients who believing rates is simply a procedure. And, besides, business SaaS is a more intricate monster than self-service, or SaaS targeted at

SMBs. So, geared up with larger range of data to evaluate, I commence to answer the question: How do the top 386 trending AngelList SaaS start-ups compare to the Montclare SaaS 250? The research study's highlights Here's a quick introduction of the primary findings for my set of data from 386 AngelList trending start-ups: 39%

have rates openly readily available The average number of packages is 3.5 44% sell the advantages on-page 84 %arrange rates low to high 9%arrange prices high to low 59%list their enterprise package's cost

as' Contact us'49% highlight a package with a contrasting CTA color The most common CTA is'

Start complimentary trial'63%offer a complimentary trial 11

% deal prices on a sliding scale 85% of plans are called('Development ','

Pro ', etc.)6% offer a money-back warranty 30 %operate on a freemium model The average variety of packages is 3.5 In both the

Montclare 250 and AngelList Trending information sets, the results are exactly the exact same: most SaaS companies offer between 3 and 4 packages. In a recent article from Cost Wisely's Patrick Campbell, he says that over-complicating and over-simplifying pricing is an equally awful error. This is due to the fact that complicated pricing can offer purchasers analysis paralysis, yet basic sliding&scale structure built on a single worth metric can stunt the company's growth and eliminate any opportunities for upsells. Furthermore, research study reveals that 7 ± 2 is the optimum amount of items a typical human can hold in working memory. Due to the fact that of this, it makes sense to restrict your cost indicate just 3 or 4 considerable options-- unless the purchaser decides right then and there, they might quickly forget some essential details later on down the line.

This stated, package depend on the extreme end of the scale(Twitmusic's 9 bundles, for instance), is frequently connected to a single worth metric like number of Twitter followers, not an intricate variety of features. 53%Highlighted a bundle Highlighting a bundle as popular or best value or put simply it in a different color to the others is a technique SaaS business can utilize to make the purchaser's decision easier, promote

their most lucrative package, and even to draw attention initially to a greater priced plan to make the others look inexpensive(more onthat later). Just over half of the 386 examined start-ups selected to use this strategy. Why is that? On Episode 271 of Startups For The Rest Of Us, where the hosts talk through my original 250 rates pages analysis, Mike Taber has an answer for that. He says it might be because by noting 3 packages (the mode of packages offered ), the price is naturally anchored in a low/medium/high setting

, and there's no need to highlight anything and sway the possible purchaser far from a potentially more lucrative strategy. Here's an example of a prices page where a bundle is highlighted: 44%Offer the benefits One of the most striking things about taking a look at rates pages in a vacuum(as in, without often even knowing what the company does),is how disconnected from the rest of the site the page tends to be. While the landing page is frequently really benefit and social evidence driven, it's unusual that the prices page will note anything besides the functions. Surely it would not harm to repeat the reason the possible buyer is here in the first place.

And, not to point out the reality that a common search question for SaaS companies is [business name]+[ rates] Repeating the benefits or employing any kind of copywriting tactics at all on the pricing page appears like an apparent, often-overlooked choice. Here's a terrific example from Rainforest, re-selling the benefits to reassure purchasers once they discover out the price is$10,000/ month: 84 %Organised packages low to high Heatmaps program that visitors spend twice as much time looking at the left side of the page as they do the right. With this in mind, 84%of SaaS pricing pages might be using one of these techniques: Price anchoring: A deliberately feature-light bundle on the left side could make package 2 or 3 appearance like a fantastic offer compared to the price difference. For a non-SaaS reference, this is like when The

Economist offered its print subscription as a decoy bundle: Nevertheless ... 9%Organisedpackages high to low In

Robert Cialdini's book Influence, he states an eternally pertinent A/B test from the retail world staged in 1975. In the experiment, salespeople provided possible buyers of billiard tables2 options: a$ 329 model and a$3,000 model.

