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Selling A House As-Is? Here’s What To Look Out For!

Steven on April 29, 2020

Getting The Most For Your Property

When you’re selling a property, especially an “As-Is” house, there are a lot of things to look out for. Many agencies exist which could help you, or could prove a hindrance. It depends on the home buying agency. There are a few things to understand, though, if you’re going to get the most value you can.

First, understand that those who purchase as-Is properties are going to pitch you a very low price. They’re not trying to steal from you—well, some are, but most aren’t. Basically, if they’re going to make a profit, they have to “flip” your “as-is” property. That, or they have to bulldoze it and use the land underneath.

There may need to be a real estate appraisal on the property; but the more complicated a deal is, the more likely it will fall through. You should have your own home appraisal options. Here’s the thing: if there isn’t a cash payment, the likelihood a sale will fall through is higher. For most as-is transactions, you’ll have somebody come out from the agency, look at the house, and give you cash.

Now certainly, a transaction like this won’t happen overnight. It will take a few days or weeks, but it’s unlikely to take ninety days like it would with a traditional home sale. The longer and more complicated an as-is transaction, the more red flags should pop up in your brain. Here we’ll explore a few other things you should consider to get the best deal.

Use A Fair Price In Your Appraisal

Price your as-is property fairly. Some aren’t really all that bad, some are barely standing. You need to be realistic. With a vehicle that was once a classic, should components be broken down and repair costs be high, you’d be a fool to sell at basic bluebook list value. It’s just the same with a home that—though classic in architecture—has a lot of problems. Be fair.

Don’t Be A Doormat, Do Be Flexible

Flexibility will work in your favor. It’s better to have something with a price slightly higher that you’re willing to negotiate on, than a non-negotiable price. With an As-Is property, unless you’re going with a buying agency, there’s not a high likelihood you’re going to get many potential buyers. And if you’re selling As-Is, you can’t be too picky.

Obtaining Inspections Helps You Avoid Underhanded Buyers

As you consider “As-Is” buying agencies, know some are more trustworthy than others. You want to have information to help arm your understanding of a reasonable price for your home. Get an appraisal or inspection as feasible. Sometimes you can get them free, sometimes there’s an associated fee, sometimes you know the property well enough to do so yourself.

Still, an official appraisal will give you better negotiation power when the time comes, so this is quite a recommendable tactic. Also, it will help you see when some buying group is seriously undercutting you, and help you find more truthful buyers in whom you can actually trust.

Maximizing Profitability Potential For Your As-Is Property

If you’re going to get what your property is worth, it will mean you’ve got to put a little work in. You’ll want to be flexible. Inspections are worthwhile. A fair price is wise. Be careful to avoid buyers that make things too complicated. Use multiple websites and online resources to help broaden the buyers you have access to.

Also, if you’re looking for a residential lease agreement template, click here.

You don’t want to just roll over for a potential buyer, but simultaneously, you don’t want to be too strict in what you’ll sell your property for. There’s balance. Do a little research, figure out true value, and sell for a fair price. “as-is” property sales can be profitable for your situation, but if you’re not careful, you may let the house go for a price that’s too low.

Digital Branding

Discover Different Ways To Weigh Video Animation During The Coronavirus

Steven on April 29, 2020

Businesses using video animation for their ads are getting the highest rates in advertising and know their audiences will sit through the entire ad. Now, with everyone being lockdown due to the coronavirus, companies are not using real people to sell their ads due to social distancing. Animation videos are an excellent avenue because the ads can take you anywhere from Maui to the tombs of the Ancient Egyptians! Everything weighs on the imagination of the creators.

It’s All Entertainment

We all seem to be surrounded with doom and gloom about coronavirus but we need an avenue to focus on something else once in a while. Think of the vast number of animated commercials that we have all grown to love. Think back to the Geico piggy commercial that placed Geico as offering the very best animated commercials holding the #1 spot for a very long time. Right now, everyone needs stuff that distracts us and is loaded with humor and takes us away from doom and gloom.

Companies can create short movies with any number of characters that viewers are going to flock to and leave everyone with a big smile on their faces. Viewers will have something to look forward to instead of feeling depressed while stuck in their homes and listening to the negative stuff coming off the news. Animation can bring in a concept of life that helps people become uplifted and production companies should come to realize how very fun and unique these animated videos can be, it’s a win-win situation.

Helping People Become Aware

Being aware of our surroundings has become critical, especially during these times with a life-threatening pandemic like СOVID-19. This disease is extremely contagious because it spreads so quickly through contact. Therefore, it’s really important that we use animation to educate people on what they should and should not do. Creating good videos loaded with valuable content like how to practice safe social distancing, how to properly clean your hands, and what you must know about the coronavirus should a family member or friend becomes affected by it.

