Monday, December 9, 2019
A strong mood in the film Essay Example For Students
A strong mood in the film Essay The non-diagetic sounds in the night scene create horror. When the director chooses to put a drum beat to sound like a heart beat when the lights go out, this creates tension and hints to the audience that someone might be dying in the next couple of minutes. Also when the bell goes of on the carousel, this suggests bad things for example a fire bell. We also hear many other noises like people screaming on the fairground rides; screams suggest pain, discomfit and chaos, we also do not know if these are screams of happiness and joy or pain and sorrow. The non-diagetic sounds in the day scene create a strong juxtaposition -an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. between day and night. In the day everyone seems happy in the car listening to the radio but the mood completely changes making the audience feel uneasy at night when the guard has been brutally murdered. The dialogue in the night time shows, on the carousel the guard says to David I thought I told you to stay off the board walk. Therefore this shows past conflict between them, meaning that they have been there before, also this shows that the boys are rebellious, making the audience ask questions like how they break the rules and why they do it. David responds saying, Ok boys lets go. This shows that he is the gang leader and they all look up to him. In the daytime scene, when the family arrive at Santa Carla the young boy says, Smells like someone has died. That quote is linking to horror because when death is involved in a film it suggests that it could be of a horror genre. This is iconography of horror because the night before the guard did die. Also Patric ( Michael) asks for a job and he gets a response saying, Nothing legal, This links to the horror element because it suggests that he must do things that he should not. At this point the audience start to see what Santa Carla is really like and what they will predict to happen. At the start of the film the music lyrics are similar to the 10 commandments. The main lyrics are: Thou shall not harm, Thou shall not fly, Thou shall not feed, Thou shall not kill At this point we can not see who is singing however we can assume that it is off a childs voice. This would make the audience feel scared or worried because people would not expect a child to say these things. This also relates to the horror genre because the words of the commandments are spooky and relate to vampires or death. Those commandments are slightly different to a Christians belief. The final commandment refers back to the horror genre with death. There is also another song in the opening sequence of the film, which the lyrics are, People are strange, This builds up a strong mood in the film. The lyrics of People are strange, suit the music to the video that is happening. At the point of when the music is playing we see clips of people of Santa Carla and they are strange. The lighting in the night scene is fake bright lights which suggests happiness but we can see how unnaturally bright they are. We also see a full moon that gives out a white light which also has a relation to horror. When the lights go out this builds horror because it makes the audience feel like they would not want to be in the situation of the guard, pitch black in a dangerous place. .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 , .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .postImageUrl , .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 , .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3:hover , .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3:visited , .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3:active { border:0!important; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3:active , .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3 .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u677f1c3b641b7499b6bb9d74e51425f3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Taming of the Shrew: The Mirror of Film EssayAlso due to The Lost Boys been a horror film the audience could be accustomed to a monster jumping out and giving them all a shock, so tension is built. The costumes between the vampires and the family is completely different due to vampires always been a dark colour like black. Most people would be stereotypical about vampires and think they are all like Dracula wearing capes and having big pointy teeth, however the vampires in this film are nothing like that. The family all wear bright and colourful shirts, which describes their mood as so far they all look very happy from what I have seen so far. The mis-en scene used in the piece creates horror well for example: In the night scene when you see the guard walking towards his car and another car drives off leaving the guard isolated, then suddenly the vampires attack. The iconography of this is that the guards only hope is his car and him been alone, the audience pretty much no what will happen to the guard. Mis-en scene is continually used in the daytime scene when the audiences see the wanted posters and hear the happy music at the same time and seeing what Santa Carla is really like. That has dramatic irony in because the family do not see the posters and are not sure what is going on. Overall, the horror genre is created in many different ways from many different techniques like different camera angles, music, and dialect from the characters, which all mix together to make an eerie and creepy start to what looks like a very good film. After watching that part of the film it made me ask many questions like Why are they doing this? and What will be the conclusion of this film and can not wait to finish watching it!