The normal tactics are to offer the lower priced design in hope that the client isn't terrified away by hearing big numbers, but one week, instead of starting with the inexpensive table and try to offer up, the salesmen changed their tactics to provide the$ 3,000 design initially. What took place? An 81%boost in earnings from billiard tables. The idea that it's much easier to"offer down "than it is to"sell up

"(meaning that it

's a more efficient method to start high

and the reduce), is a strategy used by just 9%of the examined SaaS companies and is a method that includes high recommendations from SaaS pricing expert Lincoln Murphy. Going back to the previous point about low-high pricing, nevertheless, the method of offering something first which seems inadequate could be equally as effective. Here's an example of a high-low prices page layout from Unbounce, a business which understands a thing or 2 about conversion optimization: 59%list several package's price as 'Contact United States'Without a doubt the most common 4+bundle layout is 3 priced packages and an enterprise plan with the CTA of'Contact United States '. For the minority of SaaS companies which reveal their prices, the complexity of business deals forces majority of SaaS companies to leave their business bundle rates undisclosed. As gone over in my previous article, there are plenty of excellent factors to keep cost hidden for business offers, consisting of: Offers are too complicated to pricewithout totally comprehending the requirements of the consumer Rigid rates might blow the offer for business used to getting discounts You don't want to press$700k consumers down the very same track as$100k clients. By getting them on the phone, an appropriately concierge approach can be taken Business customers do not care about the price anyway, almost the service.Like how fancy restaurants do not have pricing, hidden prices are a visual that provides the aura of exclusivity. Enterprises are utilized to having to call for rates, so the Concept of Least Surprise returns here once again. 49%use a contrasting color for the CTA You don't desire your

CTA to be subtle. After all, it's the only place you want visitors to click when they're on your rates page. According to Unbounce, a guideline for CTA color is to "search for the dominant hue of your page and pick its contrasting color for your call to action". There's

evidence to support this from the well-known red/green A/B test performed by Performable, which showed a 21% greater CTR on the red button which contrasted with the otherwise green page. Here's an example of a clear, contrasting CTA

button on Nitro's rates page: As you can see, the orange CTA

stands out since it's the top-of-the-funnel package they expect to get leads from. While the Premium plan is highlighted, the efforts in the copy above the buttons are concentrated on getting visitors

to evaluate the complimentary package. The most typical CTA

is'Start free trial' Unlike the SaaS 250 where the most common CTA copy was'Purchase Now', AngelList trending startups referred to'

purchase'in their CTA copy lessthan 2% of the time. As you'll see, unlike the enterprise-focused SaaS 250, start-ups seem to be pushing self-service free trials rather of demos with sales staff. Here is a rundown of the top 5 CTAs bought by frequency: Start complimentary trial(25%)Register(14%)Try for totally free(14%)Begin(13%)Request a demo (6%)And the top 5 words by frequency throughout the set: Free (69)Trial( 47 )Start( 39)Try (25)Get(23)Another number of data points about CTA copy: conforming to the true definition of a CTA, 95%of samples start with an essential, like'try', 'begin' or'get'. 39

%of samples remain in title case, with the very first letter of each word capitalized, while 38%are written in all caps. While writing in all caps is disapproved(even among conversion-hungry copywriters ), pricing pages are

basically a call-to-action

in themselves, so drawing attention to where the visitor should go next is vital. 63%Deal a complimentary trial 63%of both Montclare's SaaS 250 and the 383 AngelList trending start-ups

offer a free trial on their prices pages, lots of as the only choice to alleviate into the product. When taking a look at the psychology of free stuff and

run the risk of decrease, it's obvious why SaaS companies utilize

this effective tool as a method to get consumers. And, as I'll take a look at later on, a probable

factor behind why just 6% of the sample companies offer a loan back warranty. Here's what Accountable's complimentary trial offering appears like

on their prices page: 11%Present rates

on a moving scale For SaaS business with a single worth metric, like OnFleet's jobs(a job being a single shipment or pickup of goods), providing rates on a sliding scale can eliminate the confusion that includes revealing visitors a formula like: 0-- 100 tasks

:$X/task 100-- 200 tasks: $Y/task etc. To lower friction, OnFleet's prices page shows both the formula and the slider, in addition to anchors the cost by revealing tasks decreasing in cost significantly

with just a relatively little increase in month-to-month task allowance. For contrast, practically 3 times as many AngelList trending startups provide pricing on a sliding scale than the Montclare 250.

