#web design tips and heck

[theantfirm]

How Web Design Influences Consumer Behavior?

Web design plays a crucial role in shaping consumer behavior. From creating a positive first impression through colors and typography to providing a seamless user experience and building trust through responsive design, web design influences users' decisions. Trust The Ant Firm for top-notch design services.

[webstrategyplus11-blog]

Top 5 Ways To Market Your NFTs

We’re sure you’ve heard about NFTs by now, but you might be wondering how they could benefit you, your independent business, or what the heck they even are! 

What Exactly Is An NFT? 

NFT stands for non-fungible token, meaning it’s unique and irreplaceable. For example, say you have a one-of-a-kind trading card with a misprint and a Barry Bonds card that was printed millions of times. 

That misprint card would be non-fungible because it can’t be replaced and is unique, whereas the Bonds’ card is fungible because the market is saturated with them and it can be replaced. 

So what could that mean for you? You could create your own unique NFT and sell it for a pretty penny. Don’t believe us? Take a look at this list of the 10 most expensive NFTs sold.

But how do you get your name out there so you can bump someone off that list? Here’s how you can promote and market your NFTs.

Social Media Marketing For NFTs

It’s 2022 so if you want to market anything, you’ll need to have social media channels. Social media lets you promote your NFTs to a wide and varied audience, helping you get your name on the scene.

The first step is to create well-branded and optimized Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts to get started on growing your audience and connecting with the community.

Connect With Promoters Or Influencers

Influencers and professional promoters can help you get your name and NFTs out on the market. Crypto influencers already have an audience and have gained the trust of their community, making them a reliable resource. It does take experience working with influencers to make sure you’re connecting with the right influencers, following up with contracts and posts, and to keep their rates in check.

Get Involved With The Community

Don’t solely rely on traditional social media channels as a way to get your name out there. Consider platforms like Reddit and Discord to find your audience and other NFT creators and collectors. This will also help you establish credibility and trust.

Collaborate With Other Artists

Consider collaborating with other artists, musicians, brands or creators to create an NFT Collection. Collaborations not only give you a broader sense of community with other like-minded individuals, but you can also exchange and share audiences, giving you access to their fans and vice versa.

Partner With An NFT Experienced Marketing Agency

You might be reading all of that and thinking, “when do I have the time?” That’s where a professional marketing agency can help!

Selling NFTs can be a great way to earn extra money (and join a thriving community), but having a strong NFT marketing strategy and the time to really get your name out can be overwhelming and challenging.

Web Strategy Plus offers a variety of NFT marketing programs to fit your unique needs. Whether you’re looking for NFT training to get your feet wet, or need help designing your collection, our qualified team has your back.

Contact us today to learn more about our NFT program or our other services, including social media management and web development. Schedule your free consultation today! For more tips to grow your business, check us out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Original content source: https://www.webstrategyplus.com/top-5-ways-to-market-your-nfts/

[kafus]

beginner’s guide to the indie web

“i miss the old internet” “we’ll never have websites like the ones from the 90s and early 2000s ever again” “i’m tired of social media but there’s nowhere to go”

HOLD ON!

personal websites and indie web development still very much exist! it may be out of the way to access and may not be the default internet experience anymore, but if you want to look and read through someone’s personally crafted site, or even make your own, you can still do it! here’s how:

use NEOCITIES! neocities has a built in search and browse tools to let you discover websites, and most importantly, lets you build your own website from scratch for free! (there are other ways to host websites for free, but neocities is a really good hub for beginners!)

need help getting started with coding your website? sadgrl online has a section on her website dedicated to providing resources for newbie webmasters!

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are the core of what all websites are built on. many websites also use JS (JavaScript) to add interactive elements to their pages. w3schools is a useful directory of quick reference for pretty much every HTML/CSS/JS topic you can think of.

there is also this well written and lengthy guide on dragonfly cave that will put you step by step through the basics of HTML/CSS (what webpages are made from), if that’s your sort of thing!

stack overflow is every programmer’s hub for asking questions and getting help, so if you’re struggling with getting something to look how you want or can’t fix a bug, you may be able to get your answer here! you can even ask if no one’s asked the same question before.

websites like codepen and jsfiddle let you test HTML/CSS/JS in your browser as you tinker with small edits and bugfixing.

want to find indie websites outside the scope of neocities? use the search engine marginalia to find results you actually want that google won’t show you!

you can also use directory sites like yesterweb’s link section to find websites in all sorts of places.

if you are going to browse the indie web or make your own website, i also have some more personal tips as a webmaster myself (i am not an expert and i am just a small hobbyist, so take me with a grain of salt!)

if you are making your own site:

get expressive! truly make whatever you want! customize your corner of the internet to your heart’s content! you have left the constrains of social media where every page looks the same. you have no character limit, image limit, or design limit. want to make an entire page or even a whole website dedicated to your one niche interest that no one seems to be into but you? go for it! want to keep a public journal where you can express your thoughts without worry? do it! want to keep an art gallery that looks exactly how you want? heck yeah! you are free now! you will enjoy the indie web so much more if you actually use it for the things you can’t do on websites like twitter, instead of just using it as a carrd bio alternative or a place to dump nostalgic geocities gifs.

