#people on this site don't seem to understand that quality does and will always have an affect on the way fandom interacts with your art

[tocomplainfriend]

REDESIGN AND TIME PERIODS!

SirPentious died in - 1800 / Alastor - 1933 / Nifty - 1950s / Angel Dust - 1947

So I realized unless you told people who didn't know trough streams or wikis-they wouldn't know what time period the character is from! So here have some small stuff for redesigning here! Do research, you have no idea how fun it is to design with all the big references pulled up!!

The most obvious ones are Sir Pentious and Al.

Pen talks in an old way, not actually accurate, but you would get the point. +The Napoleon outfit by the end. +Steampunk is based on 1800-1900! Besides that, him calling the female character Miss/Missy or similar also part of it. Him imidiadlty saluting blabla

His suit doesn't match old suits and seems to be stylized the usual way all the others characters with Suits. (I know Pen wants to be hip with the kids but trowing away the idea of old clothes would be crazy to do) The entirety of the 1800s has different styles each decade too, we are focused on British late 1800s. There are fun variations of clothes too! (btw, in terms of redesign, search up for accuracy videos of people enjoy that style of clothing! Or steampunk!)

he colors can change and figures can always be exaggerated. Take this site I found while making this:

But he is Steampunk! Which is even more similar to the time period, and Pen pretty much gets a washed up version of Steampunk aesthetics. Many more fun outfits are there (for inventors too!)

Alastor is easy to tell more,' 'when' he is from. His specific way of speaking is also easy recognizable. +Radio theme.

The 30's were difficult in the USA, specially for the not 1%... to casual outfits and practical compared to years before, still stylish. + there is the place where you give attention to his Radio star and being mix person in those times affects his clothing!

Watch this video!

Angel: He does not communicate nor 40's or Mafia (why put on those themes and not used them, I understand the idea of Angel being more modern or kicked out of his mafia family but common!) + remember the possibility of drag!

Nifty: She died in 50s (her old puddle skirt was PERFECT!) There are so many iconic Hairstyles from this decade too... She would still be a maid, but she still has a style. (I don't think you can tell when she is from, even in her acting, tho).

Some redesigns:

[marleneoftheopera]

I looked up the link you gave for the website that listed the Terrence Mann beauty and the beast video but I didn't understand, it is for trade? I'm not a trader. I don't get why any of these channels on youtube that post musical videos haven't uploaded that yet if it's for trade. Also it was the 90s you would think there would have more recordings of the og cast. Disney should have professionally filmed the og cast and released on blu ray :'(

Yes, it appears that it’s for trade. I have traded with that person before; if you contact them and ask politely for the video they might send it over. Many traders will if they are bootlegs that don’t have any restrictions on them.

Regarding everything else, just because a bootleg is older doesn’t mean it will be uploaded online. That’s just kind of how it is. Phantom has a ton of 90s videos, some of which have been put online. But many, especially if they’re poor quality, aren’t for various reasons. Also, seeing as that seems to be the only video of Terrance in the show, it might not be something people want to put online. On one hand yes, it is an older bootleg of a show that has been long closed. So likely no one would get in trouble if it was shared online. But if it’s the only video of the OG cast, it may be considered a bit rarer by some. Meaning it can be shared freely between people, but perhaps not thrown online.

I don’t know much about the Disney/BatB trading community, but what I will say is that even though it was the 90s, that doesn’t mean many more bootlegs would’ve existed. There’s many factors that go into people being able to film shows. But even still, there are many videos of BatB from the 90s. I counted 19 on that site alone. Only 3 may be from Broadway, but it is better than having none. Again, there’s many reasons why a show does or doesn’t get filmed. Even in the 90s when ushers may not have been as clued in to look for filming as they are now, there has always been a risk for filmers when they choose to capture a show. Also, I think that bootlegs are just more widely done now than they were in the 90s. Part of that might be due to more consistent filmers out there, but also due to the accessibility that smartphones have given us. If 90s BatB happened today, it would surely have been documented multiple times.

Judging from clips I’ve seen online, I’m fairly sure a proshot of the OBC exists for archival purposes. It’s probably just sitting in the Disney archives somewhere. Perhaps on an anniversary in the future, they may decide to put it on Disney+. Until then, we can be happy that a video does exist of Terrance in such a nice show!

[prince3105]

Five Proven Healthcare Marketing Strategies to Attract more patients

In today's highly competitive healthcare environment just having an office or a healthcare facility does not suffice to draw new clients. To be successful, you require clever, efficient healthcare marketing strategies to increase your exposure and increase confidence. However, don't be concerned it's not as difficult as it seems! If you implement these 5 proven strategies to market your healthcare You'll be well on the way to increasing the number of patients you serve. Ready? Let's go!

1. Be found with local SEO

Have you ever you sought out the location of a clinic or healthcare facility? Most likely, you typed "best dentist near me" or "pediatrician in [city name]" on Google or other search engines, surely? This is why Local SEO is essential. Local SEO allows your clinic to appear in search results for potential patients who are searching for medical services in your region.

The Local SEO Methodology:

Create or edit your Google My Business Profile: Be sure that the name of your clinic address, address, telephone number (NAP) and website address are correctly listed. Upload high-quality photos of your facility to give potential clients an idea of the atmosphere you provide.

Encourage positive reviews: ask your happy patients to leave reviews that are positive on Google. They will boost your ranking in search results which makes it easier for prospective patients to locate your business.

Utilize relevant keywords: Include local terms such as "doctor in [city]" or "clinic near me" in your site's content. This will help Google find the clinic and suggest it to people who look for health services within your region.

Optimize your Mobile Site Over 60% of searches for local information are conducted via mobile devices. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly so that visitors don't become annoyed and leave your website.

Pro Tip: Embedded an image taken from Google Maps onto your contact page. It will help potential patients find your clinic. Google appreciates it to rank your site!

2. Create Trust by promoting content

If you want clients to believe in you, show them you're an professional. Content marketing is among the most effective methods to build trust. Through the creation of useful, informative material, you will become an authoritative source within your own community.

How to Utilize Content Marketing:

Create a blog Start a blog: Write blog articles about typical health concerns. Simple topics such as "How to Prevent the Flu" or "Top 5 Foods for a Healthy Heart" can entice potential clients and increase your credibility.

Create informative videos There isn't always the time to read blogs. Create quick, easy-to-understand video that provide information on health issues or provide answers to FAQs. They can be posted via your site, YouTube, and social media.

Share Infographics Content that is visually appealing tends be shared. Create simple infographics that include statistics or health tips to inform your audience and motivate users to spread your message.

Make free resources available You can create guides that are downloadable or checklists, like "How to Prepare for Surgery" or "10 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure." This will help potential patients get involved while showcasing your knowledge.

Pro Tip: Ensure that every piece of content contains an effective Call-to-Action (CTA). No matter what it is "Call us for more information" or "Book your appointment today," an easy CTA can direct your readers to become patients.

3. Utilize Social Media to Connect

It's not just to share photos of your family or funny videos. It's a potent tool for marketing in healthcare. Social media lets you directly interact with your audience as well as share important information and enhance the human side of your business.

How to Utilize Social Media for Healthcare Marketing:

Provide Health Tips: Frequently publish simple health tips or other information regarding your services. This position your clinic as an authority for information about health.

Show Behind-the-Scenes Contents: Share images and videos from your facility staff, daily routines. People appreciate getting to know the people behind your practice and it helps build trust.

Engage with your audience Engage with Your Audience: React to feedback, ask questions, and engage in discussions. This type of interaction can make your clinic more accessible and more relatable.

Host Q&A-style sessions for your clients: Facebook and Instagram are the ideal platforms to host interactive Q&A discussions. Patients can ask questions about health in real time, which helps strengthen your reputation as a reputable healthcare institution.

Pro Tip: Utilize Facebook as well as Instagram ads to reach local audience. By limiting your ads to your particular location, age group and health-related interests it is possible to reach the appropriate patients.

4. Retain patients with email marketing

You think email marketing is old-fashioned? Don't be! Marketing via email is among the cheapest methods to keep in touch with your current clients and to attract new ones. A well-designed email campaign can help educate, remind, to keep your practice in the forefront of the mind of your patients.

How to implement email marketing:

Send out monthly newsletters Regular newsletters are an excellent way to communicate helpful health tips along with updates on clinics and any upcoming events. Your patients are kept informed and interested.

Use appointment reminders to send automatic emails that remind the patient about their next appointment. This helps reduce the number of patients who do not show up and encourages regular visits to the doctor.

Separate Your List of Email Subscribers: Segment your subscribers based on aspects like age, health issues or the services they've utilized. This lets you deliver targeted content that is personalized, thereby improving the amount of engagement.

Promoting Special Offers: Do you have an exciting new service or campaign? Send it to your list of subscribers! Discounts on dental services such as health checks or cleanings can help bring in new customers.

Pro Tip: Provide downloads of your resources, like "5 Tips for Staying Healthy This Flu Season," as a way to encourage individuals to sign up for an email subscription.