The production of really good, informative videos will spread like crazy and help everyone by providing information that will help them during this critical time. Keep in mind, really good, informative could save someone’s life, including yours.

Marketing Campaigns

Time and time again, animated videos have been very effective marketing tools because these ads are both physically and psychologically appealing to viewers and offer really high engagement. This, in turn, is essential for marketing because it fulfills the desired effect. You will know you have done a really great job when your ads go viral with your viewing audience.

Adding to that, when videos hit a higher shareability, you have entered an excellent engagement rate. There will be a connection with your audience that will relate to them and therefore lead to higher conversion rates.

Video animations are not only entertaining but marketers can weigh them to explain difficult concepts that are not lost on the viewers. They are a great deal more cost-efficient than other marketing techniques which, for now, marketers really need because of the economic impact from coronavirus and its impact on companies.

Education Must Be On The Rise, No Matter What!

The coronavirus has taken its toll on the education industry by shutdowns, putting parents, students, and everyone else in a really bad situation. Education is such a critical part of our lives, anything short of getting it up and running is unacceptable.

To help out, online educations is stepping up to the plate and is not compromising in any manner. Unfortunately, students are not exactly eager to get online and get an education. They should consider, they are stuck at home in an undesirable and very uncomfortable situation. It might not be the best environment for being educated, but it’s heading in the right direction.

What you might not know, animated videos might just be the change that will help students get back to work. If educational institutions were to invest in videos, spending a little time and energy to create animated videos for teaching, students might just look forward to online classes and get into valuable lecturers. Students will get a much-needed break from hearing about the pandemic while not harming their education.

Ever since the СOVID-19 pandemic, businesses are working remotely in an effort to keep their businesses going. Working from home is not easy, especially for office workers. Communication, motivation, and productivity has taken a major hit. This is why they should be taking advantage of tools and resources that are available to help make working from home more effective.

Animated videos play a large part as useful tools during a time like this. They can increase the emotional connection with your team while providing attractive visuals. These videos can be a motivational message, an important announcement, or even a birthday greeting. Also, employees are less likely to skip these videos because they are so incredibly engaging and a lot of fun.

Have fun staying in touch with your team and let them know you have not forgotten them during challenging times like this.

Videos In The Medical World

The medical world has always been an important part of our lives. They treat us for colds, mend limbs harmed in sports, and especially now for the coronavirus. There is no secret that animated videos are also used in the medical world. Videos assist professionals in examining the body or guiding them to the right spot for a delicate operation.

Using an animated explainer, doctors and other professionals can simulate the spreading of coronavirus and use the video to understand more clearly what’s going on. Also with the shortage in the medical world of doctors, nurses, staff as well as medical students, inexperienced medical staff can get excellent training using 3D animated videos and help out professionals.

Video animation is an amazing thing and incredibly flexible for so many different purposes. It doesn’t matter if you are creating a video for a marketing ad, a student, or a kid looking for something to do while stuck at home, video animation will help you out. As we move forward with social distancing, animated videos are going to play an even more significant role for all of us.

Guest post by the talented video production company Inovit.

Digital Branding

Everything You Need To Know About Betaine Anhydrous

Steven on April 27, 2020

Betaine Anhydrous is the new talk of the town, and this is the reason why we are here to discuss it today. Recently, it has been getting a lot of attention, especially in the work-out supplements workspace. Betaine has always been popular among heart doctors because it improves your heart’s health to a whole another level. But now that people are becoming aware of its other benefits, the demand for this supplement is increasing.

In fact, even you are here today because you heard about Betaine Anhydrous somewhere, and now you want to dig deep into the details. Well, if that’s what you are looking for, then this clearly is the right place for you to be.

What Is Betaine Anhydrous?

Before moving towards the benefits, let’s put some light on this amino acid and what functions it’s responsible for performing in the body.

For those of you who don’t know, Betaine is also known as trimethylglycine, which is an amino acid mainly found in different foods like beets, quinoa, and spinach, etc. As far as the functions are concerned, it performs two of the most important functions in our body;

It performs as an osmolyte.
It performs as a methyl donor.

The long story short of its functions is that Betaine helps with functions that include, genetic activities and functions that are related to protein absorption, etc.

What Are the Benefits of Betaine?

The real question of the hour is, what exactly are the benefits of Betaine? Well, we are going to explain them to you in detail so take notes because these benefits might convince you to try this supplement that will change the course of your body;

1- It reduces the risk of heart diseases

Betaine is the best thing to use if you want to reduce the risks of heart diseases. What happens is that betaine reduces the levels of amino acid homocysteine that circulates in your blood. It basically acts as a donor and donates one of the methyl groups it has to the homocysteine molecules. When this happens, the molecules convert the group into harmless substances called “methionine”. It’s a whole circle that ultimately leads to one fact that Betaine reduces the risk of strokes.

