Lynda Arbon, Author at Pucker Mob

The Art of Guest Blogging: A Complete Guide to Building Your Online Presence

Guest blogging, also known as guest posting, is a popular marketing tactic that involves writing and publishing a blog post on another website. The practice of guest blogging has been around for many years, and it continues to be an effective way for businesses to build brand awareness, increase website traffic, and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry. In this article, we will provide a complete guide to guest blogging, including the advantages of guest blogging, how to find guest blogging opportunities and best practices for creating effective guest blog posts.

Advantages of Guest Blogging

1. Increased Brand Awareness: Guest blogging provides a platform for businesses to reach a new audience and build brand awareness.

2. Improved SEO: Guest blogging can help improve your website’s search engine ranking by generating high-quality backlinks to your website.

3. Increased Website Traffic: Guest blogging can drive traffic to your website through links included in your guest post.

4. Establish Authority and Thought Leadership: Guest blogging provides an opportunity to share your expertise and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

5. Networking Opportunities: Guest blogging can help you establish relationships with other bloggers and influencers in your industry.

6. Increased Social Media Exposure: Guest blogging can help you reach a wider audience on social media. When you publish a guest post on another website, be sure to promote it on your own social media channels to drive traffic and engagement.

7. Diversify Your Content Strategy: Guest blogging provides an opportunity to diversify your content strategy and explore new topics and formats. By writing for other websites, you can expand your expertise and showcase your versatility as a content creator.

8. Generate New Leads: Guest blogging can help generate new leads and potential customers for your business. By including a call to action or offering a free resource in your guest post, you can encourage readers to visit your website and learn more about your products or services.

9. Establish Credibility and Trust: By publishing guest blog posts on respected websites in your industry, you can establish credibility and trust with potential customers. This can help improve your brand’s reputation and increase the likelihood of conversions.

10. Cost-Effective Marketing: Guest blogging is a cost-effective marketing tactic that can help businesses achieve their goals without breaking the bank. Unlike other marketing strategies that require significant financial investment, guest blogging can be a low-cost way to increase brand visibility and drive results.

How to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities

1. Research Websites in Your Industry: Research websites in your industry that accept guest posts. Look for websites with a strong following and a similar target audience to your business.

2. Look for Guest Blogging Guidelines: Many websites that accept guest posts will have specific guidelines for submitting content. Look for these guidelines and follow them closely to increase your chances of getting your guest post published.

3. Reach Out to Blog Owners: Reach out to blog owners and pitch your guest post idea. Be sure to explain why your post would be valuable to their audience and how it relates to their blog.

4. Use Guest Blogging Services: There are a number of guest blogging services that can help connect you with websites in your industry that accept guest posts.

Best Practices for Creating Effective Guest Blog Posts

1. Provide Value: Your guest post should provide value to the audience of the website you are writing for. Focus on providing helpful information or insights that will be useful to readers.

2. Be Relevant: Your guest post should be relevant to the website’s audience and the topic of the blog.

3. Write Engaging Content: Your guest post should be engaging and easy to read. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to break up the content and make it more digestible.

4. Use High-Quality Images: Use high-quality images that are relevant to your guest post to help illustrate your points and make your content more visually appealing.

5. Include Links: Include links to your website or other relevant resources to provide additional value to readers.

6. Stay Consistent: Consistency is key when it comes to guest blogging. By regularly publishing high-quality guest blog posts on relevant websites, you can increase your brand’s visibility and establish yourself as a trusted authority in your industry.

7. Track Your Results: It’s important to track the results of your guest blogging efforts to measure their effectiveness. Monitor website traffic, backlinks, and engagement to identify what’s working and what’s not, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

8. Build Relationships: Guest blogging provides an opportunity to build relationships with other bloggers and influencers in your industry. Nurture these relationships by sharing their content, engaging with them on social media, and offering to collaborate on future projects.

9. Use Data to Inform Your Strategy: Use data and analytics to inform your guest blogging strategy. Identify which websites and topics are driving the most traffic and engagement, and focus your efforts on these areas.

10. Focus on Quality over Quantity: While it can be tempting to publish guest blog posts on as many websites as possible, it’s important to focus on quality over quantity. Prioritize high-quality websites that align with your brand’s values and target audience, and invest time in creating well-researched, informative guest blog posts.

11. Consider Paid Guest Blogging: While many guest blogging opportunities are free, some websites may offer paid options for increased exposure and visibility. Consider investing in paid guest blogging opportunities to amplify your brand’s reach and drive results.

In conclusion, guest blogging can be a powerful marketing tactic for businesses looking to increase brand awareness, improve SEO, and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry. By researching websites in your industry, following guest blogging guidelines, and creating effective guest blog posts that provide value to readers, you can leverage the advantages of guest blogging to achieve your business goals. With the right approach, guest blogging can be a valuable addition to your marketing strategy in 2023 and beyond.

Why Online Reviews Are Paramount for Health Care Practices

People post online reviews about everything from the sandwiches they eat to the colleges they attend.

It’s not surprising, then, that people also share online opinions about their healthcare providers.

Smart medical professionals read and respond to these opinions. That’s because online reviews could help them do so much.

Form opinions about practices

Many people go into internet searches blind or may have little to no knowledge about a subject or subjects.

Internet searchers might know a little about something, but they’re searching for information to learn more or answer questions about it.

The first things online searchers might learn about healthcare practices might be through reviews. If the comments are positive and practices acknowledge them, these reviews might lead to patients and prospective patients doing more research about them, such as visiting websites and interacting with the practices themselves.

Reviews show that practices are active and are doing something. Their mere presence indicates that practices are real entities with real workers helping real people.

