#i have been scouring all the plus size shopping sites i know

[choking-on-roses]

Plus size women's 100% "cotton" plaid nightgown: wrong size, wrong fabric, wrong colour, $150

4XL men's 100% cotton plaid pajama shirt that is definitely big enough to be worn as a nightgown even by a plus size woman: yeah sure here you go, also it has pockets and a matching pair of bottoms. $15

[gideonaceleigh]

Camp NaNoWriMo Week 3

Weekly Round Up!!

Word Count: 53,864/10,000 broke 50k what’s upppp

Average Words per Day:  2,564

That’s nearly 30k this week?? I’m mostly building off of what was already written but it still counts okay??

I have also come up with a working title! PROTOTYPE (I’m not completely sold but it’s definitely something to build off of)

~Day 15 ~ Day 16 ~ Day 17 ~ Day 18 ~ Day 19 ~ Day 20 ~ Day 21~

Tag List: @oscarfuckingwilde @minnowf @dove-actually @dahladahlabills

I’m posting a (much) longer excerpt of a chapter I worked on because #fakegirlfriends Caris (approx. 5,300 words)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“This is insane,” hisses Talis, for the fifth time that day.

“I know,” says Iris, also for the fifth time that day.

“By insane I mean suicidal.”

“I appreciate the good vibes you’re sending my way.”

“You know I’m always here for you,” Talis nods sagely.

The tablet is propped back up on its stand on the table under the window so Talis can see the whole room and be a part of the group as Iris and Cat prepare for the gala. They aren’t going to be able to bring much with them. Cat bought a, very tiny, purse while they were hunting for appropriate black-tie attire, but it’s built more for fashion than practicality and therefore barely large enough for them to stuff their ID’s and forged invitation to Claire Bennet plus one, in.

M’Lell didn’t send Iris many documents, but what little they did is chock full of relevant information. Iris spent the morning memorizing the positions of the events security detail and planned watch routes while transferring the documents that sketch out the floor plan of the building to the chip in her arm for ease of access. She feels as prepared for this job as one can be, considering the circumstances, and counts herself lucky not to be going in entirely blind.

While waiting for the taxi Iris gives herself a final look over in the mirror, gently dabbing at her shimmering eyeshadow and lipstick.

Pleased with the outcome she turns to Talis. “What do you think?”

“Very classy. And inconspicuous.”

“Just what I was going for.”

“I know.”

Iris glares at her. “If you know so much then tell me this: where exactly will Ahn have the device?”

Talis disappears from the screen to be replaced by swirling purple mist and black letters slowly pushing through. ‘Try again later’ it reads.

Iris doesn’t bother replying, simply slams the tablet screen down, waits for Talis’ muffled cursing, and shoves it in her purse.

“We ready to go then?” says Cat, emerging from the bathroom. She’s gone with a similar color scheme to Iris’ dress, black with silver accents, though she’s chosen a pair of slacks and suit jacket over a silver button up shirt. Her makeup is more involved than Iris’ however, choosing a bolder red lipstick and dramatic winged eyeliner.

“Whenever you are,” says Iris, admiring her style.

The taxi is waiting for them outside the hotel and whisks them away through the night, passing twinkling streetlamps and bright shop windows. With proper rest the trip through town goes significantly smoother for Iris and she’s able to step out of the cab without the same feeling of nausea. She readjusts the hem of her dress that comes to rest halfway down her thigh, while Cat steps out beside her and takes a minute to process their surroundings.

Ambassador Ahn’s gala is being host at the Galactic Institute of Art and Science, and it is huge. Not big, not large, not giant, but monumentally huge. It takes up an entire block at the center of the city and containes nearly 400 floors. The first ten or so levels are dedicated to hospitality: restaurants, café’s, ballrooms, meetings rooms, etc.; all decorated welcomingly and designed for comfort.

The rest of the floors are split by subject, with art centered rooms on the lower levels, and science higher up. The floors are designed for efficiency and to keep visitor’s attention on the displays. The displays are brought in from planets all over the galaxy and represents the creativity, ingenuity, and genius of a hundred-separate species. Nothing in the known universe could ever come close to comparing to the sheer size and quality of these exhibits.

Not that Iris is going to get much of a chance to look around. In fact, if she’s lucky, she won’t have to look far at all. She’s hoping for a fast entrance and an even faster exit, as long as the universe decides to work in her favor for once.

The night is warm, it’s early summer, but she can’t help a shiver and the goose bumps that form along her arms as she passes between the rose gardens lining the path in front of the museum. She and Cat join the small throng of people making their way up the bone white, marble steps.

They fall into line together and Iris feels Cat jump in surprise when she takes her hand with no warning. Cat looks from their now linked hands, and back at Iris who looks determinedly ahead.

“What?” she starts to ask, but Iris interrupts her.

“We’ll be less obvious like this.”

“Oh,” says Cat. “That’s fair. I usually work alone, and I have to say having a so called partner in crime is a completely different ballpark.”

Iris spares her a smile. “You’ll get used to it in no time. You might even find you like having a partner to help you out,” she says and winks at Cat.

Iris turns her focus on the security guard they’re now in front of. Cat presents the invitation, and both of their ID’s are scrutinized in great detail, but they’re waved through with no problems. A second guard checks Cat’s bags and scans them, taking an extra close look at Iris’ tablet. The machine beeps at Cat and she’s called out of the line, but the harried looking guard waves her through almost before a feeble excuse about jewelry passes her lips.

Annoyance flirts through Iris’ brain. Cat is obviously hiding something in her jacket she didn’t warn Iris about. Cat refuses to meet her eye as they walk the final few feet and into the main foyer. Iris shakes off her annoyance, it isn’t fair of her to expect Cat to tell her everything when they barely know each other and chooses to focus on the room in front of her.

During normal day to day operations the lobby is an impressive site. There’s a mural of the galaxy with every star and planet painted in excruciating detail. On the floor is a mosaic of the more immediate solar system done with the same unbelievable attention to detail. There are shades of green and blue Iris has never seen artificially replicated so perfectly before.

The lobby is divided into twelve sections marked off by pillars made with the same marble as the stairs outside. The room is bathed in a soft yellow light that mimics the tone and movement of thousands of candles everywhere. There are a hundred tables arranged orderly around the room with white tablecloths and silver center pieces. The overall effect is ethereal and mystical. Talis would have loved it if she could see it, but Iris can’t risk being found out, not this early in the night.

“Wow,” says Iris.

“I know,” says Cat.

“Ma’am?” An attendant grabs her attention. “What is your name?”

“Claire Bennet,” she says after a short pause. She’s been caught off guard and hopes he doesn’t notice the hesitation.

Like a professional he ignores her near fatal blunder with nothing more than a quirked eyebrow and checks their logs. “If you’ll follow me, ladies, I’ll escort you to your table.”

“Thank you,” says Iris. She smiles and rests her hand in the crook of Cat’s elbow.  

He leads them across the hall to one of the back tables half hidden in shadow. The positioning suits Iris just fine, she has full view of the hall, is seated next to the less important guests that don’t draw much attention and is partially hidden herself.

She sits back in her seat, sips at the wine the attendant pours for her, and watches as the rest of the guests mingle and get settled. Species of every shape, size, and color wander around the lobby oh-ing and ah-ing over the decorations. Their table gradually fills but they are ignored, and they neglect their neighbors.

Cat sits in the seat next to her, but she leaves her drink untouched. While Iris scouts out their surroundings, she scours through the program the attendant leaves them.

“No mention of the prototype here,” she says, too low for any of their neighbors to hear.

“Not much of a surprise there. We’ll stay here until everything gets going. Just follow my lead.”

“You got it, boss.”

Iris rolls her eyes at the over exaggerated deference.

Soon enough the lights dim, and an expectant hush falls over the crowd. A stage lifts from the floor near the opposite side of the hall and a spotlight illuminates a polished wood podium. Ambassador Kimiko Ahn is known the galaxy over as a woman who likes to put on a show, and tonight she doesn’t disappoint.

Anticipation begins to mount to a soundtrack of classical music gradually growing louder and more urgent until the audience is on their feet. It isn’t until the song hits the pinnacle of its score and the crowd, as a collective, feels about to burst that Ahn steps gravely under the light.

Immediately a thunderous round of applause erupts. Iris clamps her hands over her ears in a fruitless attempt to muffle the overwhelming noise and notices Cat follow her lead out of the corner of her eye. Ahn, on the other hand, preens under the concentrated attention of so many people and seems to absorb some of that energy into herself.

“Thank you. Thank you, everybody,” she says after a few minutes and gestures for the audience to quiet down. They follow her direction and settle down, eager for the speech she’ll open the gala with.

“I appreciate you taking time out of your busy lives to come to my little get together here tonight.” She pauses in a very obviously rehearsed manner for the bit of laughter that receives to pass. Two screens are lowered next to her, one on either side of the stage for those in the very back, like Iris and Cat, to get the full Ambassador Kimiko Ahn charm effect. This means that Iris can see the nauseatingly self-congratulatory smile Ahn flashes the audience while she magnanimously waits for the laughter to die down.

“Now, I won’t take up much of your time. I’m sure you’re all eager to get through dinner and start exploring my personal collection. Just a few announcements. This floor is free for you to roam, there are over a dozen different displays for you to peruse through and I hope you enjoy them all.

You will have limited access to the second floor where I have a few more interactive activities for you all to play around with, including a rediscovered holographic game we found in the ruins of Allorn. If you don’t mind me say it is very retro, and much fun. And of course, the bar will be open for the duration of the night.

I won’t monopolize your time further tonight, but please feel free to ask me any questions you may have throughout the night. I could talk for an eternity about everything you will see on display tonight. Again, thank you so much for coming out tonight and I hope you enjoy yourself.”

The stage goes dark and Ambassador Ahn is lost to shadow. A miniature army of waiters come swarming from the edges of the room and descend on the guests with trays of food. The attentive mood that had overtaken the crowd snaps, and is replaced by the sounds of conversation, laughter, and clinking cutlery that now ring out across the room.

While everyone else relaxes and turns their attention to dinner Iris goes on full alert and prepares to make her escape to somewhere a little less populated, but with a lot more security.

There’s a dark hall practically directly behind her. A quick glance around her shows everyone in the immediate vicinity preoccupied with food and conversation. She taps Cat on the arm who in turn grasps her purse close to her person. They slip down the shadowy hall and hide around the first corner.

Iris pulls out her tablet from one of the roomy pockets in her dress and thumbs on the flashlight. She lights up her left forearm and touches the swirly, flower tattoo. She watches as the ink swirls against her skin and forms into the rough outline of the buildings floor plans.

The map shows them on the east side of the facility and in the hall leading to an area generally reserved for employee use, which means it will be largely abandoned during a private function, and has halls leading to all sections of the first floor while avoiding the main floors. She’s reasonably certain she knows where Ahn would stash the device, at least generally, if she brought it with her. The problem being it’s on the complete opposite side of the museum and she’ll have to sneak past the kitchens to get there.

Iris flicks the light off and presses herself against the wall, pulling Cat along with her, when she hears the low murmur of voices and hurried footsteps coming towards her. Iris watches a light bob up and down as the intruders make their way towards them. There’s no way they won’t be noticed. They’re still close enough to the banquet they can easily feign ignorance and claim they got lost on their way to find a restroom.

But if they do that, they’ll probably insist of walking them back to the main room. They need another guise, another reason why they need to be here. Some excuse of privacy they’re likely to empathize with and be willing to overlook their voyeur into a restricted area.

They grow closer, Iris is able to pick out a few words from their conversation such as ‘happy’ and ‘dessert’ and figure they’re part of the serving staff. That doesn’t stop her heart from racing at the idea of being caught.

The glow of the intruder’s light is about to hit them and Iris panics, jumping on the first idea that pops in her stressed mind.

She grabs Cat by her jacket lapels, pushes her up against the wall, stands on her very tippy toes, and presses her lips against hers.

Iris can feel Cat, understandably tense up at first. She is surprised, however, by how quickly she relaxes under Iris’ grip and begins to return the kiss, bending her knees to make them more level with one another.

It almost makes Iris forget why they started this in the first point. It doesn’t last long.

“What have we got here?” asks a voice behind them.

Iris whips around, immediately covering her eyes with a hand to protect them from the bright light shining right at them.

“The parties back that way you know,” says the second party, obviously struggling to push back her giggles.

“I didn’t think anyone was down here,” Iris says, not having to fake the shaking in her voice. “We,” she pauses to look at Cat and grab her hand, “were just looking for a bit of privacy.”

“We can see that,” says the first person. “We’ll pretend we didn’t see you if you promise to rejoin the gala soon. And under no circumstances go further down the hallway. We got a deal?” he asks.

“Of course, thank you so much. I appreciate your discretion here.”

“Don’t mention it,” says the woman. “And don’t have too much fun.” She winks at them.

Iris sighs in relief as they disappeared down the hall. She taps the light back on, this time on a lower setting, and sets off down the hall with Cat in tow.

“What? You’re just going to do that and act like nothing happened?” accuses Cat, tension clear in her voice.

“I told you, acting like a couple makes us a lot less conspicuous.”

“You’re a lot wilder than anyone ever gives you credit for, Iris.” Something close to admiration lacing her tone and replacing the tension.

“I ran off with the son of my families arch-nemesis for two years. What part of that doesn’t scream ‘wild’ to you?”

“Fair enough. Where are we going anyways?” asks Cat.

“We need to get to the other side of the buildings. Unfortunately, is seems the best route there is going to take us straight passed the kitchen.”

“That doesn’t seem like the best plan.”

“It’ll be fine. Like I said, just follow my lead and be quiet,” says Iris. They come to an intersection and she carefully pokes her head out and check that there’s no one there.

“I don’t think being quiet is going to get us passed the kitchen.” Cat rushes after Iris as she jogs through the intersection.

“Thanks, Cat. I’ll figure out a way passed it once I get a look at it.”

“Planning on the fly. I love it.”

“I can’t tell if you’re mocking me or not. I’m going to go with you’re being sincere and ignore any evidence to the contrary.”

Iris pretends she doesn’t hear Cat’s responding chuckle as they resume their trek to the west side of the building. The hallways are pleasantly deserted, it seems almost too easy and she can’t help but feel like they’re walking straight into a trap. Even if they are there’s not much more for her to do but march into the lion’s den, head held high.

Iris and Cat are a few halls down from the kitchens before she starts to notice any signs of life in these side paths. Iris can hear the busy sounds of clinking pots and escaping steam, along with the scent of spices wafting over her.

She waves Cat closer to the wall and inches forward a few more inches until she hovers around a corner where she can observe the kitchen without being seen for a few minutes while she tries to come up with a plan to get passed.

There isn’t much going on this side of the kitchen as there is at the second door closer to the lobby, but every once in a while one of the cooking assistances bustles around fetching some pot or other for the chef. Iris begins to brace herself to grab Cat and make a mad dash by the kitchen door when one of the event’s security guards decides to make a grand appearance.

This guard isn’t from the same group keeping keen eyes on the guests. This one comes from Ahn’s personal contingent composed largely of Walyer’s. A species of large, green specimens with thick, scale like skin, and anything from two to six horns framing their faces making their large eyes, which already take up nearly half of their faces as is, seem even larger.

The bottom half of their face is occupied by a small mouth with lips that are eternally held open by large, yellowing fangs. Walyer’s often find themselves employed as personal security and prison transports due to their intimidating features and ability to exert brute force. Iris has never met a Wayler who stands less that nine feet tall and isn’t too broad to fit through standard doorways.

This Wayler is particularly intimidating. They’re nearly eleven feet tall with two giant guns strapped to its back, a belt of vicious looking knives around its waist, and a vest of grenades and other explosive weapons attached.

Iris swore she felt her heart seize and a wave of dizziness wash over, she feels herself start to hyperventilate.

“Well fuck,” she says, and immediately clamps a hand over her mouth as she inches back to where she left Cat. Luckily the Wayler doesn’t seem to hear her. She grabs Cat and scurries down the hall to hide behind a large potted plant, crouching down as low as she can. A few seconds of clearing her mind and taking deep, calming breathes and she is back in the moment. She slowly loosens her death grip on Cat’s arm and cautiously peeks around the plant back the way she’s come.

“What the hell, Iris?” Cat finally asks, now that Iris doesn’t appear on the verge of bolting out of this galaxy.