2- It supports the function of the liver

Alcohol abuse, obesity, and other such things can lead to the buildup of fatty acids in your liver. It’s good to have some fat in the liver, but too much can cause problems, and it can even lead to some extremely chronic disease. In a nutshell, if you’ve heard about the fatty liver disease, what Betaine basically does is that it breaks down the fat of the liver and prevents the deposit of fatty acid that accumulates inside the liver. In fact, even if your liver is a little damaged, this supplement can help recover it without any hassle.

3- It aids in digestion

Your stomach needs the right amount of acid to digest food. If the levels of acid inside your body are too low, you will come across digestion problems, and it’s a fact that most people don’t know. This is why and where Betaine is used. The form of Betaine that’s attached to HCL helps in raising acid levels of your body.

Conclusion

These are just a few important benefits of Betaine Anhydrous There’s a lot more it does, but for now, we hope you are convinced to give it a try. So without waiting anymore, get the supplement and start incorporating its use in your daily routine. We assure you that you will soon see the results.

Legal Branding

How to Avoid Employee Lawsuits as a Brand

Steven on April 27, 2020

Employee lawsuits can be a massive drawback to your brand as they are costly. Something that you never termed ‘wrong’ could be the basis on which your employee files a lawsuit against your brand. It could be wrong termination, personal injury, harassment, and discrimination, just to mention but a few. But, as an employer, do you know how you can avoid employee lawsuits in your brand? Well, let us look at ways you can prevent such costly lawsuits as a business.

Present a job description to your employees

Before you hire an employee, make sure you give them a job description. It should entail the responsibilities and activities the employee should perform. Additionally, it should have the organizational chart so that the employee knows who to report to as well as an acceptable code of ethics and practices. The job description is one way of making a proper recruitment agreement between the candidate and the employer.

Enlighten yourself on laws, rules, and regulations governing your brand

Do you know that your employee can file a lawsuit against your brand on the bases of requirements you have no idea exist? Yes, before you start your brand, make sure you are aware of the law, rules, and regulations like labor law, work safety law, workers’ compensation, and overtime rules that govern operations. It will save you from an employee lawsuit as you are aware of the rules, regulations, and laws protecting them.

Avoid unlawful employee termination

Terminating your employee suddenly is unlawful and could be a significant liability to your brand. Before you terminate your employees, try to coach and counsel them on how they can improve their performance. Further, review their performance and give them warnings if they do not perform as expected. Moreover, taking time before you fire your employees gives them room for improvement. However, if your employee does not improve, you can terminate them based on their performance analysis and within the frameworks on the law.

Avoid lawsuits that are caused by workplace injuries

Workplace injuries are common in all workplaces, and they can range from as simple as a fall in the staircase to machine-related injuries. According to a local law firm in Lebanon Tennessee that represents employees in work-related injury cases, it is recommended that you create a safe working environment. Indeed, a safe work environment will reduce the risks of injuries, consequently minimizing your chances of an employee filing a lawsuit against you. Also, train your employees on workplace safety as per the occupational safety and health administration. The training can be expensive but worth it.

Get your brand insured

In the event, your employee gets injured while at work, you are supposed to compensate them. Now, assuming you do not have money to pay the employee, they might end up filing a lawsuit against your brand. But, if your brand is insured against workplace injuries, then the insurance company will compensate them. This is just one example as more risks can result in financial losses. Therefore, get a cover like workers’ comp that will cushion you against injuries to employees. Insurance coverage can look expensive, but a loss of property due to unfortunate occurrences or finances because of a work-related injury lawsuit is more expensive.

Document employee information

Ensure that you document anything about your employee. Keep a record of performance appraisals, audit reports, job descriptions, training records, and warning letters, just to mention but a few. The documented information can act as evidence in a lawsuit if filed against you, and you are innocent.

Ease the process of employee complaint reporting

It is better to hear of an employee complain directly from them than through a law court summon. Therefore, provide the employee with a direct way of communicating with the human resource manager or top management. You can enhance this by providing them with an email address or hotline number.

Do not assume that the section supervisors will report complains about their department to you. They can hide something from you. Moreover, a smooth communication chain will help you fix a complaint faster. So, once you learn of an employee problem, be proactive and respond to it swiftly. Additionally, create a good rapport with your employees as it will make it easier for them to complain to you.

Final word

Any type of lawsuits can cause adverse financial consequences to your brand. It’s thus essential that you follow the tips we have covered to reduce the chances of a lawsuit against your brand by your employees.