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Designing Various Sustainability Strategies
Question: Discuss about the Designing Various Sustainability Strategies. Answer: Introduction Corporations in the food industry in order to create sustainability are adapting a whole lot of CSR norms into their business(Galbreath 2009). They have realized importance of such measures to the community and company overall. Mr. Martin Clifton, CEO of Eagle Valley Health Foods wants to develop company profile by further improving Corporate Social Responsibility. He has hired a CSR consultant for getting advice regarding sustainable practices that can be incorporated in the company. Areas in which the company can create such practices is packaging and reduction in using water for production of the companys healthy, organic snack bar(Heslin 2008). The report analyses the various recommendations the company can apply in order to attain overall CSR objectives. Findings Discussions Organization in the food industry is recognizing varied needs to adopt sustainable practices in their businesses. Rising cost in labor, energy, raw materials, water and waste management, changing environmental regulations and dominance of retail sector have imposed huge challenges on these businesses(Mueller Loose 2013). Eagle Valley Health Foods have realized that unsustainable practices might have low cost burden as an immediate effect but can substantially raise costs in future. CSR will further help the brand project its corporate image in the new light. The company needs to evaluate its various production processes such that maximum utilization of resources takes place and overall sustainability can be attained. Client Company Name Eagle Valley Health Foods Location Adelaide, South Australia CEO Mr Martin Clifton Established 3 years back Product Organic snack bars from dried fruit and cereals Financial Position Reason Average, it has not been able to utilise various sustainability practices as recycling, energy utilization and so on CEO Objectives Improve Company Profile Brand Image by CSR Table 1 : Company Analysis Source: Author 1 Non-environmental friendly packaging Polypropylene is used as the packaging material, raising environmental concerns. Consumers do not prefer such packaging as there is increasing awareness on environmental aspects. 2 Increasing usage of water consumption Snack bars produced by the company require extensive usage of water. Rising costs of water has imposed increasing costs on the company. Table 2: Issues faced by Eagle Valley Health Foods Source: Author Packaging Eagle Valley Health Food uses polypropylene as packaging materials, the chemical is environmentally unfriendly. Trends in current food industry is to develop lighter with tighter material, hence the company should adopt the same. It needs to discuss with suppliers in case their packaging can be reduced with recyclable material(Guthrie 2008). Company should opt for recyclable material in packaging that is environmental friendly. Waste minimization needs to be the central aim of the company hence packaging should be designed in a way that does not create additional waste. Packaging material is extremely important in creating brand value of the company, hence is used for marketing and sales of the product. Recyclable, reusable or packaging that decomposes easily will meet target customers needs of extra packaging. Proper packaging will reduce costs and help differentiate business by enhancing CSR image for the company(Sibbel 2007). Reduce Water Consumption Water has become a scarce resource and hence additional water requirements or wastage can lead to rise in business costs over a period of time(Aguilera 2007). Eagle Valley Health Food needs to consider recycling waste from waste water by filter installation, water treatments and reducing water wastages. It can benefit greatly from rain water harvesting as well. South Australias scarce rainfall and water reservoir can significantly benefit the business if it can collect whatever rainfall exposed areas of the firm receives. Water already used for processing various functionality of the production and toilet water can be treated for secondary uses, whereas water required for production can either be procured from municipalities or rainwater harvesting(Zaman 2011). The firm needs to re-design its current production unit structure in a way such that it is able to make sustainable usage of various energy sources and water. Rainwater collected can be kept in reservoir beneath the firm and u sed as and when necessary. The company can further alter or make additional changes to its existing production machineries such that they require minimum amount of water for production. Water wasted through vaporization also needs to be controlled, which will further reduce water wastage(Falck 2007). Conclusion Eagle Valley Health Food has tremendous potential which it can achieve by exploring its CSR sustainability objectives. It needs to explore its various processes in regards to production to ensure that wastages are reduced, energy is utilized efficiently and overall environmental norms are met. Growing awareness and rising concerns regarding environment have made it necessary to evaluate various processes within the company also along its value chain, such that overall sustainability for the product can be achieved. Sustainability measures not only helps target consumers in the market segment but also achieve overall cost efficiency by effective utilization of resources. References Aguilera, R.V., Rupp, D.E., Williams, C.A. and Ganapathi, J., 2007. Putting the S back in corporate social responsibility: A multilevel theory of social change in organizations.Academy of management review,32(3), pp.836-863. Falck, O. and Heblich, S., 2007. Corporate social responsibility: Doing well by doing good.Business Horizons,50(3), pp.247-254. Galbreath, J., 2009. Building corporate social responsibility into strategy.European business review,21(2), pp.109-127. Guthrie, J., Cuganesan, S. and Ward, L., 2008, March. Industry specific social and environmental reporting: The Australian Food and Beverage Industry. InAccounting Forum(Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 1-15). Elsevier. Heslin, P.A. and Ochoa, J.D., 2008. Understanding and developing strategic corporate social responsibility.Organizational Dynamics,37, pp.125-144. Mueller Loose, S. and Remaud, H., 2013. Impact of corporate social responsibility claims on consumer food choice: A cross-cultural comparison.British Food Journal,115(1), pp.142-166. Sibbel, A., 2007. The sustainability of functional foods.Social Science Medicine,64(3), pp.554-561. Zaman, A.U. and Lehmann, S., 2011. Urban growth and waste management optimization towards zero waste city.City, Culture and Society,2(4), pp.177-187.