don’t overwhelm yourself! if you’ve never worked with HTML/CSS or JS before, it may look really intimidating. start slow, use some guides, and don’t bite off more than you can chew. even if your site doesn’t look how you want quite yet, be proud of your work! you’re learning a skill that most people don’t have or care to have, and that’s pretty cool.

keep a personal copy of your website downloaded to your computer and don’t just edit it on neocities (or your host of choice) and call it a day. if for some reason your host were to ever go down, you would lose all your hard work! and besides, by editing locally and offline, you can use editors like vscode (very robust) or notepad++ (on the simpler side), which have more features and is more intuitive than editing a site in-browser.

you can use ctrl+shift+i on most browsers to inspect the HTML/CSS and other components of the website you’re currently viewing. it’ll even notify you of errors! this is useful for bugfixing your own site if you have a problem, as well as looking at the code of sites you like and learning from it. don’t use this to steal other people’s code! it would be like art theft to just copy/paste an entire website layout. learn, don’t steal.

don’t hotlink images from other sites, unless the resource you’re taking from says it’s okay! it’s common courtesy to download images and host them on your own site instead of linking to someone else’s site to display them. by hotlinking, every time someone views your site, you’re taking up someone else’s bandwidth.

if you want to make your website easily editable in the future (or even for it to have multiple themes), you will find it useful to not use inline CSS (putting CSS in your HTML document, which holds your website’s content) and instead put it in a separate CSS file. this way, you can also use the same theme for multiple pages on your site by simply linking the CSS file to it. if this sounds overwhelming or foreign to you, don’t sweat it, but if you are interested in the difference between inline CSS and using separate stylesheets, w3schools has a useful, quick guide on the subject.

visit other people’s sites sometimes! you may gain new ideas or find links to more cool websites or resources just by browsing.

if you are browsing sites:

if the page you’re viewing has a guestbook or cbox and you enjoyed looking at the site, leave a comment! there is nothing better as a webmaster than for someone to take the time to even just say “love your site” in their guestbook.

that being said, if there’s something on a website you don’t like, simply move on to something else and don’t leave hate comments. this should be self explanatory, but it is really not the norm to start discourse in indie web spaces, and you will likely not even be responded to. it’s not worth it when you could be spending your time on stuff you love somewhere else.

take your time! indie web doesn’t prioritize fast content consumption the way social media does. you’ll get a lot more out of indie websites if you really read what’s in front of you, or take a little while to notice the details in someone’s art gallery instead of just moving on to the next thing. the person who put labor into presenting this information to you would also love to know that someone is truly looking and listening.

explore! by clicking links on a website, it’s easy to go down rabbitholes of more and more websites that you can get lost in for hours.

seeking out fansites or pages for the stuff you love is great and fulfilling, but reading someone’s site about a topic you’ve never even heard of before can be fun, too. i encourage you to branch out and really look for all the indie web has to offer.

i hope this post helps you get started with using and browsing the indie web! feel free to shoot me an ask if you have any questions or want any advice. <3

[thepigeonsopinion]

So, "Hack San" was released...

The episode "Hack San" has finally been released and here I am now, about to go on and on about the episode :) But first let's do a small summary or synopsis of the episode!

Warning: Spoilers to the episode "Hack San"

Summary:

The episode starts off with Marinette trying to make up excuses to stay in Paris/home, instead of going to London to visit her Aunt. So far, all of her attempts have been failures. Marinette then has no choice but to leave Paris with her family. Meanwhile, Gabriel or Shadowmoth creates a new sentimonster with the name of Hack San, which is a virus that allows for Markov to be vulnerable to an akuma. Then, Marinette contacts Alya to meet her at the train station before she is to leave. Marinette gives Alya the Ladybug miraculous trusting her to protect Paris while she is gone. Alya has a chat with the kwami's, Tikki and Trixx, in which they tell her the ups and downs of being the holder of the Ladybug miraculous and the guardian of the miracle box. Alya returns to the park that she was hanging out at before Marinette contacted her. At the park, Alya starts to fuss over everyone's emotions, mainly if they are feeling any negative emotions. Meanwhile, Markov is effected by the virus and is akumatized by Shadowmoth and becomes Robustus. Robustus then (through the internet) takes control of people and orders them to give him their most prized possessions. While on the train, Marinette's parents are affected by Robustus, which leads to Marinette being captured by Robustus. It is then Alya's responsibility to protect Paris. Alya transforms into her version of Ladybug, and while she is trying to find her new super hero name she is met with Chat Noir. Chat Noir does not immediately trusts the new super heroine and suspects they are the villain. However, this distrust is cut short because of the akuma Robustus still being at large. Robustus orders everyone to capture Ladybug and Chat Noir. The super heroes hear a person crying for help and while Chat Noir is at first suspicious, Alya heads straight to where the civilian's voice was heard. This turns out to be a trap and the super heroes are forced to run into a building where they are also trapped by Robustus. Alya summons her Lucky Charm to aid her in this situation. Alya or Scarabella receives a frying pan. This leads her to think of a plan to manipulate Robustus to release the people's possessions in exchange for both her and Chat Noir. Robustus agrees to this and releases all of the objects and among those objects is Marinette who catches on quickly to the plan and uses the frying pan to release the akuma. The super heroes are released as well and Alya uses her Miraculous Ladybug. And as always, Paris is saved once again. A few days later, Marinette and her family are back from her trip and Alya suggest Marinette/Ladybug go talk to Chat Noir, and she does. Ladybug and Chat Noir have a talk about how someone knows about Ladybug's secret identity and Chat's new found fear that Ladybug might not be there anymore, in which Ladybug gives him the reassurance that she won't be going anywhere. And, the episode ends.