Digital Branding

How To Choose The Best Microphone Stand For Your Needs

Steven on April 26, 2020

Are you looking for the best microphone stand? If it’s your first time buying one and if you want to spend your money on something valuable, then there are a few things that you’ll have to consider.

You see, most people think that only buying a quality microphone is what they have to pay attention to. But the fact is that you also need to consider the quality, the durability, and the features of the microphone stand.

Especially if you are setting up your own home studio, there are several things you will have to take care of. From the right height of the stand to the right weight, it’s all-important!

Photo by Csaba Nagy from Pixabay

To help you land on the right microphone stands, here are some of the best tips that you can use:

1- It should be compatible with your microphone

The first thing to take care of is the compatibility of your stand with your mic. No matter how attractive and affordable a stand is, you need to check whether or not it will work with your mic. Especially if you don’t want to end up wasting your money on something that’s not even useful, then yes, compatibility is the number one factor to consider.

2- The height should be adjustable

Don’t buy a microphone stand with a fixed height. It can be tough for you to operate it, especially if you have to sing and play an instrument, both at the same time. You see, when the length of the stand is adjustable, there isn’t much that you’ll have to worry about. Whether you are sitting or standing, you can then change the length as per your needs.

3- Quality

The quality of the construction of the stand is also an important factor to pay heed to. You need something that’s durable because let’s face it? You can’t just go around changing your mic’s stand every month, right? Well, if yes, then don’t rush the decision to buy a mic and take your time. Do the research you need to do, and once you are interested in a stand, just check out the material with which it’s built. If it’s heavy-duty and if it does look promising, then you can proceed and buy it.

Photo by Bruno Germany from Pixabay

4- Price

You need the best microphone stand for your needs, but that doesn’t mean that you are ready to spend your money beyond a certain limit. In other words, when buying a stand, it’s always better to first make a budget and then stick to it. When you make a budget and stick to it, you won’t have to worry about spending more than you could or should once you buy a stand. There are some really amazing and affordable mic stands out there in the market, so do the research that you are supposed to and then buy it.

5- Check the features

You cannot expect so many features from a microphone stand because at the end of the day, it’s just a stand. But things like adjustable height, foldability etc, these are the things that you should expect from a quality mic if you are paying the price for it.

Conclusion

These are the tips that can help you get the right mic stand that suits your needs and requirements. So without waiting anymore, start hunting for a quality stand and use these tips to do justice with your money.

You should also first study the different types of mic stands that are available out there. Once you know the type you want for your needs, you can then purchase it.

Digital Branding

5 Ways To Increase Domain Authority (DA) Of Your Blog

Steven on April 26, 2020

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know all about Moz Domain Authority (or DA for short). Every blog has a score. If you’re a new blogger, your blog might be at zero, but as you add content and acquire links, your DA will steadily rise.

But what is Domain Authority? Well, for short, your score means how likely you are to rank high on Google compared to competitors. It is a very important ranking factor in Google SEO and is an ideal starting point for beginner bloggers to focus on. The higher your score, the likelier that your pages will be seen on good positions on Google search.

Let’s get to some of the main benefits of having a high DA blog.

You will get more organic search engine traffic from Google. Just look at the sites listed at the top of the search results for any popular keyword search: they all have a high domain authority score.
Advertisers will pay you more to place ads on your website. You’ll get more offers for paid content placements and text/banner ads if you have a high DA.
When you have a high DA score, you will get more guest posts requests. The benefit of this being that you’ll get high-quality content from guest authors who want to gain exposure from your blog.

As you can see, it is very important to have a high DA score if you want to get search engine traffic. So how do you increase the domain authority of your blog? Read on to find out.

Factors in SEO to increase domain authority

Factors That Influence Domain Authority

1. On-Site Factors

Many people think that Domain Authority is all about getting more backlinks. While it does play a large role, there are other factors that you shouldn’t ignore. One of these factors is on-site optimizations.

You should be sure that your blog has a clean site structure. This means that it should be user friendly, contain categories, and should be easy to navigate, both for your visitors and for the search engine crawlers.
Search engines love links, so use them throughout your blog posts to link to other relevant content you’ve previously published. Keep it
Create a sitemap to make it easy for Google to find all of your pages.
Make sure your blog is optimized for speed. Fast websites rank higher and friendlier to the end-user.
Keep your permalinks short. You can do this by removing stop words. So instead of a url slug that says ‘how-to-write-a-blog-post-fast’, you should change it to ‘write-blog-post-fast’. Keep it to 3 to 4 keywords max.
Add a ‘recent posts’ section on your sidebar or footer to ensure your latest links are noticed and indexed quickly.

2. Create Quality Content

Getting links is an important factor in increasing your DA, The key to attracting high-quality backlinks is to create high-quality content that is worthy of being shared.