Iris peeks around the plant and finds there’s no sign of the Wayler so she relaxes, slumping with her back against the wall, and rests her head in her hands.

“Wayler,” she says.

Cat swears. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“I very much wish that were so,” says Iris, not lifting her head.

“Okay,” says Cat. She sits down next to Iris and thrums her fingers against her leg. “Okay, we need to leave. We can go back to the hotel and work on a new plan. We have time, and this is officially too dangerous.”

“I thought I was the one in charge here? Can’t you just,” Iris waves her hands around, “just siren it or whatever?”

“Oh, come on. First of all, that is so not how that works. And secondly, you don’t actually plan on going through with this?”

Iris raises an eyebrow at her and shrugs her shoulders, already inching forward again.

“Wow. I didn’t believe them, but you really are full hardy aren’t you?”

Iris ignores this as she resumes her earlier spot at the corner peeking into the kitchen, Cat sliding along behind her trying to stick close.

“You know there’s another reason Zerich chose me to come with you. It’s because no one else wanted to be dragged along on your desperate bid for freedom. Your reputation precedes you,” says Cat, hissing the last part under her breath.

Iris rolls her eyes. “You’re exaggerating. There’s nothing desperate about this. I’m just eager for it to be over.”

“Either way, you’re willing to get us killed.”

“You don’t have to babysit me you know. You are free to go back to the hotel. I know you can track my tablet so it’s not like I’m going to disappear if I get back out,” says Iris. She’s growing increasingly annoyed at the delay, she could have gotten passed the kitchen and on her way in the amount of time they’ve spent bickering.

“And miss the fun?” Iris is surprised by the sudden smile on her face. “Not for anything. I’m ready for an Iris brand adventure.” Cat pulls a compact pistol from her inside jacket pocket and gestures to the kitchen with it. “Lead the way, I’m right behind you.”

“I don’t understand you.” Iris shakes her head, happy in the fact that even though Cat kept its existence from her it’s coming in handy now.

“Good.”

“Right.” She motions for Cat to be quiet and strains her ears, searching for any sound or sign of movement. Hearing nothing, she ducks her head out for a quick look. Seeing nothing, she takes a deep breath and looks to Cat.

“It’s not that far,” whispers Iris.

“Make a run for it?”

“It’s worth a shot.”

Iris rolls her shoulders, sends out a plea for success to the universe, and nods to Cat. Cat nods back, and they throw themselves down the hall. They bound passed the kitchen door in a few, sprawling strides, until they reach the shadows of the next hall where they can’t be seen.

Iris slips at the last minutes and ends up scrapping her knee and ripping her leggings in the process. Cat partially catches her and pushes her up against the wall and they freeze, breathing heavily and listening again for any indication they’ve been discovered. Hearing nothing again, they relax, and take stock of the position they’ve found themselves in. Eye to eye, face to face, so close they can feel each other breath and uncomfortably reminiscent of their earlier farce.

The two quickly push apart, breaking eye contact, and take a moment to compose themselves and catch their breath.

There’s no sign of the Wayler. While they’re large, they’re deceptively quiet. Iris can only hope it went through the kitchen and out the other side.

Taking advantage of this quiet moment Iris studies the map on her arm. She waits for it to update and reorient itself to her new position. The situation is getting too nerve wracking for her taste and she’s hoping to find a new route to their destination.

Preferably one unreachable by Wayler’s.

There’s a room in the west wing where the museum catalogs and cleans their items. Some of these items get left in the room for days, so the room is heavily protected and seems the best place to keep something valuable holed up for a night.

She moves the map around, trying to find a new angle, as if that will make a secret route magically appear. Which is exactly what happens. She zooms in to try and get a closer look at their current location and a hidden lower layer of the map appears, revealing a series of vents she didn’t notice before traveling right over where she needs to be. She dances in place as a silent victory cheer.

“What did you find?” asks Cat.

Iris looks up and flashes her light along the hall looking for the entrance to the vent and there, just a few feet to her left on the ceiling, is a grill just big enough for her to squeeze through. Though that assumes she’ll be able to reach that high and force it open in the first place.

She smiles.

“Slight change of plans. I hope you’re not claustrophobic.”

“Not particularly.”

“Good, because I am,” says Iris.

Before she’s able to psych herself up and find a way to get into the vent she hears footsteps. She hurriedly turns off her light and contorts herself into a small, formless blob against the wall until they pass. They have the good fortune of being in a hall that has the lights turned off and easily go unseen.

Light back on she places herself under the vent and slides her hand as far up the wall as she can and finds that, even on her tiptoes, her fingertips are barely able to graze the bottom of the grate guarding the vent.

“Oh, that is cute,” says Cat with a giggle.

“Shut up,” says Iris. “If you don’t have anything productive to add to the conversation then leave me alone. It’s not like you’re much better off.”

“No. But this might help,” she says hauling over a bench Iris overlooked.

Iris stares at it for a few minutes, annoyed at herself for not seeing it first.

“Be my guest.” She moves to the side to give Cat room to position the bench and step up on it.

It’s only about knee high, and doesn’t seem particularly sturdy, but it gives her the extra boost needed making it the best, if only, option she has.

Iris lifts the tablet up until it lights up the entrance to the vent, so Cat is able to get a better look at it as she clambers onto the table. She takes a moment to find her center of gravity, then digs her fingernails between the metal grate and the wall and yanks.

A shower of plaster pours down, sounding like raindrops hitting the ground as they fall to the floor. Covered in a smattering of dust Cat muffles a cough in the crook of her elbow. She crouches down on the table and passes the grate to Iris, who in turn hands her the tablet-turned-flashlight, and gently leans the grate against the legs of the bench on the floor.

This finished, Cat squints up into the dark vent with reluctance.

“It’s disgusting,” she says.

“Would you rather risk running into the Waylor again?”

Cat sighs but doesn’t respond. Iris watches as she grasps the edges of the vent opening, experimentally jumps up and down testing the vents durability, and heaves herself up and in. She wedges her elbows in, hooks a knee over the edge, and pulls herself forwards. The vent’s only a few inches wider than her shoulders and it takes her a few seconds of calculated wiggling to get fully inside.

Iris leaves her alone as she lays on her stomach, gasping for breath, and feels grateful that she wasn’t the one to go in first. She’s also grateful she’s had the foresight to wear a dress with a flexible skirt and practical flats.

“You doing okay in there?” she asks after what seems like an appropriate amount of time passed.

“I am absolutely fantastic. I love having spiders for dinner,” Cat says. Her voice is muffled and has an odd echo to it, like she’s speaking into a tin can. Which she essentially is, all things considered.

“Your sacrifice for the greater good has been noted. You about ready to keep going?”

“Why did I go first when you’re the one with the map anyways?”

Iris rolls her eyes. “I loaded the map on the tablet too. Just follow the purple line I laid out; it’ll be fine.”

“You say that now, but I’m not certain you’re going to be feeling that way once you’re in here, Miss Claustrophobic.”

“Yes, thank you. I’m trying not to think about it so how about you scoot up a bit and let me get this over with already?”

Cat moves forward another foot, giving Iris just enough room to haul herself in. She places her hands on the vent and pushes herself up until the top half of her is lying down. Her feet scramble under her, trying to find something to gain purchase on. She should have made an actual plan here before jumping in. She doesn’t find anything to brace her feet against, but there are a few crevices along the wall she’s able to dig her fingers into and pull herself the rest of the way in with.

She stays where she is, resting her head on her arms for a few minutes trying to steady her breathing. She can feel her heart beginning to race and just the thought of looking up and seeing nothing, but grey walls makes her nauseous.

“Oh my god,” she says. She can feel her chest begin to constrict as panic sets in.

“Don’t worry, it gets better.” Iris can feel the vibrations of her voice through the vent.

“What, are there scorpions up ahead or something?”

“No, I actually mean it. It opens up quite a bit just up ahead.”

“If you’re fucking with me, I will cry. Forewarning.”

“Get up here, Iris.”

Iris groans, but she finally lifts her head, doing everything in her power to focus solely on Cat ahead of her.

Cat is right, the vent opens up considerably just a short distance away. Iris crawls her way forward until she’s able to sit up next to Cat.

“This map is stupid,” says Cat.

“Be nice to my map.”

“I’m sorry map,” says Cat.

“Thank you. What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s rather bare bones don’t you think? How am I supposed to figure out where the hell we are?”

“Let me see it,” says Iris, yanking it from Cat’s grasp when she holds it out behind her.

“Rude, but okay.”

Iris reorients the map until it’s zoomed in on their location and a purple line tracing their path through the maze of vents appears.

“Do you want it back, or do you want me to navigate for you?” Iris holds the tablet out to Cat.

“I think I can handle from here. It’s not like there are a lot of actual direction changes or something,” says Cat. “You ready to go again?”

Iris rubs at her face, trying to pull all the cobwebs from her face. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” She hopes the map M’Lell gave her is accurate, it has been up to now, because the idea of being trapped up here makes her breath catch in her throat. She forces that train of thought out of her mind and focuses on the task at hand. Namely not dying.

[buzrushglobalcommunity-blog]

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Similar to Quora, it is possible to upvote or downvote the responses you will get for a basic questions, and you could also opt for a "finest solution" if you experience you've gotten enough of them.

Explanations.com

What We Like

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Everything You Don't Like

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Explanations.com integrates city-influenced replies with valuable articles and reviews on all types of totally different matters furnished by skilled pros.

What's particularly unique about Answers.com is that you can add an optional image to your question to make it stand out and attract answers faster.

Anyone who the right answers your dilemma will probably have a "confidence votes" body shape shown, which exhibit how often clients verified that their help answer was effective. A user that has an increased self-assurance vote matter reassures you that they determine what they're dealing with.

Just Respond to

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Everything We Don't Like

There is a 7-day trial, even though •A paid subscription service.

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That doesn't always guarantee that you're getting qualified answers from real experts, although Quora and Yahoo Answers have their voting systems while Answers.com has its confidence votes.

If you're looking for the best solution to a query that justlawyer and doctor, technological consultant, repair shop or place repair service personnel could help answer, then Just Resolution is where to search.

This is often a page where one can create your completely full history, incorporating every one of the scummy data, to support your question. An experienced will examine your situation and provide you their preferred help and advice.

Blurtit

The Things We Like

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What We Should Don't Like

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Like Quora, Google Right answers, and Answers.com, Blurtit is one other community concern and help answer online community that's rather less well regarded via the internet.

Subscribe to inquire a subject, discuss users' responses or take advantage of the most suitable sidebar to look through questions or concerns in categories spanning from technology and science to education and health.

One of the major downsides of Blurtit is that there are a ton of ads scattered all throughout the answers, which makes it kind of difficult to quickly skim through them.

Fluther

The Things We Like

•More stringent resolution specifications enhance reply superior quality.

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Everything We Don't Like

•Only three generic classes make surfing a reduced amount of exact.

A different highly social answer and question site is Fluther, which contains only 5 important lists: , exclusively for you, and meta.general and social

Fluther enforces stricter principles included in the normal page to assist get the solutions they got seeking out when they placed their queries. The societal page is reserved for a great deal more informal connections for opinion and humor-centred advice.

Members may produce profiles accompanied by a very own tale, their concerns, their replies plus more ! to produce their standing, and now you may visit Superb Reply upon an answer to vote simply because of its helpfulness.

My Reply Is

That Which You Like

•Different model lets questioner aim for specialized sectors or many people for right answers.

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The Things We Don't Like

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My Response Is takes a distinctive strategy to answers and questions by allowing members to buy who they need to interact with them.

You may place an issue inphoto and text, video or even sound set up and thereafter select the preferred specialties of the people from whom you would like to provide answers to your concern. You can even decide on a sought after location.

The location then scours its society of analysts and invites an appropriate a person to help answer. So, my Reply Is might be the best alternative for you if you've got a question that you want to ask a targeted person or group of people.

Inquire.fm

What We Should Like

•Health supplement inquiries with photos and video.

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Everything You Don't Like

•A far more everyday web 2 . 0 type, so is probably not as successful for searching for answers to truly serious questions.

•Platform's strategies for posing anonymous concerns may be misused to cyberbully.

Consult.fm is a social media for questions and answers. It joins you with pals in your prevailing social networking sites so you can ask them basic questions anonymously or maybe not. You can still use it for finding answers to more serious questions, though it's more of a casual, fun type of platform that you can use to get to know your friends better.

You might also have your important questions significantly more interesting by adding videos, GIFs and photos. Consult.fm has seriously beefed along the safety and privacy possibilities seeing that it's a well known software for youngsters.

Snippets

Everything You Like

•Voting process to filtering system for high quality responses.

•Power to quite simply see users' activity and reputation.

•Quite short question and answer constraints make easy reading through and surfing simple and easy.

The Things We Don't Like

•Challenge and solution span restrictions may just be short for elaborate queries.

Snippets is often a blog that lets you consult brief questions in 20 words and phrases or fewer. Customers who want to respond to your thought should limitation their answers to 50 keywords.

The actual concept driving this type of short answers and questions is usually to continue to keep all sorts of things straightforward recommend anyone to generate correctly to the stage.

When people solutions your dilemma, you'll be alerted by email address. And like a lot of the other web-sites in the above list, end users can vote up strategies to drive them up to the very top.

You can even hover your cursor across usernames to find a quick popup review of their process on the site.

Reddit

That Which You Like

•Will discover a subreddit on almost any theme imaginable.

•Now you may generate and moderate a subreddit area of interest (if it's attainable).

•Voting model polices responses (to some qualification).

The Things We Don't Like

•Massive amount subject matter consist of NSFW and improper themes for several end users.

Reddit really is a famous friendly news community and message table, partioned up into threads generally known as "subreddits" for different issues.

There's a subreddit for pretty much any issue you can actually envision, and a lot neighborhood associates are content to solve specific questions or concerns who have been released from the best "you can ask me things" subreddit.

Use the research line of business to obtain subreddits connected to the main topic of your inquiry, sign in to Reddit (or set up a free account) followed by write-up your problem. As other users leave their answers, you'll be able to comment directly within the thread if you want to reply to anyone.

Question & Answer Website: https: //community.buzrush.com/

[michellelewis7162]

Just How to Get Great Traveling Deals?

Just How to Get Great Traveling Deals?

 Are you planning for a traveling abroad? There are actually a lot of affordable trip bundles that you can easily choose coming from if you are internet a whole lot. Obviously, you still need to select what bargain is going to suit you. Nevertheless, it is actually simply fine to check out the details for wonderful traveling deals today. It is actually quite beneficial to do it online because there are actually a variety of travel packages that you can pick from. Cheap Flights

 It would assist to assess what really prefer to begin with just before obtaining online and also inspect good deals to make sure that you will definitely not be confused, and you are going to certainly not a hard time looking for what you prefer. This post will be actually handling things that our team can possibly do to identify large amounts for travel.First on the listing is to organize the excursion. Make a decision the provisional time, date, the feasible preferred destination, and if are going to be actually alone or even you choose friends. You must note down your requirements due to the fact that these will definitely be your manner in trying to find a wonderful travel bargain that will accommodate your needs.

 Investigation in the most ideal destination based upon your taste. There are a great deal of places. Would you choose a coastline trip or even some intimate areas along with your cherished? You must base the destination on the reason of the vacation. Is that for relaxation or just to devoid of any sort of work? The length of time will be the vacation trip? If you have limited opportunity, then you may receive a nearer place, yet if it will definitely be actually for a longer time period, you may resolve with those packages midway worldwide.

 Seek travel bureau and also companies online. There are a lot of on-line providers as well as companies and they have lots used depending on the client as well as the time's budget plan. Why don't you select a lot of business and browse their promotions? At the same time, note down the hyperlink and also the sets provided to that you will definitely have an endorsement on where to go the moment you have opted for the best one. It is actually really essential to specify all the offers specs given that you are going to be utilizing those along the process of making a decision which work you will acquire.

 Following measure is to weigh your possibilities. Specify the benefits and disadvantages of each package. This is where you apply the method of removal. All you need to perform is eliminate separately the offers that you assume are going to be your last resource. Decide on the first three one of the listing and perform the deliberation. You must locate your decision to the specifications that you have actually revealed prior to you tried to find the traveling handles Carribean.