Yay! Another very detailed and unnecessary summary of the episode! Welp! It's too late now. :|

Anyway! Now onto my opinion or thoughts on the episode!

(Also I'm re-watching the episode as I do this so this might have some unnecessary details. Anyway, carry on!)

First things first the, I know that Marinette is trying to get out of going to London and staying in Paris, but I swear her excuses are getting weaker. I swear she had better excuses in the earlier seasons or is it just me? Not to mention, since Marinette is so desperate to stay in Paris she purposefully trips down the stairs. Damn the dedication and I mean, I know that Marinette needs to stay in Paris just in case, but she has left Paris like three times now, you would think that she would have a backup plan if anything happened in Paris when she wasn't there (and I'll talk about one of her solutions later on *cough cough Scarabella cough cough*). Also, Tom's desperation and persistence for Marinette to come on the trip is kinda amusing. And the not so subtle jabs at the aunt :0

Moving on! Ummm Nooroo and Dusuu you know that Gabriel is RIGHT there right? I mean he could probably hear what your saying. Also, Gabriel are you just deaf or did you not just hear what they said? Because their right behind you. When Shadowmoth made Hack San, was the weird "Haah" sound really necessary? Also, why does the virus, USB thingy low key look like Nino's shirt logo. Are they somehow connected? Or did they just run out of ideas for the design? (Not me being salty over a sentimonsters design) Why the fuck is this robot doing like three things at the same time? I know that he's a robot, but come on.

Hmmmm. No other option you say? What about bringing the Horse miraculous with you like in Startrain? Or use the cosmic suits that can legit let you fly around the world? Come on, let's be honest here giving Alya the Ladybug miraclulous wasn't the ONLY option. Claps to Alya for doing a fake doubting act, but in reality just trying to think of a new superhero name. You almost got me there Astruc, you almost made me thought that Alya had her doubts about taking over for Marinette, but in reality is just super excited to take over. Props to you my dude, props! Also, I'm not going to lie Alya all of your name ideas are kinda weak, I mean the fandom has better name ideas than you do, but then again that is to be expected. Props to the kwamis for putting all the pressure that Marinette has on her back and transferring it to Alya. Thank you for making Alya aware of all the pressure Marinette's under. Even if Alya's probably not going to bring it up and probably will just brush it off. Yes, Alya just keep telling your self that this weekend is going to be totally chill. Not to mention, Tikki being more supportive to Alya than to Marinette, whaaaaaaaaaaa- :0. Alya you just told yourself that this weekend was going to be chill why the heck are you making your life harder for yourself. To be honest, if your acting like this already you deserve whatever is coming for you. Marinette, honey, why the fuck do you need to right down 675 tips for Alya? I mean I get 33 tips even 40, but 675, really? Not to mention, the tip about laughing at Chat Noir's jokes even if they aren't funny just to make him happy, why the fuck do you need to keep him happy he could be mad, upset, or sad and I wouldn't give a fuck :p.

I will say this again, how the fuck does a multi-intelligent robot that is connected the world wide web, that is also doing at least 4 things at the same time get tempted and corrupted by a virus by clicking on a cute kitty cat ad. HOW!?! EXPLAIN THAT TO ME!?!

Okay, so remember when we thought we were actually going to get a canon Marcenial moment. Hahaha welp Astruc you've done it again you have crushed our shipping dreams again. I hope your proud of yourself. Also, the most precious possession to Marc is his and Nathaniel's manga/comic, really?

Damn the amount of times this girl makes us and Trixx second guess that she's doubting herself, like she's done it three times now. Not to mention, why is her ladybug suit more detailed than Marinette's hmmm? I mean, don't get me wrong I like the design, but why can't Marinette have a detailed suit like this? Also why is Alya acting like The Owl? *Hoot Hoot!* I also just realised that the kwamis are a bit territorial, well not Tikki, but Plagg and Trixx have proven themselves to be a bit territorial of their holders.

I love Chat Noir's distrust to Alya as Ladybug because this shows a different side of Chat Noir that Paris doesn't see, but does Alya see this and realize how much of a ass he is? Nope. Also, not going to lie, his distrust kinda amuses me. Carrying on! Chat Noir, I can hear the toxic jealousy from here my dude, you might want to tone it down a bit, you've got a audience here you know. You know, I was expecting him to say his most prized possession was Ladybug, or even his kwami, Plagg, but I wasn't expecting him to say croquettes. OMG! GUYS! IT'S HAPPENING! CHAT IS FINALLY BEING CAUTIOUS FOR ONCE INSTEAD OF IMMEDIATELY JUMPING INTO TROUBLE!!! Also, Chat Noir being responsible whaaaaaaa- :0. Ummm, why the fuck did they just run into a building, when they legit could've jumped out of that mess, like seriously why isn't anyone using their head today?