This doesn’t just mean creating content that has a high word count. You can have a short article be considered great if you’re providing new information or valuable insight.

What else is quality content? Infographics! Infographics are a great example of what’s called link-bait. Other bloggers love to share infographics on their blog and visitors love to share infographics on their social media channels.

When you write content, don’t write about general subjects such as ‘how to bathe a dog’. Instead, write about something unique such as ‘how to properly shampoo the fur of a Bichon Frise’. This ensures you’re creating something completely unique and that you have something new to add.

Another idea for content other than infographics is list posts. These types of posts are easy and quick to read, which means you’ll get more eyeballs on your content.

You can also interview a well-known blogger in your niche for your blog. By doing so, he/she may then promote the interview on their blog and you get a valuable backlink.

3. Social Media Sharing

It’s not enough to create high-quality content; you need to get this content shared by the community too. A factor to increase domain authority is having a social media presence.

Create profiles on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. You can also try Google+ and Instagram while you’re at it. Use a professional design that’s in line with the theme of your blog. Then add links to your social media channels on your blog.

With a good social media strategy, you can get your content seen by the right people who can share your content to their audience.

When other authority figures in your niche share your content, it tells Google that your content is trustworthy and of high value.

In order to attract retweets or Facebook shares of your blog posts, you need to also share the content of others. Stroke their ego, promote them on your social media channels and then wait for them to return the favor.

4. Quantity And Quality Of Backlinks

The biggest factor in determining your Domain Authority is backlinks. How many different websites link to your blog posts? The more links you have the higher your domain authority will be.

But it’s not just the quantity that matters, it’s the quality too. You need to attract links from bloggers in your niche. Preferably, from high authority bloggers who are leaders in your niche. One good backlink is worth more than 100 low-quality links from irrelevant blogs.

A great way of obtaining backlinks is by guest blogging. When you guest blog, you are providing content to another blogger in exchange for a link back to your website – a win-win for everyone.

A good guest blogging campaign will target high domain authority blogs and personally email them with your personalized pitch.

SEO on WordPress from Google Anatytics Increase domain authority

5. User Engagement On Your Blog

If your blog is ranking well in Google, then naturally you will have high domain authority. So one of the ways of getting a good DA score is by having your website rank in Google.

There are countless ways to get more search engine traffic, from page speed to high-quality content to links. But another way is by having a low bounce rate and high time spent on the site.

The exit activity on your blog is a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm. Google certainly analyzes your content, but how does it know how valuable it is?

Well, if visitors are going to your blog and hitting the back button to go back to the search results, then your content isn’t sticky enough.

Log into Google Analytics and see your bounce rate. Is it over 35%? If so, you need to create content that makes visitors stick around and go to other pages of your blog. You also need to ensure your design encourages more clicks.

To keep visitors clicking through to other pages of your blog, you need to add relevant links within the content of your posts.

To keep visitors on your site longer, you need to create amazingly great content that incorporates not just text but images and video as well.

If you do the things I’ve outlined in this post, Google will think of you as a trusted authority blog and as a result your Domain Authority will increase too.

About the author:
Over the last 15 years, Edwin from Do Six Figures has started over 100 profitable blogs on his way to a six-figure income as a full-time blogger. He is now obsessed with helping people just like you escape the ordinary and make serious money online.

Digital Branding Personal Branding

A Quick Guide to Branding Your Small Business

Steven on April 24, 2020

When it comes to the success of your company, the branding decisions you make are vital. Many businesses make the mistake of dismissing image building as a waste of time or a needless expense, but this aspect of planning can actually mean the difference between success and failure. We understand that a proper branding campaign will cost and you shouldn’t try to do it on the cheap. There are certain ways to release funds for this purpose, such as refinancing student loans or property. Refinancing your student loans will leave you with one consolidated loan with a new payment schedule and interest rate. You may even save money, as the interest rates are normally lower. Whatever way you get access to funding, the investment you make in your branding will pay its dividends. So how do you start branding your small business? In this article, we’ll cover some top tips to cement your company’s identity, making it immediately recognizable.

Logo Design

Every company needs a logo, no matter how complex or simple. If your brand name is longer, consider using an unfussy image or icon alongside it that is easy to remember. If it’s short and concise, you might simply present it in a certain eye-catching font. Try to make sure that your logo can be easily seen and recognized when presented in postage stamp size and held at arm’s length. You should also take care that it can’t be mistaken for another brand’s imagery and that the font you use doesn’t have connotations of the wrong industry. It’s definitely worth spending a little money on professional logo design. This practice is both an art and a science and always benefits from an expert touch.