Monday, December 2, 2019
The Rising Tiger Korea Essay Example For Students
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Thursday, November 28, 2019
Are Your Ears Open Essays (1227 words) - Audiology, Cognition
Are Your Ears Open Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when youd have preferred to talk. (Deep and Sussman 76) Upon studying listening within another course, the vast and somewhat unclear subject began to become clearer. The act of listening entails in-depth processes that elude a majority of peoples knowledge. The act of listening involves four main parts: hearing, attention, understanding and remembering. Listening entails a vast amount of information that a majority of people does not know or understand. The common view on listening often does not even involve true listening. People often mistake hearing for listening. Just because you heard something does not necessarily mean that you were listening. While others do not even realize that listening is one step of a four-part process. While two people are involved in communication, the one receiving the message while listening formulates the next phase within their head. They miss a large percentage of what the person involved in speaking is saying (Tubbs and Moss 141). The reasons [for ineffective listening] are so obvious that they are sometimes overlooked. First, listening is mistakenly equated with hearing and since most of us can hear, no academic priority is given to this subject in college. Second, we perceive power in speech. We put a value on those who have the gift of gab. How often have you heard the compliment, He/she can talk to anyone? Additionally, we equate speaking with controlling both the conversation and the situat ion. The third and last reason we dont listen, is that we are in an ear of information overload. We are bombarded with the relevant and the irrelevant and it is easy to confuse them. Often it is all just so much noise (Koehler 543-544). The false perception of listening embodies the common view that people involved in communication often have. The first element in the listening process is hearing, which is the automatic physiological process of receiving aural stimuli. Sound waves are received by the ear and stimulate neurological impulses to the brain. Next we place these sounds in a meaningful order or sequence so that they may be recognized as words. Third, we recognize words in a pattern that constituted a language, which then helps to convey the message from the communicator to us (Brooks 82). Another major factor in peoples difficulty to maintain effective listening is the speakers rate. According to a study done by Blain Goss, the average speakers rate is between 100 and 150 words per minute (Goss 91). Our brain often utilizes this free time to daydream and not truly focus on the issue at hand. Unfortunately, when you stop talking, you sometimes start arguing mentally as another way maintains your viewpoint. Arguing mentally is like talking to yourself very, very quietly, just loud enough to keep you from listening to someone else. The second step the in enhancing verbal communication is to stop arguing mentally and seriously consider whats going on as it is happening moment by moment. Do not reflect, for thats old news. Do not start imagining, for thats somewhere that doesnt exist yet. Understand whats going on now-right now (Adler 16)! Attention, the next element within the listening process deals largely with the amount of concentration on a speakers words. Humans utilize selective attention during their everyday communication. Selective attention occurs when we attend to a certain amount of stimuli while filtering out others (Tubbs and Moss 143). A widely recognized study, called the cocktail party problem (Bostrom 11) deals directly with the use of selective attention during a party. The test uses a party scene where numerous conversations occur simultaneously. The researchers study how the subject attends to one conversation at a time, while tuning out all others. Another issue in determining the attention level is threshold. A threshold is the minimum level of stimulus intensity that enables us to pay attention (Moray 18). Attention thresholds vary depending on several key factors, including our motivational sate and arousal level. Arousal, or the level of alertness, plays a key role in a listener aptitude for paying close attention. Our specific state of arousal determines our threshold for paying close attention to stimuli. The third facet of the listening process is understanding. Understanding
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Free Essays on Censorship In Music
change to be acceptable for all audiences. This does not include cable television, which can be audited by parents since the parents must order and pay for the channel to be v... Free Essays on Censorship in Music Free Essays on Censorship in Music Censorship in Music Censorship in music is a topic that has brought about much controversy in the past two decades. There have been many different arguments on the topic, however the question still remains as if it should be censored or it should not be censored. Before you can form an opinion on this, you must hear both sides of the argument on this much-debated topic. Some people believe that music should be censored so all audiences can hear it without it containing any controversial lyrics. Others believe it should not be censored and musical artists should be able to speak, sing, rap, or rhyme freely without anyone censoring them. "Whether a person finds a work obscene depends largely on his or her moral or religious beliefs. These views change with each generation and further complicate the censorship dilemma." (Censorship by, Bradley Steffens page 97) The quote above is very true. Religious or moral beliefs have a great influence on how a person feels about censorship, and as generations pass on the common beliefs on it may change. Right now, America is more uncensored than ever. However, things were very different a few generations ago. Some people believe music should be censored. They believe some of the language musical artists use is vulgar, obscene, and crude. Also the fact that music is played on medias such as radio and television, which are free to listen to by all audiences, and there are many parents that would not wish for their kids to hear foul language. So on radio and television any controversial language is either silenced, edited out by a soft sound, or some artists make two versions of their songs; one that is made for the artist's album, which is uncensored; and one for television and radio with any controversial words change to be acceptable for all audiences. This does not include cable television, which can be audited by parents since the parents must order and pay for the channel to be v... Free Essays on Censorship In Music ââ¬Å"Congress shall make no lawâ⬠¦ abridging the freedom of speech.â⬠(United States Constitution) However, it seems almost everywhere; many forms of art are being unfairly censored. One such form that is often overlooked as art is music. ââ¬Å"Music is probably the most censored of all art formsâ⬠(The Economist; p 73) There are hundreds of artists who have been unfairly censored, ranging from popular music from artists such as Eminem, 2 Live Crew, and NWA, to classical music, such as Mozartââ¬â¢s Figaro. However unfair and unconstitutional this censorship is, the fact is that questionable music and lyrics are encouraging impressionable young children to follow their messages. Rappers like DMX or NWA, preaching gang violence often are ââ¬Å"the straw that breaks the camelââ¬â¢s back,â⬠and finally pushes a child looking for guidance into the world of gangs. The truth is that these children need to be protected from the harsh realities of the world surround ing them, but is censoring music the right way to do it? ââ¬Å"No corporation can exist without authority of government. Government shouldnââ¬â¢t allow corporations that infect and contaminate the minds of children to be allowed to exist.â⬠(Dr. C. Delores Tucker before senate subcommittee). This is one solution that seems to make good sense to many to support the censorship of music. Music of artists such as NWA, who urges their listners to say, ââ¬Å"F*ck the Police,â⬠or Eminem, who says heââ¬â¢ll ââ¬Å"Kill You,â⬠surround children, especially in urban areas. This type of music encourages children to get into drugs and gang violence. In the past eight years, the period in which ââ¬Å"gangstaâ⬠rap has been heavily promoted, teenage drug use has increased more than four-fold (Dr. C Delores Tucker). The government is the underlying power that allows corporations to send messages like these to children, and the government is the only resource we can use to stop it. ââ¬Å"Young people often look to performin. ..