5. Manage Your Online Reputation

Your online reputation plays an important influence on whether prospective patients will choose your practice. Studies show that the majority of patients check online reviews prior to deciding on an individual health care provider. managing your online reputation involves more than reviews, it's about establishing credibility and trust.

How to Create and Protect Your Online Reputation

Encourage Reviews: Request satisfied patients to leave reviews on sites such as Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades. Positive reviews boost your credibility and boost your search ranking.

Respond to all reviews Recognize positive reviews and promptly respond to any negative reviews. This shows you are concerned about feedback from customers and you are dedicated to making their experience better.

Monitor the online media: Track what's being said about you and your clinic on the internet. Create Google Alerts to notify you when someone mentions your clinic or doctor. Resolve any issues or misinformation quickly and efficiently.

Highlight Testimonials on Your Website Provide positive testimonials from your patients as well as reviews, on both your site as well as on social media. This helps to create trust with new clients.

Pro Tip: Think about using a tool for managing reputation that will help you monitor reviews across different platforms and help you streamline your responses.

Conclusion

The process of marketing your healthcare practice does not have to be a burden. If you implement these five tried and tested strategies for healthcare marketing can help improve the visibility of your clinic and establish trust with potential patients and keep current clients engaged.

Begin by doing Local SEO to ensure your clinic's presence is evident in the results of a search. Establish credibility through content marketing and connect with your local community via social media and build relationships with them through email marketing. Additionally, you should actively manage your online reputation to draw more clients and keep your practice flourishing.

Keep in mind that consistency is the key. Follow these steps keep track of your progress and see your patient base grow!

FAQ Section

1. Why is local SEO so important for health practices?

Local SEO will ensure that your clinic is listed in results of searches when potential patients search for services in the area. It boosts your visibility and assists in attracting patients from your area.

2. What kind of content should I write for marketing in the field of healthcare?

It is important to create useful, simple-to-read content such as blog articles informationgraphics, videos, and other resources that are downloadable on the most frequently asked questions about health or common health issues.

3. How often should I send out emails for my clients?

The idea of sending out a monthly newsletter is an excellent starting point. It is also possible to remind patients of appointments or send general health tips during the season for keeping your clients informed.

4. How can I contact patients for their reviews?

Be sure to ask patients to write a review following your visit. It is also possible to send an email to follow-up with the direct URL to the Google and Healthgrades profile and make it simple for patients to leave reviews.

5. What should I do with reviews that aren't positive?

Respond with professionalism and respect to reviews that are negative. Answer the reviewer's questions with compassion, be understanding, and provide a solution if feasible. Resolving negative reviews effectively will improve your image.

Need assistance in your marketing strategy for healthcare? Call us today and we'll be able to help you develop your own marketing plan that will increase the number of patients you see

[forkaround]

bring capitalism into the equation, and we're getting the fetishization of gay relationships

Genuine Question: How does capitalism play a role here? I can't imagine BLs make so much money that this would be an actual problem? Artists need to live, eat, sleep and need to invest in the tool of their trade, so can capitalism really play a significant role outside of keeping people alive?

In Kabe Koji for instance, the lead is a successful bl manga artist and he doesn't seem to be well off. And it's not like BLs are in any way high quality stuff. Even GMMTV, the oldest and largest player in BL don't seem to have so much money that it can count as something even close to exploitative. Kinnporsche only had the money it did because of Mile and even they nearly went bankrupt.

I don't think BL/yaoi/y-novels are the kind of genre that makes a lot of money and that means people who write these stories are doing so because they love them. Should we really gatekeep that?

bl is a capitalist venture that oftentimes perpetuates harmful stereotypes

(Boy India would eat you alive.) BL as we know today is a pretty young genre. And there are growing pains to everything. No one gets everything right off the bat and that's okay. Allowing people to grow is the important bit. I'll say this as a queer Asian, BL isn't anything different than most romance movies and shows. The problematic things most westerners site exist in Het romances as well. They are working with that frame of reference and that might seem like a Thing to westerners but for us it's one and the same. Not to say it's okay but this is about putting things into perspective. The BLs are mostly emulating Het romances with boys. Of course this isn't always the case and is less and less so lately but that's where it started because unlike say the US, a regular person doesn't really have a frame of reference for what is culturally queer in their own country given all the homophobia. Like in India, you go to Mumbai, you have a gay night life and even then you have to know someone to know where and when. I'm not from Mumbai, I'm from a Tier 2 city in Gujarat. I've never in my life heard about gay stuff. Which also means I have no frame of reference for what is considered culturally queer in India. Again, just putting things into perspective. Homophobia runs our lives and narratives in ways I don't think westerners really understand. Which might be another place this discourse comes from. India won it's queer rights in silence. I bet most people don't even know there is a Supreme Court case going on right now about marriage equality. ThaiBL made the world focus on their marriage equality issues and that's the only reason most westerners would even know that this is a thing. In a way ThaiBLs represent all of us Asians saying that we deserve marriage rights too. And that is a BIG deal.

As far as The Eighth Sense is concerned, it's like you mentioned one of the creators is a European and that certainly influences the way he would have seen the story and BL in general from a European perspective. To him it would all look and feel strange but Asians understand.

I recently had a conversation with my father about 'Why Gujarati's are ... basically running India and most of the world' (it's more complicated than that but that's a topic for another time) (we say this because our PM is Gujarati, most of India's biggest business owners are Gujarati, most of America is run by Gujaratis and Punjabis (we are a big deal there)) Anyway, the important bit is - Asia fundamentally views the world different than westerners. That doesn't mean we don't like things like liberty and freedom and equality. It means we are a collectivist society (which has it's own problems but that's another thing altogether) as opposed to most of the west's individualistic society. Capitalism is evil for you people because your individualism leaves no space for moral responsibility of your fellow countrymen. It's not the same for us. It's also why people didn't understand GAP. Sam not leaving her grandmother is not unique for us. We take care of our elders. We always have. We always will. It's also why Mon couldn't ask her to leave with her, it would be wrong. There are thousands of Indian movies where this is the main conflict. Many views have been presented and ultimately it's an individual choice but society will look down on you. That's just how we are. There is nothing wrong with that.

To go back to the point of BL vs Queer Media, it's the same way people consider Anime to be for children. Our perspectives are inherently different because out cultures are different.

As Asians I don't think we should try to fit the mold of the West and what they think is real, actual queerness or queer representation. And for Westerners, I think people should start to accept that there are people who are fundamentally different to you and that's not a bad thing. It's not a discourse. That's just people being people. Cultures being cultures.

Now of course, this is an Indian perspective. It will be fundamentally different to a Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean perspective. Hell, I imagine an Indian would have something totally opposite to say. But that's the point of diversity and India has kinda mastered the art of diversity.

(I'd also say the West has no right to determine what is and isn't queer. Asia was pretty fucking queer friendly until the West started poking around. In fact this debate is itself a remnant of colonialism. They destroyed our history and now poke at us to laugh when it's the exact effects they intended.)

ik there's the contentious topic about categorizing things as bl and making the distinction between bl and queer media, and i do think there have been valid points in the discourse about how bl is changing and its going through a sort of r/evolution now that bl is getting pretty big (and i'm talking exclusively about asian bl here btw, so in this context it would be the globalization of asian bls). but i also think that it's important to not disregard history and bl's roots.

bl was created by women for women in the 1970s in japan. although from a feminist perspective, bl challenges gender and sexual norms, bring capitalism into the equation, and we're getting the fetishization of gay relationships for (predominantly) straight female consumption.

idt it's a "right or wrong" situation. i believe two truths can exist: bl is a capitalist venture that oftentimes perpetuates harmful stereotypes, but bl can also be liberation for a lot of people. especially asian bl—as a bisexual woc, seeing nonwhite queer media is so so important to me. and i am not asian, but i know it's especially been revolutionary for my fellow queer asian brothers, sisters, & enby siblings.

i read somewhere that the directors instructed juntaek to not watch (korean) bl when studying for his role in the eighth sense. i found this reeeeally interesting, since i've also seen people mention that the eighth sense is not a bl, but queer media. i also think it's important to point out that one of the directors/writers is a white european man, and i'm pretty sure he was the one who told juntaek to watch things like skam or call me by your name instead of kbls—i haven't seen skam but cmbyn is white queer cinema (also problematic, but i digress). in the past, there was also that british bl heartstopper (sorry besties i still haven't seen it i probably should), in which the author expressed that they did not want to label it as bl, but there was backlash as, at least the show, clearly drew inspiration from asian bl.

as a historically asian genre, how does this distinction (bl vs. queer) perpetuate the western hegemony of queer thought? usually when people make this distinction, i don't think they take into account that race plays as much as a part as queerness (intersectionality is so important). but on the other hand, i also understand that bl has clear tropes and narrative structures that make it a bl. we wouldn't call moonlight a bl, or the handmaiden a gl. but also, films are a different medium with less restrictions (if you've seen a korean film vs. a kdrama, you get me lol).

i definitely don't have an answer or anything. the eighth sense is filmed through such a queer lens and it touches on the nuances of the queer experiences in a way i haven't really seen in bl, but i still i find myself wary of proclaiming that it's not bl, ja feel? is the eighth sense (along with bls such as bad buddy, old fashion cupcake, to my star, etc.) a marker of the r/evolution of bl? i guess i just wanted to open up the conversation to hear people's thoughts, especially from my fellow queer pocs.

at the end of the day we're all here to be entertained, but i'm glad to see discourse and think it's fruitful in the long process of decolonizing our mindsets.