Colors

Most companies restrict the palettes of their logos, web design and stationery to just two or three basic colors and then repeat those brand-wide. Try to restrict your use of color to just a few hues to make sure your look is cohesive and can be easily ingrained into a customer’s memory.

Tone of Voice

Think about your audience. Consider how they might speak and how they would like to be spoken to. This will help you to decide on your brand’s tone of voice. To some degree, this will be dictated by the industry you serve. The tech, medical, and law sectors tend to use language that inspires trust and displays a level of authority. The fashion and entertainment industries have a little more flexibility, enabling them to use fun, quirky terminology if required. You should also consider the level of product or service knowledge held by your average user. In most cases, it’s best to stick to layman’s terms, keeping things simple without over-explaining or condescending. Try to think of a range of preferred words and pieces of terminology for your brand and consider banning certain phrases if they give the wrong impression. Be careful to double check all spelling and grammar to ensure an air of professionalism.

Product Range or Service Specification

The best brands specialize in just a few areas and do it extremely well. Try to limit your offerings to just a few recognizable products or services, as this tends to give a greater impression of quality and expertise and will help to make sure what you offer is instantly recognizable.

Digital Branding Personal Branding

Start-Up Business: Turning Your App Idea into a Business

Steven on April 23, 2020

Coming up with novel ideas is something we’re all capable of. Everything single one of us has woken up in the middle of the night or sat up straight in the bathtub with a lightbulb flashing over our heads, marveling in wonder at how brilliant our imaginations are, and how great we are at dreaming up new ideas and concepts. This, in itself, is nothing particularly special. What is special, however, is finding the resources, energy, and motivation to transform those ideas into something real, tangible, and – perhaps most importantly – profitable.

If you’re able to take these next steps with your mobile app ideas, then you’ll quickly make yourself stand out from the crowd… and the vast majority of ideas never making past the initial stages.

Taking Steps to Mobile App Success

Why do so many mobile apps never get transformed into businesses? Well, there is no shortage of reasons why this is the case. However, perhaps top of the (rather long) list is the undeniable fact that making mobile apps work as businesses is something that takes real-time, real effort, and real planning and validation.

Thankfully, there are plenty of steps mobile app developers and budding business people can take in order to help their ideas progress, and in order to gain success from the very earliest stages of development. In this blog, we’re going to look at some of the absolute essential actions you should be taking if you want to see your mobile app business take off… and they’re a lot simpler and easier than you might expect. Remember, these aren’t absolutely foolproof hacks for success, but they will establish good practices, and they lay the foundations on which mobile app business success can be built.

Identify Your Audience

Knowing your target audience isn’t just essential for mobile app businesses, it’s a key part of launching any business. It’s all too tempting to say ‘my app is for everybody’ – this isn’t going to get you anywhere.

If anything, you need to be narrowing down your target audience as much as you can, and identifying the key criteria which set your ideal market apart from others. Once you know exactly the type of people your app is for (and we mean age bracket, income level, job status, lifestyle, etc, etc, etc), you can start tailoring everything from your marketing efforts to your app design to appeal directly to them.

Research Your Competition

Once you’ve figured out who your app is for, and you know exactly what your app does and why it does it, the time will come to really check out the competition. Unless your idea is something completely novel and unique, there will be other apps out there offering very similar or identical solutions; your job is to research what difficulties they overcame, what their audience loves and dislikes about their app, and how you can take the concept one step further.

Clearly Define What Your App Is

Apps come in all shapes and sizes, styles, and uses, and the market can be massively confusing for those seeking solutions for their mobile devices. Your job is to define your app as clearly as possible: make sure that, from the very first moment, your audience can identify exactly what your app does, who your app is for, and how your app can make a positive difference. For example, you are developing an app for tracking calories, you might want to define the benefits of tracking calories and who can benefit from using the app.

This will help with everything from your listing on the App Store etc, to the way your app is marketed and used.

Carefully Consider Branding

Make no mistake: branding is of the utmost importance when it comes to your app business, as this will define how your app will be seen and received on the marketplace, and it will create that all-important first impression among countless competitors and distractions.

There’s plenty of information out there on the net regarding which colors communicate which ideas, and how logos, emblems, and slogans can make a difference, and we’d encourage you to spend some time getting used to the way branding can be key to getting your message out there. At some point, as your plans grow and start to become finalized, you’ll most likely need to start delegating certain tasks. Bringing in a branding or marketing expert and a copywriter could be one of the best decisions you make unless you’re confident you have the time and objectivity to really make it work by yourself.

Get It Out There

Once you’ve put the time in following the above steps (and believe us, this is far from an exhaustive list as you’ll also need to assemble a team of dedicated partners, and spend time costing your business venture), you’ll be ready to launch. While this is an exciting time, it’s also a period that requires plenty of preparation in order to get the most lucrative results.