That previous statement might seem odd, but the internet does have its fair share of fakery, scams, and exaggeration. Online reviews attach real, human elements to medical practices’ public images.

If they’re concerned about their health or the effectiveness of potential doctors, people want authenticity. Reviews could help provide it.

Demonstrate practices’ soft skills

When patients don’t know anything about healthcare practices, online reviews might serve several functions.

They could give people factual ideas about what practices do. Such facts might include the hour’s practices are open and the conditions their professionals treat.

Just as importantly, reviews could help current and future patients understand practices’ soft skills, that is, information about the professionals’ personal qualities.

Soft skills related to health care (and other fields) include being

● Patient

● Attentive and understanding

● Flexible and adaptable

● Confident

● Eager to communicate

Online reviews might not mention whether medical professionals practice all these skills. But they might mention a few using different words.

Reviewers who write at length about a professional’s willingness to spend time talking and listening could be excellent testaments of the professional’s communication skills. If there are multiple reviews about the same topic, they emphasize the practitioner’s skills even further and could be even stronger endorsements.

Help attract new patients

Endorsements are still crucial because they help attract new patients and retain current ones, so offices should promote them. But the old-fashioned word of mouth and recommendations still have their roles. Big roles, in fact.

Patients who leave positive reviews could serve as digital recommendations. Reviews might prompt people to learn more about providers, such as by reading additional reviews, interacting with the professionals’ websites more, or engaging with the healthcare professionals in question.

As much as practices try to promote themselves, people still want to know what real patients really think about them. Digital reviews could provide these sorts of answers.

When comments are positive, people are more likely to choose providers they feel they can trust. If the reviews think professionals are trustworthy and give credible explanations why others are more likely to trust them as well?

Demonstrate a willingness to engage

Medical practices might find it easier to earn trust if they engage with others.

Using online reviews is a good way to develop this interaction. Many review sites have functions that allow people to respond to reviews, especially if they’re the subjects of such conversations.

Responding to reviews illustrates multiple things. It shows that practices are technologically savvy and know how to navigate and use the internet. If they’re knowledgeable about online sites, they might be skilled enough to consider and use other types of technology to provide optimal care.

Answering reviews demonstrate the graciousness and gratitude of practices when the reviews are good. It shows humility and that they care.

Negative review responses also indicate how medical professionals care. It’s not easy to take criticism when we’ve worked hard, but it’s important to thank people for taking the time to offer their opinions.

Such acknowledgments indicate that professionals realize that other people might not be satisfied with their work. It indicates a willingness to solve problems and fix situations.

A negative review, then, could ultimately be positive. It could give people the truth and opportunities for growth.

Promote a practice’s location

Most patients want health care close to home. Reviews could help people find it.

Maybe a particular medical office offers treatment advantages due to its location or is in a geographically desirable place. Patient reviews might mention these assets, or office employees could mention them when they’re responding to other comments.

In these answers and other forms of communication, providers might want to use their signature lines to include their locations and other information they’d like to highlight. It’s a quick, easy way of putting correct information out there and promoting medical services.

Practices also might add if they’re the only provider or one of the few providers who work in a specific specialty in a certain geographic area. This uniqueness could encourage patients to consider specific offices instead of others.

Mentioning a geographic location in reviews and web pages could help search engines find practices and add them to their results listings. Phrases such as optometrists in Joliet, Illinois, or mentions of other medical specialties and locations could match exact search queries and shine a spotlight on the offices who use such search terms and keywords.

Explain how practices and patients are relevant

When they write and post reviews, people are acknowledging that medical practices are doing work that impacts their lives.

If people didn’t care, they wouldn’t say anything at all. If practices didn’t care, they wouldn’t look for such reviews and respond to them.

How to Optimize your Healthcare Facility for Better Patient Acquisition

Optimize Your Practice for Increased Patient Acquisition

Attracting new patients to your healthcare clinic is a journey that begins with the patient’s first appointment and evolves through a series of positive experiences with your practice. Those positive experiences will typically determine how well your office is optimized for new patient acquisition and growth.

Today’s patient interactions are colored by your staff, your standard of care, the services you provide, your office hours, the insurances you accept, and other factors, not the least of which is the design, layout, and appearance of your office. The look and feel of your practice can either enhance or diminish a patient’s impression of you and the quality of your care.

Attracting New Patients Requires Conscious Effort

It’s not uncommon for a healthcare practice to invest hundreds of dollars to acquire one new patient. That investment can vary greatly depending on each prospect’s responsiveness to your office appearance and culture and your targeted marketing efforts. According to the latest research from BIA/Kelsey, hospitals and healthcare providers now spend nearly $12 billion on advertising and marketing each year in the U.S. just to attract new patients.

That’s a clear indication that choosing a health provider is firmly in the hands of patients. Your acquisition efforts must occupy a prominent place in their mind when they are making decisions about their own health or their family’s care. To gain their attention, your actions must be deliberate and intentional.

Consider the Office Environment You Have Created

Think about your physical space, office atmosphere, and overall appearance and culture. These can have substantial impacts on your patient acquisition efforts. Consider the fact that new patients are especially discerning when it comes to the specifics of your office environment.

Does your office space help mitigate their anxieties? Does it feel like a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment?

Are you familiar with evidence-based design – the theory that you can achieve increased patient acquisition and the best possible healthcare outcomes by creating the right office environment? How does each patient feel the moment they first encounter your practice? Do they respond to the tone of a direct mailer, a glowing referral from a friend or an outstanding online review? Or is it the appearance and atmosphere of your office when they first walk in?

Your design choices matter more than you think. Experts estimate that up to 35% of a patient’s overall satisfaction is influenced by the design and decor of your facility.