Moving on! Why the heck is most of this episode just Alya trying to think of a super hero name like seriously, I know it's supposed to be some kinda of gag, but it's starting to get a bit annoying. Chat Noir being supportive to Alya: *slow clap*. When Alya's whole plan is to just to leave everything up to Marinette, Me: Wow! I TOtAlLy didn't see that coming! Hehehe Chat Noir with a pot over his head. You know, I thought upset Chat Noir was enough for this episode, but now we get sad Chat Noir and Ladybug reassuring him, just wow, you have out done yourself Astruc.

AND! That's that end of the episode! So all in all, this episode wasn't that bad? But it wasn't my favorite (maybe one of my least favorite tbh :0) Mainly, because of the appearance of Scarabella and ladybug catering to Chat Noir needs. This is probably mainly because I'm a bit biased, but in my opinion and I will repeat in MY OPINION I don't think Alya really deserves to get the miraculous. I mean yeah, Marinette has given her trust to her and has told her that she is Ladybug, but has she really done anything to show that she deserves that trust. If I'm being honest she has shown more reasons for Marinette not to trust her. One of the reasons being that Alya doesn't fully trust Marinette herself, and the other being that she disobeyed Marinette by telling Nino that she is still Rena Rouge and not telling her that she did so.

Anyway! Those are most of my thought's on this episode. This has been a loooong week for me with the addition of school now. So expect me to be posting more on the weekends than on weekdays.

Anywho! I hope everyone has a great rest of their day. And always remember...

But that's just my opinion (・ε・)

(This week has been soooo tiring and with the edition of this episode and a sneak peek of a new episode coming up, I know it's only beginning. *smiles through the pain :)*)

[coppercabbage]

Today’s Hot Tip Tuesday answers all your burning questions about Lorem Ipsum! I show some of my faves from around the web and simplify what the heck web designers mean when they utter the words Lorem Ipsum. 

If you need help getting your web project on the go, ask away!

[gamingso965]

Where can i get a gaming pc without the accessories

50 Ideal Gaming Web sites To Take a look at In 2017

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GAMING Is Essential For the Success. Read This To Find Out Why

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[an-unknown-writers-world]

Breaking Routine

Day Seven: Ice Skating

Part of @panicfob​ 25 Days of Christmas Challenge

Warnings: Angst

Pairing:  Bucky Barnes X Reader (First Person, Nameless) ; Sam Wilson x Reader(platonic)

 Word Count: 2171

A/N:  The beginning of this series can be found on my Masterlist if you’ve missed any of this.

-----------------------------------------------

It had been a long, hard quiet day. I woke up with the worst hangover I’d had since freshman year of college, although I was at a loss for which was worse, my alcohol hangover or the emotional turmoil, I was feeling. The day had been full of things that were amiss, I woke up later than normal, so Bucky had come and gone by the time I made breakfast. I had tried to go for a run but lacked any motivation, I even tried a few rounds with the heavy bag and couldn’t stay focused on it. Most of the day had passed even into the evening and I was yet to see Bucky and believe me, I had looked everywhere.

I was beginning to think that game night was a bad idea or at least the alcohol part of it. I had practically thrown myself at Bucky and haven’t seen him since. I thought we were fine afterward, at least I was fine. I understood his thought process and I respected his decision even when every fiber of my being wanted to fight him. 

After eating dinner, I realized pacing the house wasn’t getting me anywhere and I had already done all the laundry and dishes I could find. So, I found myself on the couch in the theater room watching ice skating. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted from being so inside my own head. I wasn’t sure how long I had been there before Sam moseyed in. 

“You look miserable,” Sam said plopping into the chair next to the couch.

“Gee, thanks,” I replied not pulling my eyes from the tv.

“Maria says hello.”

I frowned, I hadn’t seen Maria in weeks, I didn’t even know she was back in town. She calls most if not all of the missions still. “You got to see her?”

“She got back into town last night, she’ll be here for a few weeks.” 

“Hope I’ll get to see her,” I said looking at him.

“You will, she’s gonna be at the Stark Christmas party thing, I get to be her plus one.” He grinned, “Guess Barnes is the only one not coming. That is unless you’re taking him.”

I shrugged. “We haven’t talked about it.”

“I just assumed with as cozy as you two have been lately, that it didn’t need to be talked about.” Sam pushed.

“Well, you shouldn’t assume Sam.” My tone came out harsher than I intended. “If things were so peachy between us maybe he wouldn’t have vanished the entire day after I practically threw myself at him.” 

“Whoa,” He sighed. “That wasn’t the response I was expecting.”

Grabbing the pillow next to me, I fiddled with the threaded design. Fidgeting had always been my give away for anxiety, ever since I was a little girl. I hadn’t intended to tell Sam any of this, it really wasn’t any of his business.

“You wanna talk about it?” He asked.

I shrugged, “Not much to say. We were all drunk, I asked him to stay with me and he told me no. He went to bed and I haven’t seen him since.”

“That’s it he just said no?” 

“Well not technically, he gave me a noble speech about how he refused to stay with me if alcohol was involved in my decision making.” I rolled my eyes. “Sometimes his old-fashioned personality can be really frustrating.” 

“Dude’s got some morals though. And as much as it pains me to defend him, there’s not a whole heck of a lot of those he can hold onto still. Mind control kind of robs you of a lot of those.”