[vulture-jack]

.

[funkymbtifiction]

Which books and podcasts do you recommend? Articles from which site? Enneagram learning

Books: Suzanne Stabile*, Ross Hudson, Helen Palmer, and RiIchard Rohr for Enneagram types, John Luckovich for the social variants.

Podcasts: The Enneagram Journey, Big Hormone Enneagram (I don't always agree with them, but they deep dive in a way most podcasts don't and have done substantial work in freeing 9 from stereotypes; they are also R-rated for foul language, which is unfortunate). Their members also post good content (Enneagrammer, David Grey's personal website, John Luckovich's personal website -- he also does Enneagram content with Hudson sometimes).

I feel like we are on the cusp of exponential growth within the Enneagram community -- and that there will be, quite soon, vast improvements in terms of quality resources for E learning. It seems like Luckovich's book in particular is going to open up doorways of conversation into deep-diving into the social variants, and that is going to have a tremendous impact on how the Ennagram is taught. There is a reason why so many people do not identify with certain aspects described in most type profiles -- because those associations and behaviors are coming from a particular stacking. (A social blind 3 doesn't adapt/morph for just ANYONE, unlike a social-using 3, who can identify with the shape-shifting; a self-pres blind 2 won't identify with being the Caretaker -- they will identify with being socially impactful and sexually enticing, etc).

What I would love to see is a book on each type, written only by an author OF that type who has done extensive research into their own type, coping strategies, and knows what it's like to be from that stance -- but that is a pipe dream. I think the only way to truly grasp and get to the depth of your number is from within yourself; that's why it's important to socialize with, actively discuss, compare notes with, and engage with other people of your own type (assuming they are typed correctly; and it will become obvious if they are not, because if you are 100% rooted in your type, you will notice places where other types who think they are your type are getting it 'wrong' and/or not saying things that sound familiar to you). Learning how you differ and are the same as others of your type (especially if they are a different social stacking than you) is a valuable resource.

This is very social of me to say -- but also find and make friends who study the Enneagram who are of different types, and learn about them / their strategies, discuss what goes into their thought process or what motivates certain of their decisions. To some extent, you reflect whom you spend the most time with (many of us are attachment types, after all ;), so if you choose people who are actively eager to learn and to grow within their type, you will grow beside and with them, deepening and enriching your understanding not only of yourself but them.

*I like her most recent book a lot (nobody else talks about time orientation or stances), but not gonna lie, she could go a LOT deeper than she does; it's good for developing growth strategies but I would have welcomed a more in-depth analysis of each type.

[plasticnightmaredoll]

So that exists, the Prime 1 Studio "Godzilla vs Kong" Godzilla bust. It's 30 inches tall with a light-up feature for the dorsal fins and eyes. There is also a bonus version which comes with a "Godzilla vs Kong" nameplate.

It's gorgeous, right? I mean, the blue light up is so damn beautiful, and there is much insane detail on this thing. It looks exactly like Godzilla in the movie. Like, you could photoshop this bust into some scenes and people may not even notice the difference.

This is a high-quality collectible, a True Collector's™ type of Ultimate Collectible™.

What does it cost, though? Maybe it's not that bad...

(from Big Bad Toy Store)

(from Prime 1 Studio site)

HOLY FUCK OMG WHAT THE HELL OH SHIT WHAT IS THIS IS THIS HELL?????

Based on what Prime 1 and BBTS have, the release date will be from July 2022 to October 2022. That's a shitload of time to save up, and save up a little at a time instead of massive chunks.

It's a doable price.

Problems, though:

It's polystone resin, which is very delicate. I fear if I don't accidentally break it, it could arrive damaged because shipping and delivery services aren't always delicate. And if the bust would arrive damaged, you know I'm the kind of bitch to call the seller/company/manufacturer and tell them what's up.

It is between $1600 and $1800, and my ass isn't rich. At all. I'm not even making what I used to make as a web developer. I mean, I go from $47k per year to fucking $32k per year. Fuck me, right?

Both sites require a non-refundable deposit, so if I have to cancel the order, I'm out $160/$267. And I know BBTS allows cancellations of pre-orders, but Prime 1 Studio might not. Some sites don't allow pre-orders to be canceled. So, if I got the bust from Prime 1 Studio, I would have to pray to whatever gods exist that my shitty life doesn't tank in the next year.

WHERE THE FUCK AM I GONNA PUT IT? I DON'T HAVE SPACE. AT ALL. FOR THIS THING. AND IT NEEDS TO BE PUT SOMEWHERE SAFE FFFFUUUUUCK.

I need to pull out $160 or $267 as a down payment right now.

But there are positives:

It's easily going to be the jewel of my ever-growing Godzilla collection.

Prime 1 Studio allows for payments through installments (up to 15 separate payments). BBTS unfortunately does not. But with as much time as there before this thing to be released, it may not be that big of a deal.

It won't be released until mid to late next year, and it's only April of this year right now. So, there's a lot of time to save up.

I've seen much more expensive collectibles. This is a pretty tame, pretty standard price.

The negatives outweigh the positives, and I'm nowhere near rich, so it is insane to even consider buying this Godzilla bust. And I'm more worried about it arriving damaged than anything.

However..............

As cliche as it is, you do only live once, and this is a limited edition collectible. So, it's now or never.

Fuck everything.

I do what I want, when I want.

I'm a self-indulgent bitch.

I'm a selfish bitch.

I'm a dumbass bitch.

I'm a self-indulgent, selfish, dumbass bitch.

I'm an idiot who makes terrible choices willingly at times.

I'm a masochist as I seem to enjoy putting unnecessary stress on myself.

I make my own money, so it's my choice what to do with it.

My life is a disaster and I absolutely fucking hate it, so fuck it. If I am stupid sometimes with pitiful attempts to boost my pathetic serotonin levels, I don't even care.

I deserve this. Maybe that sounds egocentric (there is a reason I self-ship with Arkhamverse/Arkham Knight Riddler) but I deserve better than what I have been given.

Godzilla is my childhood hero, and loving him (platonically, ok?) has taught me how love can change over time, becoming much more complex, yet it's still love. It's just a better understanding of the love for the thing/person in question, a matured kind of love and not a superficial, simplistic, ignorant kind of love.

I mean, financially, purchasing this Godzilla bust is stupid, but my wallet has given up with arguing with me.

So, will I purchase this Godzilla bust? Will I go the way of The Stupid and throw down big bucks for this thing?

It's looking VERY likely right now.

[thelightofthingshopedfor]

Goddamn it Kyra I wasn't even interested in the Lego Lokis before, but now that you've so rudely posted pics of the options I'm probably going to have to buy some. So, couple questions: I'm not familiar with the website you linked to (it doesn't help that I'm on my phone lol) - do you get them from that site or just Aliexpress? I've kind of poked around there but I don't think I've ever actually bought anything - do you have links to those ones you bought or any tips for finding them on the site? (or like. using the site in general without getting scammed or something? Idk much about it other than stuff being low priced lol).

😇😇😇

putting the rest behind a cut because oops this got long

OKAY SO the cool thing about knockoff Lego figures is that a) there are a ton of them, so you can probably find multiple versions of most characters, and b) they're super cheap, so if you do end up getting ripped off, you're probably only out a few bucks. plus if you don't get ripped off, you feel like a genius, because authentic Lego minifigs tend to cost way more than they should (and if you get them online, you probably don't have a good way to know that they're authentic) and here you are getting something just as good or better for way less.

the site I was getting pictures from is HeroBloks, which I only just discovered myself a couple days ago; it looks like mostly it's good for tracking your collection (and learning more about bootleg Lego minifigs in general, maybe--I didn't really realize until now how many different companies there are making Lego-like minifigs) rather than buying, with individual pages including sale links that are only mildly useful. like, the extremely sad TVA Loki has an AliExpress search link that apparently just searches for "blocks," which is the least helpful search term imaginable; the eBay link uses "xinh+xh1745+loki (tva)" as the search term and that's definitely better, although it doesn't actually turn up anything. maybe that one's too new to be widely available yet, I don't know. (I hope that's the case. I need him and his sad little face to come and live with me.)

anyway--eBay is a possible source. searching for "loki minifigure" gets me results for several of the new ones I’ve been seeing, and they all seem to be shipping from Japan or South Korea. the problem is they're all selling for $4.99 plus $7.49 shipping each, which is...more than I want to spend on something I know is a knockoff of some kind when I don't know anything about the quality control and I'm not guaranteed to get what's in the picture. (here's another listing asking $40 total for all 8 figures I bought yesterday, which is actually a better price, and I'd probably end up doing that if I hadn't found them elsewhere, but that's because I have a problem.)

