E-LABZ - Learn How to Create Content that Drives Traffic to Your Website - 12345

Where Does Your Website Live? (Infographic)

May 22nd, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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When it comes to your website hosting, there is a big difference between renting and buying. For many, renting is probably the most affordable and efficient way to run their business website. But why ask the above question in the first place?

To answer that question you need to ask three more questions:

1. How many visitors does your website get per day?

2. How Mission-critical is your website?

3. Do you have a lot of video or audio content?

The infographic below should help answer these questions and ultimately provide an answer to the main question as well.

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Podcasts – The Making Of

May 20th, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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Do you listen to podcasts? Would you like to start making your own episodes? The good news is that almost anybody can start a podcast, and that includes you. Now is a great time to jump onto the Podcast bandwagon and tap into the available resources already screaming for attention. When you visit the Apple iTunes Store, the Podcasts app is the first recommended app. What is more, it only takes a few minutes to install it and even less to subscribe to streams of podcasts.

The most important reason that probably makes podcasting more important is the smartphone. Your audience does not need to be technically savvy to subscribe and locate your latest podcasts. Once they fire up their app, the latest episode is right there waiting for them.

Starting with a Hobby

Understandably, you may be a little apprehensive about starting a podcast for your business if you don’t know how to go about it. Well, don’t be scared. Instead, start by picking a hobby or something you are extremely passionate about and get started from there. This not only gives you plenty of material to cover, but also gives you a genuine connection with people who listen to you. Amazing things happen when you start building relationships with people and a hobby is one way to do this.

Video or Audio?

If you take a look around the iTunes Podcasts, you will discover both audio and video podcasts. However, the most popular types of podcast, and probably the easiest to make, is audio and you are better off starting from this corner. Video podcasts are few and far between. What is more, people can listen to audio podcasts just about anywhere; whether they are driving, jogging, in the office or when slumped onto a chair. Video on the other hand, requires your full attention, something I am pretty sure your audiences are not going to give you, at least when starting out.

What About Frequency?

According to podcasting experts, a weekly show is more likely to be successful. Anything more than once a week might mean listeners missing shows, which could result in people giving up listening to your content. You need to have just the right mix of frequency and content to get people engaged. This is why most shows, reality, drama, or comedy, are run weekly. People have been programmed to wait for a week before they see the next episode. Why not ride on this embedded thought and do weekly shows?

Where Do I Get Content for my Podcast?

Just like in writing, developing a voice is crucial when creating podcasts. You don’t need to think outside the box to create compelling content. In fact, successful podcasters rarely do that. One of the best ways to go about it is to think of a podcast you love listening to and then create content that supplements it. For example, do you love Sci-Fi movies? Why not create a podcast that discusses scenes in these movies and how they would have been shot to make them even better? Try and work on content that feeds on the basic structure and take it just one step further.

Although I generally regard myself as a writer, I have to say that there are obvious benefits to podcasts over written text. Podcasts live with the audience; whether they are driving, walking, eating, or even talking with others. In other words, they have a much higher engagement level. When it counts, listeners are also more likely to convert.

There, I said it and I am not afraid to repeat it again – Podcasts offer more engagement for certain audiences than written text. So, what are you waiting for? Get Podcasting.

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What is WebP and How is it Expected to Impact the Web?

May 18th, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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Images typically account for more than half of a Web page’s size. This is why a page with many images takes forever to load. However Google is always looking to make the Web a faster place and has been working to provide a new image format for the Web over the last couple of years. The WebP image format, as Google calls it, provides significantly smaller images that are said to be 26 percent smaller than PNGs and 25-34 percent smaller than JPEGs.

The WebP is an open standard of comparable image quality to existing image formats natively supported by Google Chrome and Android 3.0 but is quickly being adopted by other browsers and platforms. As an example, the Instant Previews feature in Google Search uses this format to reduce loading times and disk space usage.

According to Google, WebP has also brought down page load times by nearly one-third, which is expected to reduce bandwidth costs for users as well as reduce the load on already strained networks.

Currently, PNG is the most popular image format on the Web followed by GIF. Considering that WebP supports animated images, we can expect it to quickly take position two very soon and eventually rule the Web based on how things are going.

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The Google I/0 2013

May 17th, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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The Google I/O annual event is here with us again and as usual, Google is always ready to give us a low down on cutting edge technology as well as updates to its ecosystems. This year, Google did not disappoint and has quite a bit up its sleeve in updates to its list of products and services.