You know the nature of your app better than anybody, so you’ll hopefully have a clearer idea of how to launch and what the launch will need. A website and some key social media platforms are surely essential, and most apps nowadays come with mailing lists and preview lists, too. Sites like the beta list can help you identify and target early adopters and influencers, and if your app has local appeal, then events, happenings, and parties might be appropriate, too. No matter how you approach your launch, your goal should be the same: to get people talking about your app, using it, and having the best possible experience with it. If your launch manages to do this while drumming up excitement, then you’re onto a winner.

Well, there you have it – Messapp’s guide to turning those ideas into a reality and making your mobile app ideas into a business that works for you. We’re specialists in mobile app development with years of top-level experience, and we’re confident we can assist you in making your concepts fly. Get in touch today to speak to a member of our team; it’s the first step towards success.

About the Author

Though a lawyer by trade, Vasily Malyshev found his passion for mobile tech, self-taught design, and development. He is the founder of Messapps, one of the top New York app development companies. Today, in addition to working with Messapps, Vasily is also teaching app development and marketing at New York University and regularly invests in other tech startups.

Legal Branding

Dealing With Workplace Injuries – How Brands Can Take A Proactive Approach

Steven on April 22, 2020

Workplace accidents are common these days, despite businesses taking appropriate safety precautions and implementing best practices to avoid injuries. While such mishaps can lower the employee morale and burden businesses financially, they can damage the brand’s reputation as well. For this reason, it becomes vital for brands to take a proactive approach for dealing with such accidents and injuries. The way employers respond to mishaps can make all the difference to workforce morale and the credibility of the brand. Here are some steps they can take to deal with workplace injuries.

Care for the employees first

The safety of your employees matters more than anything else and getting quick medical aid an injured employee should be your top priority. Call 911 if there is an emergency situation. Conversely, you can transport them to a medical care facility in non-emergency situations. It is best to consult the medical provider who has been designated by your workers’ compensation carrier so that you don’t have much to do for getting a claim later.

Secure the accident spot

While you need to get immediate help for the injured, it is also your responsibility to secure the accident spot to prevent further casualties. This is important from the investigative perspective as well. Start by limiting access to the scene, securing it and saving any material or equipment involved in the incident. Taking pictures of the spot is also a good idea to help investigations.

Complete the requisite paperwork

Ensuring that the injured employees get the compensation they deserve can make all the difference to fortifying the reputation of your brand. According to expert personal injury attorneys, the right paperwork can get you sorted out with the workers’ compensation insurance carrier sooner than you expect. Completion of the requisite paperwork should be next on your checklist. Prepare an incident report and any other claims that you need to report to the carrier, preferably within a 24 hour period after the accident.

Establish a return-to-work program

Workplace injuries often put people out of action and they may have to be off the job for weeks or even months. The longer they are away from work, the tougher it can be to return to employment. As an employer, you should consider it your responsibility to help the injured employees become productive and get back to work as quickly as possible. Implementing a return-to-work or transitional job program is a good idea. The objective of these programs is to keep the injured workers off of long-term disability. Apart from this, they can potentially reduce employers’ costs.

Make a commitment to employee safety

Branding goes beyond just impressing your customers; doing the best for your employees is equally important. Employers that are willing to commit to workforce safety can stay one step ahead. This is best done by contributing to the satisfaction levels of injured workers, facilitating return-to-work outcomes and easing the compensation claims. Implementing proactive measures that can prevent accidents and injuries in the future is also vital.

Making safety a priority can get your brand the trust and credibility you aspire for. At the same time, you should support the injured employees and help them get the compensation claims they deserve.

Legal Branding Personal Branding

4 Strategies to Grow Your D2C Brand

Steven on April 21, 2020

It’s estimated that direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand sales will reach $17.75 billion in 2020 — an increase of almost 25% from last year.

The COVID-19 crisis might have something to do with that. But even though the virus has caused an overall upswing in online shopping, this isn’t necessarily the case across all product types. Most people today are buying must-have items, rather than nice-to-have products and services.

Brands that sell directly to consumers, and especially those that fall under the nonessential category, face a difficult future. For instance, health and safety products, as well as digital streaming services, have seen increased demand — but fashion and apparel sellers are experiencing significant losses.

Some D2C companies will undoubtedly fail. But many will survive. For those that do weather the storm, survival will depend heavily on using the right marketing tactics.

Here are four tried-and-tested strategies to help you secure and grow your D2C brand, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Social Media Marketing

For a majority of D2C brands, social media is the most effective channel for online customer acquisition. Considering that more than half of all social media users use social media to research products, that kind of makes sense.