Here's sliding-scale pricing done masterfully: 85%have called bundles While some SaaS business pick to call their packages in relationto their rate(with names like'Basic ',' Premium', etc.), some grab the chance to target segments of their visitors and name the packages by who they're for. Free bundles are sometimes named 'Hacker', like in the case of Algolia.

Enterprise plans are usually called Business. When taking a look at the brackets in between

, nevertheless, it prevails to get plans targeted at

services at specific phases of growth, for instance, the prices for AppView that includes plans for different office sizes: 6 % Deal a cash back guarantee Given that the majority of SaaS startups offer customers a free trial, there's

very little requirement for a money-back assurance which discusses why so

couple of companies note it. According to Kissmetrics:"[ Cashback guarantees are] so worn-out and typical that unless your item is very important( like a car)or simple to return (product products, such as retail items), then you're going to have an incredibly tough time getting rid of an objection with this assurance alone." Amongst the unusual few which utilize it is Close.io-- a company

that's no complete stranger to sales techniques. They even use

it in conjunction with a 30-day complimentary trial: 30 %have a totally free bundle along with paid packages That's right, only 30% of the 386 AngelList trending startups analyzed operate on a freemium model, with the vast bulk of the rest counting on free trials. That stated, that suggests that at 93 %of the sample pages have some sort of free element, whether it's a free bundle or a complimentary trial. According to WeeklyDevelopment, early phase SaaS start-ups are finest off with a freemium design since it is more most likely to attract early adopters. In the future, nevertheless, with a bigger client base, the substantial quantity of free-only users can put an enormous pressure on your support staff, and may wind up negatively

impacting your service in general. Here's

an example of Envoy's pricing page with a complimentary package on offer: What are the differences, then, between business and start-up SaaS rates pages? The most striking

distinction isthat a SaaS startup is practically two times as most likely to show its prices than an enterprise SaaS business. For enterprise SaaS serving a bigger amount of influential customers, it's possible that a lot of organisation originates from referrals and offers are done over the phone without a prices page being needed. This would discuss why 80%of the SaaS 250 didn't have a rates page

. As this, a comparison betweenthe two information sets shows that business SaaS repeats the advantages on their prices page 25 %regularly. Simply like we saw Rain forest's prices page previously, it might be that enterprise SaaS's high-ticket

items need to be warranted to purchasers since selecting one service provider over another is a huge investment. The last significant distinction is that start-ups are 19% more likely to have a mix of priced and' contact us' packages.Just because a SaaS company is a startup does not imply it can't serve business and start-ups. By having both transparent prices for smaller sized companies and a'call us'plan, they appeal to both markets. Well, it's been an eye-splitting 3 days invested inside spreadsheets and on pricing pages, so I hope you discover this information interesting and it provides you an insight into the common SaaS startup rates pages. This was a guest post from Benjamin Brandall. Ben is a content creator at Process Street. Find him on Twitter here.

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switchstrategyblog · 7 years ago

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Danny Margulies – Secrets Of A Six-Figure Upworker

Now available: Secrets of a Six-Figure Upworker A premium online course and proven path for winning all the work you can handle, commanding top fees, and getting the clients to come to you

Based on over 3 years of experience, research and testing, this course offers strategic and psychological approaches that fly in the face of the conventional wisdom that has proven useless on platforms like Upwork.

20+ lessons (including 10+ hours of video and audio) packed with groundbreaking training

Module 1: Your Business

Lesson 1 – Your big picture game plan

You can’t earn $50k-$100k on Upwork just by doing a lot. You need a proven plan. See how my 3-point big picture strategy earns me (and my students) more money in less time. Learn why “getting more clients” should not be your goal. Discover the invisible game the Old Pros don’t want you to know about. And more.

Lesson 2 – The psychology of attracting high-quality clients

It’s no fluke that lots of Upworkers just do okay, while an elite few have more high paying work than they know what to do with. Learn the key business principles these winners have successfully borrowed from companies like Apple and Starbucks, and applied to freelancing. Find out the truth about why some freelancers are always stuck with lukewarm clients, no matter how hard they work. See why even the best clients are willing to pay certain freelancers very well, but not others. And more.