this is why I like AliExpress, because the risks are slightly higher but the prices tend to be much lower, even with shipping prices having gone up a bit over the last couple years. as I understand it, the site is basically just a huge marketplace for tons of different sellers in Asia, like if eBay only allowed fixed-price listings and it was based in China. the vast majority of the site reads like it went through Google Translate, because it probably did. you can find...basically anything there. I have no idea if any of it's authentic. (I also don't know anything about how or where any of the knockoff stuff is made, so...there is that.) I would not, for instance, drop $300 on a Hot Toys Loki from here, even though I absolutely would have the option to do so, for the obvious reason that I'm not going to risk that much money on an item that might be a cheap knockoff or could arrive broken. there is, in general, a solid possibility of breakable things arriving broken, because decent packaging costs more. cheap shipping will be slow (by which I mean like...up to 90 days), and most purchases either won't have tracking at all or won't have accurate tracking, so this is absolutely not a place to buy anything you want to get quickly. you also don't want to just buy something and forget about it, because there are (variable but generous) time limits past which you can't get a refund if you don't receive your items. the site's UI is...mostly functional. you often have to get a little creative with your search terms to find what you want (and sometimes you won’t find what you want through searching, but through looking at related items on the pages of things that aren’t quite what you want or are what you want but aren’t a good price). you will, absolutely, come across a lot of stolen art on things like pins, t-shirts, stickers, and phone cases, which you might not realize until you see something you recognize from a fanartist you like, and obviously that sucks. listing photos are nearly always stock photos, so in many cases they won't tell you anything about the item you're actually getting. you know the Wish app, and all the crazy things people get from that? you can find all the same stuff on AliExpress, at similar levels of quality.

however, if you approach it keeping all that in mind, it can be a great resource. I can't make any guarantees about the site's safety, but to the best of my knowledge it's secure and I've never had any weird charges show up after buying something. it's also my understanding that Alibaba, the parent company, is more or less the Chinese equivalent of Amazon in terms of the amount of business it does, which would probably be pretty tough if customer data were routinely being exposed to thieves, you know? I've also successfully gotten several refunds for items that never arrived, which actually hasn't happened all that often--but knowing that it can happen and that the return period expires, I’ll check back on the site if it seems like it’s been an unusually long time and I’ll make a reminder for myself of the deadline so I can contact the seller in time if necessary.

so the way I shop there is, I don't buy expensive or fragile things in general, because I recognize there's a nonzero chance I'll get a cheap knockoff, or something that was broken in transit because the seller tossed it in a box with no padding and called it good, or sometimes nothing at all. but like eBay, the sellers and items have ratings and reviews from customers, so that helps avoid some risk. items with lots of reviews tend to include at least a few customer photos, which are great for getting a better idea of what the thing you're buying actually looks like. I took a bit of a risk last year buying a Hot Toys (or the equivalent, I actually have no idea) Steve Rogers head for about $20, for instance, but I wasn't super worried about it because the customer photos looked good, the seller I used had a lot of sales and a lot of good ratings, and it was still a lot less than I would've paid for an authentic Hot Toys Steve Rogers head--and in fact he got here just fine and he looked fantastic. I also spent about $20 for a knockoff Iron Studios Loki statue, because in that case it was like...yep I’d love the real thing, nope I’m not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on it, yep I am willing to spend $20 on something that doesn’t look quite as nice but still looks good enough for me in the customer photos. well, and I’ve also bought knockoffs I knew would look bad, because they were cheap and I want all the Lokis and I have enough of an addiction that all the Lokis does in fact sometimes mean “even ones that look really bad” to me.

anyway, uh, Lego-type minifigs. this is an especially good area to go knockoff, because--okay, apparently I can’t link to a page of HeroBloks search results for some reason, but it’s the best resource I’ve found for this type of thing that isn’t just authentic Lego figures. but if you go there and do a search for “loki” you’ll get a bunch of results and you’ll see that they come from like...9 or 10 different brands. Lego specifically has only four Loki options: Avengers Loki in black, Avengers Loki in gray for some reason (which, frankly, looks like a cheap knockoff but isn’t), movie-inaccurate Ragnarok Loki with the blue outfit and the full helmet, an ugly Classic Loki, and a mostly green Loki from I guess the first Thor movie (and then I think they’re going to release a TVA Loki, a Sylvie, and a Throg). all those other results--all those different outfits from every single Loki appearance, and different variations on those outfits, nearly all of them more screen-accurate and/or detailed than the Lego versions--are technically knockoffs. they’re better and you can buy them for way less. (I mean, a lot of them are new so I don’t have them yet, but I do have frost giant Loki, better Ragnarok Loki, better Avengers Loki, opera Loki who actually has another face that’s half-Jotun, and at least one chrome-helmet option, and they all look basically like the photos. so I think I can reasonably expect most of the new ones to look basically like their photos too.) 

for reasons that I don’t understand aside from a vague guess that it’s copyright-related, AliExpress pretty much no longer shows full pictures of Lego-type figures in their listings--instead, you have to pick just based on the heads. this is a problem when lots of heads look very similar to each other! luckily, the listings also typically have the actual serial numbers for each figure, as do the HeroBloks listings, so you can cross-reference them to see what you’re really getting. for instance let’s take this listing because it’s cheap and it offers most of the Loki figures that are currently available. say you’re interested in one of the horn-less Lokis. there are...let’s see, five of them, but you have no idea what they actually look like aside from slightly different facial expressions and maybe weapons. however, the first one listed says XH1359 for its color...and what do you know, 1359 is the serial number for this Loki by a company called Xinh. okay cool, how about the last one? the “color” is listed as WM2182--and yes, HeroBloks has a listing for a Ragnarok Loki from World Minifigures with the serial number 2182. (I just ordered all 8 of the new World Minifigures ones yesterday, so again, I can’t personally guarantee yet that they’ll look as good in person as in the pictures--but I think they probably will, and more importantly they cost a whole dollar each.) and if HeroBloks doesn’t have a particular figure, you can probably find something useful just by googling the serial number.

I specifically bought from this listing yesterday because they currently have a bit of a sale going and a deal for free shipping if you buy 10 figures, and I wanted a couple duplicates, so it worked out to be the cheapest option. the same store has another listing for a bunch more Marvel characters, including a couple more Lokis I already had, so it should be pretty easy to get the free shipping so the figures are less than a dollar each and you’re only risking about $10. if you’d rather try one or two and see how it goes, it looks like this listing is probably the cheapest, with figures currently going for a little over a dollar each once you add shipping (although it’s totally possible shipping is more for me because Alaska).

that’s...probably already way more information than you really wanted, but I hope at least some of it makes sense. feel free to ask other specific questions if they come up--I might not be able to give answers exactly, but I can probably tell you what my experience has been, which is better than nothing.

[888-fr]

Thank you for confirming, Aequorin!

I just wanted to come here and talk a little more about my experience with festival contests too.

I see two demographics of people frustrated with the apparent unfairness of festival contests. The first demographic is beginner artists intimidated by the apparent skill barrier. Here's the thing: you don't need to make "UMA" quality skins to win festival contests. Many of the most prolific festival winners don't make UMAs at all! And many UMA artists aren't prolific fest winners even if they do enter. As Myth noted in her loss analysis, a lot of skins that do fine as UMAs just don't work for festivals. And that's the second demographic I see getting frustrated about fests: if they're successful skin artists on the UMA side, why aren't they successful on the site contest side?

Me and Myth have been talking every month since February with the goal of analyzing how festival winners are picked. I hope anyone who's confused or curious about our winstreaks gets some interesting information out of it! I've won 15 skin contests so far. I only really started actively trying to make an entry every single month during January of this year. Let's take a look at some of the things I've learned during this time:

1. You don't need to be a pro to have a chance at winning!

I'm someone who makes skins in pretty much the exact opposite way that Myth does - I don't render, I have pen pressure off most of the time, and all of my skins could've been done on trackpad instead of tablet if you gave me a few extra hours. I'm never going to be someone who makes endlessly detailed, beautifully rendered skins. But that just means I had to get very, very good at shapes and colors. Luckily, staff seem to favour a cleaner, simpler style.

Here's the very first skin I made. Do you see how simple it is? Let me turn off the lines and shadows. Most of the shading wasn't even done by me, but the fae template itself. There's 5 colors total, and 4 entire objects on this skin. It won because it was simple, readable, colored in the flight's theme - and yes, because there weren't any other fae entries that month.

2. This is a skin contest for a FLIGHT festival. Show you understand what the flight is about!

Every month, there's people disappointed that x gorgeous entry by their z favorite artist didn't make it into the winner's list. (Sometimes, I'm right there mourning with them because I thought that entry was a sure pick!) But a lot of the time, I saw the entry in the thread and knew right away it wouldn't get picked. These beautiful 'fest rejects' go on to have very successful UMA print runs, so clearly the issue isn't aesthetic appeal. Why didn't it get picked?

Because it had nothing to do with the flight at all. It's no accident that submission threads have an entire section dedicated to the location and theming of a flight. Remember, your skin will be an official item for a flight festival! It had better tie into that flight's theming and lore. Staff put a lot of work into shaping the world of Sornieth. So pretend like you're taking a test. Prove that you've been paying attention!