I was shocked at Sam’s defense of Bucky; he had incredibly valid points, but this was progress for them. “That’s the things Sam, I’m not even mad at him for it.” I sighed realizing things for myself for the first time today. “I’m mad at myself for doing it, to begin with, it wasn’t the right time and I knew that I just didn’t want to be apart from him. The thing that upsets me the most is that he’s been gone for god only knows how long and I haven’t heard from him.”

“He left around nine-thirty this morning,” Sam stated,

I looked at him confused.

“We interacted over coffee this morning.”

“You interacted? Like you had a conversation?” I laughed.

“Not sure I’d call it that,” He shrugged. “He grumbled about him being an idiot and an asshole, which I naturally agreed with.”

“Sam,” I chided 

“I didn’t know what was going on.” He urged, “If I did, I probably would have just sent him back upstairs to fix it.” 

“Do you know where he went?” 

“He didn’t say specifically, just that he was going to see a friend.”

“Ugh,” I threw the pillow in my face.

“That was a bit dramatic.”

“Shush. I’ve been stewing all day.” 

“What are you watching anyway?” Sam asked looking at the tv.

“Figure skating.” 

“Never understood the point of it, ice rinks are for hockey, not dance parties.”

I laughed, “Those girls are more athletic than you are.”

“How do you figure?”

We went back and forth bickering about pointless facts about ice skating in general. I had always knowns I was too clumsy to ever put myself on ice, but that didn’t stop me from watching it every winter that I could. We agreed that each use of an ice rink required specific skills that neither of us possessed. Eventually, he decided it was time for him to find food and get a workout in.

“Also, before I forget, Morgan and Peter are coming over tomorrow to build Gingerbread houses.” 

“Morgan can stay, the other kid’s gotta go.”

“You can’t hate him for webbing you forever. Will you turn the light off?” I called out as he got to the doorway. 

“It’s bad for your eyesight,” He replied, turning the light out anyways.

I wasn’t sure I cared about my eyesight at the moment, instead, I snuggled further into the couch pulling the blanket off the back; I stretched out with my head on one of the armrests. Focusing on the screen I tried to clear my mind and just focus on the tv, watching their beautiful rhythm, the smooth glides broke up by intense twists and jumps. It was mesmerizing really. I’m not sure how long I stayed that way, but it must have been a while.

“It’s beautiful,” Bucky said from the doorway. “Can I come in?”

“It’s a public space,” I stated,

He didn’t respond, instead, he came to sit on the couch. Carefully lifting my legs so they laid across his lap with the blanket. We had sat this way every night to watch the news lately, it was comfortable, but it felt wrong with my current mood. Neither of us spoke through the next routine, but it wasn’t the comfortable silence I was used to. It was thick with unspoken tension and unheard emotions.

“I’ve always had an irrational fear that I would fall and get my wrist sheared off by the blade of a skate,” Bucky confessed breaking the silence.

I looked him a little confused at first, “Always, like since you were a little kid?”

He nodded, “Even Steve would go ice skating; granted he usually broke or bruised something. But I was always content to sit on the side and watch. Did you ever skate growing up?” He asked.

I shook my head, “The town I grew up didn’t have any kind of ice rink and the nearest city that did was about two hours away. Even if it did, I don’t think I’d ever try. I’m too clumsy, I’d be afraid of falling.”

“Isn’t it funny how we let the fear of falling keep us from doing things we think we’d enjoy.” Bucky mused. 

He spoke so softly I wasn’t sure I was meant to hear it. I sat hesitantly wanting to speak, there were a hundred topics on the tip of my tongue, where had he been all day, did he leave because he couldn’t face me, was he okay? I wanted to apologize for my actions the night before, but then I wondered did they really require an apology, me vocalizing something that I wanted. 

I was beginning to feel like our relations the last few days was like a figure skating routine, long smooth glides, the steady build of our friendship, the first twist with the cookies, the curving glides with the tree and stitches episode and that first jump on the sleigh ride. Routines end, sometimes they end poorly with the skater crashing to the ground, other times they end with a beautiful bow.

“Can I turn this off so we can talk for a few minutes?” Bucky asked. 

This didn’t sound good.

“Sure, you’ll want to turn on the lamp behind you.”

He reached behind him flipping on the light and quickly powered the tv off. Turning ever so slightly, my legs still across his lap but his body facing me almost head-on now. The serious expression on his face was impossible to read.

“I owe you an apology,” He started.

“No, you don’t.” I interrupted. “I owe you one.”

Bucky sighed, “Please, let me.”

I nodded, agreeing to shut up so he could speak.

“I let my fear of falling stop me last night. There were so many different, better ways that I could have handled that last night. Neither of us wanted to be alone, I knew that’s what it was. We don’t have to sleep together to sleep together.” I smiled at the way he emphasized the first sleep. “I should have been more open and talked about it. I need to be honest with you, completely honest.”

“You haven’t shared a bed with anyone in eighty years?” I joked.

“Har, har.” He pretended to laugh.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

He reached out to grab my hand. “This terrifies me.” He confessed. “I don’t know how to do this; I barely knew how to do it in the ’40s. Last night after I went to bed and I heard your door close I got back up. I stood outside your room for a while, long enough to hear the crying. It killed me, I promised you back on the sleigh that I’d never break your heart and that’s exactly what I did last night.”