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Facebookââ¬â¢s Initial Public Offering The WritePass Journal
Facebookââ¬â¢s Initial Public Offering The reasons for Facebook to go public Facebookââ¬â¢s Initial Public Offering ). It is clear that Facebookââ¬â¢s decision to go public through an initial public offering (IPO) was not the same as the common reasons of firms when they undertake the same decision, which is to draw more revenues (Palmiter, 2008). However, in the long run, Facebook also aimed to access external financing as a result of IPO (Sloan, 2012). The reasons for companies to go public beyond their need for more money are enhanced financial condition, ability to cash out, improved corporate reputation, and improved opportunity for future acquisition (Peng, 2012). The dollar objective of every company in relation to the amount expected to be raised via IPO The dollar objectives of companies entering IPOs for increased revenue purposes are to develop reserves and increase external funds (Vedavalli, 2007; Sullivan, 2007), access capital (Dana, 2004; Ernst and Hacker, 2012), improve financial condition, increase shareholder value, and improve capital to sustain growth (Ernst and Hacker, 2012). In Facebookââ¬â¢s case, its stock price dwindled as there were concerns about its overpriced IPO and long-term business outlook and lost around $ 25 billion in value (Kuratko, 2012). The expected use of the money raised by IPO One expected use of the money raised by IPO is retiring from debt, in which, it is necessary to pay close attention to the companyââ¬â¢s financial data and overall growth prospects. Another is enjoyment of the proceeds by the owners of the shares, especially for the sale of secondary shares. Moreover, sold primary shares (newly created shares) from an IPO increase revenue to the companiesââ¬â¢ accounts (Khurshed, 2011). In the case of Facebook, the company raised a large amount of money, which has amounted to $ 18 billion. In actuality, there was no increase in the number of shares it sold to the public; instead, most of the new shares were from Zuckerberg, and such was considered not a good sign (Khurshed, 2011). References Dana, L. (2004) Handbook of research on international entrepreneurship. Glos, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Ernst, D. and Hacker, J. (2012). Applied international corporate finance. Berlin: Verlag Franz Vahlen GmbH. Khurshed, A. (2011). Initial public offerings: The mechanics and performance of IPOs. First Edition. Hampshire: Harriman House Ltd. Kuratko, D. F. (2012) Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, practice. NJ: John Wiley Sons. Peng, M. W. (2012). Global strategy. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Sloan, P. (2012). Three reasons Facebook has to go public. Retrieved on December 3, 2013 from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57368449-93/three-reasons-facebook-has-to-go-public/ Sullivan, L. R. (2007). Historical dictionary of the Peopleââ¬â¢s Republic of China. Maryland: A Scarecrow Press, Inc. Vedavalli, R. (2007). Energy for development: Twenty-first century challenges of reform and liberalization in developing countries. London: Anthem Press.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Complete, 4-Step Email List Building Strategy For Success
Complete, 4-Step Email List Building Strategy For Success Over here we have the goal: I want to make tons of money from my online business. And over here we have the reality: I have a website. Iââ¬â¢m making some money, but I wouldnââ¬â¢t call it ââ¬Å"successâ⬠just yet. The question you have been wrestling with for months now is, ââ¬Å"How do I get from my reality to my goal?â⬠Or in other words How do you turn your website into a real money-maker? If youââ¬â¢ve been been in the blogging game very long, or if youââ¬â¢ve simply read 10 total marketing articles at any point in the last 5 years, you know that the money is in your email list.à Email marketing has the highest ROIà of any marketing channel, and for content producers, its your #1 source of traffic, social shares, and revenue. The Complete, 4-Step #Email List Building Strategy That Will Make You Successful via @jmcmillen89There are many places you can go for email list buildingà tips. Hereââ¬â¢s a great list of 21 ways to build your email list. But articles like these require you to have a competent system already in place AND to understand what you are ultimately trying to do with that system. Today, we are going to go through the full process from start to finish- everything you need from email list creation to effective monetization. The basic process looks like this: Iââ¬â¢m going to show you how YOU can implement this process without any outside help whatsoever. For those of you who like to skip the tinkering or take things to the next level, thereââ¬â¢s a special offerà for you at the end. Letââ¬â¢s start with Step 1 of your email list building strategy. Step #1: Create Your Email List This is the easiest step, but how many of you reading this have yet to start your list, because... research. You donââ¬â¢t want to select the wrong provider or you donââ¬â¢t want to spend money and then not put the work in. Well guess what? Iââ¬â¢m solving both of those problems for you right now. If youââ¬â¢ve been waiting for a solid beginner email provider, go ahead and click hereà to immediately start your FREE account with MailChimp. Thereââ¬â¢s no costs until you reach a handsomely monetizable 2,000 email subscribers. Problem solved. Now, select ââ¬Å"Listsâ⬠in the top bar and then click ââ¬Å"Create