Admittedly, if you were waiting for some major hardware unveiling, you may be a little disappointed. Understandably though, this is a developer conference, which is what Google seems to be focused on as it showcases product enhancements to help Android and Chrome developers become more adept at what they do best.

There are new developments in the Android ecosystem, Chrome, Google Maps, and Google Cloud Platform.

Check out the Google I/O 2013 Keynote below for a glimpse on what is new with Google in 2013:

The Web is evolving at an accelerated rate and keeping up is hard enough. Google has tried to keep developers on the bleeding-edge of new features during this conference hoping they will continue to use its products and services to advance its Android ecosystem and Chrome user base.

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Are You Leveraging Mobile?

May 13th, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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More and more consumers are using mobile devices to perform research and purchase on their mobile devices. According to a 2013 study, this figure is now at 46 percent. This points to an ever-increasing importance of mobile in conversions where one out of every three people are using their mobile device exclusively from research to purchase.

What does this mean for brands and businesses? Further research shows that 57 percent of smartphone users go directly to a brand’s app or website, which further reinforces the need for businesses to focus on creating a better mobile experience. Does your business have an app or a mobilie-optimized site?

According to the report, 60 percent of consumers are looking for businesses that are within walking or local driving distance from where they are. In fact, one out of three users search for businesses’ contact information. This local relevancy brings out the top reason for mobile ad engagement.

Interestingly, the research found that 50 percent intend to purchase immediately or within a day. When it comes to device use, 74 percent of smartphone-related purchases get completed offline or in-store About 22 percent of all mobile searches are done and completed on these devices.

What are you doing about your mobile strategy?

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Inspiration for Content Creators

May 8th, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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As a full-time content creator, I know what it takes to be creative, adjust to new challenges and learn fast. What better way to nurture your creative juices than getting some inspiration from quotes that relate directly to content marketing? Fortunately, I have some that I would love to share with you.

Enjoy!

Write great content that resonates with people even on seemingly simple topics.

Make your best your best. Do not settle for anything less.

There is no substitute for hard work. Unless you are willing to break your back, you are likely not going to achieve substantial results in your line of work.

When you truly care about your audiences, it will be reflected in your work. Only then will you be able to develop a loyal and true following.

Unless you reach peoples’ hearts with your content, you work will not be shared and neither will you have any substantial following.

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10 Years of LinkedIn – A Look Back

May 5th, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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Today marks 10 years since LinkedIn was founded. Since then, it has changed the way we work. LindedIn brought the old adage “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” to the Web. By 2013, LinkedIn has 225 million registered members.

LinkedIn has survived the era of Friendster and MySpace to become a professional and personalized network. During this dot-com winter, when Internet startups and companies were still viewed with skepticism, it was a real challenge to gain market confidence and keep growing.

LinkedIn’s first challenge was to hit a million users. There was no business model or monetization strategy – it was all about the million person mark. The first week gained 2,500 users and after a month, it was 6,000. By the sixth month, it was 37,000 users.

Fast forward two years later, and LinkedIn had reached and bypassed its first goal with 1.7 million users. In the second year, LinkedIn started monetizing with the launch of LinkedIn Jobs, which used its own recommendation engine.

It took eight years before LinkedIn went public. Leading up to its IPO, it raised funding and received investments which saw the company have a valuation in excess of $1.5 Billion.

Since 2010, LinkedIn has acquired a number of companies starting with mSpoke for its ‘adaptive personalization engine.’ Other notable acquisitions include ChoiceVendor, CardMunch, Rapportive, SlideShare and more recently, Pulse.

For the past decade, LinkedIn has indeed changed how we network and hunt for jobs. According to the co-founder, Allen Blue, the future of LinkedIn will allow people to find a job they love and be great at it. He believes that with LinkedIn, “people will be doing what they love, not just what they have to do. Where professionals understand that the work they do is one of the most significant ways in which they can contribute to their communities and the world.”

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Google Now on iOS

April 29th, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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Google Now is finally available on iPhone and iPad. Users of iOS devices can now enjoy the Google Now personal assistant. Need instant answers to all your questions? Just ask without typing. It is particularly handy on the Go when you need answers Now, such as direction to nearby restaurants or if you should carry an umbrella.

Check out this video:

Your iPhone and iPad was smart, but it just got smarter NOW!

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How to Make Your Blogs Conversational

April 26th, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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Let’s face it, you likely come across blogs that are dull and unexciting all the time. These kinds of blog posts usually fail to draw you in and as a result, your mind ends up drifting away. It is no surprise therefore, that you will quickly click away in search of a post that is more engaging and worth your precious time.