How Design Details Influence Patient Acquisition

Interior design and decor are important for setting a mood in your office. Optimizing your office design extends from the exterior to the exam room. Your objective is to make a first impression that will last, beginning with your reception area. A pleasant, comfortable vibe invites guests in and makes them feel at home, the first step in establishing a long-term relationship with your practice.

Your receptionist is the first person your new patients interact with and the face of your practice. They should always welcome patients with a smile. Your design should include natural features such as plants, nature art, outdoor views, and soft lighting. Give your new patients a comfortable space to relax their minds. And don’t forget details such as up to date reading materials, TV entertainment, games for kids, and free wi-fi. These amenities can turn waiting time into a relaxing time while turning your office into a welcoming space.

A welcoming space will reduce new patient anxiety and have them looking forward to their next appointment. Ultimately, you should create a space that your patients enjoy visiting and want to return to when future health needs arise. Patients of all ages will appreciate the effort you put into their comfort and entertainment.

Don’t Overlook Your Examination Rooms

Extend your design theme beyond your waiting room into your exam rooms. Using bright colors and landscape or nature imagery promise your guests a distraction from their ailments and an overall positive experience.

Pediatric practices especially benefit from transformative decor in exam rooms. This helps young patients feel at ease and gives parents a great distraction for their children.

Ultimately, it is the vibe you create in your office that helps patients feel more engaged and more vested in their relationship with you as their care provider. Remember that a bland, cold, clinical environment and décor will do nothing to help you build the kind of relationships you really want with your patients.

First Impressions Begin With Your Building’s Exterior

This is especially true of standalone practices and those that are visible to the public. Your visibility, parking availability, ease of access, and exterior aesthetics all set the tone for your new patient acquisition success.

With the right exterior design theming, your building will advertise for you 24/7. Exterior theming will attract new patients and spread the word about who you are and what you do.

Relationship Details Also Affect Patient Acquisition

Once you’ve made the effort to create the right physical environment, you can match it with good interpersonal skills that will help dissolve your patients’ natural anxieties. Pay closer personal attention to your patients so they don’t feel like mere numbers on a long list of appointments throughout your day.

Remember that every interaction or conversation gives you an opportunity to deepen your relationship with patients. Your top interpersonal, and relational skill is being a good listener.

To enhance your listening ability, it’s always a good idea to have patient conversations in a designated, comfortable consult area. Patients will feel more at ease and you will be better equipped to truly listen to what they share with you.

In addition, making yourself available to your patients beyond office hours will help them feel more valued and connected.

Increase Patient Acquisition by Building Trust

Trust is a critical element in any relationship but it is particularly important for the patient-physician relationship. You can build trust by conveying your knowledge and expertise to your patients in ways they will understand. Patients who feel informed by their doctors are more likely to have a positive experience.

In addition to listening to their specific questions, find solutions that are unique to them and their situations. Encourage them to ask questions about your standard of care, technology, treatments, and outcomes. By giving patients the freedom to ask questions without judgement, you’ll enhances the doctor-patient relationship.

Share resources that they can take home or check out online after their appointment to help them feel more empowered. Patients who trust their healthcare providers are more likely to sustain longer relationships.

Build Consistency by Scheduling Their Next Appointment

Good relationships require consistency. So does maintaining good health. By making intentional efforts to setup follow-up appointments will confirm that you consider providing consistent care for their health as a high priority.

Keeping patients connected to you, your office, and their health helps maintain consistency that is essential to a long-term relationship. Remember that acquiring patients is fundamentally a two-fold process. It is one part environment design and one part relationship building. By optimizing your practice around each, you’ll surely increase your new patient acquisitions.

The Eight Secrets to Becoming Rich, Successful, and Happy

Here are eight secrets to becoming wealthy, successful, and happy that will help ensure that you are on the way to living life to the fullest.

If you’re looking to make life improvements, success and happiness are two things that can significantly impact the way you live your life. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula that guarantees success or happiness; instead, it’s all about taking action and learning from past experiences to grow as a person and achieve your goals. The following eight secrets to becoming wealthy, successful, and happy will help ensure that you’re well on your way to living life to the fullest.

1). Stop letting fear guide your life

Fear is a massive obstacle in life. Fear of failure. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of rejection. Most fear comes from your imagination, not reality.

We often fear things that won’t happen because we imagine they will—and we never let ourselves dream about what might be possible if we took risks and trusted our judgment instead of giving in to fear.

Once you start letting go of your fears, you can break free from self-imposed limitations (which may hold you back from becoming wealthy, successful, or happy).

2). Don’t listen to naysayers

What’s more important is to listen to naysayers. Remember that you are an entrepreneur; not every deal will be a winner. What’s wrong with having a few flops? We also learn from our mistakes in life, so too can use our mistakes to educate others and make ourselves better.

3). If you believe it can happen, it will

If you want to become successful, wealthy, or fulfilled in your personal life, it’s not just about working hard. It’s also about believing that good things will happen—because they do happen. Of course, they happen every day—but only if you think they will. If you feel something is possible, it is much more likely that it actually will be.

One of the famous quotes from Mahatma Gandhi states: A man is what he thinks all day long. The more positivity and belief you put into your thoughts about something, the better chance it will happen for you.

4). Find happiness in others’ success

Pleased people build their happiness around the success of others. They find contentment in knowing that those who are doing well deserve it. So it means the world to them when someone with big dreams achieves remarkable things and proves that there is a way out of poverty or self-sabotage.

We’re all capable of looking past our struggles to see what makes other people happy, successful, and prosperous. If you ever stop being able to do that, then something is wrong because your happiness shouldn’t depend on your progress but rather on everyone else’s success. However complex your life has been until now, it can only get better if other people around you do well for themselves.