Listâ⬠. Fill in a few admin details, and BAM, youââ¬â¢re done! Now that you have your list, letââ¬â¢s move on to tricking out your website for email collection. Step #2: Optimize Your Website For Email Collection This is where youà get to have some fun, at least, if you're anything like me. If you want your website to perform as a business funnel, your highest core value should be simplicity. Think simple and then think simpler. Simple design Single goal Necessary features only If you want to build a serious email list, that list has to be one of the #1 goals of your website. And on that note, immediately axe EVERY feature that doesnââ¬â¢t facilitate email signups. (If you can sell to your customers immediately via product trials or e-commerce, those are great features to keep around.) Thereââ¬â¢s a only a handful of features youà need to collect email effectively: Some form of compelling lead magnet Above-the-fold email opt-in CTA Email opt-in popup End-of-content email opt-in Letââ¬â¢s take a closer look at each of these. Recommended Reading:à How To Blog With As Little As Possible Create a compelling lead magnet. While some users will like your content so much, they will simply hand over their email address, these users are the exception rather than the rule. You need to have a few cards up your sleeve that will compel visitors to become subscribers. You need to have something valuable that you can freely offer visitors in exchange for their email address. These are called ââ¬Å"lead magnetsâ⬠. A great example can be found right here at , which uses its restricted-access resource library to invite readers like you to become subscribers. Check out 's resource library as an example of a compelling lead magnet. Just look at the top of your screen. See the light blue bar that says ââ¬Å"Get 60+ Free Resources Now!â⬠? Yep, thatââ¬â¢s a lead magnet. There is virtually no limit to what you can use as a lead magnet: Restricted resource library Topical e-book Collection of templates Exclusive content only given to subscribers Audio or video downloads Email course training series Checklist PDFs Software tool access etc. When evaluating something as a potential lead magnet, it needs to answer ââ¬Å"Yesâ⬠to twoà vitally important questions: Is this something my marketing target audience would LOVE and no one else would really care about? Is this something that can be automatically distributed upon signup and doesnââ¬â¢t incur marginal cost at my expense? Virtually everyone wants a free laptop, but giving out laptops in exchange for email addresses breaks both or these rules. People who have zero interest in your websiteââ¬â¢s topic/product will claim the laptop with zero return on your investment, and the marginal cost of purchasing a laptop per subscriber is an insanely inefficient way to collect email addresses. Pick something that answers ââ¬Å"Yesâ⬠to both the above questions, and youââ¬â¢ll be good to go. Place an email opt-in CTA above the fold. When we are discussing a desktop setup, your above-the-fold real estate is by far the most valuable. It absolutely must include a CTA that leads to email signup or information collection of some nature. A great example of this is Noah Kaganââ¬â¢s blog OkDork. As soon as you show up on the home page, you are immediately propositioned for your email address in exchange for Noahââ¬â¢s lead magnet. The entry box gives visitors a no-friction, one-click way to give you their email. Noahââ¬â¢s company SumoMeà recently released an application called Welcome Matà that helpsà you to implement this exact same technique on any website, landing page or blog. Hereââ¬â¢s an example of the free version in action on my menââ¬â¢s blog. This is my homepage hero shot: Youââ¬â¢ll notice I already have an opt-in form above the fold at the top of the right sidebar. Iââ¬â¢m using this simple MailChimp for WordPress plugin, which can be inserted via the widget area of your WordPress dashboard. When Welcome Mat is installed, the following screen immediately drops down for new users visiting my website: This not only allows me to collect email, but it also gives me a chance to immediately hit users with a targeted value proposition. Visitors who show up to my site and resonate with ââ¬Å"taking an honest look at manhoodâ⬠, are more likely to subscribe or continue reading and subscribe later. Collect emails above the fold with immediate value propositions. Here's how. #listbuildingAs a final example, I want to address the freelancers and direct-service providers among you who are wanting to build your email, but honestly, your biggest priority is direct contact for currently interested clients. I feel you. Iââ¬â¢m in a similar boat. I help business owners do a lot of what Iââ¬â¢m talking to you about in this article, but at level 1,000. Hereââ¬â¢s how I handle those dual goals. This is my services landing page: The red button takes visitors through my sales pitch, which will end in a request for their email. The green button takes visitors directly to the form where they give me their email. Since I am focusing on lead generation here, this strategy wonââ¬â¢t be as effective for scaling out a massive email list as what Iââ¬â¢ve discussed above. However, I am still acquiring a list of SUPER targeted emails of people interested in my services who I can retarget at a later date or invite to view my blog content. Have segmentedà #emaillists based on your goals to really drive conversions.Create an email opt-in popup Letââ¬â¢s be honest. No one really thinks about popups with fond thoughts and fuzzy memories. Except