Lesson 3 – Designing a high-end freelancing business

Average freelancers set up shop on Upwork, then wonder why great clients don’t beat a path to their door. But the best clients don’t show up by accident. Find out what they’re really looking for (hint: it’s not “competitive pricing” or years of experience)–and how you can give it to them, even if it’s your first day freelancing. Learn how I strategically decide which jobs and clients to target, how I charge more than 99.9% of freelancers, why I get better results by offering fewer services, and more.

Lesson 4 – Eliminating competition: The art of strategic positioning

Most freelancers drive down their own value by appearing just like one another (usually while blaming clients or “the global marketplace” for their failure). Learn how you can position yourself to stand out from the pack, and appeal strongly to the best clients–without having to compete on price. See how I charge more than all of my competitors on Upwork, without being especially talented or having credentials. Find out why I want some clients to choose my competition over me, why clients don’t want to hear about how good you are, and more.

Module 2: Your Leads

Lesson 1 – The psychology of the Hidden Upwork Economy

I’ve been getting premium Upwork (formerly Elance) clients to come to me for years–with little to no competition. Find out why some of the top clients don’t post public jobs, how to get found by them when they search for freelancers, and how to make your profile irresistible to them so they invite you to their job. I’ll show you the 7 ways most freelancers mess this up (even the Old Pros who should know better, but don’t). And I’ll give you a successful, proven framework you can use to make your profile “sticky” (even if you’re brand new).

Lesson 2 – Commanding attention in the crowded marketplace

You have literally 3 seconds to stand out from the crowd and get noticed by clients on Upwork. Find out what most freelancers don’t know about the psychology of capturing attention, and how clients decide which freelancers to focus on. Get the inside scoop on how your competitors’ unconscious assumptions keep them stuck being “invisible.” Learn the 6 cardinal sins made by even experienced professionals, and what you should do instead.

Lesson 3 – The science of winning first impressions

Human beings are wired for snap judgments. The latest research shows that clients size you up in 1/100th of a second–and this is before they even interact with you personally. Learn the surprising science of how to win clients’ trust instantaneously, without any effort whatsoever. See why this impacts how many jobs you get, how much you’re able to charge, and even how happy clients are with your work.

Lesson 4 – Profile Teardowns

Do you know why top performing athletes pay millions of dollars to have coaches looking over their shoulder? It’s to point out the subtle mistakes that creep into their work — mistakes which are impossible to pinpoint when you’re the one making them. In this video, you’ll get to watch me do detailed critiques of real Upwork profiles written by SSFU students so you can learn exactly which pitfalls to avoid — and how to avoid them — when writing your own profile.

Module 3: Your Proposals

Lesson 1 – The psychology of Upwork proposals

Why do my proposals snatch jobs from under the noses of freelancers who charge less than half what I do? Because I take a scientific approach that’s designed to win. See the “retail store” trick I use to turn the tables and get clients to want to do business with me. Get the skinny on the “trigger words” that cause your competitors to make the same predictable mistakes over and over again–and learn how to avoid them. Find out how I leverage psychological “Influence Activators” to outshine freelancers who have 10x my qualifications. See why the best clients aren’t impressed with “years of experience” — and what to give them instead. Get the “billionaire” hack I’ve been using to outperform so-called “experts” for years. And more.

Lesson 2 – Endless clients: The art of persuasive proposals

Time to take the guessing out of proposal writing. Learn my proven, 4-step framework for writing proposals that WORK. This approach flies in the face of conventional wisdom, yet I’ve successfully used and taught my method to hundreds of students, including many of the most successful freelancers on Upwork. See examples of tactics from real winning proposals, along with breakdowns of why they’re effective. Learn my “1-Sentence Rule” for breaking through the noise and getting clients interested in you from the word Go. See how I’ve consistently won jobs with over 70 applicants! Get proven tactics for influencing clients to hire you in just about any situation, without ever sounding “salesy.” Learn my “Pepperoni Pizza Approach” for getting clients excited about working with you. Use my simple system for determining what to keep in your proposal, and what to delete. And more.