5). Enjoy the journey

You won’t succeed at anything if you can’t enjoy the process of struggling toward your goal. The struggle to pursue your dream is where we learn the most about ourselves.

The moments when it all seems hopeless are often the best teachers. So take a quick moment today to reflect on your journey and reflect on what you have learned – then use those lessons to fuel new dreams and new opportunities!

6). Solve your money problems

If you have money problems, you are certainly not alone and try to solve your money problems. But unfortunately, many people end up with money problems due to mismanagement, unforeseen circumstances, or a lack of planning. Having financial problems is no fun, so what can you do? Here are some quick ways that can help solve your money problems fast:

• Get rid of any debt you may have by using a personal credit card consolidation loan. Consolidating your debt helps reduce your monthly payments, which frees up more cash in your budget;

• Establish multiple streams of income. Not all jobs bring home excellent wages, so it’s essential to create multiple sources of income for yourself.

7). Cultivate dignity and respect.

Every successful person understands that dignity and respect are integral parts of what makes a life well-lived. So be kind and courteous in all your dealings, and you’ll find that not only do you make more friends along the way, but you’ll also feel more confident and booming yourself.

Don’t cut corners when it comes to crucial relationships; as they say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Relationships are forged through hard work and time; don’t shortchange them. Respect others’ opinions even if they also differ from yours, understand other people’s cultures by taking an interest in their lives, and learn how best to communicate with them.

8). Do more of what you do best

You can’t be great at everything. The most efficient way to spend time is to focus on what you do best and outsource or delegate everything else. The more you work on something—anything—the better you’ll get at it.

The more experienced you are in an area of expertise, be it business development or graphic design, the easier it will be for you to market yourself and demand higher pay from clients. If a client needs your service (and with today’s competitive job market, there are millions), you have to figure out how much they are willing to pay for it.

Conclusion

It becomes easier to emulate successful people. The most important takeaway is that success is a product of our habits. Don’t be afraid of failure. Be afraid of being too risk-averse for fear of failure.

The most outstanding teachers are usually our failures, so don’t be afraid of failing on your way to success—because one thing’s for sure: You can fall on your way there… or succeed by not trying at all. Good luck!

Top 10 Apps That Can Help Fight Climate Change

Humans have had a negative impact on the environment. There is deforestation, waste in the ocean, and rising CO2 levels. Luckily, there are many things that we can do to reduce the effects on the environment. If you want to help fight global climate change, your smartphone can help you. Here are some apps that can assist you in this.

1. Milkywire:

This App allows you to support grassroots organizations worldwide. You will receive updates about the effects of your donation directly from the people on the ground. It’s an environmental sustainability platform that enables the optimization of your contribution, allowing you to get closer and observe your influence. Undoubtedly, this app is your way to make a difference to the environment.

Download these app and support the United Nations Global Goals.

2.MathTappers:

This is a carbon choice App that educates you on the amount of Co2 you omit with specific actions and the carbon footprint you leave after you. Moreover, it tries to simplify climate change, CO2 emissions, and greenhouse gas emissions. Users begin by tracking their intake in four major areas over a period of a week (showers, entertainment, travel, and food).

3. Skeptical Science:

This app will make all skeptics tremble. The software provides the latest science to refute the arguments, misconceptions, and disinformation of people who refuse to acknowledge the existence of climate change. There are several graphs and figures featured throughout the app. Also, it gets regularly updated with new data, papers, and arguments which are based on primary scientific research.

The climate emergency necessitates action from all of us

4. Voodoo Skies Normal or Not:

This App tells us if the weather is historically correct or not. It compares the present climate in a region to historical temperature and rainfall trends for that day in the past. It analyses the weather records’ database to do this. The App also provides a 5-day prediction and compares current forecasts to previous ones.

5.EnergySmart:

This British Gas app can keep your energy usage in check while on the go. It allows you to see how much it costs to leave your charging cable plugged in all the time or to leave the heaters on at night. Once you know your consumption, you can begin making changes to consume less and save more on your bills.

Save Money Support Environment

6. Power Pup:

An Australian sea lion pup leads you on an energy adventure journey and an entertaining/educational world in this app. With this, learn energy-saving tips on protecting the oceans from climate change. Examine energy-saving techniques to help safeguard seas from the effects of climate change as you explore the Great Southern Oceans, evade foes, and race against rising water temperatures.

7. Commute Greener:

With this app, you can change your everyday commuting routine. It provides UK residents with different ways to measure carbon dioxide emissions emitted throughout their daily travel. For example, you can participate in commuting by car, bus, bicycle, or other means of transport. Also, to make it more enjoyable, you may earn points and even compete with friends.

Let us fight climate change together

8. Chasing Ice:

The official app of the documentary film Chasing Ice. It is an audiovisual trip via nature photographer James Balog’s Extreme Ice Survey’s spectacular arctic findings. It squeezes years into seconds and captures mountains of Ice in motion as they melt at a surprising rate. Moreover, it uses groundbreaking time-lapse cameras to record multi-year records of the world’s shifting glaciers.

For a peaceful planet, let’s combat climate change

9. Pollution:

Now you can track pollution with the help of technology. Furthermore, with an interactive map and a complete list of nearby fossil fuel plants, this app informs you about pollution levels in your neighbourhood. Moreover, it provides you with information on potential local health hazards while keeping you informed with regular database updates. This is an app for active environmentalists.

For every step counts, act now

10.Climate Counts:

Concerned about climate change? With this app, put your money to work by supporting the right companies. Create a change by voting with dollars for every purchase! Companies are ranked based on how well they deal with climate change, so you may shop with the high scorers and send comments to the poor scorers pushing them to take climate action.