website owners interested in collecting emails. Those gals and guys LOVE popups, because they work. They really, really, reallyà work. In fact, I doubt you can find a single, high-traffic marketing blog that doesnââ¬â¢t currently use popups. Iââ¬â¢m using- you guessed it- SumoMeââ¬â¢s free popup application: Since installing this simple popup, my subscription rate has doubled. Iââ¬â¢ve had 2x the subscribers over this last year as I did before, and I have probably posted half as much content this year as I did the year before. Popups work. Since Iââ¬â¢m using the free version, I am unable to offer a lead magnet within my popup, but if I were to upgrade, I could display something like this, which would probably improve my signup rate even further: If you want to install SumoMeââ¬â¢s Listbuilder popup application, simply follow the directions here. Create email signup opportunities at the end of your content. You probably already know this, but most visitors to your blog posts wonââ¬â¢t read the full post. Maybe they will skim and maybe they will just read a few points and leave. If they make it all the way to the end, they are ââ¬Å"picking up what youââ¬â¢re putting downâ⬠. This is a golden opportunity for you to capture these casual visitors into your email list ââ¬Å"foldâ⬠. Donââ¬â¢t waste it! Include a signup opportunity at the end of every post. There is an easy way to do this with a moderate return, and then there is a more difficult- AKAà time consuming- way to do this that will net you a much higher return. The easy way involves nothing more than including a signup form at the end of each post, like this: ... OR offering your standard lead magnet, like this example from CoachTube: Simply create a graphic like the one from CoachTubeà and display it at the end of your post with a link to your email signup page. Thatââ¬â¢s the easy way. The more difficult way is to make a different lead magnet for every single one of your posts. This is called a ââ¬Å"content upgradeâ⬠, and it gets better results because it is directly related to what your visitors were just reading about. Note: By the way, there's a content upgrade in this post right in the introduction to help convert visitors into subscribers right away. has seen this as an excellent way to turn organic traffic into long-term, engaged subscribers. Hereââ¬â¢s an example from Brian Deanââ¬â¢s blog Backlinko: Content upgrades have been the primary fuel in the emergence of several new leading blogs in the marketing blogosphere. Iââ¬â¢ve seen case study after case study of unbelievable results. While it requires a bigger investment on your part, Itââ¬â¢s worth giving this strategy a try. To learn more about posting content upgrades, check out Bryan Harrisââ¬â¢ guide. Step #3. Implement Email Marketing Within Your Content Strategy While email is your best single tool for building an audience, itââ¬â¢s still just one piece of your content strategy. Your overall content strategy should be targeting your desired audience via recurring, well-promoted content that gets people to you website and into position for email capture. If you arenââ¬â¢t getting people to your site, you wonââ¬â¢t be getting any email signups. Recommended Reading:à How To Publish More Consistent Content That Will Help You Grow A Successful Blog Fortunately, your email list can play the star role in getting traffic to your website. Sometimes, people overcomplicate the email marketing process. They get scared of sending too many emails and wait too long to contact their audience, or they arenââ¬â¢t really sure what to write, so they just throw a bunch of stuff in. Before I describe a ridiculously simple (yet effective) way to run your email marketing, letââ¬â¢s review our goals. The goal of any content marketing campaign is twofold: Build an audience of people interested in your chosen topic. Build trust within that audience and an expectation of quality from your brand. We want everyone who comes into contact with your brand to think, ââ¬Å"Wow, they donââ¬â¢t mess around. That was good stuff.â⬠We DONââ¬â¢T want people subconsciously à thinking, ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ve seen this 100 times before. You think Iââ¬â¢m going to buy your paid product when this free stuff is so weak?â⬠Now that weââ¬â¢ve established our goal, letââ¬â¢s look at how email can play a part. Hereââ¬â¢s a ridiculously simple, beginner strategy for email marketing that will get your content some great results. Anytime you publish a new blog post, send out the following email: Subject line: ââ¬Å"Compelling headline meant to grab maximum email opensâ⬠(check out 's headline analyzer for some help.) Header image taken from published post. Short introduction setting up a hook to get people to your post. Link to your post. Button(s) to click for instant shares. Itââ¬â¢s that simple. Check out this example: How easy is that? And guess how well this hopelessly simple email performed? I will take 50% opens and 30% clicks every day of the week. Donââ¬â¢t overcomplicate this. Your emails donââ¬â¢t need to be complicated to be effective. In fact, they should be decidedly uncomplicated. Now that weââ¬â¢ve identified a simple template for each individual email, how should we incorporate these emails into a fuller content strategy? Iââ¬â¢m glad you asked. Again, this is a baseline strategy anyone can do and everyone should be doing (at minimum). Iââ¬â¢ve found from working with countless clients over the years that many bloggers have trouble finding a repeatable process off which to base their content strategy, so