Lesson 3 – Handling screening questions like a pro

Screening questions can either be a frustrating hurdle, or an opportunity for you to shine. Shed light on the automatic behavior (learned in childhood) that causes most freelancers to answer screening questions totally wrong. See why clients use screening questions in the first place, and what they’re really looking for when they ask them. Learn about the predictable (and underwhelming) answers the majority of freelancers use for the most common questions, and how they backfire–as well as what you should do instead. See actual examples of winning tactics, and more.

Lesson 4 – Proposal teardowns

In this second teardown lesson, you’ll hear my candid thoughts on actual proposals sent out by SSFU students. We’ll go over real Cover Letters as well as answers to Screening Questions, giving you an insider’s perspective few freelancers ever get access to. These “over the shoulder,” line-by-line teardowns will show you the psychology of winning proposals in action — not just in theory! This lesson alone has helped hundreds of SSFU students supercharge their proposal writing abilities and outshine even their most experienced competitors.

Module 4: Your Results

Lesson 1 – Unlimited ROI: How to leverage one-off jobs into clients for life

Would you rather spend half your time hunting and pecking for new clients–or get emails from half of your previous clients asking you to do more work for them? Get the formula I’ve used for turning over 50% of my clients into repeat customers who keep me busy month after month, so I can make more money, without having to spend my valuable time looking for new work. Freelancers who complain about the “feast or famine” lifestyle don’t understand the psychology of repeat business. They think you need to find new client after new client in order to make money at freelancing — I call this “Revolving Door Freelancing”, and it’s a totally backwards approach. Learn how to avoid this, how to get great reviews from your Upwork clients, and more.

Lesson 2 – Negotiating with confidence and power

Imagine being able to command more money, without doing more work. That’s the power of negotiation. In this video, I’ll walk you through the advanced negotiation strategies I’ve used to consistently charge up to 20x what average Upworkers do. Learn proven, scientifically based techniques, like my “Breadmaker Approach” for getting clients to say yes to your price quotes, and increasing clients’ budgets through “freerolling.” Find out the real reasons clients haggle on prices (and how to avoid it altogether), how to handle counteroffers, and more. I make all of this simple and easy enough for anyone to execute.

Lesson 3 – Skyrocketing your rates (without fear of rejection)

Freelancing is most fun when you get to charge what you want with confidence and power. Learn my “Rock Climbing Method” for raising your prices without any risk or fear of losing out on business. I’ve used this exact approach to grow my income quickly, beyond what most online freelancers believe possible. This method has its roots in the principles of successful investing, yet it’s something that anyone can do.

How is this course different from other Upwork-related courses? The difference between this course and other books, videos, and paid trainings that claim to teach you how to make money on Upwork (and other freelancing sites) is that I’ve personally used this exact system to earn over $100,000 in just a single year.

I’ve seen other courses too. And I’m a guy who likes to invest money into training. But notice how those other course instructors never seem to post screenshots of their earnings–or, in some cases, even TELL you how much they’ve made. Curious, no?

By all means, purchase whichever course you like. But before you do, send a quick email to the person behind it, asking them how much money they’ve actually EARNED using the approach they’re selling. And ask for screenshots (likes the ones on this page).

If all they can produce are meager earnings for themselves, how are they going to help you earn the kind of money you want and deserve from your online freelancing career?

Freelance To Win Learn what it really takes to be successful in the world of online freelancing

Danny Margulies – Secrets Of A Six-Figure Upworker

The post Danny Margulies – Secrets Of A Six-Figure Upworker appeared first on Top Info Scout.

Danny Margulies – Secrets Of A Six-Figure Upworker published first on http://ift.tt/2gY0vxh

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seo1code-blog · 7 years ago

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How To Generate 300,000 Unique Blog Visitors Per Month

Alright, so you’ve taken the plunge and decided to start your own website. Love it.

It shows that you’re serious about your business. You may have even made some financial investments, via design or web hosting.

Whatever it is, just know that the time you’re putting in, and the money you’ve spent will come back to you.

Now that the pep talk is out of the way, we need to face certain realities.

YOU HAVE NO VISITORS.

I’m sure it’s no secret to you guys how crucial web traffic is if you want to grow your business.

Despite all of your hard efforts, something just isn’t clicking. You don’t have to feel alone.

Many bloggers just starting out can barely crack 100 visitors a day, let alone thousands.