“Buck,” I sighed. “You did not break my heart. I was upset, but I was also drunk and overly emotional. I should have been clearer; I was asking you to stay the night with me not jump my bones.”

Bucky laughed, “What?”

I blushed, “You don’t know what jumping someone’s bones means?”

“Can’t say that I do, doll.”

“Well, it means to have sex.” 

“Oh,” He laughed.

“Let me be perfectly honest. You never have to apologize for having morals and not wanting to cross a line at a certain point. I know that there are some things I am more comfortable with than you might be. We grew up in different time periods. There’s nothing wrong with that.” I scooted down the couch to be closer to him, “I don’t want you to be afraid to say no to something because you’re afraid you’ll upset me.”

He nodded,

“You know the thing that upset me the most wasn’t even what happened last night. It sounds stupid, but I missed you at breakfast and everywhere I went in the compound today, you weren’t there. I didn’t know where you were.”

He smiled at me weakly, “You could have called or text. I was just in the city.”  

I looked down at where our fingers were intertwined, “I thought you were avoiding me.” 

“I was trying to give you space because I thought you were upset with me.”

“We really suck at thinking we know how each other is feeling.” I chuckled.

Bucky lifted my chin with his metal finger, “I’m not the best at saying how I feel sometimes.”  

He leaned forward pressing his lips to my forehead. When he pulled back, I looked up at his stormy blue eyes pulling me in like gravity. In one fluid motion, I closed the distance between us again pressing my lips to his. It was a sweet and gentle kiss, unspoken words of forgiveness and love shared. When we finally broke the kiss, I leaned my head in the crook of his neck trying to catch my breath. 

“I think that’s better than my stumbling over words.” Bucky laughed quietly.

“I don’t know, I like your words,” I replied pulling back to look at him again.

“You’re biased,” He kissed me chastely.

“I could get used to that.” I smiled.

He kissed my lips again, then forehead, the tip of my nose, before coming back and finding my lips once again. 

If this was our figure skating routine for the day, I’ll take it as a smooth gliding victory. 

[thebibliomancer]

Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Tactics liveblog pt 10

So I'd like to keep uniting the clans but the only mission on the map is the quest for the Dual Glaive. Which, hey, will help unite the clans! And maybe might check the Grottan off the map.

So this is the All Grottan Proving Myself Power Hour!

Lets go for it!

Mission: The Threaded - Outer Domrak

"The heroes head to the Caves of Grot to seek out the Dual Glaive. But someone, or something, has beaten them there."

Probably spiders. Right? Lots of spiders.

So, hey. I wonder what kept the arathim from trying to retake the Caves of Grot before making a treaty with the Skeksis.

Perhaps they were too afraid of reprisals to gather in force. The arathim we see prior are individuals hanging out, causing trouble, hucking rocks at traffic.

Then again it might be because last time they gathered a big army, Ordon kicked their asses.

Theres a lot of stuff going on in this map that I don't understand.

So Deet, Gurjin, Kylan, Breg, and Alyadon can handle it.

Its arbitrary choosing but it does get Deet in the Deet mission.

Deet: "Come along everyone. We're almost to my home."

And then Threaders take over some friendly Grottan.

Yeesh theres way too many Threaders on this stage. Like just way too many.

Ah, the other glowy things are runes that give you a stat boost if you're standing on them. Weird place to introduce them but I'm game.

Actually, I like that the game is still introducing new stuff to the levels even this far in. Some trpgs peter out by this point. Lore-wise its baffling but gameplay wise, its a nice addition.

I swear sometimes Final Fantasty Tactics Advance got too into my brain because everytime I go to make a move in Age of Resistance Tactics I wonder 'wait is this against the law'

Don't want a Skeksis to teleport in and red card me.

Hm. I know that this is how the gameplay works but I feel bad beating this threaded Gelfling unconscious considering that a) they're Deet's friends, b) in the story Deet and Rian won over the Arathim by treating the threaded Gelfling as worthy of protection, and c) the Arathim I'm beating to death are going to be my friends later.

Oo, there's three spaces left on my characters list, I wonder if one is an Arathim!

... Probably not.

I'm just rotating this level around and around taking in all of the beautiful level design. Not that the rest of the game hasn't been pretty but there's a lot of detail in the Caves of Grot.

Geez, purge rot was excessive on a threader. I just don't want them to get close to poor, precious Deet.

Okay, purging rot on that threaded Mender who only had a sliver of health really was excessive.

This level is pretty easy after that dern Chamberlain fight. As long as you're careful of the Threaders range its basically a cake walk.

Still, worth level ups for all of my cool peeps.

Deet learned Life Exchange (swap HP percentage with a targeted ally, this feels super situational), Gurjin learned Hold Position (casts barrier on self if end turn without moving), Breg learned Blindside (attack a blinded or stunned enemy for extra damage, Breg thats fighting dirty!), Kylan learned Carapace (its the barrier move), and Alyadon learned Convalesce (AOE heal, nice).

---

Mission: Homebound - Domrak Dwellings

"Deet and the heroes race back to Domrak with the Arathim chasing them at every turn."

The game perhaps tipped its hand a little too early with the Arathim for I am slightly wearied fighting spiders. Hopefully by the end of this run of missions, that'll be at an end.

Party: Deet (this is still her questline), Rian, Rek'yr, Hup, and Boggi.