Iââ¬â¢m condensing it into a few simple tips. Publish your blog between 12 p.m. and 5 a.m. ET. The easiest way to do this is to schedule it to automatically publish via WordPress, or if youââ¬â¢ve made the incredibly wise decision to get a subscription, you can schedule posts easilyà through their dashboard. Recommended Reading:à When Is The Best Time To Publish A Blog Post? Schedule an email to go out the day your post goes live. The specific time will vary based on your topic and audience. For weekday posts, Iââ¬â¢d recommend sending out emails around 7 a.m. ET, as that will put your content at the top of most readersââ¬â¢ inboxes when they either get to work or check their emails beforeà work. Promote your content across social channels. You can do this manually, or, if you have a account, you can automatically schedule postings across your networks AND repostings at later dates. These three tipsà areà a great beginning baseline if you arenââ¬â¢t already doing it for each new post. Step #4. Monetize Your Email List I want to quickly take you through all four email monetization strategies, because theyââ¬â¢re worth knowing and you can achieve big wins with each one. Sell affiliate offers to your list. Sell advertising placement in your ââ¬Å"newsletterâ⬠. Make your email newsletter a paid subscription. Sell your own product. Letââ¬â¢s start with the first email list building monetization strategy. Sell affiliate offers to your email list. Affiliate marketing is as old as the Web itself. It made millionaires in the late-90ââ¬â¢s/early-2000ââ¬â¢s, back when lots of peopleà who stumbled online were becoming millionaires. Today, you are far more likely to be sold an expensive course on becoming a millionaire affiliate marketer than you are to actually become one yourself. Itââ¬â¢s not that affiliate marketing canââ¬â¢t work, itââ¬â¢s just a much less efficient way to make money than creating and selling your own product. Furthermore, you typically have no control over the quality or customer service attached to an affiliate product, so you risk losing trust every time a subscriber makes a purchase. The BIG exception and the RIGHT way to implement affiliate marketing is to select a few products/services you trust that generate RESIDUAL income. Hereââ¬â¢s the only example you really need to know. Pat Flynn is considered a veritable influencerà in the marketing blogosphere. Youââ¬â¢ve almost definitely heard of him, and you most likely read his blog. Pat made $116,891.83 last August. That number may boggle your mind at first glance, but letââ¬â¢s take a look at the numbers: Pat earned revenue from 13 total affiliate offers. His affiliate earnings made up 72% of his total income for the month of August. But most significantly, Pat made 55% of his entire August revenue from just two offers. Both these offers, Bluehost and LeadPages, are subscription-based services, meaning every time Pat signs up a new customer, he begins getting paid on a monthly basis for as long as that customer remains a customer. Pat has been selling Bluehost website hosting since at least March 2010. When he first began referring Bluehost, it accounted for less than 8% of his monthly revenue, but after 5 years of accumulating referred users, he is collecting monthly checks worth 40% of his total revenue from just this one referral. Now, itââ¬â¢s your turn. Pick a subscription-based service that meets the following criteria: You already love it. Itââ¬â¢s a no-brainer for your customers. It's intended to be used indefinitely. Slap that referral link into your next email and talk it up big to your email subscribers. You should also create a targeted landing page (like this)à on your website, pitching your visitors. Boom. Done. Sell ad placements on your ââ¬Å"newsletterâ⬠. I place ââ¬Å"newsletterâ⬠in quotes because your emails really shouldnââ¬â¢t look like a traditional newsletter, and Iââ¬â¢m a stickler for semantics. Quirks aside, Iââ¬â¢m not really talking about banner-style ads here. Banner ads are tacky in a newsletter, and itââ¬â¢s not really what your customers subscribed for. Paid ad placement in your newsletter should look a lot like affiliate marketing, with the primary difference being you are getting paid to place rather than paid based on subscriber engagement. Have you considered including native advertising in your email newsletters?This works particularly well with niche newsletters, because the smaller the market, the more valuable it is for a new brand to get its name in front of relevant viewers. How do you get such placements? Sorry, the answer is direct sales. Pick 10 brands in your niche, and email them something like, ââ¬Å"I have 1,000 email subscribers centered around your niche, and I think they would be very interested in learning more about [brand]. Iââ¬â¢d love to discuss running a [brand] promotion in an upcoming newsletter.â⬠Itââ¬â¢s really that simple. What brand doesnââ¬â¢t want to be promoted? From there, itââ¬â¢s just a matter of negotiating payment. Make your email newsletter aà paid subscription. Iââ¬â¢m including this one because itââ¬â¢s a relevant option, but I wouldnââ¬â¢t recommend you try it as your core email list building monetization strategy. People are very used to being asked for their email in exchange for content, and they are becoming increasingly hesitant to give that email address away. If you have the audacity to ask for money in exchange for your emails, your email content better include the following: Highly valuable, world-class type content. Exclusive content that can ONLY be found via your email list. Unless your newsletter is offering in-demand content that canââ¬â¢t be found anywhere else, this strategy could be a bit difficult to implement super successfully. Create and sell your own product. This is, in my opinion, the best strategy for monetizing your email list.