As a fellow blogger, I know EXACTLY how you guys feel because I was once there. There is no secret formula. You just need a strategy.

Here’s the overview of my users in 2016 for TwelveSkip.com. See how I’ve consistently generated 300,000+ users per month throughout the year?

Here’s what you can do to generate a big amount of traffic in no time:

1. Invest in social media marketing

I’ve learned that every social media channel is different. Some networks may work for you while others may not.

Check out this stat from 2016: (see how Pinterest and Facebook bring the most social traffic?)

Image Source: Pinterest

Here’s what I’ve noticed:

Pinterest works well for those who are in the creative industry (bloggers, fashion, makeup, weddings). Most people use Pinterest to search and curate ideas.

Facebook works well for those who are in the entertainment industry. The audience here usually likes and/or shares content that sparks emotion.

Here are some useful tutorials: Generate Traffic from Pinterest, Driving More Facebook Traffic, How to Grow Followers on Instagram

Social media should be a part of your daily marketing and that is a non-negotiable – at least until you are able to build up a big enough following.

2. Provide freebies that your target market craves

People think that in order to sell, that making money must be their entire focus. Of course, you want to make money.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t throw out a free nugget of wisdom every so often for your new or loyal visitors.

I use this tactic all the time and it works.

In my blog post, 100+ Blog Post Title Templates That Grab Attention, I break down the simple, yet effective way to create catchy blog titles. Here’s an example:

This article really generated a lot of positive feedback because, not only did I write about what works and what doesn’t, but I also provide over 100 title templates for them.

People need information but they don’t necessarily have a lot of time to implement the new information they are absorbing.

This step-by-step formula made it easy for people to create powerful titles, without having to waste precious brain power to create them.

This gives entrepreneurs more time to focus on their business, rather than small details that can often drive people crazy.

What do I get in return? I’ve been racking up relevant backlinks and email subscribers. More backlinks = better search rankings = more traffic = more email subscribers.

This is Google GOLD!

3. Prioritize email list building

Imagine, I started prioritizing this method after about a year of blogging and I really wish I started earlier than that.

As of 2017, here’s my current number of subscribers – 100K!

It does bring a decent amount of website traffic, and no it’s really not as hard as you think.

Here are the methods I use to generate subscribers:

Offer an incentive. Remember, people love free stuff. So offer them something they crave in exchange for their emails.

Place your opt-in in multiple places. Create several catchy opt-ins and place them somewhere visible on your website. This can be done via pop-ups, top bar, bottom right or within your blog posts.

Make it easy to subscribe. Remember, you want to make people’s lives easier. Only request 1 or 2 pieces of information (email and name).

You can check out my website (TwelveSkip.com) and see how I place my opt-in forms. There is one on the top, there is one pop up, some within my blog posts and at the bottom of every blog post.

Here’s an example post:

Encourage your readers to subscribe by using beautiful visuals and an effective call to action button. Let them know exactly what they’re getting.

4. Make your content easy to read

Remember, one of your goals is to make a good impression (to keep your visitors coming back).

You want people to remember that your content is easy to follow or scan. You don’t want to scare them off with lengthy, uninterrupted text.

Organize your content in an easy-to-follow format. This includes everything from having images that are big and clear, to making sure your content is easy to read.

Here’s what I do:

Use lists. Not only does it make your content look more appealing but it also give your readers a visual break.

Use readable fonts. Use fonts that are easy to read. I recommend using commonly-used ones such as Arial, Georgia, Times New Roman or Trebuchet MS. Do not use less than 12px in size.

Use visual aids. Keep your readers’ attention and make reading a lot more enjoyable with relevant and appealing visuals.

5. Infuse SEO

SEO has always been my most favorite method for driving website traffic. Here’s a stat from Google Analytics. In 2016, about 70% of my visitors came from search engines. Amazing, right?

Let’s take a look at this example post with over 1.8 million views:

Why? Not only is it useful, but it’s also optimized for search engines.

Here are some other methods I use to get better search rankings:

Use keywords effectively. Determine what keywords you need to use by defining your target market’s wants and needs, and by watching your competitors. Here’s a good guide for you.

Wrapping up

What are your favorite ways to increase traffic? Time to share!

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