 Pick your choice and get yourself a vacation. Go back to the internet site and also receive additional relevant information about the traveling package the moment you have decided which deal to go. As soon as you have created sure that you are sure of it, get your own self a traveling bargain and its one mouse-click away from you.Making certain you recognize what you are actually looking for in a trip will definitely limit down your options and will lead you to obtaining the greatest offer that easy. Effectively, most of the trip offers right now are actually extremely specific so you will not a tough time seeking one as long as you have the specifications along with you. Hunt for that terrific traveling offer today and have yourself reserved for an escapade of your goals.

 Online Travel Deals

 It is a reality that for many people, journeying has been thought about a wonderful way of devoting their vacation opportunity-- this, although that a great deal of these individuals additionally travel thoroughly for work. Whether you're taking a trip for business or even delight, you must ensure to check out the wide array of on-line trip offers on call at your fingertips. If you don't, you're missing out on a terrific option for saving amount of money on your trip costs.

 Of course, there are actually some visitors that possess lots of amount of money as well as don't fret about locating the best traveling packages; nevertheless, if you're reviewing this write-up, our team suppose you're certainly not in this particular camping ground!

 By far the most well-liked spot to locate on-line bargains at presents is actually via the online traveling collectors such as Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak, and also Priceline. Though a number of all of them in the beginning concentrated solely on one section of trip (such as air travels or hotels and resorts simply), these web sites right now offer cost comparison shopping for tours, lodgings, cars and truck rentals, and also set integrating a number of components. These types of web sites scour the world wide web to make an effort to offer the most ideal offers for any kind of you can possibly imagine travel plan-- Priceline also gives a 'call your own rate' alternative to potentially get back at better packages. These

 The traveling collectors outlined over promotion some terrific bargains, do not ignore the possibility of travel firms. Lots of travel bureau publicize their promotions online, making it possible for potential vacationers to discover their holiday places along with price cut plans. The travel agencies usually possess bargains accessible that aren't advertised on the huge internet sites. In some cases this is due to the organizations locating last minute offers; various other times, it is due to the simple fact that just a limited lot of reduced deals are available, and also the deals never ever even acquire posted online.

 Aside from the traveling collectors and travel bureau, likewise think about the probability of trying to find savings travel by means of vendors straight. If I see a Carribean flight for $300 on Expedia, I sometimes check out the exact same air travel on Carribean, as well as locate a somewhat far better charge. The exact same could be true for hotels and also car services.

 Always remember while you're seeking your trip bargains that reserving early most of the times causes better savings. Sure, there is actually the occasional excellent last minute deal, however a) those are actually not the standard, and b) you need to have to have an incredibly adaptable trip timetable to take advantage of these bargains-- that is actually certainly not as well simple when you're trying to acquire your family members away during your children's institution springtime breather!

 Least Expensive Airline Tickets - How to Find Best Travel Deals

 You are actually in the market for low-cost airline tickets, however certainly not sure where to begin as well as exactly how to locate the absolute best travel packages. When and also where to look and also how to look, the fact is actually that in purchase to locate the least expensive flight prices and also schedules you require to know. Yes, it is actually that very easy, plus all you need to have to recognize is actually several methods. Of all, perform you need a domestic or even a worldwide traveling ticket?

 Domestic Air Travel

 These may be United States residential air travel or air travels within Europe, or even within any sort of nation or various other continent. If you are appearing fantastic flight bargains, you need to understand WHERE to seek low air travels. If you are actually seeking trips within the US, you might consult with regional US airlines or even holiday company or even seek out trips on the online traveling online search engine.

 WHEN to look), airline companies contend amongst each various other and also they may offer great trip packages (simply understand. Holiday company may also discover you great deals. Below is actually the honest truth ... recently numerous airline companies as well as several sizable as well as popular holiday company started possessing some problems and also numerous airline outlawed those massive companies from selling their airline tickets. Specialized and also little firms still carry out possess incredibly good contracts with primary airline companies of the planet. Thus, my urge is actually to look that possesses the most ideal tour bargain, not at the size of the attraction or the organization. At the end of the time, it matters the amount of you pay for the ticket which you have actually a validated backside.

 Most smaller sized travel bureau have online only booking so they may conserve YOU amount of money through getting rid of workers salaries. Most of the moment travel bureau make use of the same fares as airlines use (unless worked out better costs), yet usually with 0 payment. Given that agencies require to make it through, they are forced to add a small service charge on the best of the ticket cost. If you do incline that, call your trip agent or best of all go online as well as check out air travels your own self. If you are taking a trip within Europe, you may desire to speak to a trip representative or even hunt online trip brokers' web sites initially. In Europe nearby travel agencies and also companies outside Europe that concentrate on global travel will definitely possess reduced tickets due to the fact that they utilize extremely reduced thus referred to as consolidator charges. This is actually nothing at all else, however worked out deals with airline companies to offer special very low priced airline company tickets.

 International Travel

 Whether you live in the United States or even other nation, you journey globally if you leave your country of house.

 What problems transatlantic, transpacific or even other in between nations international trip, your best bet is actually a holiday company. The consolidators will deliver you the very best fare deals as well as are going to locate you the most effective routines. Relying on individual inclinations, some could favor talking with a travel representative, while others will intend to perform their own fare hunt online at their very own rate. There is no right or incorrect choice here. Just as long as you discover a trip and also a fare that works with you, you succeed. HOW to find a travel agency or even a good travel website Always team up with the travel agent or traveling internet site that specializes in your trip place or even area. As an example, if you require to soar from the United States to Europe, seek 'trips to Europe' approximately. Commonly internet search is going to offer you greatest outcomes. Check out several internet sites or known as numerous travel agents as well as compare the offers.

 TAKE NOTE, you may know considerable amounts of significant organizations like Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. Considering that they are big as well as effectively recognized, they might seem attractive to you. They will not constantly provide you the absolute best boat trip, hotels and resort or even tour offers. They may be suitable for United States domestic traveling, however certainly not constantly for international travel.

 Result Budget and Affordable Travel Deals

 Locating realistic spending plan trip is actually not consistently quick and easy! Budget-friendly lodgings and also ways to journey usually leave you searching for last minute holiday offers or booking over a year beforehand (which is actually not consistently feasible when holiday days may alter). When everybody is actually appearing for an inexpensive getaway, it is additionally tough to take a trip during the peak summer months getaway period. The good news is actually that spending plan travel carries out not require to become that hard to discover anytime of the year! Right here are actually a handful of useful tips to discovering budget and also budget friendly traveling offers for transport and also accommodations in prominent trip destinations all year round Carribean.

 The spot many people begin their search for inexpensive traveling deals is online. Travel web sites like FareCompare and also Travelocity are most definitely handy as well as permit you to be adaptable while hunting for planes tickets, cars and truck services, as well as resort lodgings; yet they can not consistently locate the most ideal budget plan trip bargains. Because their data sources typically do not look several of the price cut airlines or neighborhood vacation leasings that provide the ideal prices to vacationers, this is actually.

 Visiting finances airline companies' web sites directly and also comparing the price of their air travels to the tours you discover on sizable airfare hunt internet sites is certainly one means to ensure you are actually acquiring the very best inexpensive trip packages. It is actually also very time consuming and by the opportunity you complete matching up flights, the cost you yearned for could have long taken flight away! The issue is actually just compounded when you at that point need to discover and manual hotel or trip rental lodgings as well as ground transport for sightseeing and tour and also tours at the greatest price during the course of your break. If you think about the cost of your energy and time that you have devoted organizing your trip, together with scenic tours, trips and cottages, now you are actually acquiring costly.

 There is actually a way around the difficulty of reconstructing budget friendly trip: you can easily get in touch with a qualified travel professional or even trip driver whose task is actually to locate the most ideal packages as well as combine all of them right into deal uses! A visitor may anticipate the price of a trip consultant to include in the cost of a holiday, however excursion operators possess several advantages to offering the best finances trip packages. In a lot of cases, excursion drivers possess long-term relationships with voyage lines, airline companies, tour guides, electric motor trainer providers, retreats, and hotels and resorts. These partnerships were actually created as time go on and permit scenic tour drivers to receive the very best rates from their traveling affiliates and pass the discounts on. One more vital spending plan pleasant reality concerning excursion drivers is actually that they possess buying electrical power! Since group travel dealerships get in bulk, the financial savings they get could be passed on to you, much like various other retail sellers.

 If you are actually trying to find economical trip packages, ensure to enroll in tour operators' email lists and also handle alerts to make sure that you perform certainly not skip holiday bundles to locations you desire to take a trip to. Scenic tour drivers function yearly to generate escorted vacations that feature every season as well as are the most convenient means to discover budget as well as budget-friendly trip packages Asia.

 Perks of Availing All Inclusive Travel Deals

 Journeying is actually a satisfying function, particularly if created for convenience. This is actually why several folks choose to journey when they obtain the amount of time off their works or schools-and, of course, when they possess additional money to invest in something that is actually not really needless. Along with the schedule of all comprehensive traveling deals that a lot of providers provide in these times, the client bases have actually extended since even more individuals come to avail of the packages. Besides that, all inclusive travel deals have a lot of benefits to provide that simply include in their attraction one of tourists.

 One of the usual perks that all broad travel bargains offer is actually that you may experience a quick and easy and also hassle-free journey. In fact, it includes the exact condition "all broad". Definition, the traveling package that you will definitely get actually cares for every little thing you may need to have for your trip. You receive the most effective tour timetable with an incredibly practical company. When you receive to your location, you currently have a location to remain in as effectively as dishes to take in the duration of your excursion. Additionally, you have your plan mapped out for you Asia.

 You have signed up for a truly excellent package if this is actually the situation for a recreation trip. What you will certainly acquire is definitely a worry- as well as problem-free trip where you only rest and take pleasure in the areas you head to. On the contrary, if the package deal you get is for a service journey, it will indicate extra efficiency on your component. Considering that you no longer will definitely have to fret about where you are going to remain or even eat or ride, this is. You are going to have the advantage of focusing on the task you have actually journeyed for.

 Yet another benefit of all broad traveling deals is that you can save up on the normal trip costs. What you have to recognize is actually that travel companies or agencies all possess tie-ups with third-party specialist. They understand where they can easily acquire you wonderful lodging deals, with total meal plans. They additionally possess connections that are going to offer you with convenient transport solutions as you go coming from one area to yet another. In much better packages, they can also have a regional tourist guide possessed you to aid you throughout you carry out around the spot.

 Right now, you additionally have to recognize that if you do all these on your own, your expenditures are actually going to blow out of proportions. You will certainly end up spending double for one thing you can easily obtain fantastic discount rates over. Visualize if you make a decision to locate a different resort arrangement, you may obtain deals at a $100 every evening of visit. Your travel representative, at the same time, can easily obtain you a space of the very same top quality but half the price. This, they may do due to existing collaborations that you, naturally, perform certainly not have.

 Eventually, and also in connection with the fact that all inclusive travel deals let you save on your costs, you may additionally enjoy the advantage of having the ability to travel to more than one spot at a time. Nowadays, there are tour deals that string 3 various nations for a particular period of time. Or even, they supply plans that feature cruise ships coming from one spot to an additional. This is actually feasible because of the agreements of travel agencies along with existing alliances along with various other service providers. It permits all of them to publication cottages as well as transport services that allow you cross coming from one nation to an additional without needing to multiply on the traveling costs. This is a benefit that you definitely will miss if you choose to organize your trips on your own.

 Eventually, journeying must be what it remains in the starting point: relaxing. Because you desire to rest, you go coming from your usual area to one more place that you ordinarily perform not journey to. Therefore, you reside in the search for all comprehensive travel bargains that will certainly allow you to create the absolute most away from your trips. Definition, you must go with travel agencies like Resorts 360 that placed a costs on customer total satisfaction. They make certain to help you discover the most effective bargains that are going to permit you have the absolute most unforgettable, furthermore convenient, journey of your life Asia.

 Deciding on the Right All Inclusive Travel Deals

 Folks journey for numerous factors. Either they offer an expert purpose or they are looking for places through which they can easily merely unwind and also possess exciting. For that, they are constantly in the lookout for factors that will make their trip expertises worthwhile. This is why convenience and finances are actually very much thought about by any kind of type of visitor. The good news is, there are now all inclusive traveling deals being supplied both online as well as offline. These are bargains that you can browse through when you are looking for company who may manual and also book a whole entire trip for you. Why should you really want all inclusive travel bargains?

 One reason you should pick all inclusive trip offers is actually that they reduced your expenditures by a definitely wide scope. Most definitely, the "all inclusive" words refers a whole lot for loan you must invest for your journeys. Specifically if you are taking a trip to an international property, you can easily anticipate to be asked for with inflated expenses and also enormous expenses. Regional trips are actually just as expensive. Consequently, what you need to look for are travel setups that will certainly give everything you require for the whole entire trip-fare, hotels and resort, food items, and also nearby tripping among others.

 In this case, you need a trip agent who can make agreements for your vacation. If you consider it closely, you would discover that the deals your agent promotions are actually valued cheaper than when you invest in distinct arrangements on your own. A bundle of both the charge and the lodgings is a great deal less costly than if you acquire an airplane ticket as well as publication a resort individually. This might be actually carried by the simple fact that holiday company have associations along with various other provider. Certainly, they may get arrangements carried out quick and cheap.

 Another explanation you can eat opting for all broad travel offers is actually that you require certainly not to worry about creating separate plans to pay for whatever that you are going to need for your trip. This goes very much like the initial main reason apart from that you recommend even more to the attempt of preparing an excursion than to the amount you will be actually costs. Truly, all comprehensive travel offers lower your TTDs (things-to-do) when considering a journey Asia.

 Nearly all travel agencies are trustworthy in this specific activity. They enable you to follow out along with a set up air travel, total hotels and resort lodging, as well as also a complete nearby travel plan prior to you also fly out to your location. You will certainly possess problems due to the fact that solution providers like airline companies and also lodgings are actually not quickly consulted with when you try to organize for whatever individually. Additionally, you may not reserve the travel on your recommended individualized schedule-and this is extremely achievable with help from travel brokers.

 If you are actually talking to why you choose all broad travel packages, at that point you ought to know that these setups would aid you go to additional places than you actually organize to be actually in. Properly, if you consider how much money and time you are saving from one journey to another when you select all comprehensive travel deals, at that point you will recognize this last cause is really legitimate. After 2 or even 3 excursions, you would certainly be surprised to understand that you have saved a sufficient sum for however another traveling.

 Due to the fact that everybody likes an excellent travel knowledge, this is actually a perk of all inclusive traveling packages that many people like. It broadens your mind and also reveals you to various cultures. Consequently, you require to decide on traveling bargains that will help you plan more than a couple of trips without needing you to purchase significant amounts.

 Inevitably, all broad trip offers are actually certainly not merely part of a band wagon currently. Accurate, individuals are ending up being a lot more familiar with arranging travels especially those bound for other countries. This may be brought on by the ever-encompassing Internet that allows for on the web plans of whatever that you might need to have for a much better trip expertise. Yet in the end of the day, if you are actually after the affordability and convenience of an excursion, after that going with all comprehensive bargains is actually the most effective decision to create. Just choose the appropriate sort of trip bargain and you are off to that escapade you have constantly longed for.

 The traveling collectors described over provide some wonderful offers, don't neglect the option of trip organizations. In enhancement to the traveling aggregators and trip firms, additionally consider the option of appearing for markdown traveling via suppliers straight. If you are actually journeying within Europe, you might prefer to contact a traveling broker or even hunt online travel representatives' internet sites. HOW to find a travel organization or a good traveling site Always operate along with the traveling broker or even travel internet site that concentrates in your travel location or even region. Right here are a couple of valuable suggestions to discovering finances and cost effective traveling deals for transportation as well as lodgings in preferred trip places all year sphere Carribean.

[joaniesrocks]

Keokuk 2019 Geode Hunting

We traveled to Keokuk Iowa with other members of the Minnesota Mineral Club on April 12th for our second trip to the Keokuk area hunting for Geodes. We made the same trip with the club last year, which was marked by a major unexpected late season blizzard on the day of our return. This year, the blizzard was on the 11th and 12th, so we actually enjoyed getting out of town although the first 200 miles of the trip were very windy.

We stayed at the Super 8 in Keokuk, which was more than adequate and reasonably priced. We left at 6:00 AM to arrive by noon, with a scheduled 1PM rally of participants to hit our first target site, Vickers Geodes.