Bonus App AlertMe Energy: This App determines if your community is doing its part to reduce carbon emissions. Determine the average annual energy expenditure per home in your location, the amount of electricity/gas consumed, and the amount of carbon emitted. Then compare your borough to others in the UK regarding energy use and CO2 emissions, with the aid of the App.

Use apps, fight climate change, and save the world

So, let us all make a difference and put our smartphones to excellent use today. Make minor modifications in daily habits, and soon we can lower our carbon impact and perhaps achieve carbon neutrality. Lastly, if we all work together to do this, we will surely better the environment around us. Fortunately for us, there are great Apps to tackle this.

Why Corporations Should Base Their Strategies on Sustainability

These days, there is a tidal wave of companies committing to corporate sustainability. Unfortunately, the business community and all its relevant stakeholders still aren’t entirely clear on what it is and why it’s needed. Navigating the complexities of corporate sustainability can feel like a daunting task for many businesses. That’s where sustainability consultants in Melbourne come into play. These experts provide the guidance and expertise needed to understand and implement sustainable practices effectively. In this article, we establish what it actually means, and how you must implement it in your business. We also explain why you need to do this.

Corporate sustainability is effectively a branch of sustainable development, which is an old concept. When company executives engage their employees in sustainability, it needs to be the start of a new company culture It is economic development that meets the needs of current generations. It should be done without tarnishing the prospects of future generations, while still maintaining a profitable business.

How To Build A Corporate Sustainability Strategy

When implementing a corporate sustainability strategy, businesses need to consider three primary factors in their operations. Firstly, businesses need to focus their strategies on treating their employees, and the communities that they serve, well. Secondly, they need to focus on using natural resources responsibly. Finally, businesses need to focus their attention on secure long-term investment, not just the immediate, short-term future.

We have a basic blueprint that businesses should make an effort to follow when implementing a sustainability strategy. Businesses need to take a good look at themselves, before deciding on their sustainability criteria and making it a part of the company culture. Additionally, businesses should work with their suppliers and customers, to ensure that they use and dispose of their products responsibly.

Sustainability Helps Improve Project Outcomes

Sustainability has the potential to improve project outcomes in your business. That can primarily be achieved by making use of locally sourced materials. By doing this, you are reducing schedule delays (if not eliminating them altogether). Sourcing materials locally also means reducing the risk of transportation accidents. These projects will also have greater buy-in from locals, reducing the risk of disruption.

As an extension of this, improving project outcomes also means becoming more desirable for investment. Investors are becoming increasingly attracted to companies with good environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) records This (ESG) evaluates how much a company has taken social and environmental factors into account. This matters because sustainable development assets have surged worldwide, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.

Sustainability Helps Drive Innovation

According to the Harvard Business Review, sustainability has now become a key driver of innovation. Being socially responsible means that businesses need to adopt newer techniques in their operations. Those newer techniques require a certain degree of innovation. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, as many as 48% of businesses use sustainability to boost innovation. Here are some practical examples.

An example of business sustainability is the conservation of water. This is something that saves money and energy. One example of conserving water is the introduction and installation of low-flow toilets. This is an innovative technology. Another example would be energy-saving bulbs in the workplace. Using these bulbs saves a considerable amount of money for the company in the long term.

Sustainability Helps Boost The Bottom Line

Sustainable companies are effective at lowering facility costs. This can be achieved by using, what is commonly known as, the life cycle approach. Sustainability experts will refer to the Four Rs — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rebuy. Sustainability means using resources more efficiently. A report by consulting firm McKinsey reveals that this can swing a company’s profits by as much as 60%.

Sustainability Helps Attract And Retain Talent

The creation of a more diverse workforce is a by-product of attracting more talent (because of sustainability). All of that has a positive impact on things like boosting the bottom line, driving innovation, and better project outcomes for the company and the community. Companies that are more diverse foster innovation through inclusion, gain new perspectives and world-views and employ purpose-driven individuals.

Sustainability Contributes To Job Growth

Localizing your business is a key element of successful sustainability initiatives. While there is no doubt that this helps reduce risk at your company and increases company profits, the impact this has on local communities is more significant. It will, undoubtedly, lead to the creation of employment opportunities. In this context, sustainability extends well beyond just boosting a company’s bottom line.

However, this is not just about the job creation, as compelling as that is. The spending power of a local community increases a lot when the local economy thrives. Not only is more being generated by that community in the way of taxes but the people living and working there will also have greater spending power. This will achieve increased market growth.

Sustainability Is The Future

Maximizing shareholder value used to be the only thing that mattered. But corporate attitudes are changing fast. Corporations around the world now promote an economy that serves all stakeholders which include customers, governments, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders. Corporate social responsibility and sustainability are no longer just progressive perspectives on how to run a business. They are central and powerful business tenets.

How to Boost the Productivity Zone to Get More Done

We all make a to do list everyday but most of the time it is very rare when things go exactly the way we plan. Many times, we aim for a great productive day but when it comes to work day our focus tends to get shifted towards different things.

When we can’t focus, we would often shrug our shoulders, thinking that if we didn’t work right now, it would be okay. However, as a consequence, we waste time and money.

While it is fine occasionally, its frequency could lead to falling behind the deadlines that ultimately affect the reputation of your organization and you. So, here are some ways to find the productivity zone and get more things done.

Have a Routine

It is not important to be a sports fan or an athlete to have a sports routine. Lysann Damisch, a social psychologist at the University of Cologne, conducted four experiments to see what effective rituals look like. They say that pre-game rituals are beneficial for a productive day.

The major reason is that when you engage in a pre-game ritual, it boosts self-confidence. They can also help in calming pregame nervousness. It gives them a chance to calm their head and focus on the moment with the help of the routine.