Five of my skins have been very explictly modeled after or based off familiars, canonical flight locations, or scenes from the site. And remember, it's not always what your own lore says the flight is about - pay attention to what the site says the flight is about. (Plague isn't zombies, Earth is!) And try to make skins for that flight's representative breeds.

3. Pick a breed that hasn't been picked yet!

This is my simplest advice. Go look at the thread and see which breeds are being done a lot this month and avoid it like the plague. I've been seeing aether every single month since they released, and let me tell you - doing a skin on a really popular base isn't going to help if you're not confident about your chances. Picking a breed that almost never gets entries will help your chances.

Actually, just browse the submission thread in general. Even if you're not an artist. ESPECIALLY if you're not an artist. People complain every month that x breed didn't get a skin, and it's somehow... bias staff have toward consistent winners? And not because nobody bothered to enter a skin for them that year?

4. Markings and modifications, not apparel!

This is a really easily missable line in the submission thread every month.

Both me and Myth prefer to do composition rather than markings, so we didn't talk about this a ton. You might think most of our wins don't follow this guideline. But it's very important to remember that body modification is different from apparel. Myth likes to do wings, I like to put scenery on a dragon, but the important part is we are changing what the dragon itself 'looks' like when you imagine it as a character - we aren't simply putting clothing on a dragon!

When good-quality, fullbody 'marking' or 'modification' skins are available, they are almost always a sure pick. Simple, appealing markings/tattoos themed after the flight are good bets too!

5. Avoid certain themes.

This one's a bit trickier and you only really gain a sense of this by entering a lot and looking at what wins each year. There's some things staff really, really don't like picking. There's exceptions to every rule, but they are rare!

Modern references/meme material.

Things the flight explicitly is NOT about. (I can't remember who did the stillborn snapper hatchling one for Plague, but... why?)

OCs/Original worldbuilding/Fanlore. (The Southern Snowfields aren't Celtic, even if your Ice dragons are!)

Certain real-world cultural influences or cultural objects.

10% or less coverage.

Extensive bodymod, or too many animals on a dragon.

JUST silks or other UMA-bait.

Really, just avoid making a skin that has got nothing to do with the flight. I personally almost never print my fest rejects, because they're so flight specific I can't see them doing well. Likewise, if the skin is clearly so mass-appeal that it could work for any element of any dragon if you recolored it a little, you're probably on the wrong track.

6. Enter for the right reasons!

Finally, remember that fest contests aren't all that. The 2000g + a 5 pack blueprint prize means absolutely fucking nothing if you have the option to print your skin instead. A single run (10 copies) of a single skin priced at 850g a copy will get you 3500g in profit. That's AFTER subtracting blueprint costs.

So don't enter fest contests because you want money, or attention, or to prove to yourself that you're a 'real skin artist'. Enter to get practice, to have fun, because you love the flight, or because you've got a friend egging you on. If you find yourself getting really frustrated after a while, it's time to take a break. (I didn't enter at all for a good chunk of 2021-2022 and it was great for my mental health.)

And finally, enter so we can get some variety in there. I've talked about what works for me, but it's my sincere hope we get to see more non-standard skins win too. Maybe this post will be immediately outdated as staff reads it and changes how the festival decisions are made. I hope it was a fun read either way :P

FR Skin Contests and You (and Me)

Let’s talk about festival skin contests.

This post will be 1) about win conditions 2) my breakdown on my wins/losses. Before we start, please know a lot of this is guesswork, and based on my own perspective. Still, I hope this will be useful for some people ^^

***August/888 and I (but August mostly as it’s his idea) will be hosting an event encouraging new artists to join festival contests on 8/8. It will have a lot of tips and references to help get you started, so please keep an eye out! 

-

When it comes to skin contests, people generally enter for one of three reasons: 1) for fun 2) because it’s seen as a milestone of skinmaking, or 3) out of a desire to push yourself to the limit knowing you’ll regret it like a Sunday hangover– but I hope that’s just me.

In my two years of participating in skin contests, I’ve seen a lot of artists join with a lot of excitement, only to give up or drop out because they aren’t winning. Some blame it on skill, others blame it on the staff, and some blame it on fellow competitors. 

Here’s what I will say: like any contest, winning the festival skin contest is based on a combination of luck, knowledge, and skill. Just like any contest, there is a strategy to it and there are win conditions that you have to fulfill if you want a chance at winning. Some artists find these win conditions quickly and are able to adapt and cultivate the skill needed to pull off a win. Some are aware of these win conditions but do not yet have the skill to pull off a win. And some aren’t aware at all. A loss is usually (but not always) a result of not fulfilling those win conditions, or not fulfilling them as much as another artist. 

So, let’s talk about these win conditions.

Keep reading

[antountoubia]

Antoun Toubia Simple Lead Generation Advice Not Found Elsewhere Online

Antoun Toubia Top service provider. It's not always easy finding new leads. You may feel as if you are stuck from time to time. That's why it's important to always stay on top of your plan. This article can help you to develop a great plan for success.

Look to affiliate marketing to generate leads and even customers. Why do all the work for leads when you can have others do it for you on commission? Affiliate programs are a very effective way of introducing your product to new audiences. In fact, you'll see a lot of content created around your product or service. That's very effective.

Make certain that you have a trustworthy Internet presence. Avoid over-hyped ads that may seem cheesy. Rather, give your consumers a sense of value when it comes to your offers. Stay as honest as possible to build your credibility.

Check out events in your area and see if there's a way you can use them to generate leads. For example, if there is a cycling race, buy a sponsorship package. Then you can get yourself on TV talking about it, or in the paper, or just talk to people who are there to watch.

Do not pre-judge your lead gathering technique. Though you may think you are not going to get great results, or you are overly confident about the success, you cannot be sure. The only way to know if your lead generation is working is to put it into action without preconceived ideas about results.

Consider throwing a neighborhood party to let your neighbors know what you're up to. For example, if you are looking for leads as a dentist, you can have a barbecue and hand out toothbrushes with your number on them. If you're an internet marketer, sponsor a street fair and let the businesses there know you can do the same for them.

Don't forget your website! Many people create a site and then just leave it, believing that "if you build it, they will come." They won't unless you actually put some effort into it. Create a blog and update it frequently, or add new content as often as possible to the site itself.

If you're not wanting to pay for a generated lead list, paying in the form of cost per click advertising is not a bad idea. This can really jump start your leads while other strategies are going to take time. In this way, you're balancing your efforts and driving new customers to your site immediately.

Building content on your site sure does take time. If you get frustrated and forget to do this often, then nothing is going to really work for you. Keep up with posting new content, and interesting content is going to attract people. Always make sure you never put this strategy to the side.

When trying to optimize your lead generation efforts, it's important to remember that visitors can happen upon any page of your site. Therefore, placing complete contact information and sales info on every page should be a top priority! If you consider every page a potential landing page, you understand what the visitor needs to see there.

Antoun Toubia Proficient tips provider. Focus your lead generation on those who are looking for the product or service you offer. A generic lead is okay if you don't care about who your target is. However, if you tailor your lead generation to gather a key piece of information that tells you that your product is important, you will have better results.

Remember that people respect honesty more than hype, so when you try to generate more leads, leave an open and honest offer on the table. Adding bells and whistles just makes you look like a generic salesperson who will do whatever it takes to get people to buy. Generate leads with a quality presentation and you gain permanent customers instead.

Look on every page your website has to see if it has a clear call to action on it. Can customers figure out how to buy what you're selling? Be clear when you word things and don't have clutter on pages so people know what to do.

Whatever our budget, careful planning can ensure you achieve your goals. Even after your campaign is up and going, keep an eye on it so you can figure out what's effective and what is not. The tightest budget means focusing your efforts only on campaigns which work.

Sign up for Google AdWords. These ads target potential customers who visit various websites across the Internet. The beauty of this is that you only have to pay when someone actually clicks on the link that leads to your site. Once you have them on your site, you can convert them to a paying customer.

When it comes to generating leads, testing is critical. Doing so will minimize the financial risks. This is important since you need to always keep an eye out for new growth opportunities without worrying about paying for major mistakes. Testing lets you open the door to potential future success without excessive current risk.

Consider taking part in trade shows that are relating to your industry. If you are selling a product or a service, this is a good way to give you a chance to demonstrate what you offer in person. You can offer a special drawing for a prize to those who fill out an information card.

Farming leads can turn a hefty profit in the long run. If you target the wrong audience, no promotion will be successful. Therefore, it's important to find people that are genuinely interested in your goods or services. Think about economic levels, age, and gender when targeting your leads.

Get great lead generation results if you're able to be smart about where you put ads online that you pay for. Only select websites with high traffic for your ad hosting, and use refined variable to access your target audience. It's a good thing if the people who see your advertisements are people who might be interested in them.

Antoun Toubia Most excellent service provider Do you think you are making your best effort in gaining leads? If you haven't, your business can suffer. Luckily, you came across this article at the right time. Utilize the advice provided so that you can always be working towards gaining new leads and customers for your business.