à Create a product and sell it to your list. Thatââ¬â¢s it. Thatââ¬â¢s the goal. You should be aspiring to do this, and then you should stop aspiring and just do it... now. As Jeff Walkerà says, ââ¬Å"The best way to launch a product is to build an email list, and the best way to build an email list is to launch a product.â⬠But why is this the best monetization strategy? Higher margins: Thereââ¬â¢s no middle man when itââ¬â¢s your product. Better targeting:à Your audience can tell you exactly what they want. Life-time value:à You retain all customer behavior data, allowing for much more effective retargeting and upsells over the customerââ¬â¢s lifetime. Follow these tipsà in order to do it right: Collaborate with subscribers on identifying a product they want Create the product. Pre-sell the product. Launch the product. Improve the product. Letââ¬â¢s walk our way through a basic version of this process. Collaborate The easiest way to create a product people want is to ask them what they want. Brainstorm a few possible product ideas and ask your subscribers to give you feedback on what they like/dislike about them. Ask them specifically if they would consider buying each option. Once youââ¬â¢ve found an idea people are really into- preferably one that doesnââ¬â¢t require significant investment for your first attempt- itââ¬â¢s time to create. Recommended Reading:à 5 Easy Lead Conversion Tips For Your Email Marketing Program A great example for beginners would be an info-product like an e-book. Create Product creation is a massively complex topic outside the scope of this post. For the purpose of this article, letââ¬â¢s just say you're creating an e-book. Here a few keys to compeleting an e-book that doesnââ¬â¢t suck: Create an outline first. Set unchangeable deadlines for each section in your outline. Write the dang thing. Supplement each point with facts/case-studies/examples/data of some kind. Donââ¬â¢t check ââ¬Å"doneâ⬠until itââ¬â¢s something you would pay to read. Next. Pre-Sell Never ââ¬Å"cold sellâ⬠to your email list. You should always pre-sell before you sell. This process is intended to prime your audience for your product by getting them thinking very heavily about the problem your product solves. Send emails and write posts discussing this problem. Discuss beginner-level strategies for solving that problem. Talk about how youââ¬â¢ve solved it using your product or the information contained in the product. And then close... Launch Now itââ¬â¢s time to actually launch the product. The key to a successful product launch is getting all hands on deck. Get everyone you know with a relevant audience to help you promote your launch. Call in every favor. Get your product in front of every possible channel. Recommended Reading:à How Will Outreach Marketing Make Your Blog More Successful? Itââ¬â¢s dangerous to go alone. Your product launch is the time to promote. A lot. Put the work in to create something youââ¬â¢re proud of and then share it with the world. Improve Your launch is just the beginning of your product. Get feedback, improve your product, and keep marketing it. How Will You Improve Your Email List Building Strategy? Weââ¬â¢ve covered quite a bit of ground in todayââ¬â¢s post. If youââ¬â¢re still reading, you are most likely serious about implementing an effective email list building strategyà via your website. Having helped numerous clients through this process (my last client went from 500ââ¬â10,000 subscribers in two months), I can tell you thatà these are super important steps for successful implementation: Create your list: Anyone can do this with zero help. Just follow the instructions in this post. Optimize your site: If you're willing to take the time to tinker, test, and tweak, anyone can set up their website for email optimization using the method I described in this article. You will need to familiarize yourself with copywriting and conversion rate optimization in order to properly utilize the tools I showed you, but you can absolutely do it yourself.à If youââ¬â¢d prefer to just have a pro do it for you, Iââ¬â¢m offering a special setup rate for readers here. Run your content strategy:à Unless you have some big bucks to shell out, you will need to do the bulk of this on your own. à is a great resource for actually running a successful content strategy. Launch your product: Product launches are extremely technical and entail a lot of moving parts. I wouldnââ¬â¢t recommend doing your first launch by yourself. One client I worked with had 150,000 social followers but virtually zero website engagement. I gave his team a content strategy, and within two weeks, they had a blog generating 4k shares per article and nearly 100 comments per post. Iââ¬â¢m offering a one-time, discounted rate for readers who would like me to map out a step-by-step strategyà for them. If you want to try it solo anyway, go get ââ¬Ëem cowboy! Youââ¬â¢ll want to follow Bryan Harrisââ¬â¢ outline for his first product launch. Thanks for taking the time to read, learn, and grow as a blogger or online business owner. Like you, the world of online business never ceases to amaze and fascinate me. Feel free to ask a question or leave a comment, and if you enjoyed this article, donââ¬â¢t hesitate to give it a share!
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