As a non-professional athlete, you can avail similar benefits. In this case, a pre-work ritual helps you for an aligned work rhythm, maintain the required energy, and focus on your perspective.

Also a pre-work ritual doesn’t need to be complicated. You can also have it as simple as cleaning your desk, or reciting a daily affirmation.

The main idea is that you should have a consistent routine to follow before you start working. It will help you start your work mode, and help you in setting the right mindset for the day.

Have a song playlist.

Listening to music when working helps you be more productive. It helps you to become more focused in your work. Here are some obvious benefits:

● Improved cognition and mood.

● Helps you maintain focus.

● Improves mental and physical performance.

● Increases the efficiency of work when performing tasks.

● It helps in increasing morale.

Michael Lewis, the author of bestsellers including Moneyball and Liar’s Poker said that, “But whenever I’m writing, I have headphones on and I have a soundtrack I write to and the soundtrack changes; it changes book to book and it’s got to the point where both my wife and my kids will recommend songs for the soundtrack for whatever the next project is. And I’ll build a soundtrack out of — intentionally, and the music is, you know, it’s all over the map, it tends to be very up, but it tends to be music that I just stop hearing.”

So according to him, whenever you curate your playlist make sure to be intentional. You can also factor in the musical structure, lyrics, and difficulty of the task.

Clear your mental clutter

As a part of my pre-work ritual, I usually grab the notepad and write everything down because it helps manage all the random thoughts out of my head.

It can be impossible to focus on your work when your brain is preoccupied. When there is everything on paper, it helps you organize your thoughts on the paper. If there is something important, like organizing a phone call, you can add them to the to-do-list. For tasks that are less important, it is important to schedule them whenever you have free time. You can also refer to best numerology reading to get an exact idea of how you want to move forward with your day.

And sometimes it is not compulsory to have a pen and paper. You can also use a whiteboard, or voice recorder. It can filter the gist that if you want to get in the work zone, a fresh start with a clean slate is important.

Have a deadline.

Deadlines should be embraced. It helps you be accountable;prioritize your schedule and help you achieve your goals. It can also help reduce procrastination.

When you start creating your deadline, make sure you don’t be vague like but make realistic deadlines. Your deadlines should be meaningful. So, if you missed your deadline, you would not be able to go on your planned vacation.

For larger, distal goals, establish deadlines for proximal goals. These smaller, attainable goals can be accomplished in a short period of time. They may not seem like they have much value, but they’re more effective and add-up.

Build a mindset

“Anything that might distract or tempt us away from single-tasking needs to be taken care of before we drop into ‘The Zone,” says Christine Carter, Ph.D., a Senior at the Greater Good Science Center.

Here is what he suggests:

● Keep the workspace clean and organized.

● Everything that you take out for work, make sure to put it down.

● Put the phone under ‘do not disturb’ mode and move it out of sight.

While distractions are here to stay, you can also eliminate some of them before they interfere with your work.

Keep the Goldilocks Principle in Mind

In the famous children’s story, “The Three Bears,” Goldilocks tries three different porridges until she finds one with the right temperature. She also follows the same for finding a bed to take a nap.

The same principle is used in fields like astronomy, biology, economics, engineering and developmental psychology and it can be applied to guide you into entering the productive mode.

Sometimes situations can be unavoidable but it gets easier to try mundane tasks and make them more exciting. If any task seems too difficult, it is always better to ask for help and improve your skills or knowledge that you’re lacking.

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How Businesses can Achieve Climate Goals with the Help of Customers

Every country is experiencing adverse effects of climate change. These include melting glaciers, rising sea levels, storms, drought and heatwaves. Moreover, global warming directly impacts the hydrological cycle of the Earth. It in turn leads to more evaporation and precipitation of water from the ocean. Hence, taking quick and effective measures for climate action is the need of the hour.

Businesses can play a responsible and important role in climate action. Better customer engagement should be encouraged. They can teach and promote the concept of taking care of the planet as a responsible human. To convince, persuade and reassure the customers, it is essential to engage them. Therefore, it is essential to connect with them in a meaningful and effective way.

Effective Customer Engagement

Customer engagement includes ways to interact with customers. It includes offline and online interaction. These interactions should make customers act and feel positively. This can be done either through email newsletter or support line. Direct participation and a realistic approach will lead to great experience. This will promote outstanding sales growth and a great experience. This also guarantees satisfaction of customer.

Engaging with customers can bring positive change, and it can also promote the cause of climate action. Message can be shared among the consumers by good social media and digital marketing skills. These include posting regularly, interactive content like polls and by the concept of sharing ideas through informative videos. Interaction with the customers can create sense of connection with them.

Inclusion of Climate in Business Strategy

Companies should include new climate strategies. It should focus on reducing carbon emissions. Carbon sources should be replaced with electricity. Gas emissions should be calculated and planned. Companies should make an effective plan. Official target should be set. Climate action strategy should be included in all the products. It should also be included in services with the vision to support climate action.

Today renewable energy sources play an important part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, efforts should be increased in promoting carbon-free energy sources. These include wind, solar and electric energy. Moreover, customers can help promote planet and environment-friendly businesses. Customers should support those companies concerned about the environment. They develop an important role in protecting, saving, and taking care of the ecosystem.

Main Role of Consumers

Companies have started calculating carbon footprints as it has become a routine procedure. This allows better purchase decisions to be taken by consumers. Generally, consumers are more attracted towards buying products with a low carbon footprint. It poses fewer environmental risk. The cost of environmentally friendly products tends to be higher. Despite increased prices of greener products, customers would still prefer it.