Due to our prior arrangements, Vickers had prepared a section of their location for some good old fashioned rock pick work, which most club members seemed to enjoy and find fruitful. I preferred to walk the creek area on the theory that the spring high water would have dislodged many geodes and in fact I found quite a few along the banks of the creek.

I mostly filled a five gallon bucket, and was happy to pay Vickers $25 for my winnings.

The next day we caravaned to a private farm in Missouri where the club has visited before. Owned by an Amish couple, we followed them in their buggy to an area adjacent to the Fox river which runs through their property. A large sandbar was accessible by wading in the swiftly flowing water a bit more than knee deep. Once on the bar, we were able to find geodes virtually everywhere we looked.

I also took the time to wade to a further down river shore line which was also very productive. There I spied two huge geodes in the middle of the river and was able to roll them to shore.

I used a garden hoe to assist in picking up geodes and it is here shown to help give a size to the large geodes I found

I used a 5 prong claw type garden hoe as my “picker” which save a lot of bending over. It also served as an effective cane which came in handy negotiating terrain and current. If I had one tip for other geode hunters it would be to get one of these. Much cheaper than the scoops advertised in rock and lapidary mags.

I managed to accumulate two five gallon buckets of geodes in relatively quick order, making an effort to stick to geodes of baseball size or larger, and many of softball size. Again, we benefited by being first pickers on the site after the winter and subsequent spring high water.

Amos let some of the youngsters on the trip ride in the buggy which they enjoyed.

Amos and his wife Laura were wonderful hosts and helped us move our heavy full buckets up the steep bank to where our cars were waiting. Laura had made plates of cinnamon rolls that were warm and delicious and just the thing to reboot our energy levels after our geode hunting efforts.

Many of us then went to Wild Cat park in Hamilton Il, where we found another good source of geodes after about a half mile hike in the lower portion of the park. I settled for just a half bucket here as I am a wimp and didn’t relish the idea of hauling a full bucket back the 1/2 mile trek. The best part of this location is that it is free and open to the public.

That evening we all headed to Vera’s a restaurant next to the Super 8. We had a great time visiting with one another and recounting our day together.

We were still waiting for another half dozen of our group to join us when this photo was taken.

The next day we started at Woody’s rock shop in Hamilton, which is open by appointment. There we found more geodes and other attractions. He had a table to broken Geodes that were available at $40 for a five gallon pail or 3 pails for $100. I picked up a pail’s worth, but was disappointed that the selection was not as nice as it was last year. Not to complain though – still a good deal from a dealer who mines tons of geodes year around. Most of which he sells at shows around the country.

Our final stop was at Jacobs Geodes.

Here we worked a cliff. I had tried to walk the creek through Jacobs but had enough of cold feet and did not find the picking very encouraging the first half mile or so. Perhaps it had already been scoured. So I joined the group at the cliff.

There I took a position and hammered away at a mud and shale section which produced a lot of marble to walnut sized geodes. I soon learned that they tended to cluster in layers and with experience was pretty good at knowing when there would be multiples. Before too long though, my arm tired and I was geode satiated. By now it was noon, and time to up and head back for the six hour trip home.

My total take on the trip came to just shy of 5 five gallon buckets of geodes plus those I bought from Woodys. Next step will be to crank up my lapidary saw and discover what’s inside.

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I hope the new year is going great for you all! I want to help you make 2019 the best year for you and your business with some strategies you can be using.Many of you are small business owners or startup entrepreneurs that are just getting started or are established companies that want to move further into the digital scene but have some question about how to do it, listen up. Here are some tips to that every business owner should know and use to have a secure and successful experience online - with no cost (with some paid recommendations).Make a modern websiteWell, I hate to feel like a liar right off the bat. I promised that most of these tips would be no cost but the first suggestion is going to involve paying up a bit. But in my defense, I assume that many of you have a website. But I feel like it’s important to express the different avenues for those who don’t and those who may not be happy with what they have, as a website is an indispensable part of running a business online. It hosts your landing page, information about your business and your team, contact information, product information, testimonials, and more.a. Think it Through: This sounds very obvious, but many businesses don’t have a website or have not updated it in years. A website it the foundation of your online presence and it is where many potential clients start or end their time looking at your business. So it’s important to make your website presentable and fill it with attractive content. Think about what you want your site to accomplish, how will it facilitate your business, what are you willing to invest into it?b. Get a Domain - You can use Namecheap.com, Domain.com or Godaddy.com. Namecheap is usually a bit cheaper (who would have guessed) but I find Godaddy more easily accessible. There will be a few extra steps when you are transferring the name server to the host site. Godaddy requires fewer steps for this process, while Namecheap requires a bit more manual effort.c. Choose a host: There are many great servers: Bluehost (my preference) Hostgator, Dreamhost, and many more. All in 2018 there are so many great host servers, but it’s good to know the specific features of each. I suggest doing some research about what the features they provide and choose the one that best represents the goal of your site. (Some have better customization, others offer in-house security certifications).d. Design your website. I highly recommend using the plugin Elementor (for WordPress) as it has full-page templates that you can customize, so if you need something that looks professional, most of the work is already done. Of course, there are many tutorials online that can help you craft a completely personalized page. My favorite is this video by Tyler Moore:i. Side note, make sure to optimize your website for mobile devices. There are usually features to adjust layouts, text, and images for different size screens. Make sure you do this so that everything lines up and looks presentable no matter the platform your site is viewed on. For your reference tablets are 768px and mobile is 360px.Take advantage of Search Engine OptimizationSearch Engine Optimization is more art than science. Marketers, data analyst, and programmers are continuously trying to discover all the hidden mechanisms of search engine indexing systems. Sites like Google and Bing have to index billions of web pages every day, constantly dealing with new pages, updates, and shutdowns. To manage this the use algorithms called crawlers to index and rank them, for example, Google calls their crawlers ‘spiders’. It is hard to say for certain what factors benefit SEO as Google, Yahoo, and Bing have only revealed some information, but we take the info we have plus extensive research and experiments to get pretty close. If you want to learn more about SEO, check out this beginner's guide by Moz,a. Keyword - One of the best and creative way to boost your search results ranking, boils doing to the types of words and phrases you use to describe your site/business. Crawlers scour your site to get an idea of what it is you offer/service you provide. But the algorithm can’t read and interpret the exact meaning and contexts of the words you use. So it uses keywords, keyword density, and bids to categorize and rank your site. To make sure the crawlers understand what your site is all about, you must use keywords.i.  Make a list: I suggest making a list of words and phrases that best describe your business. Make sure to really think about it (be as technical as possible). Then make a second list about what words, phrases, and questions you think the average person would use to look up your business or a problem your service resolves. This distinction is important because the most technical and accurate terms may actually hurt your results and rankings, as most people do not use them. An example could be a car repair shop promoting a sale on their recarbonation of the exhaust valve (not sure if this is actually a thing), but most people would just look up exhaust tune-up.ii. Find the perfect blend: Take your list and try to merge the words and phrases together, mix and match, and replace them. I suggest coming up with many different slogans and pages descriptions then having a less savvy friend read it. Ask them ‘does this make sense to you?’ ‘Does this accurately describe the service in your mind?’ Use their responses to adjust your keyword choice.iii. There are tools you can use that give you suggestions on keywords, bidding cost, and traffic. Some of the best are SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner, and Soovle, just to name a few.iv. Word Count - a good rule of thumb is to have at least 300-500 words on every page, whether they be on display or within the metadata of the page. Warning: don’t try to cheat the system by adding invisible text for greater keyword density, bots and crawlers are designed to see and penalize this.A side note for this would be making sure you use proper grammar and spelling. Although this is not confirmed it makes sense. If you are offering a Spa service but you mistakenly type sap multiple times, the crawlers will improperly categorize those keywords and may even your entire site (i don’t know what kind of weirdo is looking for sap online but I don't want anything to do with them).b. Backlinks - Thought by many to be the most important factor in SEO ranking should definitely be a top priority. Backlinks are links to your website on other pages, so if your website and business are featured on a popular website or blog and link to your site, Search Engines will rank you more favorably. A great way to do this is to network with other established website, this could be a feature from a news source or blog, or collaborating with another company and have them give you credit. Another great way to get backlinks is to create a free display of your talents, offer it for the public to use, and ask for credit and a link to be used to your site. This can be anything, for example, a detailed, easy to understand graphic of how to change a tire can be used by Driver Ed site or social media page for young people, which can link back to a mechanic shop, thereby increasing traffic and reputation. As long as you are creative, there is some way to get your business out there.c. Speed: Your pages speed not only helps with viewer satisfaction (no one like surfing a site that takes forever to load), but it also makes helps search engines crawlers index your site faster which they will remember, and rank you higher. You can think of the crawlers as workers and the have to index as many sites and pages before they clock out, the longer your site, the longer it takes them to do their job. You can get a faster website by mitigating extra, unneeded features like images, videos, and plug-ins. Another way to increase speed is by adding the plug-in WP Super Cache and turn on caching.Side note- You can test your website speed using a site call Pindgom.comd. Use images - As I said before, crawlers look for a well rounded and robust website so mixing it up with some vibrant images and graphics can greatly improve your ranking. Depending on what you use to make your site you can add descriptions, captions, and alternative text (for those who are blind and use text to voice programs). I highly recommend filling each of these out thoroughly.There are a lot of ways to find photos and graphics to use but you MUST ensure that they are royalty-free or you have permission to use them. Some sites I like to use are Pexels.com and Unsplash.com. Some may ask you to credit the creators, in that case, I would follow the directions they have on the site, usually linking an Instagram or Twitter page.e. Add a Snippet - a Snippet is a short description of each page on your site that can be viewed from the SERP (Search Engine Result Page). Crawler rank sites and pages with snippets more favorably.f. Plug-ins - you can add certain plug-ins to critique each one of your pages specifically and offer suggestions. My favorite is Yoast SEO, but once again I only know that it works on wordpress so I can’t guarantee it will be available anywhere else. It also creates an XML sitemap, for your website.g. Evaluate your site: I like to use Upcity.com’s SEO report card. Evaluates and grades many of the things discussed above.Q and AThis has recently been published by Google that they will be putting a greater focus on Q and A information and creating features on the SERP to answer frequently asked questions. The idea is that this information will be taken from your site and displayed on Google when a question is asked. (You definitely want to be the one answering the most questions, because what's an entrepreneur if not a problem solver)i. The best way to do this adds a comment or FAQs section to your site and generate answers. Of course, you want to answer questions directly related to your product or service, but there are more way to utilize this feature. Get involved in topics similar to yours. If you sell camping tents, try to open a forum about camping tips and survival skills. Anyone interested in that subject to ask questions may be willing to purchase your tent.ii. As you may assume this is huge for your ranking to have your information and jointly your website be displayed on a popular Google search page.SecurityThe internet is an amazing but dangerous place. With tens of millions of transactions flowing through the internet in America alone, people would be wise to take caution before giving their information out to just anyone. To ensure that people trust you and your business, it's important to make it secure. The most common way is to use an SSL certification. This verified identification of a website and encrypted information (good for both sides).a. Free Option: There are a few free SSL Encryption services you can use like letsencrypt.org or cloudflare.com, but this would require a little bit of effort on your part to transfer your host server to their service and your site may even go down or feature disabled while the host server is transferred.b. Preferred Free: Another free option use a Plug-ins on WordPress (I don’t use other website services so I don’t know if there is anything like this on elsewhere). I like the Plug-in Easy HTTPS (SSL) Redirection, its free and easyc. (paid) Other types of SSL.  The most basic and probably what you will get for free is changing the http to https (This stands for secure). But the more recognizable one and the ones that go the extra mile to keep you and your clients safe paid service. You can usually find this feature on your host program but there are many, many more.  Other include a small padlock with the word secure in green text before the domain called OV SSL and one that contains a short description of your business in green text before the domain, an example is Costco Wholesale Corporation [US] called EV SSL, and another called DV SSL, each have different criteria and advanced encryptions that you would have to research more to find out which suits your needs the best.d. Another tip is to make your passwords hack proof. The best way to not get hacked is to have a password that includes a variety of lower-case, upper case, numbers, and special characters (ex. iB8#Hu4WsA3^6*jOp). If you are having trouble coming up with a password you can use websites like Passwordsgenerator.net. You can customize the elements and length too.i. You should also have a new password for every account. This may seem excessive but this is your business and contains all your work ambitions, information about you co works, associates and clients. You must be a little paranoid. One way to do this without having a super memory is to make one strong password and use it to protect a text file offline on your computer, which contains all of the other passwords.e. Backup your site - There are free options to do this. I recommend the BackUpWordPress plug-in on wordpress. You can also find paid services like Dropmysite.comUse Google Analyticsi. First, you want to set it up with your website. The easiest way is you use a wordpress plug-in, otherwise, you might have to embed some code into your website. (are you starting to see why I like wordpress)a. Since there is so much that can be done in analytics it would be too difficult to explain it all here, but here are a few notable features.. On the home page you have options to see the number of users on your site (how many visited), sessions (how many time each person visited), bounce rate (how many leave without interacting your site - lower the better) and duration (how long visitors stayed on your site). You can customize the time frame you view your data at the bottom of the graph.i. Acquisitions can show you what ways people are getting to your site (organic search, direct, referrals, etc.). This can help you see which methods are working best at attracting visitors.ii. Behavioriii. The Audience you can see more specific data how when people visit your site, you can zoom in to see what time of day people view your site or zoom out and see what months or season affect your traffic. It also shows you data about the demographics of your visitors (age, gender, location, etc.).Social MediaSocial Media is arguably the fastest growing outlet to operate and market your business. I would say it is imperative that to have a social media presence in this day and age. Social media is a great way to engage your audience, market your product, and above all establish and foster a brand. Social Media introduces your business to a well of information that can be used legally for market research and targeting. It is also an inexpensive way to advertise. Although there are paid ways to advertise, I believe it is possible to use the free built-in mechanisms to market and advertise.        a. Facebook- Its thirds most visit site in 2017. It has more than 1 billion daily active users. 40% have liked a Facebook page to receive a special offer or promotion (more stats) it's a great way to keep your users' updates, share photos and videos, and connect with your fans. This also helps track your performance as Facebook has a detailed and intuitive analytical section. There are features of likes, comments, and shares, the most valuable being shares as it broads the number of people who will be seen your content. That being said the only metric a smart marketer and business owner should base their performance on is ROI, but it's still fun to look at. These metrics still gives you invaluable information and access to new ways to expand your brand (ex. sharing post lets all of a person's friends to view it, allowing your content to be viewed by many others for no extra cost)i. Start a Facebook page.ii. (Paid) Run Facebook ads: I’m breaking the mold again but this one is definitely worth it. Facebook ads operate on a Pay Per Click system (PPC), so it only charges you every time someone views the ad so to know you are getting your money’s worth. Facebook also boasts one of the best targeting systems. All Facebook users are asked to input personal information, preferences and interests. This is valuable information that can be used to target specific audiences.iii. Start a Facebook community. Depending on your product this could be a huge feature for your client base. For example, if you have an app video game with a large fan base you can start a community so your users communicate, ask questions, and build relationships. This will increase the engagement of users as well as help establish a brand. If people continually go to your business or affiliate social pages for continues entertainment and relationships building, your business becomes more than just a product, it becomes apart of their lives.b. Twitter: The second biggest social media site. There are over 330 monthly users and over 500 million tweets sent every day. It's a great place to communicate with peers and keep your audience engaged and up to date. Tweets are limited to only 140 characters so it’s best to keep your messages succinct.i. Tweet regularly: Tweet frequently to keep your business constantly on the mind of your audience. The worst thing would be for you to stop tweeting and have your audience forget about you. Conversely do not go overboard. I suggest 7-20 tweets a week.ii. Don’t make it all business: Of course, you are using social media to generate more business, but people will get turned off just seeing promotions and products. Wish your audience a happy holiday, give out free stuff, comment on related news/current events, comment on unrelated news/current events, post a funny or cute picture or joke. The more human you can make your account the better reception and engagement you can muster from your audience.iii. Follow People: Make sure to follow other leaders and peers in the industry. This is a great way to learn new things, keep an eye on competitors, and open doors to network,iii. Retweet: Retweeting is where you repost someone else's tweet, article, picture or video. This is a way to tweet with little to no effort, and it shows your audience what interests you. It is also flattering to those got retweeted and can gain you more followers.c. Snapchat- this is a relatively untapped platform for marketing but I believe it will soon dominate the field. It also provides the easiest mode to share real-time notices, videos, and pictures.i. Snapchat Stories- this is probably the biggest feature a business will utilize. You can upload videos, and photos to hundreds, even thousands of followers instantly. The style of videos in snapchat require little preparation or editing so you save time and money using this method. This aspect also adds to the charm of using this technique. The informal feel of it makes your business more human and builds a more friendly relationship with your audience. Some things you can uses this for is Q and As, behind the scenes, updates, and meet ups.The ability to foster meet ups, I believe is the most alluring aspect of snapchat. Having large group demonstrations and meet ups id the ultimate way to engage your audience. You can also utilize a paid feature known as location filters to boost the excitement of the event. This can be used as a marketing tool as everyone within the area has the ability to see this filter which may attract more people and clients.d. Use quoraQuora is a site dedicated to answering user-submitted questions. Answers are also user submitted and ranked by the question asker and other onlookers on its accuracy, effectiveness, and functionality. The top rated answer is shot to the top of the page. Although it may not seem like the best way to attract new clients or build your business, it's a great way to show that you are an expert in a particular field, and depending on the problem, you may be able to help that person directly by providing your product or service. Either way, if you get more exposure. Quora has over 300 million monthly users.i. This one doesn’t need much explaining. Make sure to put some time into setting up your profile and link your site. Then, just answer any questions that relate to your business. To really get the message across you can tag your answers like this:Hope this answers your questions.Best,Bob, Founder of Bob’s Burgers.LinkedInLinkedIn should be on the radar of every business owner. It's a way to interact with other professions, stay up to date on information regarding your field article, and learn about your competitors. LinkedIn has over 332 million profiles and the average number of connections is 932.a. Depending on what your business is and what stage in its development you are in it may be beneficial to contact others in the field. You can connect with others by searching for people with a certain occupation or experience. You can then added or connect with them and wait for them to respond. To increase the rate at which people accept your request, you can write a short message when you send the invitation. I suggest looking at their profile and learning a bit about them first and use that information to your advantage. After you connect, you can ask them questions, learn from their experiences and possibly collaborate with them.NetworkNetworking is key to learning new information within the industry, collaborating with others, and acquiring talent. Of course, social media is a great place to start, but there are other options.a. Shapr - This is a recently released app that connects professions and encourages them to meet, call, and do business/hire each other. (Think of a business orientated tinder account) The app operates with a swiping mechanic, where people view the profiles of others in their area. You can set preferences on what type of people you want to match with and what your goals are. It’s still in its adolescence stage as and I like many are still trying to figure out the culture. But I have personally have had some interesting conversations on it and I believe its worth a try. Just set up a profile and start swiping.b. Reddit/discussion boards - There is an online discussion board for almost any interest or industry. By discussing topics with others in the same field as you on these pages you can gain all the benefits from networking from the comfort of your home. A great place to start is Reddit, has thousands of discussions easily accessible in one place.Press Relations (PR)/InfluencersI mentioned this earlier but we will go a bit more in depth. Getting featured on a news outlet, blog, or social media profile can do wonders for your business or product.a. Make a list: First you have to find the right blog or news outlet. Some of these pages are very niche so put in some research (don’t ask an IPhone lover blog to talk about your new Android-only app). Make sure this list is organized and comprehensive with relevant details. I like to have a record of how big/how much traffic each one gets. If you are having trouble thinking of names a good place to start is Alltop.com. This site has the latest news and blog post from some of the top sites. Be sure to get a varied list of large, medium, and small pagesb. Make another list: After you have narrowed down the options it's time to start making a list of authors. Each author is different and likes to write about different things. Find one or two authors that fits your needs the best. Once again, be detailed with this list, find their social media pages and emails if you can.c. Build rapport: Now you have to get the authors attention. I suggest narrowing the list again to a small group and continue to read their work and comment at the end. Even the bigger sites don’t get too many comments so after a while you will be noticed. Next, I suggest following them on social media, Twitter is the best as you can really find out about what their interests and personality. Now start to like and comment on their posts. Like before, even authors from big outlets may have small personal followings, so they will noticed. Contact: After building up the rapport, send them an email or a message over Twitter. Make sure to reference their work previous work, so it comes across more genuine. I recommend exchanging a few messages before bringing up to the proposition to write having them publish information about your product or service.e. Do the Work For Them: This works because authors are overwork and have a lot of deadlines. Many of them get paid by the article or blog they post, so if they don’t post enough they won’t get paid or even get fired. So, if you come up to them with a story there a good chance they will be interested. But to further increase your odds I recommend writing the blog/article for them. This is why you should take to read their work, so you can better imitate their style. I also suggest doing the research for them. Use and cite credible sources like scholarly articles, databases, and books (if a statistic or fact is false, they have a lot to lose).i. There are no guarantees: even if you follow everything and the author likes you, they may not be accepting ideas of the nature you are offering, or it may get shut down by the editor. Whatever happens, there are many, many, many, blogs and news outlets, so don’t be deterred.And that’s all for today. Of course, there are always new ways to improve your business. I encourage everyone to be proactive, learn new methods, and network. If you believe you can manage all this go ahead, but keep in mind that for many of these marketing tactics that you have to stand out among a sea of competitors. An analogy I like to think about is using SEO and marketing can be thought of where and how your product or service is presented at a store. If you don’t try at all, it's like having your product be in the back of the store (yea its there but you’ll have to ask someone to go in the back and get it for you, not the best method). If you adhere to the standard of marketing, by doing just enough then you will be placed in a spot on a shelf among hundreds of other product (of course this is better than being in the back but are you really standing out?) But if you tailor your marketing techniques to the image and motivations of your business you are going a step further. This would be like having your product display in the window of the store, the first and best thing every customer sees when he or she walks in. Now you will have to ask yourself, how would you like your business to be perceived. Just another one of many, or is it something special, a passion that you want to stand out.I hope this was helpful and I wish you a happy New Year!