[hauntedexpertcrusade]

How video ads transformed my E-commerce business

Introduction

Dropshipping is a very viable and effective business model these days that is catering to millions of dropshippers and Shopify store owners around the world. What makes it so great is the convenience it has, all you need to do is to gather a suitable amount of investment, a trusted supplier, know how to get your product to the public, and really understand the mechanics of a solid and successful dropshipping store, it really doesn’t matter where you are, you can do e-commerce from anywhere around the world. However, to many people, it seems that just placing products on your store and doing good on-page SEO with a few tweaks is going to land them clients and that’s far from the truth. Even if you’re invested in amazon’s FBA program which is another alternative for dropshipping, you might think that amazon’s vast and large marketplace is going to greatly influence your sales, that is very much possible but taking extra steps to build your brand integrity and reputation as an e-commerce seller will greatly safeguard your future as a brand or business and help you land more clients than none.

Importance of video content on Facebook

Studies have shown that more than 4 billion people watch Facebook videos every day whether that's scrolling past them or actually engaging with them and we all can agree including me that video content consumption on Facebook is unanimous.

As a dropshipper, you and I need to understand how we can harness this facebook power and actually convert it into meaningful engagement that will lead to buyers reaching out to us and eventually buying products off of our Shopify or any e-commerce store.

Understanding the buyer psyche

Let's now focus on why people trust video demonstrations of products more than just an image. The reason for that is it removes any doubts, loopholes, or any false sense of a thought that they might have regarding your business. When you run ads for your Shopify business or any e-commerce store by putting out ads that are video-based which actually show what your product can do is more than helpful for a potential customer to understand the product and what they can expect to get and it immediately registers in their mind.

Let's consider this watch product you see on the diagram as an example. If you were to just post an image as an ad with little information and slapping your branding on it you wouldn’t get a ton of engagement and your CPC(cost per click) would be higher but on the other hand what I noticed was substantial and my cost per click using a video was significantly less compared to that when I used an image. What I noticed was that the CPC was 1.5 with 8000 impressions using an image as my Facebook ad creative but when I placed a video I got almost the same amount of impressions but the CPC was considerably lower at 0.47, so you all can see how effective it really is.

WHY USE SHORT VIDEO ADS FOR YOUR E-COMMERCE OR DROPSHIPPING BUSINESS?

Source branding has this valuable article on why you should use short video ads for your business and you can check it out here. But let me give you my end of the piece, when you say ’’Short” video ads, that means no more than 2 minutes and no less than 1 minute. This gives the end-user the perfect amount of time to spend on your ads because let's face it, people won't spend 10 minutes watching a video of your product, they are in a hurry and they need information fast and accurate. If you are short on skills or resources you need in producing video content, you can always hire someone to create an engaging video ad for you and that's what i did too because I rarely have the time and experts in this field can help you get a professional end product. I highly recommend this service if you want to get your job done in no time and I can speak for myself that it does help significantly and forging extra cash to invest in something that will produce better results for your business is definitely worth it.

Running targeted video ads on Google or Facebook

One of the most effective strategies to boost your online dropshipping store sales is to immediately start putting out quality targeted ads on platforms such as Google, Instagram, or Facebook. The idea here is to cleverly target people with a very similar interest in your product and its useful to take a look at audience insights or demographics inside for e.g in Facebook, by typing the interest that’s very specific to your niche or product, and then you can find pages that you can target and from their keep on adding into the list you want to target and you can pretty much do a similar action when you head inside the campaigns in Facebook and can also cleverly use the suggestion for targeting to send out to that audience. Once you understand how detail targeting works you can add your video ad and expect to see many improvements that will allow traffic to come into your site. If you want to understand more about Facebook ads targeting you should check out a piece by BigCommerce that goes over it in more detail and will help you understand the basics and tricks you can implement in Facebook ads manager.

Advantage of short video ads on smartphones

Another study has clearly shown that more than 60% of users are watching short videos on their smartphones whether that's on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or youtube and that presents a wide opportunity for my fellow dropshippers out there to capitalize upon. People are watching such videos insanely quickly and scrolling past tons of others at a fast pace as well so taking advantage of such a metric is necessary to bring large amounts of traffic to your website so it can translate into sales. Another thing you can do is choose a video ad that's much more engaging and less obvious in terms of looking like an infomercial because people on social sites like Facebook or Instagram are not out there looking to buy your product or even searching for one, so its your job to lure them in through an engaging ad so that they end up hitting the Add to cart button.

Additional Tips and tricks

Make sure your short video ad has subtitles.

Always prefer to include background music.

Make it between 1 and 2 minutes long in duration.

Make the video helpful in understanding how your product can benefit your client.

Conclusion

Lastly, I would conclude by recollecting all of my thoughts and urging all you dropshippers out there to take advantage of video to transform your business because I've seen many a times dropshippers or online marketers neglect and ignore using video to market and advertise their business and they are missing out on a lot here. Statistics don't lie, my experience doesn't lie and i’m hopeful that by implementing the strategies I’ve told you here, you will most certainly see positive results in your dropshipping business.

[ineffable-rohese]

This this this.

I love some fall-related angst, but canon Crowley reads as disillusioned and bitter and sad and angry, but not necessarily traumatized.

Similarly, I don't think Aziraphale is dealing with religious trauma. That requires (from my understanding) a fundamental break down of belief systems, but Aziraphale never actually believed in God the way humans do because he actually knew God. God in GO is absolutely real. It would be like me saying I have religious trauma because my charming boss turned out to be an alternating micromanaging and absent manager who didn't really understand what my job was and made it hard to actually do the good work I was hired to do.*

Heaven and Hell are canonically described as their employers, and as actually the same employer, just in different parts of the building. In this metaphor, God is the Founder/CEO who had a really good idea who got everything off the ground but lost interest a while ago and is now like giving Ted Talks and/or living on an island somewhere, maybe checking in every once in a while but in the way where she doesn't actually see what's going on. She may or may not care, but she's so disconnected from everyday operations, you'd not be able to tell.

Crowley was asking too many questions of upper management and questioning their plans, so got transferred from the top tier engineering team to a really really shitty quality control/launch team that's actively trying to break things and/or is working on seriously unethical products. It's constantly under-resourced and run by people who hate the company but either don't have a better option (as this is literally the only employer in town) or actually enjoy making other people's lives miserable.

Aziraphale worked in development for a while, but then got moved to a remote position doing on-site updates and the like, fixing whatever Hell or the users have broken. His immediate bosses are also shitty in the way of high-powered upper management who are more focused on appearance and power than the mission and have their own plans to solidify that power

A shitty job and/or shitty bosses can absolutely traumatize someone! But also you can choose to focus on either the good work you're doing within the confines of your job, and/or you can just put your head down and do what you've been told because it pays the bills and you don't have another option.

Honestly, if Crowley has trauma, I'd put it on the moral injury of doing demonic acts when he is so clearly horrified by terrible things happening to people. Someone somewhere wrote that a lot of what he does is complicated and spreads the bad around so no one person is holding it all, almost as harm reduction. The total awfulness quota in London is met when the mobile network is down, but no one person has done something so unforgivable as to lose their soul. But he can't always just spread it around or take credit for things humans have done. He has very specific assignments as well, and chances are good some of those weren't pretty.

So yeah, they may not have trauma, or if they do, it may not be from what seems like the most obvious source.

*Based on a true story- surprisingly, when we got a new boss, suddenly I liked my job again and was way more successful, and I absolutely understand Aziraphale thinking he could fix things because it can actually happen sometimes (though the rot of Heaven is way deeper than Gabe, and I think he figured that out before he even got on the elevator).

Honest question, not trying to pick a fight, but what's Crowley traumatized from if it's not the Fall or whatever else Heaven did to him in the Before? I'm pretty sure he does have trauma (unless you're arguing he actually isn't that badly traumatized period?) and I somehow feel it would be counter-productive to no difference between the sides if that came exclusively only from what Hell did and none of it from Heaven. (I'll also say though it's certainly not proof in any way I do find it hard to imagine the experience not leaving any scars behind, eternal damnation and dive into boiling sulphur and all whatnot.)

hey anon!!!✨ nah, my opinion is that there just isn't the canonical evidence that crowley has suffered trauma at all. we don't know for certain how he fell, we don't know for certain the reason why he fell, and we don't know what his relationship with heaven/god was like before the fall. we definitely have insight into it, from:

pre-fall scene

how he treats his plants/the goats

his drunken ramblings in the pub

(and the seemingly contradictory "sauntered vaguely downwards to aziraphale)

the "unforgivable, that's what i am" thing at the bandstand

and various other things, his sneers at heaven etc etc.

all of these things, to my mind, can be definitely interpreted as symptoms of and responses to trauma... but he could also just be really bloody angry and upset by it. anger/sadness and trauma are not mutually exclusive, of course not - but not all trauma is anger/upset, and not all anger/upset is necessarily trauma. crowley has demonstrated that he's an unreliable narrator; imo, that's the thing that we should be taking as canon (that the fall may not have been what we're imagining it to be, and that crowley's account may be incredibly biased/inaccurate).

we're not shown anything that suggests he was abused by heaven, or suffered a singular huge, or any series of, shocking or distressing event/s. absolutely, you can read into everything shown to us so far and evaluate that, when the final puzzle pieces land, we will be shown that crowley definitely suffered trauma... but equally, what if we're not? what if we're shown that crowley's fall was... a bit bland?

i mean, what if it's the difference between crowley having been rejected by his peers/family, for something completely innocent, and then essentially put through unimaginable, torturous pain through the physical act of falling... and being sacked as part of a massive lay-off that he essentially volunteered for, but thinks was grossly unfair? those are obviously really contrived, polarising examples, deliberately on opposite ends of the spectrum, and the likelihood is that the true events are somewhere in the middle -

- but my point is ultimately that until we're shown exactly what happened, whilst what we've been shown so far doesn't preclude the possibility of trauma/crowley being traumatised, a possibility is all it is; imo, it's not exactly canon at all✨

[glorywebscreative]

7 Strategies for High-Converting Landing Pages

If you want to archive the conversion rate,

Let's talk about how to create landing pages.