Businesses can strongly tell the customers to purchase more supportable products. This causes increased demand for eco-friendly products. What’s more, invigorating the concept of Reuse, Reduce and Recycle with every product purchase can make a huge difference. In other words, saving and conserving water, energy and other resources while doing laundry and other domestic purposes. This also includes the recycling of cans.

Power of Social Influence on Climate Action

There are effective ways to motivate and promote pro-environmental behaviors. This can be done by taking advantage of the power of social media. Telling online shoppers through advertisements and social media. Telling people to buy eco-friendly products can lead to a 65% increase in eco-friendly buying. Similarly, telling people the advantages of electric vehicles over diesel consuming vehicles can help reduce emissions.

Encouraging sustainable behaviors through incentives

The role of business and marketing should be highlighted. It promotes sustainable behaviors among the consumers. According to the Journal of Consumer Psychology, incentives build good habits. It inspires an individual to start an action. Companies should introduce ‘reverse vending machines’. This way consumers can get monetary rewards upon recycling their plastic bottles. Similarly, shops should stop the use of polythene bags.

Mastering the art of ‘Green Marketing’

Green Marketing refers to an act of advertising and marketing. It includes using of eco-friendly and environmentally safe products. The combination of green with 4P’s of marketing leads to Green Product, Green Price, Green Place and Green Promotion. Eco-marketing catches consumer’s attention by tagging Products. It includes ozone-friendly, organic and recyclable terms. The purpose of this is to inspire eco-friendly business practices.

Businesses and companies can encourage customers to promote green marketing. Eco-friendly, non-polluting and recyclable products should be bought. Companies should start make appliances that do not harm ozone layer. Consumers should be asked to go for either evaporative coolers or appliances that do not use harmful chemicals. Appliances such as Air Conditioner causes reduction of ozone layer. It leads to global warming.

An Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Climate Action

It is important to reduce the harmful effects of climate change. It can be done through combined interdisciplinary point of view. Every individual should play its part as a responsible human. Planet Earth is our home. We should take steps by bringing people together from all walks of life. From business owners to consumers. From scientists to farmers. It’s our beautiful Earth.

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How to Stay Motivated When you’re Working Remotely

Is Monday killing you? Has work from home affecting your mental and physical health. If you dread Monday’s then it’s time you motivate yourself.

Telecommuting has many advantages such as you get to be close to your family, or roommates, or have the luxury of wearing whatever you like and comfort zone of home. The flexibility due to remote working is productive and boosts motivation but it can be distracting too.

With pandemics most of the companies have made work remotely a mandatory option due to lockdown but if you are not able to get into your usual work groove then there are surefire ways to motivate you, and give boost to increase your productivity.

Dedicate space at home for Home Office

Netflix and Chill has become a mantra these days with so many rules and regulations on all other entertaining options. And Netflix available on all the devices that you work on its pull is too enticing.

People enjoy sitting on the couch, watching television, and snacking in the kitchen so let’s face it if you combine the working with any of these favorite home activities then you are not going to be so motivated to get the work done.

As a matter of fact you would want to finish one more episode of your favourite season as you munch on snacks such as popcorn or Doritos. Only to realize that you haven’t worked on the assignment and you put the hours for your rest to work and thus affect your productivity to great extent.

So if you want to get your work done then first and foremost ensure you have space dedicated for your work. The space should be hundred percent free of distractions such as away from television.

You need to have a door that locks you in for privacy and a silent place to work.

Set rules with the family, especially children about your office timing, during the working hours so as not to disturb you. No barging in the middle of the meeting. A corporate office kind of environment should be made.

Make the dedicated room look like an office. Like you have a table, chair, appropriate stationary, easy access to tools and supplies that you would need. Your table is well set with video conferencing equipment, papers, and more.

Decor of the room should be able to inspire you. Display your career awards, achievements and certificates. Room should feel like an office. This will motivate you like the workplace.

In case you have a space crunch, just make sure you are not working at the place where you sleep. The desire to sleep will be more powerful here. That 5 minute nap will keep you off mode from working and you will miss your deadlines.

Renting space or community work space is also a good idea as it has the same benefits of working remotely but few distractions from your home.

Wake up Early

The wish to stay in bed is too much to get out and start working from home.

When you have an office at eight, you are organized in your schedule to wake up, get dressed and leave on time to reach your office.

However with work from home there is a set schedule and desire to stay in bed or work on home projects or watch series is too high.

So it is advisable that you wake up early. Make a schedule. Morning is a good time. Studies have shown that morning people are more productive. They are more in charge of making things happen.

If you are not a morning person then no worries you are not doomed for failure. Night people are known to be more creative and even smarter. So if you know that mornings aren’t going to work for you, then do not try and waste time to be a morning person instead set aside time when you are able to focus best and do best work.

Regular Routine is key

Disorganization will lead to an overwhelming situation and so a better approach is to have a habit or schedule. Determine your working pattern, when you work best, when you need a break or rest, time to eat your meals and so on. Make a checklist of everything you want to accomplish in a day on a daily basis such that you are able to set a routine.

Once a routine is set, and you get into the mode it will be easier for you to stay motivated to accomplish your tasks daily. Achieve set goals as you plan ahead and execute them.

Use technology

Technology is there to make our lives easy. So guess what for this there is productivity software. You are reading it right. You don’t have to handwrite your to do list or memorize your schedule task.

There are several productivity tools or software which help in staying organized.

Examples of such software are Slack, Dropbox, Focus Booster, Asana etc.

These software help in organizing your work schedule, meetings, communication and files placements.