Letsss goooo

Deet: "Hellooo, I'm home! Lath'N, Mitjan, Bob'N? Are you here?"

Deet: "Wait, look at them! These Gelfling are being controlled like the others!"

Threaded Gelfling: "We are the Ascendency!"

Rian: "The Arathim are behind this! We have to stop them!"

Rian we have been dealign with this for a while. No duh the Arathim are behind this.

Me: "Oh this level doesn't look so bad either. There's a couple threaders, pretty far from me. Couple threaded Gelfling. Very managable."

Arathim spitter: -webs down from the ceiling- "SURPRISE"

Dammit, one of the damn threaders got Boggi! Not the dooooooog!

Annnnnd also Hup.

That spiraled out of control fast. With two of my peeps on their side they outnumbered me. I managed to get it down to one Rian vs one giant spider and alas, the spider won as Rian was too demoralized after having to beat Hup and Boggi unconscious.

TRYING AGAIN

LOSING AGAIN

Got Hup threaded again like an idiot and things were going well until they weren't and then I lost.

Ugh.

Trying Rian, Reky'r, Boggi, Brea, and Kylan for the heck of it.

Ok, that time went really well. So fast that the last Arathim spitter and devourer didn't even spawn. It really helped to have Brea to nail the threaders from a distance with LEGALLY DISTINCT FIREBALL.

EVERYONE LEVEL UP! yayyyy~

Rian learned Deafening Roar and Bandage because Stone Warden is generous, Rek'yr learned Bash, Brea and Boggi leveled and got NOTHING, and Kylan learned how to Dreamfast. Kind of late in his life to be learning that but lets not make fun.

I also got a Cooking Spit, which may make a cracking new spear for Naia.

Dang, its the special spear of the Grottan and it has decenty stats. That's going right on Naia.

---

Mission: Save Bobb'N - Deet's Home

"Just when our heroes thought they had dealt with the Arathim problem, Darkened Nurlocks show up"

SPIDERS AND WORMS

I wonder if Spider Bobb'N is going to be an ally.

Well, he's on the map and he sure looks not hostile.

Geez this map is whack. The spawning squares are all over the place.

So Deet and Rian to the left, Naia at the top, and Rek'yr and Brea at the bottom right. This is arbitrary.

Deet: "Bobb'N, is that you?"

Bobb'N: "We... no Bobb'N. We... Ascendency!"

Deet: "Oh, Bobb'N... Not you, too! Wait, what is that sound? Darkened Nurlocks! Oh, no, Bobb'N is in danger!"

.... APPARENTLY the mission objective is to plug the nurloc holes with boulders. Or with bodies. =|

Good news is that I DO get to control Bobb'N, with a spider in his little portrait.

Iiiiii accidentally dropped a boulder on Rek'yr crushing him for max damage.

Whoops.

And things slowly went downhill from there. The nurloc holes pop out infinite nurlocs. And I couldn't get to the last one because everytime a nurloc spawned it would move out and boom new worm.

Trying Rian, Deet in lower right. Naia and Hup on left. Gurjin on top.

And that went better. Although it was a little touch and go. I used Bobb'n to knock the boulder and not crush Rek'yr into paste but that put him into range of a nurloc who hurt him bad.

But it went well. I got Hup and Rian to stand in holes for most of the level.

Pfft all it takes for Deet to convince the Ascendency Bobb'n is 'hey the skeksis have tricked you, join us' which is slightly less than it took in the show.

Annnnd level ups!

Naia learned Smite (consume an attack up status for massive damage, definitely feels like a good fit for Naia)! Hup learned Sharpen Teeth (give critical chance up to allied beast and any adjacent targets) and Natural Resistance (the same but Shell)! Yes thats right, he leveled twice! Deet and Rian leveled and learned nothing! Gurjin learned Tangle Up (attack and inflict move down to all adjacent targets)!

---

Mission: Finding Sanctuary - Sanctuary Tree

"With the Arathim and Gelfling working together, the heroes must help everyone escape the Darkening within the caves"

Not only Bobb'N but a friendly Arathim unit on this map perhaps??

Thats what I was hoping for!

So for my party I pick Deet and Rian because they were here in the plot, Breg and Rek'yr because they need some more leveling like always, and Boggi because he has a delightful face which takes up most of his body.

Another mission where the objective is to book it to the glowy exit square, in this case the roots of the Sanctuary Tree.

And I do get to control Bobb'N again.

AND I DO GET TO CONTROL ARATHIM! Nice, nice. Got Blinding Spray, Spit, and Sticky Web as abilities. No regular attack, just spitting.

Oh but I do see that all of my allies have to survive as a mission objective. Anyone bites it and I'm sunk.

And I have to get the Grottan and Arathim to the exit. Thatssss Deet, Bobb'N, Arathim and... it says 0/4 so I'm confused here. I don't think I have another Grottan or Arathim. And Bobb'N doesn't count twice, the spider is off his face.

Maybe I just need to fill up the glowy exit squares.

Okay, I moved Boggi onto the exit square and didn't get a 1/4 so huh.

Also a damn windsifter just came over and wiped out half of Deet's life in one attack. Eesh.

Ok Deet just died and I didn't lose so I think only Bobb'N and Arathim can't die. Cool. Glad this level's objectives are clear.