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The Boy In the Striped Pajamas

These free printable Elmo coloring pages on-line are enjoyable as they take your baby on an adventure with the cute Muppet. Quick transport - Priced right & even free at occasions! Considered one of the problems with shopping for any kind of denims usually is discovering the proper measurement. Importer of general merchandise and apparel promoting wholesale to the public. And you’ll additionally find a slew of other fabric and apparel craft inspiration from my fellow Silhouette Challenge buddies. And, down the web page you'll find a particular treat: doll face designs. This web page affords web purchasing bargains, key codes, promotional codes and offers. After you've created a strong portfolio and resume, you'll be able to begin to scour the Web for job listings that fit your pursuits and skills. Flanel pajamas are method too thick; however it is still a little too chilly to sleep in your birthday go well with (irrespective of how snug you might be in it). Knit pajamas travel nicely and are very breathable, and Liz Claiborne and Ambrielle have designed knit pajamas in eye-catching designs. Youngsters wearing kigurumi actually really feel wonderful regarding themselves as well as are certain to play in addition to to talk to other youngsters. All of our newborn baby clothes and baby bodysuits kinds are designed for comfort and made with love.

Discover nice deals on eBay for canine clothes patterns and canine clothes. Hence discover online footwear which might be comfy and applicable on you. Imagine getting two pairs of casual wear which are as comfortable as a child blanket, have the look of real denims, and provide stretchable breathing room. However what you put on it with, Zalopany instructed HuffPost Style, is probably crucial a part of all. This has permeated throughout time to develop into an integral part of the Kediyu and the borders of the Kafni Pajama. Most toddler animal costumes are product of sturdy one piece building and often embody toes, so that they make a perfect pajama for cooler fall and winter nights. Extra Details Bedhead Demi Ball Dot Shorty Pajama Set, Fuchsia/Black Particulars Bedhead pajama set in demi ball dot-print knit. What’s more fitting for a fashionable pooch than a daring animal print? Click on the button beneath so as to add the Dumbo Elephant Pajamas Onesie Hoodie Animal Costume Kigurumi to your wish checklist.

I can’t consider anything that I’d discuss with a grown man wearing a onesie. Sporting the dream character like a dinosaur or Pink Panther makes them assume the initial conduct of such characters. Let readers suppose for themselves. This is a particular time in your life that will go by so rapidly, so have fun with all of the planning and dreaming while you put together for you little bundle of joy! Then pull your hand down simply slightly whereas closing your hand so all your fingertips touch. If parents are picking them up, you'll be able to still end the social gathering with a movie so that by the point parents come to choose them up, the youngsters have calmed down and able to head for house. Downstairs is kids's sleepwear and robes, onesies edmonton, plus sized pajamas (I saw 1XL-3XL), and a rack of marked down products. A few of the objects that their site presently sells include: onesies, cloth diaper covers, plastic pants, bottles, bibs, and pacifiers. As any New Englander will let you know, the power to placed on a layer or take it off is the important thing to combating shifting climates. It also addresses key resolution making components when pricing transcription work.

College and part-time jobs had been way more fun than full-time work. It is admittedly enjoyable for her to sleep over along with her finest pals at her home. This weekend was Jordan’s (aka my best good friend) baby shower! Men's 1970s clothes: Disco Shirts, Bell Bottoms, Leisure Fits, Polyester Pants and extra. One other nice surprise with men's silk pajamas and silk boxer shorts is that silk is a very durable fabric so long as you do not abuse it. Common jeans are very fashionable and hip to have on. Some kids are extremely shy and that's actually okay. By making this effort you may be setting your student on a track for improved examine habits that will stay with them and yield results for years to return. Some women will proceed with it until the top of the pregnancy. We cannot use it and it will go to waste. There will be much fun and laughter as the family decides collectively what to pick out.

Stuart said: 'Our wedding day was a lot enjoyable. It doesn't get far more traditional than these plaid pjs. Only per week early than this incident, a cross dressing man sporting women’s underwear and no pants was allowed to board his flight despite complaints from different passengers. Womens Black Short Romper, She felt that, Harry arrived this morning within the car you weren’t desiring to fly, horror-struck. Online automobile auctions have designed a code that will help you understand your rights. I mean that you've to have the ability to inject something of your self into the product too. Should you imply it, say it. I made up a video to point out you the sequence on methods to draft the sample so that you simply won’t lose your manner in the method. Each garment comes complete with a shimmering model of your faculty brand in your faculty colours. In the case of breads, nearly everybody had probably eaten a variety of various flavors, varieties, and types of breads.

[greaterthannine-blog]

Quarter-Annual Favorites: July, August & September 2017

A Richer Take on "The Favorites"

You probably know the term "favorites" from the plethora YouTubers and beauty bloggers of past and present plastering their half-formulated opinions on a monthly basis. Those dodeca-doses of diluted opinions more often than not have about as much substance as an unfilled cream puff; decadently appealing on the outside, but wholly disappointing in their entirety. 

I believe those sorts of monthly reviews are too time and money consuming to be sustainable. A month just isn't enough time for me to purchase, use and adequately evaluate things I want to use regularly. For me to be thorough, I need more time. Plus, I don't want to scour retailers and internets just for the sake of producing "monthly favorites" content. That's a fuck-ton of cash and I don't want to gain readership based on displaying exorbitant consumerism. That just doesn't feel genuine.

Altogether, those factors considered, I'm going to do Quarter-Annual Favorites! Every quarter or three months of the year, I'll publish a collection my favorite things. A year will be divided into quote-on-quote "seasonal" quarters with the first being January, February & March, followed by April, May & June, then July, August & September, finishing with October, November & December. Since I didn't launch this site until August, I missed the first two quarters, so I'm just jumping right in with the summer one.

Style

Tom Ford Grace Cat-Eye Sunglasses in Brown & Tan: 

If there's an accessory that I love most, that would be sunglasses. I'd been on a hunt for these Tom Ford's when I stumbled upon a pair for sale on my favorite website ever: The Real Real. These sunnies retail for $480 but I copped them for $95. They have been sitting on my face or top of head ever since. 

Printed Scarf: 

While we're also on the topic of the head, I have to mention this lil' cherry & pear print hair scarf that I snatched from my mom's closet (I honestly couldn't find an equivalent for the life of me, so here's a lovely Hermès scarf). This is a perfectly sized small scarf that I either wrap a French-girl-esque manner snugly around my neck with a lil' knot or tie it around my hair to frame a ponytail.

Dr. Martens Valentine Arcadia Shoes:

While I've had these shoes for many months now, I've only been wearing them regularly as of the past couple months. They're leather and have a English school-boy feel, which gives them quality yet quirky character.

Riveted Leather Bracelets: 

I love consignment (and if my love for The Real Real doesn't show that then I don't know what would) and a while back I purchased these genuine black leather studded bracelets (a not-quite-so-similar similar) at a local consignment shop for $12. Adorned with denim rivets, these bracelets are a chic and spunky wrist accessory.

"Tomorrow Will Be Better" Strap iPhone Case: 

I'm a sucker for phone cases, and this one has been horribly useful. The strap on the back has a velcro strip on that allows you to strap the case (and your phone) to almost anything. Because I like to use my phone as an activity tracker, being able to attach my phone to my belts is ingenius.

Miscellaneous

Tod the Succulent: 

In one of my many farmer's market excursions, I purchased a succulent for $1. His name is Tod and he's great. If you want a Tod, please go to your local nursery.

Bonsai Care Set: 

Speaking of plants, I began a grand plant-care experiment by purchasing three bonsai trees. I am determined to keep these high maintenance shrubs thriving and this  has aided in my quest with tools to move soil and trim. 

J. Herbin Roller-ball Fountain Pen & J. Herbin Éclat de Saphir Ink Cartridges: 

The allure of fountain pens is real, but I could never get used to their somewhat scratchy writing. Then I found this J. Herbin roller-ball one that I use with cobalt blue ink. The roller-ball nib makes writing graceful, smooth and scratch free. It's honestly the only pen I've used all summer.

Duck Silver Duct Tape Regular and Mini: 

This is silver duct tape, and not the regular-duct-tape-silver, it's chrome. I've been using it to tape photo prints and paper into my sketchbook and journal to add a dash of reflective dimension to pages.

IMG Fashion Camp: 

I attended this camp at IMG Academy campus in Bradenton, FL and boy was it fan-freaking-tastic. I talked bunches of amazing people in the industry, my favorites of which were Bon Duke, Jimmy Moffat, Ivan Bart, and Brooke Wall as well as IMG WME peeps Rachel Fleitell, Jibran Siddiqui and Peter Knell. I also made some great buddies, Alexandra, Shawn and Ian, at the tennis courts. I'm going to make an entire post or two about this camp and my experience, so keep a look out for it.

Now for the Actual Favorites

I now present to you the first Quarter-Annual Favorites for July, August & September 2017. There are five categories for this first post. If I ever have the time or desire to expand for more than five areas per edition then I will, but for now five non-exclusive categories are the way to go. This quarter's categories are:

Style: which encompasses clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, etc.

Photography & Tech: which is exactly what it seems.

Beauty: which is very self-explanatory for today's day and age.

Media: which includes books, magazines, films, TV shows, podcasts, YouTube, other blogs, websites, you get the gist.

Miscellaneous: which is a complete mishmash of things that don't fall under one of the other categories.

For each thing I mention, I've written lil' tidbits that I recommend you read because information is important and all that snazzy-jazz. Plus, I imagine you want to know why I like these things above others, right?

IMPORTANT:

item links are attached to their names, so to go to that thing's page, just click on the name in this black typeface.

Beauty

Fresh Vitamin Nectar Moisture Glow Face Cream: 

Brightening, whitening, radiant, glow are the four adjectives plastered all over my top shelf. So, when I laid eyes on this moisturizer I knew it was love at first glance. It smells of citrus-y creamy candy and evened my complexion in a couple weeks. I swear I will never use another moisturizer. Ever. Go buy it.

Glossier Balm Dot Com in Cherry: 

My lips are about as dry as a prune buried for multiple millennia under 50 feet of Sahara Desert sand. So, in short I need some heavy duty moisture for them, even during summer. This Glossier one hydrates without seeping into the face flesh surrounding the lips (which is a real and legitimate problem people) and gives a lil' pop of cherry red tint. It does smell of cherry medicine or Icee, but I can ignore that.

Burt's Bees Lipstick in 502 Suede Splash: 

For as long as I can remember, I have been an advocate for very light or "no-makeup makeup." Luckily, there lip colors that aren't matte and are formulated to look like your lip color. This one is my lip color but better, and elegantly fades with time. And it's cheap. Perfecto.

Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 55 In Love: 

I love blush. A nice flush of a peachy beige nude suits my skin best and this Chanel blush has been my go-to this summer. It possesses a barely detectable smidge of in-pan shimmer that brings just a tad of definition to the cheeks. The only issues are it's price and it smells of old fancy lady. But then again... It's Chanel.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Nude Bronze Light:

My issue with bronzing and contour is it makes people look like they've smeared sparkly dirt on themselves and have been burnt to a crisp. And for those reasons I've disliked bronzer. That is, until I discovered this Hourglass one. It produces a light sun-kissed shade that hardly looks like a contour. It looks ultra natural; a criteria that makeup must meet for my approval.

Photography & Tech

Olympus 35 RC Point & Shoot Camera:

Out of my two metal-body point & shoot cameras this one works best. It has a nifty-ass manual rangefinder focus which allows you to focus (albeit limitedly) on the subject in frame.

Kodak Professional Ektar Color Negative 100:

 Typically I reach for AgfaPhoto Vista Plus 200 but that has recently become difficult to acquire, so I've branched out a bit. This Kodak is slightly more saturated and the temperature is minutely warmer than the cool-prone Agfa.

Nintendo 3DS XL & Pokémon Moon:

I've been a Pokémon fanatic since I was seven and only recently have I had time to get back into the games. The 3DS I bought two years ago and Pokémon Moon have been a wonderful get-to-know-you-again experience this summer.

Aukey USB-C to USB 3.0 Adapters:

For graduating high school I received a new laptop from my Paw-Paw (grandmother). However, it only has USB-C ports so these adapters have been lifesavers to connect anything to my laptop.

Media

Vivi Magazine October 2017 Issue:

I know that October isn't a month in this quarter of the year, but because this is fashion, this issue was available in August and plus it featured one of my three role models Kiko Mizuhara (who funny enough is a professional model). This is a very vibrant and stylish magazine that I pretty much buy every month. I purchased my copy from Magazine Café and requested in the comment box the October 2017 issue, but you can also order it here.

her. magazine v. 04 spring/summer 2017:

Another favorite magazine!  This mag was created by The New Order founder James Oliver, a native New Zealander. It features Asian women in creative and artistic fields. I love reading about how these ladies started out, made it to where they are now and what they currently do in their craft. Terribly inspirational for a lil' hapa like myself.

Ready Player One by Earnest Cline:

I brought this book with me to IMG Fashion Camp in August. Some good ole science fiction was the perfect escape from the social-media obsessed teenage girl demographic surrounding mefor the week I was down in Florida, and I believe this book lives up to the hype. While it had a fairly predictable plot, it was a very interesting and detailed read. And the protagonist, Wade Watts is the ultimate lovable nerd-geek.

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew:

If you didn't know, Pokémon is the best thing ever. And accompanying my game-playing revival has been a resurrection of watching Pokémon the series and especially the movies. Getting to sit back and rewatch one of my favorite films (no joke this is one of my Top Ten Favorite Films) has been exceptional, especially since it features Lucario, one of my favorite Pokemon.

The Grand Tour Season 1 (Not Pictured):

Top Gear was one of my all-time favorite TV shows. That is, until the departure of the best and most nincompoop-ish hosts in the world. And now it has become terrible. Fortunately, the three British Stooges have made a deal with Amazon to produce The Grand Tour. It's not quite as good as Top Gear used to be, particularly regarding the weird-ass Celebrity Brain Crash segments. But regardless of it's oddities, it is still hilarious. Go watch it. Now.

Hope that this Quarter-Annual Favorites: July, August & September lives up to some already sky-high standards.

Tell me your quarterly favorites in the comments! I really would love some recommendations and feedback!

And as always,

Thanks for popping by.

Toodles.

Abe

[fesahaawit]

There’s No Place Like (a New) Home

If you’ve been following my story for a while, you know I’ve moved many times in the last six years. First, I left my hometown and moved to Toronto for work. After realizing Toronto wasn’t the place for me, I took my job back to BC and moved to Greater Vancouver. Due to a series of unfortunate events (attempted break in, bad roommate situation, etc.), I had to move in/out of three different apartments in my first year there. I finally settled in a condo in Port Moody, where I stayed for two years, before another unfortunate event inspired me to go back to my hometown to be closer to my family.

Throughout all of those transitions, I never minded the moving process. In fact, some of my friends joke that I am a professional mover. They aren’t wrong, in the sense that I know the drill: find a place, pay the deposit, change your address on a million and one things, coordinate the move, take the boxes out and clean, bring the boxes in and unpack, and get your old deposit back. And when you have just 20% of what you once owned, the entire thing only takes a few hours. Moving is easy. Living in a state of transition feels normal. But it’s not normal… or at least, I don’t want it to be my normal anymore.

At the beginning of the slow money experiment, I hinted that I was ready to stop bouncing around from place-to-place. Being back in my hometown has been great. My family needed me, I needed them, and the quality time I got to spend with my friends here is something I will forever be grateful for. It healed me, during a time when I needed extra support. But it was never going to be a permanent move. I didn’t know where I would go next or finally land. I just continued to live in this transition period – until I went to Squamish for two months and realized that was the place I wanted to call home.

I don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner. When I was living in Port Moody, I used to drive up to Squamish all the time to go hiking. Since I’ve been back in Victoria, I think I’ve gone to Squamish five or six times. It’s the place I’ve done some of my most creative work (including finishing writing my book proposal and the first draft of my book) and the place I most love to explore. I notice my anxiety go down as I drive up the Sea to Sky Highway, and I am genuinely sad every time I have to leave. It’s been a great home away from home… but what if it could just be my home!?

That’s a question I’ve been asking myself all year: could Squamish be my home? Could it be the place I finally settle in, find a community and build a life for myself? When I first planned to spend two months there, I had no intention of staying or even considering these questions. But as soon as I started to think about it, I decided to try it on for size and pay closer attention to my surroundings.

One of the first things I (finally) noticed was how nice everyone is. When you walk into the grocery store (or any business) people know each other. Strangers smile and talk to you (which is really nice when you’re new and don’t know anyone). It’s a small community (less than 20,000 people) and you can tell it’s the kind of place where people care about maintaining that. Small business matters. People like to support the local economy. They also care about the environment. And in my last week there, I discovered there is a growing community of creative women who run their own businesses.

That alone was almost enough to seal the deal for me. In February, I met one woman who asked if I wanted to write for her website, then another woman who serves as the editor of that website. I sat around a table and had coffee with 15-20 creative women who meet monthly to discuss new topics related to their work. A few of those conversations have since been taken “offline” and we’ve connected on other topics, including how to save money and how to better serve people with limited incomes. Each of those meetings and connections drew me a little closer to Squamish.

Ultimately, though, I knew I couldn’t make a decision based on just those things. Did it feel like the universe was giving me little nudges every time I had a great encounter with someone and even met other people from Victoria? Of course. Each of those moments felt like another brick had been painted bright yellow to guide me down the road. But I still knew this decision had to come from within and it wasn’t easy to make. Similar to the way I worried before departing on my road trip, I worried about leaving my family and the dogs. I also have zero interest in physically packing up and moving again. Just thinking about it is exhausting. But is it so exhausting that I won’t do it? No. Because, at the end of the day, Squamish is where I want to be.

There is a long list of questions you should ask yourself before moving to a new city. Can you afford it? Does it have good job prospects? Do you like the climate and the geography? I can speak to those things, but I’m guessing you know my answers. Yes, it doesn’t matter (though it’s close enough to Vancouver which is a plus), yes and yes again. But I asked myself some very different questions this time. Do I feel like myself here? Yes, and the best version of myself. Does it inspire me? Every day. Could this move be beneficial for others? If I’m the best version of myself and am constantly inspired, yes again.

And is it where I really want to be? A thousand yeses. So, I’m doing it. I found an amazing place (and negotiated the rent, which is now controlled at a fixed price). I paid the deposit. I’ve started changing my address, packing and coordinating the move. In two weeks, it will all be over. Squamish will no longer be my home away from home – it will simply be my home.

Even though I’m thrilled about the move and can’t wait to get there, I still have this sense that I want to take things slow. Believe it or not, I want to go through my belongings once more and carefully consider each item, before moving it (yet again). I also see myself letting go of some old things and buying a few things for my new home. Here are my intentions for March…

Experiment #3: Slow Move

go through all of my belongings again/only pack what I want to keep

sell/donate everything I don’t want to bring with me

make a list of things I think I want to buy (like a standing desk)

settle into my new home, before actually buying anything

reach out and make plans with new friends :)

The third and fourth points are key, and are lessons I have learned after moving countless times and doing the two-year shopping ban. We’re quick to go out and buy all the things we think we will need, before knowing if and/or when we will actually need them. This is something marketers have engrained in us, because it is at the core of every advertisement: here’s a potential problem you could face and here’s the product to fix it. The problem sounds scary or stressful, so we buy things preemptively to avoid having to face those situations – but at what cost?

I want to move into my new home with the basics (and all my books) and figure out what I actually need. I do know I want a standing desk, but I also know I don’t need it right away. I’m not going to waste money on the first one I see or create physical waste by buying something I don’t end up liking. (And yes, I’ll be scouring sites for used ones!)

If I had to sum this post up in a few words, I guess I would say that I want to be really intentional with this move. All the ones I’ve done before were for specific reasons, including for work and for my family. But this one is just for me, and I don’t want to rush it. I know the drill, and I could tap my ruby slippers together and just get there. But I don’t want to. I want to settle in and make Squamish my home.

In the final stretch of my road trip last fall, I counted dozens of drivers passing by in vehicles filled with their belongings. I imagined the mix of excitement and anxiety they might be feeling about moving to a new city, perhaps for a new job or new relationship. And wherever they were going, I secretly hoped each one of them was doing whatever would make them happiest. Now, it’s my turn. :)

I’m curious: how did you decide where to live?

—

Extra Reading

Kansas – Exile Lifestyle (Colin Wright)

The Equitable Love of Travel and Home – The Art of Simple (Tsh Oxenreider)

There’s No Place Like (a New) Home posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ

[topicprinter]