Clothing

Work from home entitles me to have casual Friday everyday doesn’t it? Casual clothes give a casual attitude. It is recommended that you wear custom jeans or office wear at the time of working. It gives a professional feel and motivates me to work. Keep your sweat pants aside and dress up for work. It will boost your confidence, make you feel powerful, and increase your ability to see the big picture. You feel better about yourself and more productive.

Regular breaks and Vacations

Work piles up at times and it feels like you have no escape from it. Working remotely has that burnout effect. The best thing to do to avoid all this is take well calculated and regular breaks. Be away from your desk. Taking breaks helps and plenty of scientific studies have already proven this.

Taking breaks helps better brain function, helps to stay focused and reevaluate the day’s goals. Keeps you on track.

Vital to take vacations as well. You need time to rejuvenate, recover and for that vacation is the best solution. Vacation helps in relaxation, recuperation and when you are back you feel refreshed to work and voila better motivation to work.

Eliminate the distractions

Your personal work space is great but if you still have those distractions such as checking on Instagram, or chatting or spending too much time on Gchat then your work is going to suffer.

The Internet is a huge distraction and so you really need to concentrate and ensure your attention to your work is hundred percent.

Turning off notifications on the phone is the first thing you can do.

Set up Reward System

Simply put if you are able to manage your work, achieve set goals then reward yourself which in turn will push you to work harder as well as be organized.

You can reward yourself as you are your own boss.

Fresh Air is the best remedy. DO go out for a walk. Get some exercise done.

As long as you are focused on the task, work from home is great. Follow the advice and you will have a thriving home office and stay motivated and be highly productive.

How to Take Your Small Business to the Next Level

So you’ve founded a small business, and things are going well. You’re doing a good job running things; you’re making money, and everybody’s happy. Some people might be satisfied with that, but not you. You know that a successful small business is only the first step. The real trick is to turn that small business into a big business. You want to make more money, have more products, more locations, more employees. That’s a good thing. Ambition is what got you this far, and it’ll help you take your business to the next level. Here are a few tips to get you started on the next steps.

Customer Feedback is Key

You’ve heard it over and over – the customer is always right. As galling as that phrase might seem from a customer service standpoint, from a business standpoint, it’s absolutely correct. Customers know what they want, and they know what they’re willing to pay for. Listening to them can be a great way to figure out the most organic ways to start growing your business. You should be collecting customer feedback as often as you can. It’s almost like cheating – your customers will literally tell you exactly what they’d be willing to spend money on; all you have to do is listen and give them the opportunity. This gives you chances to grow your business while also refining the services you already provide. Plus, it strengthens the bond between you and your customer base. People love knowing you’re listening to their ideas, so don’t be afraid to play up the “customer demand” aspect of any new additions to your business model.

Think Early and Often About Financing

Nobody wants to rely on outside financing, but there will always be times when you need a little extra injection of cash. Sometimes things come up that we just can’t predict – Covid-19 just proved that to the whole business world. But extra cash can also be helpful to have on hand if you’re thinking about growing your business. Any growth requires money, and you might not have the cash available on hand to make it happen right away. Being prudent is always smart for your personal finances, but things are a little different in business. Timing is key, and if you have a great idea, you should always strike when the iron is hot. Don’t be afraid to borrow a little money if you’re confident that your idea will be able to help your business grow. You can always apply for an SBA loan from the government or secure a business line of credit. Whatever you end up doing, make sure you pay the loan back as soon as you can. You don’t want borrowed money hanging over your head for too long.

Invest in Marketing

How much are you currently spending on marketing? No matter what the figure is, the answer is pretty much always “not enough.” It may be often overlooked, as opposed to expanding your services or opening something new, but bumping your marketing is one of the best ways to start bringing in more income. Whether through traditional marketing methods such as yard signs to reach local consumers or creating a website to reach your global audience, marketing is an avenue that can take your business to new heights! And the more significant amount invested in it, the higher your yields usually turn out to be.

Pay particular attention to online marketing. Covid-19 has proven the effectiveness of an online-focused marketing plan, so make sure you’re keeping up in that arena. You can expand your main business all you want, but none of it will matter if you can’t bring in enough customers to support your growth. You need to always be reaching more and more people, and marketing is the only way to do that.

Personal Growth Leads to Business Growth

As the head of your business, it’s always going to be in your best interest to seek out and learn new things. The good news is that you’re already doing that. Even reading this article is an effort to pick up some new tips. But you can take that even further. Try to think about what your weak spots are. What are you constantly delegating? Is it marketing? Customer service? Are you a little iffy about the actual manufacturing process of your products? Identify what those weak spots are and get to work strengthening them. You don’t have to be an expert in all aspects of your business, but you should at least know what’s going on. When it comes to learning new skills, don’t be afraid to seek outside help. Conference speakers are experts in their specific fields, and there’s a lot you can learn from them if you try. Besides that, you can always try to find a mentor in your field, or just talk to your peers. Being a successful business owner requires enough humility to recognize that you can always be improving yourself.

Consider a Partnership

You don’t actually have to grow your business all by yourself. Smart, strategic partnerships can make a huge difference, and finding mutually beneficial ones is a great way to give your business a kickstart. Try to think of businesses that are adjacent to yours but not direct competitors. Are you a plumber? Get in touch with an electrician. Run an auto body shop? Form a partnership with a nearby dealership. Recommend your customers to your partner’s business, and they’ll do the same to you. You can even work together on jobs that require both skill sets. Remember that business is all about people, and making connections is never a bad thing. Even if the partnership doesn’t work out, that’s still another name you have in your Rolodex in case you ever need it.

Even with these tips, growing your small business is a difficult task. It’s going to take a lot of time and effort, and there will always be setbacks. The important thing is to keep plugging away at it, stay motivated, and have faith in your own vision. As long as you have those things, success will come eventually.

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