But as a brand, being active on social media isn’t enough to attract and retain customers. You also need to have a clear strategy — preferably one that doesn’t rely solely on promotional posts and ads.

Almost 80% of customers won’t hesitate to unfollow a brand that bombards them with sales pitches. And over 50% of consumers will unfollow a brand that shares irrelevant content.

So, what do customers want to see from brands they follow on social media?

Engaging, informative, micro-focused content that’s also timely, says Matt Seltzer, a market research and strategy consultant at S2 Research. Seltzer recommends looking at Wendy’s and Arby’s, two successful fast food D2C brands, for inspiration on how to stay top-of-mind with consumers via social media.

One of their keys to success? Creating and sharing social media video content to capture customer attention. If you’re not sure why video is such a powerful medium for D2C brands and social media marketing, consider that over 70% of customers prefer to learn about a product or service through video.

2. Personalized Shopping Experience

The average American customer is exposed to between 4,000 and 10,000 ads per day (up from about 500 ads per day in the 1970s). To protect their sanity, most people have learned to ignore the vast majority of ads and focus only on the stimuli most relevant to them.

That might seem like bad news for marketers. In reality, however, reaching your customers isn’t any more difficult than it was 50 years ago — as long as you invest in personalization.

Consumers crave customized experiences. As many as 80% of customers are more likely to buy from brands that provide personalized shopping experiences. And 71% feel frustrated when a shopping experience isn’t personalized.

A further 70% of customers say they’d even let retailers track their shopping behavior if it resulted in an improved shopping experience.

Regardless of whether you’re creating website content, placing a social media ad, or sending an email campaign, make sure that your message speaks to each of your customers on an individual level (tip: omnichannel analytics might help).

3. Influencer Partnerships

If you’re not yet working with social media influencers (individuals with a considerable following in a specific niche), you’re not only missing out, but you’re also a minority.

More than 9 out of 10 marketers today use influencer marketing — and for good reason. For every $1 that brands invest in influencer marketing, they generate an average return of $18 in publicity value.

How is that possible? People really do follow influencer suggestions and behavior. Nearly 50% of consumers say they rely on influencer recommendations to help them make purchasing decisions. Moreover, 8 out of 10 customers have bought a product or a service after seeing it recommended by an influencer.

Yes, influencer marketing is undoubtedly powerful; but it needs to be handled thoughtfully. As more brands rush to secure deals with influencers, there’s a risk of oversaturating social platforms with sponsored content and reviews — which could actually reduce consumer trust in influencers.

The trick is to find the right influencers for your brand, rather than partnering with anyone and everyone with an audience. Your ideal influencers are those who speak to the same audience as your brand. Their followers are most likely to have a genuine interest in your product or service.

Finding influencers who are the right fit for your marketing campaigns isn’t easy. But it’s worth it, especially for D2C brands. D2C shoppers are almost three times more likely than traditional shoppers to admit that influencers and celebrities sway their perception of a brand.

4. User-Generated Content

Like influencer marketing, user-generated content (UGC) can also be a powerful tool in your digital marketing arsenal.

In fact, UGC is actually almost 10 times as impactful as influencer marketing. Unlike influencer content, which is usually paid for by a brand, UGC is a genuine expression of customer appreciation — and is, therefore, more trustworthy.

One D2C brand that has nailed user-generated marketing is Chewy, a pet supply store.

“Chewy’s branding on their boxes and the concept of your pets getting food and treats in the mail every month translates perfectly into excited pet photos and videos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram,” says Boone Clemmons, Chief Strategy Officer at Brandwagon LLC. “There are also a large number of posts where pets excitedly open their Chewy box, as well as many posts of tired cats and dogs using their Chewy boxes as beds.”

So, how can you follow Chewy’s lead and get customers to post UGC about your brand? Oftentimes, it’s just a matter of asking! For example, over 60% of consumers say they would post about good health or beauty product experience on social media.

By encouraging consumers to share the photos and videos they create, you can inspire them to engage with your brand and produce authentic content that will lead to a larger audience and pool of customers.

Final Thoughts

With most retail stores closed and consumers under lockdown at home, e-commerce sales are booming. According to ACI Worldwide, many online retail sectors experienced a 74% increase in sales in March 2019 compared to March 2018. Also, nearly 10% of U.S.-based consumers purchased something online for the first time that same month due to social distancing.

The takeaway? It’s quite likely that the COVID-19 pandemic will change consumer shopping habits long term. So, what are you waiting for? Get on board with these strategies now to establish your brand as a leader in D2C marketing.

About the author

Laura Martisiute is a freelance writer with Plytix, a headless product information management system designed for fast-growing product brands. She’s a content marketing specialist with years of experience diving deep into the latest research on technology, business, and marketing.

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