I hope the new year is going great for you all! I want to help you make 2019 the best year for you and your business with some strategies you can be using.Many of you are small business owners or startup entrepreneurs that are just getting started or are established companies that want to move further into the digital scene but have some question about how to do it, listen up. Here are some tips to that every business owner should know and use to have a secure and successful experience online - with no cost (with some paid recommendations).Make a modern websiteWell, I hate to feel like a liar right off the bat. I promised that most of these tips would be no cost but the first suggestion is going to involve paying up a bit. But in my defense, I assume that many of you have a website. But I feel like it’s important to express the different avenues for those who don’t and those who may not be happy with what they have, as a website is an indispensable part of running a business online. It hosts your landing page, information about your business and your team, contact information, product information, testimonials, and more.a. Think it Through: This sounds very obvious, but many businesses don’t have a website or have not updated it in years. A website it the foundation of your online presence and it is where many potential clients start or end their time looking at your business. So it’s important to make your website presentable and fill it with attractive content. Think about what you want your site to accomplish, how will it facilitate your business, what are you willing to invest into it?b. Get a Domain - You can use Namecheap.com, Domain.com or Godaddy.com. Namecheap is usually a bit cheaper (who would have guessed) but I find Godaddy more easily accessible. There will be a few extra steps when you are transferring the name server to the host site. Godaddy requires fewer steps for this process, while Namecheap requires a bit more manual effort.c. Choose a host: There are many great servers: Bluehost (my preference) Hostgator, Dreamhost, and many more. All in 2018 there are so many great host servers, but it’s good to know the specific features of each. I suggest doing some research about what the features they provide and choose the one that best represents the goal of your site. (Some have better customization, others offer in-house security certifications).d. Design your website. I highly recommend using the plugin Elementor (for WordPress) as it has full-page templates that you can customize, so if you need something that looks professional, most of the work is already done. Of course, there are many tutorials online that can help you craft a completely personalized page. My favorite is this video by Tyler Moore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cbvZf1jIJMi. Side note, make sure to optimize your website for mobile devices. There are usually features to adjust layouts, text, and images for different size screens. Make sure you do this so that everything lines up and looks presentable no matter the platform your site is viewed on. For your reference tablets are 768px and mobile is 360px.Take advantage of Search Engine OptimizationSearch Engine Optimization is more art than science. Marketers, data analyst, and programmers are continuously trying to discover all the hidden mechanisms of search engine indexing systems. Sites like Google and Bing have to index billions of web pages every day, constantly dealing with new pages, updates, and shutdowns. To manage this the use algorithms called crawlers to index and rank them, for example, Google calls their crawlers ‘spiders’. It is hard to say for certain what factors benefit SEO as Google, Yahoo, and Bing have only revealed some information, but we take the info we have plus extensive research and experiments to get pretty close. If you want to learn more about SEO, check out this beginner's guide by Moz, https://moz.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-seo-chapter-1a. Keyword - One of the best and creative way to boost your search results ranking, boils doing to the types of words and phrases you use to describe your site/business. Crawlers scour your site to get an idea of what it is you offer/service you provide. But the algorithm can’t read and interpret the exact meaning and contexts of the words you use. So it uses keywords, keyword density, and bids to categorize and rank your site. To make sure the crawlers understand what your site is all about, you must use keywords.i.  Make a list: I suggest making a list of words and phrases that best describe your business. Make sure to really think about it (be as technical as possible). Then make a second list about what words, phrases, and questions you think the average person would use to look up your business or a problem your service resolves. This distinction is important because the most technical and accurate terms may actually hurt your results and rankings, as most people do not use them. An example could be a car repair shop promoting a sale on their recarbonation of the exhaust valve (not sure if this is actually a thing), but most people would just look up exhaust tune up.ii. Find the perfect blend: Take your list and try to merge the words and phrases together, mix and match, and replace them. I suggest coming up with many different slogans and pages descriptions then having a less savvy friend read it. Ask them ‘does this make sense to you?’ ‘Does this accurately describe the service in your mind?’ Use their responses to adjust your keyword choice.iii. There are tools you can use that give you suggestions on keywords, bidding cost, and traffic. Some of the best are SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner, and Soovle, just to name a few.iv. Word Count - a good rule of thumb is to have at least 300-500 words on every page, whether they be on display or within the metadata of the page. Warning: don’t try to cheat the system by adding invisible text for greater keyword density, bots and crawlers are designed to see and penalize this.A side note for this would be making sure you use proper grammar and spelling. Although this is not confirmed it makes sense. If you are offering a Spa service but you mistakenly type sap multiple times, the crawlers will improperly categorize those keywords and may even your entire site (i don’t know what kind of weirdo is looking for sap online but I don't want anything to do with them).b. Backlinks - Thought by many to be the most important factor in SEO ranking should definitely be a top priority. Backlinks are links to your website on other pages, so if your website and business are featured on a popular website or blog and link to your site, Search Engines will rank you more favorably. A great way to do this is to network with other established website, this could be a feature from a news source or blog, or collaborating with another company and have them give you credit. Another great way to get backlinks is to create a free display of your talents, offer it for the public to use, and ask for credit and a link to be used to your site. This can be anything, for example, a detailed, easy to understand graphic of how to change a tire can be used by Driver Ed site or social media page for young people, which can link back to a mechanic shop, thereby increasing traffic and reputation. As long as you are creative, there is some way to get your business out there.c. Speed: Your pages speed not only helps with viewer satisfaction (no one like surfing a site that takes forever to load), but it also makes helps search engines crawlers index your site faster which they will remember, and rank you higher. You can think of the crawlers as workers and the have to index as many sites and pages before they clock out, the longer your site, the longer it takes them to do their job. You can get a faster website by mitigating extra, unneeded features like images, videos, and plug-ins. Another way to increase speed is by adding the plug-in WP Super Cache and turn on caching.Side note- You can test your website speed using a site call Pindgom.comd. Use images - As I said before, crawlers look for a well rounded and robust website so mixing it up with some vibrant images and graphics can greatly improve your ranking. Depending on what you use to make your site you can add descriptions, captions, and alternative text (for those who are blind and use text to voice programs). I highly recommend filling each of these out thoroughly.There are a lot of ways to find photos and graphics to use but you MUST ensure that they are royalty-free or you have permission to use them. Some sites I like to use are Pexels.com and Unsplash.com. Some may ask you to credit the creators, in that case, I would follow the directions they have on the site, usually linking an Instagram or Twitter page.e. Add a Snippet - a Snippet is a short description of each page on your site that can be viewed from the SERP (Search Engine Result Page). Crawler rank sites and pages with snippets more favorably.f. Plug-ins - you can add certain plug-ins to critique each one of your pages specifically and offer suggestions. My favorite is Yoast SEO, but once again I only know that it works on wordpress so I can’t guarantee it will be available anywhere else. It also creates an XML sitemap, for your website.g. Evaluate your site: I like to use Upcity.com’s SEO report card. Evaluates and grades many of the things discussed above.Q and AThis has recently been published by Google that they will be putting a greater focus on Q and A information and creating features on the SERP to answer frequently asked questions. The idea is that this information will be taken from your site and displayed on Google when a question is asked. (You definitely want to be the one answering the most questions, because what's an entrepreneur if not a problem solver)i. The best way to do this adds a comment or FAQs section to your site and generate answers. Of course, you want to answer questions directly related to your product or service, but there are more way to utilize this feature. Get involved in topics similar to yours. If you sell camping tents, try to open a forum about camping tips and survival skills. Anyone interested in that subject to ask questions may be willing to purchase your tent.ii. As you may assume this is huge for your ranking to have your information and jointly your website be displayed on a popular Google search page.SecurityThe internet is an amazing but dangerous place. With tens of millions of transactions flowing through the internet in America alone, people would be wise to take caution before giving their information out to just anyone. To ensure that people trust you and your business, it's important to make it secure. The most common way is to use an SSL certification. This verified identification of a website and encrypted information (good for both sides).a. Free Option: There are a few free SSL Encryption services you can use like letsencrypt.org or cloudflare.com, but this would require a little bit of effort on your part to transfer your host server to their service and your site may even go down or feature disabled while the host server is transferred.b. Preferred Free: Another free option use a Plug-ins on WordPress (I don’t use other website services so I don’t know if there is anything like this on elsewhere). I like the Plug-in Easy HTTPS (SSL) Redirection, its free and easyc. (paid) Other types of SSL.  The most basic and probably what you will get for free is changing the http to https (This stands for secure). But the more recognizable one and the ones that go the extra mile to keep you and your clients safe paid service. You can usually find this feature on your host program but there are many, many more.  Other include a small padlock with the word secure in green text before the domain called OV SSL and one that contains a short description of your business in green text before the domain, an example is Costco Wholesale Corporation [US] https://Costco.com called EV SSL, and another called DV SSL, each have different criteria and advanced encryptions that you would have to research more to find out which suits your needs the best.d. Another tip is to make your passwords hack proof. The best way to not get hacked is to have a password that includes a variety of lower-case, upper case, numbers, and special characters (ex. iB8#Hu4WsA3^6*jOp). If you are having trouble coming up with a password you can use websites like Passwordsgenerator.net. You can customize the elements and length too.i. You should also have a new password for every account. This may seem excessive but this is your business and contains all your work ambitions, information about you co works, associates and clients. You must be a little paranoid. One way to do this without having a super memory is to make one strong password and use it to protect a text file offline on your computer, which contains all of the other passwords.e. Backup your site - There are free options to do this. I recommend the BackUpWordPress plug-in on wordpress. You can also find paid services like Dropmysite.com.Use Google Analyticsi. First, you want to set it up with your website. The easiest way is you use a wordpress plug-in, otherwise, you might have to embed some code into your website. (are you starting to see why I like wordpress)a. Since there is so much that can be done in analytics it would be too difficult to explain it all here, but here are a few notable features.. On the home page you have options to see the number of users on your site (how many visited), sessions (how many time each person visited), bounce rate (how many leave without interacting your site - lower the better) and duration (how long visitors stayed on your site). You can customize the time frame you view your data at the bottom of the graph.i. Acquisitions can show you what ways people are getting to your site (organic search, direct, referrals, etc.). This can help you see which methods are working best at attracting visitors.ii. Behavioriii. The Audience you can see more specific data how when people visit your site, you can zoom in to see what time of day people view your site or zoom out and see what months or season affect your traffic. It also shows you data about the demographics of your visitors (age, gender, location, etc.).Social MediaSocial Media is arguably the fastest growing outlet to operate and market your business. I would say it is imperative that to have a social media presence in this day and age. Social media is a great way to engage your audience, market your product, and above all establish and foster a brand. Social Media introduces your business to a well of information that can be used legally for market research and targeting. It is also an inexpensive way to advertise. Although there are paid ways to advertise, I believe it is possible to use the free built-in mechanisms to market and advertise.        a. Facebook- Its thirds most visit site in 2017. It has more than 1 billion daily active users. 40% have liked a Facebook page to receive a special offer or promotion (more stats) it's a great way to keep your users' updates, share photos and videos, and connect with your fans. This also helps track your performance as Facebook has a detailed and intuitive analytical section. There are features of likes, comments, and shares, the most valuable being shares as it broads the number of people who will be seen your content. That being said the only metric a smart marketer and business owner should base their performance on is ROI, but it's still fun to look at. These metrics still gives you invaluable information and access to new ways to expand your brand (ex. sharing post lets all of a person's friends to view it, allowing your content to be viewed by many others for no extra cost)i. Start a Facebook page.ii. (Paid) Run Facebook ads: I’m breaking the mold again but this one is definitely worth it. Facebook ads operate on a Pay Per Click system (PPC), so it only charges you every time someone views the ad so to know you are getting your money’s worth. Facebook also boasts one of the best targeting systems. All Facebook users are asked to input personal information, preferences and interests. This is valuable information that can be used to target specific audiences.iii. Start a Facebook community. Depending on your product this could be a huge feature for your client base. For example, if you have an app video game with a large fan base you can start a community so your users communicate, ask questions, and build relationships. This will increase the engagement of users as well as help establish a brand. If people continually go to your business or affiliate social pages for continues entertainment and relationships building, your business becomes more than just a product, it becomes apart of their lives.b. Twitter: The second biggest social media site. There are over 330 monthly users and over 500 million tweets sent every day. It's a great place to communicate with peers and keep your audience engaged and up to date. Tweets are limited to only 140 characters so it’s best to keep your messages succinct.i. Tweet regularly: Tweet frequently to keep your business constantly on the mind of your audience. The worst thing would be for you to stop tweeting and have your audience forget about you. Conversely do not go overboard. I suggest 7-20 tweets a week.ii. Don’t make it all business: Of course, you are using social media to generate more business, but people will get turned off just seeing promotions and products. Wish your audience a happy holiday, give out free stuff, comment on related news/current events, comment on unrelated news/current events, post a funny or cute picture or joke. The more human you can make your account the better reception and engagement you can muster from your audience.iii. Follow People: Make sure to follow other leaders and peers in the industry. This is a great way to learn new things, keep an eye on competitors, and open doors to network,iii. Retweet: Retweeting is where you repost someone else's tweet, article, picture or video. This is a way to tweet with little to no effort, and it shows your audience what interests you. It is also flattering to those got retweeted and can gain you more followers.c. Snapchat- this is a relatively untapped platform for marketing but I believe it will soon dominate the field. It also provides the easiest mode to share real-time notices, videos, and pictures.i. Snapchat Stories- this is probably the biggest feature a business will utilize. You can upload videos, and photos to hundreds, even thousands of followers instantly. The style of videos in snapchat require little preparation or editing so you save time and money using this method. This aspect also adds to the charm of using this technique. The informal feel of it makes your business more human and builds a more friendly relationship with your audience. Some things you can uses this for is Q and As, behind the scenes, updates, and meet ups.The ability to foster meet ups, I believe is the most alluring aspect of snapchat. Having large group demonstrations and meet ups id the ultimate way to engage your audience. You can also utilize a paid feature known as location filters to boost the excitement of the event. This can be used as a marketing tool as everyone within the area has the ability to see this filter which may attract more people and clients.d. Use QuoraQuora is a site dedicated to answering user-submitted questions. Answers are also user submitted and ranked by the question asker and other onlookers on its accuracy, effectiveness, and functionality. The top rated answer is shot to the top of the page. Although it may not seem like the best way to attract new clients or build your business, it's a great way to show that you are an expert in a particular field, and depending on the problem, you may be able to help that person directly by providing your product or service. Either way, if you get more exposure. Quora has over 300 million monthly users.i. This one doesn’t need much explaining. Make sure to put some time into setting up your profile and link your site. Then, just answer any questions that relate to your business. To really get the message across you can tag your answers like this:Hope this answers your questions.Best,Bob, Founder of Bob’s Burgers.LinkedInLinkedIn should be on the radar of every business owner. It's a way to interact with other professions, stay up to date on information regarding your field article, and learn about your competitors. LinkedIn has over 332 million profiles and the average number of connections is 932.a. Depending on what your business is and what stage in its development you are in it may be beneficial to contact others in the field. You can connect with others by searching for people with a certain occupation or experience. You can then added or connect with them and wait for them to respond. To increase the rate at which people accept your request, you can write a short message when you send the invitation. I suggest looking at their profile and learning a bit about them first and use that information to your advantage. After you connect, you can ask them questions, learn from their experiences and possibly collaborate with them.NetworkNetworking is key to learning new information within the industry, collaborating with others, and acquiring talent. Of course, social media is a great place to start, but there are other options.a. Shapr - This is a recently released app that connects professions and encourages them to meet, call, and do business/hire each other. (Think of a business orientated tinder account) The app operates with a swiping mechanic, where people view the profiles of others in their area. You can set preferences on what type of people you want to match with and what your goals are. It’s still in its adolescence stage as and I like many are still trying to figure out the culture. But I have personally have had some interesting conversations on it and I believe its worth a try. Just set up a profile and start swiping.b. Reddit/discussion boards - There is an online discussion board for almost any interest or industry. By discussing topics with others in the same field as you on these pages you can gain all the benefits from networking from the comfort of your home. A great place to start is Reddit, has thousands of discussions easily accessible in one place.Press Relations (PR)/InfluencersI mentioned this earlier but we will go a bit more in depth. Getting featured on a news outlet, blog, or social media profile can do wonders for your business or product.a. Make a list: First, you have to find the right blog or news outlet. Some of these pages are very niche so put in some research (don’t ask an IPhone lover blog to talk about your new Android only app). Make sure this list is organized and comprehensive with relevant details. I like to have a record of how big/how much traffic each one gets. If you are having trouble thinking of names a good place to start is Alltop.com. This site has the latest news and blog post from some of the top sites. Be sure to get a varied list of large, medium, and small pagesb. Make another list: After you have narrowed down the options it's time to start making a list of authors. Each author is different and likes to write about different things. Find one or two authors that fits your needs the best. Once again, be detailed with this list, find their social media pages and emails if you can.c. Build rapport: Now you have to get the authors attention. I suggest narrowing the list again to a small group and continue to read their work and comment at the end. Even the bigger sites don’t get too many comments so after a while you will be noticed. Next, I suggest following them on social media, Twitter is the best as you can really find out about what their interests and personality. Now start to like and comment on their posts. Like before, even authors from big outlets may have small personal followings, so they will noticed. Contact: After building up the rapport, send them an email or a message over Twitter. Make sure to reference their work previous work, so it comes across more genuine. I recommend exchanging a few messages before bringing up to the proposition to write having them publish information about your product or service.e. Do the Work For Them: This works because authors are overwork and have a lot of deadlines. Many of them get paid by the article or blog they post, so if they don’t post enough they won’t get paid or even get fired. So, if you come up to them with a story there a good chance they will be interested. But to further increase your odds I recommend writing the blog/article for them. This is why you should take to read their work, so you can better imitate their style. I also suggest doing the research for them. Use and cite credible sources like scholarly articles, databases, and books (if a statistic or fact is false, they have a lot to lose).i. There are no guarantees: even if you follow everything and the author likes you, they may not be accepting ideas of the nature you are offering, or it may get shut down by the editor. Whatever happens, there are many, many, many, blogs and news outlets, so don’t be deterred.And that’s all for today. Of course, there are always new ways to improve your business. I encourage everyone to be proactive, learn new methods, and network. If you believe you can manage all this go ahead, but keep in mind that for many of these marketing tactics that you have to stand out among a sea of competitors. An analogy I like to think about is using SEO and marketing can be thought of where and how your product or service is presented at a store. If you don’t try at all, it's like having your product be in the back of the store (yea its there but you’ll have to ask someone to go in the back and get it for you, not the best method). If you adhere to the standard of marketing, by doing just enough then you will be placed in a spot on a shelf among hundreds of other product (of course this is better than being in the back but are you really standing out?) But if you tailor your marketing techniques to the image and motivations of your business you are going a step further. This would be like having your product display in the window of the store, the first and best thing every customer sees when he or she walks in. Now you will have to ask yourself, how would you like your business to be perceived. Just another one of many, or is it something special, a passion that you want to stand out.I understand it is hard to work to bring quality content to your customers as it is and now you have to add more work, some of which will not immediately garner returns. But this is rapidly becoming the standard in this age and if you don’t think you can manage it all, I provide premium digital marketing service catered to your business goals and values. If you are interested send me a PM or email me at [CanyonDMG@gmail.com](mailto:CanyonDMG@gmail.com)I hope this was helpful and I wish you a happy New Year!