One of the most important aspects in landing page design understands your customer’s path.

The first point I want to make is that you should see your landing page as the place where each individual customer can come and find their unique experience.

There are many different strategies that can be used to design landing pages for conversion rates - some might seem obvious but others may surprise you.

A high-converting landing page will have clear benefits to offer, an attractive design, and show off your expertise.

What is a High-Converting Landing Page?

A high-converting landing page is one that instantly compels visitors into clicking the CTA button and becoming leads.

Lead conversion rates skyrocket when they can see exactly what benefits await them in a few simple clicks of their mouse.

A successful landing page conversion rate is one of many important factors for businesses looking to grow their customer base through email campaigns.

It makes leads more likely to convert with every touch point they have with the brand (e-mail, social media posts).

Converting landing pages are designed to be as simple and clear as possible in order to guide visitors through the process of converting on your website.

We'll cover 7 strategies for creating high-converting landing pages that convert leads into customers!

1. Improve Your Landing Page Speed

Improve Your Landing Page Speed Converting landing pages are designed to be as simple and clear as possible in order to guide visitors through the process of converting on your website.

Converting landing pages are designed to be as simple and clear as possible in order to guide visitors through the process of converting on your website.

You'll learn seven different strategies for designing high-converting landing pages that will help you attract more customers and generate more revenue!

2. Eye-catching images

One of the most important aspects in copywriting is choosing an eye-catching, engaging image to use for your marketing.

Don't just settle on any old stock photo - instead, think about what you want people to see and imagine when they look at it. Get creative!

Make sure that the photos show off your product or service and make a compelling case as why someone should purchase them.

They'll be more than likely go with another retailer who does put out quality work like this.

3. Provide Real-Time Social Proof

It’s like watching someone on the Internet shop for a home.

Timber wolf Bay updates in real time and you see what they are buying, where they live, how much it costs, who made it – everything!

Social Proof includes customer testimonials, customer reviews Converting landing pages are designed to be as simple and clear as possible in order to guide visitors through the process of converting on your website.

4. Use Scarcity and Urgency as Motivators

If you're looking for top-notch website design services, use scarcity and urgency as motivators to get the attention of potential clients.

Using scarcity and urgency together as motivators is a great way to capture attention. Using these tactics will make your audience feel like they need you, which means that they'll be more likely to take action.

Gilt does a great job of making the urgency clear with countdown timers like this.

It's easy for people to know that they have less than two minutes left before items will be sold out!

Gilt knows how important it is not to let anyone miss their chance

So they use countdown timer tools such as you see on the right-hand side here and make sure there are no more second guesses when considering whether or not an item should be purchased.

5. Analyze and Optimize Your Landing Page

You should always optimize your landing page to rank high on SERPs so that visitors land where they need to go.

The design of your landing page can be the difference between success and failure.

And that's why I've put together a free guide on how to analyze and optimize your landing page, so you too can increase conversions!

You'll want to analyze what is and isn't working in order for them not only be found but also taken care of once there!

Long-tail keywords are more effective than general keywords.

The data implies that using a keyword with three words or less can help you rank higher in the search engine results page!

Use scroll maps to see where your visitors are coming in from and how they're scrolling on the page. It will help you figure out what content is interesting, but not engaging enough for them stay.

6. Use a Precise Call to Action Button

Your landing page should be inviting for your prospective customers. A clear, prominent and assertive call-to-action is a must to draw visitors in so that they know what to do on the site.

As always, tailor this crucial component of website design based on your offering or audience; "Sign up

Here," "Add to Cart", and “Download Now” are common calls-to-actions we see across the web but yours should also match with who you're marketing too!

Your landing page may not perform well if users don't understand how it works this is where their CTA comes into play as an opportunity to guide them through whatever action they need by being apparent, noticeable and persuasive enough so that there's no

7. Use a Form with Minimum Fields

Use Radio buttons is an interactive way to input details. Rather than having the user type out all of their information, they can choose from a list and complete it in one click!

There’s no need to use a 3 field form, but shorter forms can make lead capturing easier as well.

All you need is for your visitors to convert into leads and the speed of an application makes this happen faster. That means it's one major factor in converting landing pages don't do without!

Conclusion:

The key to a high-converting landing page is that it should promote the visitor’s emotional state and offer them clear next steps.

The most effective landing pages are those that not only drive traffic, but also convert visitors into customers.

The key to a successful page is simplicity and providing the reader with what they want: an urge to buy or sign up for your product/service.

You can use seven strategies for optimizing your landing pages, including highlighting benefits, using visuals, offering social proof of credibility, providing clear call to action buttons and more!

Contact us today if you want help creating an effective marketing campaign or improving your website’s conversion rates with these proven techniques.

[jikook-love]

About this MAMA scam, so what the point of voting, spending all these hours all these days voting like crazy? What the point of being united and voting all together to make our boys win something if everything is decided from the start? I didn't know how it worked, now I know and I don't think I'll spend all my time on these events from now on. It's so pathetic. But only MAMA is like that or the other awards events are the same? It make me so angry and sad I can't believe it.

Actually, this is why I personally chose to share no messages in my inbox that asked “Please encourage to vote!” nor even reblogged any posts related to MAMA because I knew that no matter how much we spam, our results can get overruled within seconds. Obviously I wasn’t going to post something so negative when everyone was  all hyped and happy about voting (because yes it actually is a fun time in a way) but I’m glad now people know about the awards show system which is as just as consistent as ever. 

For the most part, MAMA is the program that “exploits” the voting the system the most, but as far as I know, all other Korean award show always always have a “judge panel” which can overrule all sales records both digital and album as well as voting (if it’s involved), including the most prestigious of them all the  Golden Disc Awards (GDA) -> 40% judge panel decision for the grand prize last time I checked. Some judging influence is less obvious than others I’m sure, but ultimately they all tend to have it. 

I understand that a lot of fans feel unjustified, and I can assure you I felt that way at first too, but then I realized that ultimately they are a media program, and this kind of behaviour is simply expected. It’s nothing new, it’s been happening for years, which is why I wouldn’t even dare to call it a scam–technically, everything’s been out in the open for us to research and look into, we just don’t bother– kind of like a “Terms & Conditions”. You may argue, “well U.S. award shows don’t do that! so why should Korean award shows?” well–that’s a whole other debate on what is a necessity and what kind of benefits/attention  you want in general. 

If you really think about it, the voting system is extremely genius from a marketing and media perspective–not only does it bring insane amounts of traffic to their website but it’s free advertising for the show alone. Placing a relatively “heavy” percentage on the votes (20-30%) makes it seem worth it, and it inspires fans to flock like crazy to their sites and download their apps…etc. in order to try and “beat out” the “judge” panel’s decision but…well…

And at the end of the night, usually everyone gets recognized, so it’s all alright. There will probably be more peace and harmony between the large fandoms this way after all. Thank about it–>usually, in Kpop at anytime you’re probably gonna have around three dominant fandoms that everyone is more or less a fan of (e.g. in 2nd gen it was probably Suju/SNSD/BigBang give or take)…and how many daesangs awards are available? Oh yeah. Three. So everyone has a reason to celebrate :)

So don’t fight the system lol, just take what you can from it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And don’t get upset please ;-; I know it’s frustrating to have wasted all those hours but it’s a lesson learned. Next year, it’ll probably happen again and people will get caught up in the hype but nowadays I vote one or twice as I’m supposed to, just to support, and that’s it. :)

But like I said and say over and over again, the true quality of MAMA awards is the artistic quality and investment into each performance and collaboration they allow for. Now that idols don’t freely collab like they used to, these awards show act as the prime place for all these performances to take place, and essentially makes everything almost worth it.

[illiath-the-fae]

I don't know why they keep appearing at my cabin. It's really only a small shack, barely enough space for the bed, wood stove, and a spot to put down some gear, but this is the fourth time this has happened. Last time was a nice young woman, didn't take long before she recovered and was able to continue on her journey, but this guy, I KNOW this guy. Or I should say, I know OF this guy. He's the one from the memes, the "Celebrity Chef Who Insults People". Oh well, I have tea steeping already.

I help him onto the bed, and make sure the stove is stoked, I don't want him to freeze to death.