The most engaging posts are those that talk directly to you. They are conversational, very direct and concise. When writers like Brian Clark, Darren Rowse and Chris Brogan write, they not only engage you but talk directly to you. They have a conversational style of writing. A conversational tone is more enjoyable and more likely to result in engagement. It is an important element of a good post and will more likely get your posts thrown about on the social Web.

That being the case, what can you do to develop a conversational tone?

1. Use the term “You”

Always try to address your audience. One of the most effective and easiest ways of doing this is using the word “you.” Just like in a real conversation, you want to address your readers as if they are sitting directly across to you on a table. Tell them what you think and why they need to act on what you say by talking to them. If there is one word you need to remember when trying to be conversational, it is the use of the word “you.”

2. Avoid Adverbs

Adverbs describe verbs and they have no place in a blog. Most adverbs are redundant and don’t really add any meaning to a blog post, except maybe contribute to fluff. Stay away from any words that seek to describe verbs. Get straight to the point and don’t be afraid to do that. Your readers will love it.

3. Avoid Passive Speaking

Passive speech is lengthy and boring. A passive sentence starts with a noun while an active sentence starts with a verb. So that rather say, “A decision was made”, you are better off saying “I decided.” It doesn’t take long to see that the latter sounds better on a blog. Active sentences keep people reading since they get the brain to think forward.

4. Mirror Your Reader Responses

People like to know you are paying attention to them and one way to do that is to tell them. Use statements like “I know you sometimes feel like giving up” or “I know that starting a blog can be quite tasking.” When you do this, you are drawing your readers in and they are more likely to pay attention to you since they feel like they can relate. This is a powerful element of an conversational blog.

5. Be Bold

Do you watch reality TV? See how they use statements like “Oh My” or “Aha”, “Poor Me”, “Bang!” Ugh” etc. Don’t be afraid to throw around these terms where you feel it would make a lot more impact. The use of these terms makes your writing more human and less professional. That is why reality TV is so enticing.

When you take time to write for your reader, as opposed to a client, then you are more likely to bring out the real you in your writing. Don’t think too much about whether you are going to sell, but rather, if you are going to be understood. Think of your readers as sitting directly across to you and you will have no difficulty being conversational.

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Building Stuff That Matters

April 23rd, 2013

Davgit

David Gitonga (DavGit)

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Finding truly inspiring companies and people is not always easy, but they are out there. As an entrepreneur, you are definitely not looking for charity, neither are you looking to be funded. So what do we mean by working on stuff that matters? Well, to understand this, lets us look at what it DOES NOT MEAN:

1. It Does Not Mean Working on Non-Profit Projects

Financial success is not the only measure of success. In fact, for an entrepreneur, it should not even be a goal. Money is simply the fuel to help you get to your destination. It is not a goal in and of itself. The time you spend thinking about your values is what counts. When you know about your values and are not afraid to think big, then you will not be afraid to fail to get there. How can you tell if you are working for money? Well, if you are more focused on the competition and the upcoming payday rather than on the value you bring to the customers, then you are definitely on the wrong path. As the saying goes, ‘the more you try to compete, the less competitive you become’ remains true to this day. Remember that your goal is always bigger than you are and cannot be fully attained. It is a never-ending quest.

2. It Does Not Mean Gaining More Value and Capturing Less

When you create more value for your community and customers than you capture, your business will grow in a never-ending cycle. For example, have others made more money out of your ideas than you have yourself? Have others gotten an idea of a business out of something you said or created? Then you are creating more value than you are capturing. When competitors jump in the bandwagon and help you spread the word, then you are on the right track. Are you building a platform that will help others flourish? Are you igniting enthusiasm in your industry by helping others thrive or by supporting emerging technologies? If so, then you are building a self-sustaining business.

3. It Does Not Mean Taking the Local Approach

One of the best times to take the long view is when the bubble is bursting. In order to build anything sustainable, you need to look at the big picture and see where you fit into it, five or ten years from now. When you are doing great, it can be hard to see beyond the now and forget about what might change in the future. In order to survive, you must evolve continuously and that should always be your goal if you are to build stuff that matters.

When you take time to grow knowledge and the people around you, as opposed to controlling information and making a buck, you are building a sustainable business. In the long run, the only model that works is one where you consume less and produce more. This is what building stuff that matters is all about.

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