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I hope the new year is going great for you all. I want to help you make 2019 the best year for you and your business with some strategies you can be using.Many of you are small business owners or start up entrepreneur that are just getting started or are established companies that want to move further into the digital scene but have some question about how to do it, listen up. Here are some tips to that every business owner should know and use to have a secure and successful experience online - with no cost (with some paid recommendations).Make a modern websiteWell I hate to feel like a liar right off the bat. I promised that most of these tips would be no cost but the first suggest is going to involve paying up a bit. But in my defense, I assume that many of you have a website. But I feel like it’s important to express the different avenues for those who don’t and those who may not be happy with what they have, as a website is an indispensable part of running a business online. It hosts your landing page, information about your business and your team, contact information, product information, testimonials, and more.a. Think it Through: This sounds very obvious, but many businesses don’t have a website or have not updated it in years. A website it the foundation of your online presence and it is where many potential clients start or end their time looking at your business. So it’s important to make your website presentable and fill it with attractive content. Think about what you want your site to accomplish, how will it facilitate your business, what are you willing to invest into it?b. Get a Domain - You can use Namecheap.com, Domain.com or Godaddy.com. Namecheap is usually a bit cheaper (who would have guessed) but I find Godaddy more easily accessible. There will be a few extra steps when you are transferring the name server to the host site. Godaddy requires fewer steps for this process, while Namecheap requires a bit more manual effort.c. Choose a host: There are many great servers: Bluehost (my preference) Hostgator, Dreamhost, and many more. All in 2018 there are so many great host servers, but it’s good to know the specific features of each. I suggest doing some research about what the features the provide and choose the one that best represents the goal of your site. (Some have better customization, others offer in-house security certifications).d. Design your website. I highly recommend using the plugin Elementor (for WordPress) as it has full-page templates that you can customize, so if you need something that looks professional, most of the work is already done. Of course there are many tutorials online that can help you craft a completely personalized page. My favorite is this video by Tyler Moore: https://bit.ly/2r8OVUk.i. Side note, make sure to optimize your website for mobile devices. There are usually features to adjust layouts, text, and images for different size screens. Make sure you do this so that everything lines up and looks presentable no matter the platform your site is viewed on. For your reference tablets are 768px and mobile is 360px.Take advantage of Search Engine OptimizationSearch Engine Optimization is more art than science. Marketers, data analyst, and programmers are continuously trying to discover all the hidden mechanisms of search engine indexing systems. Sites like Google and Bing have to index billions of web pages everyday, constantly dealing with new pages, updates, and shutdowns. To manage this the use algorithms called crawlers to index and rank them, for example Google calls their crawlers ‘spiders’. It is hard to say for certain what factors benefit SEO as Google, Yahoo, and Bing have only reveal some information, but we take the info we have plus extensive research and experiments to get pretty close. If you want to learn more about SEO, check out this beginners guide by Moz, https://moz.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-seo-chapter-1a. Keyword - One of the best and creative way to boost your search results ranking, boils doing to the types of words and phrases you use to describe your site/business. Crawlers scour your site to get an idea of what it is you offer/service you provide. But the algorithm can’t read and interpret the exact meaning and contexts of the words you use. So it uses keywords, keyword density, and bids to categorize and rank your site. To make sure the crawlers understand what your site is all about, you must use keywords.i.  Make a list: I suggest making a list of words and phrases that best describes your business. Make sure to really think about it (be as technical as possible). Then make a second list about what words, phrases, and questions you think the average person would use to look up your business or a problem your service resolves. This distinction is important because the most technical and accurate terms may actually hurt your results and rankings, as most people do not use them. An example could be a car repair shop promoting a sale on their recarbonation of the exhaust valve (not sure if this is actually a thing), but most people would just look up exhaust tune up.ii. Find the perfect blend: Take your list and try to merge the words and phrases together, mix and match, and replace them. I suggest coming up with many different slogans and pages descriptions then having a less savvy friend read it. Ask them ‘does this make sense to you?’ ‘Does this accurately describe the service in your mind?’ Use their responses to adjust your keyword choice.iii. There are tools you can use that give you suggestions on keywords, bidding cost, and traffic. Some of the best are SEMrush, Google Keyword planner, and Soovle, just to name a few.iv. Word Count - a good rule of thumb is to have at least 300-500 words on every page, whether they be on display or within the metadata of the page. Warning: don’t try to cheat the system by adding invisible text for greater keyword density, bots and crawlers are designed to see and penalize this.A side note for this would be making sure you use proper grammar and spelling. The crawlers only can index. Although this is not confirmed it makes sense. If you you are offering a Spa service but you mistakenly type sap multiple times, the crawlers will improperly categorize those keywords and may even your entire site (i don’t know what kind of weirdo is looking for sap online but i don't want anything to do with them).b. Backlinks - Thought by many to be the most important factor in SEO ranking should definitely be a top priority. Backlinks are links to your website on other pages, so if your website and business are featured on a popular website or blog and link to your site, Search Engines will rank you more favorably. A great way to do this is network with other established website, this could be a feature from a news source or blog, or collaborating with another company and have them give you credit. Another great way to get backlinks is to create a free display of your talents, offer it for the public to use, and ask for credit and a link to be used to your site. This can be anything, for example a detailed, easy to understand graphic of how to change a tire can be used by Driver Ed site or social media page for young people, which can link back to a mechanic shop, thereby increase traffic and reputation. As long as you are creative, there is some way to get your business out there.c. Speed: Your pages speed not only helps with viewer satisfaction (no one like surfing a site that takes forever to load), but it also make helps search engines crawlers index your site faster which they will remember, and rank you higher. You can think of the crawlers as workers and the have to index as many sites and pages before they clock out, the longer your site, the longer it takes them to do their job. You can get a faster website by mitigating extra, unneeded features like images, videos, and plug-ins. Another way to increase speed is by adding the plug-in WP Super Cache and turn on caching.Side note- You can test your website speed using a site call Pindgom.comd. Use images - Like I said before, crawlers look for a well rounded and robust website so mixing it up with some vibrant images and graphics can greatly improve your ranking. Depending on what you use to make your site you can add descriptions, captions, and alternative text (for those who are blind and use text to voice programs). I highly recommend filling each of these out thoroughly.There are a lot of ways to find photos and graphics to use but you MUST ensure that they are royalty free or you have permission to use them. Some sites I like to use are Pexels.com and Unsplash.com. Some may ask you to credit the creators, in that case I would follow the directions they have on the site, usually linking an Instagram or Twitter page.e. Add a Snippet - a Snippet is a short description of each page on your site that can be viewed from the SERP (Search Engine Result Page). Crawler rank sites and pages with snippets more favorably.f. Plug-ins - you can add certain plug-ins to critique each one of your pages specifically and offer suggestions. My favorite is Yoast SEO, but once again I only know that it works on wordpress so I can’t guarantee it will be available anywhere else. It also creates an XLM sitemap, for you website.g. Evaluate your site: I like to use Upcity.com’s SEO report card. Evaluates and grades many of the things discussed above.Q and AThis has recently been published by google that they will be putting a greater focus on Q and A information and creating features on the SERP to answer frequently asked questions. The idea is that this information will be take from your site and displayed on Google when a question is asked. (You definitely want to be the one answering the most questions, because what's an entrepreneur if not a problem solver)i. The best way to do this is add a comment or FAQs section to your site and generate answers. Of course you want to answer questions directly related to your product or service, but there are more way to utilize this feature. Get involved in topics similar to yours. If you sell camping tents, try to open a forum about camping tips and survival skills. Anyone interested in that subject to ask questions maybe willing to purchase your tent.ii. As you may assume this is huge for your ranking to have your information and jointly your website be displayed on a popular Google search page.SecurityThe internet is an amazing but dangerous place. With tens of millions of transactions flowing through the internet in America alone, people would be wise to take caution before giving their information out to just anyone. To ensure that people trust you and your business, it's important to make it secure. The most common way is to use an SSL certification. This verified identification of a website and encrypted information (good for both sides).a. Free Option: There are a few free SSL Encryption services you can use like letsencrypt.org or cloudflare.com, but this would require a little bit of effort on your part to transfer your host server to their service and your site may even go down or feature disabled while the host server is transferred.b. Preferred Free: Another free option use a Plug-ins on WordPress (I don’t use other website services so I don’t know if there is anything like this on elsewhere). I like the Plug-in Easy HTTPS (SSL) Redirection, its free and easyc. (paid) Other types of SSL.  The most basic and probably what you will get for free is changing the http to https (Thesstands for secure). But the more recognizable one and the ones that go the extra mile to keep you and your clients safe paid service. You can usually find this feature on your host program but there are many, many more.  Other include a small padlock with the word secure in green text before the domain called OV SSL and one that contains a short description your business in green text before the domain, and example is Costco Wholesale Corporation [US] https://Costco.comcalled EV SSL, and another called DV SSL, each have different criteria and advanced encryptions that you would have to research more to find out which suits your needs the best.d. Another tip is to make your passwords hack proof. The best way to not get hacked is to have a password that includes a variety of lower-case, upper case, numbers, and special characters (ex. iB8#Hu4WsA3^6*jOp). If you are having trouble coming up with a password you can use websites like Passwordsgenerator.net. You can customize the elements and length too.i. You should also have a new password for every account. This may seem excessive but this is your business and contains all your work ambitions, information about you co works, associates and clients. You must be a little paranoid. One way to do this without having a super memory is to make one strong password and use it to protect a text file offline on your computer, which contains all of the other passwords.e. Backup your site - There are free options to do this. I recommend the BackUpWordPress plug-in on wordpress. You can also find paid services like Dropmysite.com.Use Google Analyticsi. First you want to set it up with your website. The easiest way is you use a wordpress plug-in, otherwise you might have to embed some code onto your website. (are you starting to see why I like wordpress)a. Since there is so much that can be done in analytics it would be too difficult to explain it all here, but here are a few notable features.. On the home page you have options to see the amount of users on your site (how many visited), sessions (how many time a each person visited), bounce rate (how many leave without interacting your site - lower the better) and duration (how long visitors stayed on your site). You can customize the time frame you view your data at the bottom of the graph.i. Acquisitions can show you what ways people are getting to your site (organic search, direct, referrals, etc.). This can help you see which methods are working best at attracting visitors.ii. Behavioriii. Audience you can see more specific data how when people visit your site, you can zoom in to see what time of day people view your site or zoom out and see what months or season affect your traffic. It also shows you data about the demographic of your visitors (age, gender, location, etc.).Social MediaSocial Media is arguably the fastest growing outlet to operate and market your business. I would say it is imperative that to have a social media presence in this day and age. Social media is a great way to engage your audience, market your product, and above all establish and foster a brand. Social Media introduces your business to a well of information that can be used legally for market research and targeting. It is also an inexpensive way to advertise. Although there are paid ways to advertise, I believe it is possible to use the free built in mechanisms to market and advertise.        a. Facebook- Its thirds most visit site in 2017. It has more than 1 billion daily active users. 40% have liked a Facebook page to receive a special offer or promotion (more stats) it's a great way to keep your users updates, share photos and videos, and connect with your fans. This also helps track your performance as Facebook has a detailed an intuitive analytical section. There are features of likes, comments and shares, the most valuable being shares as it broads the amount of people who will be see your content. That being said the only metric a smart marketer and business owner should base their performance on is ROI, but it's still fun to look at. These metrics still gives you invaluable information and access to new ways to expand your brand (ex. sharing post lets all of an person's friends to view it, allowing your content to be viewed by many others for no extra cost)i. Start a Facebook page.ii. (Paid) Run Facebook ads: I’m breaking the mold again but this one is definitely worth it. Facebook ads operate on a Pay Per Click system (PPC), so it only charges you every time someone views the ad so to know you are getting your money’s worth. Facebook also boas one of the best targeting systems. All Facebook users are asked to input personal information, preferences and interests. This is valuable information that can be used to target specific audiences.iii. Start a Facebook community. Depending on your product this could be a huge feature for your client base. For example if you have an app video game with a large fan base you can start a community so your users communicate, ask questions, and build relationships. This will increase engagement of users as well as help establish a brand. If people continually go to your business or affiliate social pages for continues entertainment and relationships building, your business becomes more than just a product, it become apart of their lives.b. Twitter: The second biggest social media site. There are over 330 monthly users and over 500 million tweets sent everyday. It's a great place to communicate with peers and keep your audience engaged and up to date. Tweets are limited to only 140 characters so it’s best to keep your messages succinct.i. Tweet regularly: Tweet frequently to keep your business constantly on the mind of your audience. The worst thing would be for you to stop tweeting and have your audience forget about you. Conversely do not go overboard. I suggest 7-20 tweets a week.ii. Don’t make it all business: Of course you are using social media to generate more business, but people will get turned off just seeing promotions and products. Wish your audience a happy holiday, give out free stuff, comment on related news/current events, comment on unrelated news/current events, post a funny or cute picture or joke. The more human you can make your account the better reception and engagement you can muster from your audience.iii. Follow People: Make sure to follow other leaders and peers in the industry. This is a great way to learn new things, keep and eye on competitors, and open doors to network,iii. Retweet: Retweeting is where you repost someone else's tweet, article, picture or video. This is a way to tweet with little to no effort, and it shows your audience what interests you. It is also flattering to those got retweeted and can gain you more followers.c. Snapchat- this is a relatively untapped platform for marketing but I believe it will be soon dominate the field. It also provides the easiest mode to share real-time notices, videos, and pictures.i. Snapchat Stories- this is probably the biggest feature a business will utilize. You can upload videos, and photos to hundred, even thousands of followers instantly. The style of videos in snapchat require little preparation or editing so you save time and money using this method. This aspect also adds to the charm of using this technique. The informal feel of it makes your business more human and builds a more friendly relationship with your audience. Some things you can uses this for is Q and As, behind the scenes, updates, and meet ups.The ability to foster meet ups, I believe is the most alluring aspect of snapchat. Having large group demonstrations and meet ups id the ultimate way to engage your audience. You can also utilize a paid feature known as location filters to boost excitement of the event. This can be used as a marketing tool as everyone within the area has the ability to see this filter which may attract more people and clients.d. Use quoraQuora is a site dedicated to answering user submitted questions. Answers are also user submitted, and ranked by the question asker and other onlookers on its accuracy, effectiveness, and functionality. The top rated answer is shot to the top of the page. Although it may not seem like the best way to attract new clients or build your business, it's a great way to show that you are an expert in a particular field, and depending on the problem, you may be able to help that person directly by providing your product or service. Either way if you get more exposure. Quora has over 300 million monthly users.i. This one doesn’t need much explaining. Make sure to put some time into setting up your profile and link your site. Then, just answer any questions that relate to your business. To really get the message across you can tag your answers like this:Hope this answers your questions.Best,Bob, Founder of Bob’s Burgers.LinkedInLinkedIn should be on the radar of every business owner. It's a create interact with other professions, stay up to date on information regarding your field article, and learn about your competitors. LinkedIn has over 332 million profiles and the average number of connections is 932.a. Depending on what your business is and what stage in its development you are in it may be beneficial to contact others in the field. You can connect with others by searching for people with a certain occupation or experience. You can then added or connect with them and wait for them to respond. To increase the rate at which people accept your request, you can write a short message when you send the invitation. I suggest looking at their profile and learning a bit about them first and use that information to your advantage. After you connect, you can ask them questions, learn from their experiences and possible collaborate with them.NetworkNetworking is key to learning new information within the industry, collaborating with others, and acquiring talent. Of course social media is a great place to start, but there are other options.a. Shapr - This is a recently release app that connects professions and encourages them to meet, call, and do business/hire each other. (Think of a business orientated tinder account) The app operates with a swiping mechanic, where people view the profiles of others in their area. You can set preference on what type of people you want to match with and what your goals are. It’s still in its adolescence stage as and I like many are still trying to figure out the culture. But I have personally have had some interesting conversations on it and I believe its worth a try. Just set up a profile and start swiping.b. Reddit/discussion boards - There is an online discussion board for almost any interest or industry. By discussing topics with others in the same field as you on these pages you can gain all the benefits from networking from the comfort of your home. A great place to start is reddit, has thousands of discussions easily accessible in one place.Press Relations (PR)/InfluencersI mentioned this earlier but we will go a bit more in depth. Getting featured on a news outlet, blog, or social media profile can do wonders for your business or product.a. Make a list: First you have to find the right blog or news outlet. Some of these pages are very niche so put in some research (don’t ask an IPhone lover blog to talk about your new android only app). Make sure this list is organized and comprehensive with relevant details. I like to have record of how big/how much traffic each one gets. If you are having trouble think of names a good place to start is Alltop.com. This site has the latest news and blog post from some of the top sites. Be sure to get a varied list of large, medium, and small pagesb. Make another list: After you have narrowed down the options it's time to start making a list of authors. Each author is different and likes to write about different things. Find one or two authors that fits your needs the best. One again be detailed with this list, find their social media pages and emails if you can.c. Build rapport: Now you have to get the authors attention. I suggest narrowing the list again to a small group and continue to read their work and comment at the end. Even the bigger sites don’t get too many comments so after a while you will be notice. Next, I suggest following them on social media, Twitter is the best as you can really find out about what their interests and personality. Now start to like and comment on their posts. Like before, even authors from big outlets may have small personal followings, so they will noticed. Contact: After building up the rapport, send them an email or a message over Twitter. Make sure to reference their work previous work, so it comes across more genuine. I recommend exchanging a few messages before bringing up to proposition to write having them publish information about your product or service.e. Do the Work For Them: This works because authors are overwork and have a lot of deadlines. Many of them get paid by the article or blog they post, so if they don’t post enough they won’t get paid or even get fired. So, if you come up to them with a story there a good chance they will be interested. But to further increase your odds I recommend writing the blog/article for them. This is why you should take to read their work, so you can better imitate their style. I also suggest doing the research for them. Use and cite credible sources like scholarly articles, databases, and books (if a statistic or fact is false, they have a lot to lose).i. There are no guarantees: even if you follow everything and the author likes you, they may not be accepting ideas of the nature you are offering, or it may get shut down by the editor. Whatever happens there are many, many, many, blogs and news outlets, so don’t be deterred.And that’s all for today. Of course there are always new ways to improve your business. I encourage everyone to be proactive, learn new methods, and network. If you believe you can manage all this go ahead, but keep in mind that for many of these marketing tactics that you have to stand out among a sea of competitors. An analogy I like to think about is using SEO and marketing can be thought of where and how your product or service is presented at a store. If you don’t try at all, it's like having your product be in the back of the store (yea its there but you’ll have to ask someone to go in the back and get it for you, not the best method). If you adhere to the standard of marketing, by doing just enough then you will be placed in a spot on a shelf among hundreds of other product (of course this is better than being in the back but are you really standing out?) But if you tailor your marketing techniques to the image and motivations of your business you are going a step further. This would be like having your product display in the window of the store, the first and best thing every customer sees when he or she walks in. Now you will have to ask yourself, how would you like your business to be perceived. Just another one of many, or is it something special, a passion that you want to stand out.I understand it is hard to work to bring quality content to your customers as it is and now you have to add more work, some of which will not immediately garner returns. But this is rapidly becoming the standard in this age and if you don’t think you can manage it all, I provide premium digital marketing service catered to your business goals and values. If you are interested send me a PM or email me at [CanyonDMG@gmail.com](mailto:CanyonDMG@gmail.com)I hope this was helpful and I wish you a happy New Year!