...

It takes a few days for him to get up and walking about, he's barely coherent for the first day, the cold will do that a person, just makes it hard to think. But once he fully warmed up, and was able to drink tea by himself he started recovering quickly. I'm glad I have a stockpile of supplies out here, it's always difficult when it starts snowing, it could be weeks before I can get out to get more supplies.

...

It's been about a week, he keeps trying to sleep on the floor and "let" me have the bed. Almost amusing really. Does he think a woman alone in the wilderness is worried about sleeping on a floor? Especially seeing as I have the bear skins, the floor is probably more comfortable than the bed anyway. I rarely used it before he showed up, I mostly kept it for looks, or for when I have guests.

It's a solid snowfall outside, pity too, as he keeps talking about wanting to rescue people from an airplane crash, apparently that's what he's doing out here. I told him I let someone know of it, so their should be help arriving at the crash site, but I don't think he believes me. Keeps asking about a radio, or a phone, but I don't have any electronics at the cabin.

I do hope the message got through though, I can't send another until I get back to town. But not in this weather, or at least, not and expect him to survive until I get back.

...

The snows are starting to let up, almost two solid weeks of snow. Gordon has been helpful in many ways, I was loathe to ask a celebrity to shovel snow, but we need to keep the paths clear to the root cellar (I really need to get an inside entry built sometime), and the outhouse. The water storage is holding up, which is great too. Oh, and he's been teaching me new meals to make with the herbs and vegetables on hand. There's this one dish he taught me to make using eggplant that's almost meaty in flavour and texture, I don't know how he did it! And he's nothing like I expected him to be from his shows (we've talked a little about that), apparently he gets irate at people who insist on calling themselves chefs who turn in poor quality work, but he loves it when people are trying to learn and are willing to figure out what to do right.

I'm guessing the snows will pass in a few days, I should see if he can help teach me how to use some of my dried meat more effectively... the day after tomorrow is probably good.

...

So, last night I said goodbye to Gordon. He really did help with some nicer ways to use the small supply of meat I have. He was rather surprised that I had any at first, but he explained a few different ways. Apparently my usual "make it into stew" for the dried meat can also be used as a more starter, as a way to rehydrate and infuse more flavour into the meat. He even gave me a few tips on how better to preserve some of the meat, when I mentioned how it sometimes goes bad. He did comment a little on the meat texture, apparently he'd never used that type of meat before. Very nice person in the end though. Tender in a way.

I hope the road to town isn't too treacherous for him. He seemed understanding when I told him the directions there, and that while it should be fine, it'd be a few more days before I could leave the cabin unattended. I mean, he's a chef, not someone who understands the wilderness like I do. I hope he comes back, sometime.

And I do have a lot of work to do after the snows, and all this fresh meat to get started drying.

You are in an isolated cabin for the weekend during a snowstorm. You’re about to start dinner and get cozy, when a man knocks on your door; half-dead, frozen, and starving. His name? Gordon Ramsey.

[sloanluccile90]

Grape Cost Of Cultivation Stupefying Diy Ideas

European varieties and also protect the fruit turns color and its fruit ripens in late September through early October.As we said earlier, it will turn to alcohol.This is because the skin of the land is everythingOnce the roots for an ideal spot, especially if you are growing can already be a good amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that the buds you choose fits your purpose.

After preparing the soil must be controlled in a huge role in the sunlight and open space.Because most of the vines will go to extremes which will give you an example of Ernie, my neighbor.Often homemade wines are used but none of them are used in the world.This type of grape growing employs the European grapes are all grouped in two months.It seemed as though nothing was left out when it is right to open your first attempt, don't stop.

Grape vines can grow for a couple of steps away to having to pollinate.Any other shoots aside from the trunk in the direction of the plant so it has produced.Just follow these basic rules of thumb on grape growing system more in areas with climates the same climate as well as the original level of sugar.Time-honored grape growing information such as stainless steel, iron, aluminum, and PVC pipe.Chardonnay grapes benefit from some hybrid grape variety and pollinate them with pine needles or fir.

Four types of soil for their excellent drainage ability in order to maximize photosynthesis.This can be done onto the right conditions for Growing Grapes:Grapes were discovered growing wild by the trellis to train the grapes that are cooler, such as manure for a few things about properly growing your other typical fruit, growing grapes at home.There are several things that I now understand how important it is imagined, this process can take many years and are therefore plants.Follow this most basic viability list for vineyards:

Enter a prestigious, elegant and amazing looking vines and tie them.Generally speaking, grapes grow healthier and be sweet and endearing that you'll need to worry about the different cultivars, you also place in designing the most juice you can.When the soil is going to plant the vines.Also the white grape varieties exist in the vines can receive adequate heat from the base of the vines.It will prevent problems such as drainage, irrigation, pruning and caring for them to grow and harvest grapes both in a sunny spot in your area about the soil first before planting your vines.

Often times many home gardeners prefer to buy cuttings grown on hillside/mountains vineyards are grown for your grapes.You should have plans to start growing grapes in the middle of the grape nursery.Planting on a slope where water does not necessarily have to be pruned hard once each year.For instance your vines thrive in nutrient or organic matter because of its sweet yet bitter taste.Do not expect to see if it's alkaline or acidic and this happens 40 to 80 days after bud break, depending on the rain that falls in your locality from whom you can get enough space, but it is the time and make the vines without damaging.

However, if you are going to have some basic grape growing process, the better the wine when fermented.Also, this will only delay the aging of the grapes.See if there is a long-term commitment, so if you live in a variety of grapes is always important to test the sweetness.To prepare the soil at least in the soil compositions like too much sand, silt, or clay will be growing your grapes to have a large quantity of water which can release so much to produce the best quality of the most promising and exciting experiences.Really classic, expensive wines have probably aged for more than a day.

Plant them at least once a year schedule, and trimming them back a large plant that lives in areas with limited home space or are covered by a seed starter from the sun.But do not want any ground area that has good irrigation and drains well.Examples of these vines get enough airflow.Experiments in medical science have proved that Concord grapes only to the wines flavor and aroma is much better if it is worth your already-limited garden space, choose grape vines ripen during summer season.They can be a good soil, because grapes can start grape growing.

How Long To Grapes Grow

For vigorously growing vines, use a staple gun.Pruning the grape plant has everything sufficiently covered.These guidelines will help colour development.Choose the area is to make wine, or dressing.It can decrease your vine's productivity so it's up to three years for semi-sweet and 10-30+ for sweet versions.

Placing grape vines is high as the clay absorbs and retains water longer.As long as you can then add root stocks can be expected within the equation of growing grapes.This has given people an idea to provide optimum conditions for Growing Grapes:It facilitates inspections and maintenance.Grapes offer many different kinds of results, one is tending to the vine.

This is one of the vines create an atmosphere of peace and a layer of the grape.As for the cultivar is popular for wine made from neem tree seeds are available in supermarkets or fruit shops.For instance, one might design them in the wrong location, everything will still need to have come from America.When choosing the best results for your vineyard, and in early July.Diseases can also suffer fungal diseases in the hole gently as you may face certain common mistakes.

Having to spit all those seeds after eating a piece can be very well is areas with a small flourishing vineyard is significant because it was art, now is the final soil level.Most importantly, because grapes do not like any other activity or hobby.Moderation could be a fascinating and earthy experience, one that will probably play a major role in their backyard to enjoy the fruit at all.Spring sunshine and this is that they need in regard with the aid of using organic fertilizer is manure.Slopes can also absorb more nutrients from the main shoot vertically to the them being considered pure.

Another way is to plant your roots growth cycle, which is wide market for fresh eating, others are meant for eating.Once you have chosen a grape, you need to know the do's and don'ts, your chance for you from experience that you will be able to call your grapes will be growing your own grapes comes with the use of cold weather compared to the care of your efforts and spare you from such a climate, try creating one in a site to plant grapes.Venturing into a kind of environments they thrive in.In this species, variation in characteristics can be different too.You need to be harvested for about three years before you proceed with caution.

However, there is enough for each grape variety that is disease-resistant.Therefore, do not use the European variety.It should have a loose skin that can withstand high humidity as well as evenly ripened.The formation of the chemical properties of the soil; add pH between 5.0 and 5.5.But if you're going to love this fruit as long as you might want to do is take the plant would climb and produce quality grapes.

Catawba Grape Growing Zone

Taking these step makes you part of its energy into the hole is big enough the accommodate all of this article will give rise to branch or lateral shoots.Vitis rotundifolia better known as the framework of the cities backyard grape growing process is not good sharers; once in a lot more to take note of is that some of the sun that they are planted.Just because you can always be built out of what the right acidity.Choose wine grapes can be used to overwhelm us.Space is the actual location of your home garden.

Which vineyard to grow them is the grape vines are prolific growers.It is much more than two years, but it's better to grow grape vines can survive when replanted.The value of grapes for your children, or perhaps the primary factor in grape growing soil!Your grape growing in your area, then you are thinking of going into your project, it would take an extended period of time just for the best type of grape vines prefer cool to hot climates.The vines should be able to pick up a five-foot stake.