Yup, Bobb'n died and the level ended. Cool. Good learning experience.

My strategy this time is to box in Bobb'N and Arathim. Just surround them in buff individuals and also Deet and Kylan.

So I have Rian, Deet and Kylan, Gurjin and Naia.

O I C, I got Bobb'N to the exit and it spawned in another Arathim. So I gotta keep doing this until I get four to the exits.

And more enemies are spawning in too.

Oh neat, the new Arathim is a Devourer with different abilities than the spitter. Devourers can actually Attack. Have Sticky Web. But also have Devour which does much damage to a rooted enemy. Neat.

Got an Arathim out and a random Grottan spawned. Couldn't even make it one of Deet's dads, huh?

Oops, Deet died. =(

Oops, Rian died. =(

Gurjin avenged him.

And Rando Grottan avenged Deet. But this angered the video game gods, or maybe I knocked too many enemies off the field because a whole bunch lot just spawned in.

Good news is that I got three people evacuated and the random Grottan is on his way and not close to any enemies. Though my named characters will take a blow, the mission objectives will escape.

I really only have Naia, Gurjin, and Kylan on the field besides the random Grottan. The big three. Best pals.

VICTORY! And then the tree gets eaten off screen by nurlocs because we're not making the assets for that, there's no budget for assets that get used once.

Also Deet maybe doesn't absorb the knowledge of the Dark Side but who can say.

Woo, everyone levels up except Rian! Deet learns Earthen Roots (AOE Root spell, nice), Kylan learns Cleanse (clears status effects), Gurjin and Naia learn nothing because they're already perfect!

AND NEW CHARACTER! Its Wukki. He's another fizzgig. He just kind of comes out of nowhere in terms of playable characters. I would have liked to keep a spider. And I get another Grottan Cooking Spit but geez, Naia can't dual wield and she's the only one that uses spears in my party.

Wukki is a Fizzgig Herder. The fighter to Boggi's Medic. He also comes at lvl 19, my highest leveled guy right off the bat. He has Get 'Em! (attack and inflict wounded for three turns), Mad Gnash (attack all adjacent targets, and a good pun), On Guard (self barrier), Startle (Inflict Attack Down on an enemy for 3 turns and delay its next turn), Nuzzle (Grant Accuracy Up to an ally for five turns, awww), Embolden (Grant Attack Up to allies within 2 tiles after landing a Critical Hit), Provoke (Inflict Berserk to targets in a cone), Silent Assassin? (gain critical chance up at the start of turn while afflicted by silence), Sneaky Little... (Apply Haste and Silence to self for three turns, oo combo potential), and Fuzzy Meteor (jump down to a lower elevation and damage all adjacent targets, seems very situational).

Oof thats a lot to drop on me, game! I have to pick only five out of this!

The characters all have bios and short descriptions. I've been glancing at them but maybe I should share them later. Here's Wukki's since he's the new guy.

"Wukki is a physical fighting Fizzgig Herder"

"Wukki is an excitable, young Fizzgig. He was raised by Podlings as a Nebrie-herder. When his entire Nebrie herd succumbed to the Darkening, he blindly chased after them. Ultimatley, this left him lost and alone in the Caves of Grot, until a Gelfling family found him and took him in."

That was an emotional rollercoaster

How about Boggi?

"Boggi is a supporting Fizzgig Medic"

"Boggi is a clever and loyal Fizzgig. Boggi has been a pet and aid to the scholars in the Library of Ha'rar. He took a particular liking ot Brea, who would always bring him treats whenever she would come to visit."

Wait, I've been assuming that Boggi was her pet but she stole him from the library? Damn, Brea, I don't know what a library ever did to you that you've done so much to them!

So two more spaces on the party page. Who will it be.

---

Cutscene: The Dual Glaive

Deet: "The tree... My home... It's all gone."

Rian, can't read the mood: "And the Dual Glaive is lost with it."

Maudra Argot: "Dual Glaive, you say? I have that right here!"

God its just as convenient as in the show.

Maudra Argot: "But this is only part of the whole. To unlock its true power, you must find the other half. Head to Stone-in-the-Wood. You will find it where your father, Ordon, left it."

Cool, cool, cool.

And the plot splits again. Alyadon offers to go talk to the Sifa and Brea to the Vapra. Uh, is Seladon an issue in this narrative? Is she doing her Seladon thing? Brea maybe be careful. Kylan offers to talk to the Spriton.

So thats three clans open for me to prove myself to. And Rian decided he won't grab the cool endgame sword until the clans are united.

Rian, you've got it backwards. The sword unites them. I saw it happen on the show.

Anyway, this went on loooong. Provided there's not a ridiculously huge number of missions, I'll try to unite a clan an update.

[guruji]

The 5 Biggest Mistakes of Web Design

Anyone who faces the challenge of having a website built faces a very daunting task, indeed. You know your business needs a web site, or perhaps you need to rebuild what you've already got. Getting this right is a delicate balance of business objectives, usability for the web, and search engine promotion. Getting it wrong is what this article is designed to help you avoid. Here are the five biggest mistakes you must avoid.

1. Not establishing objectives

Without a thorough plan to kick things off, what are you building? It's kind of like showing up at the airport one day and saying, "I'm going on a vacation." Where are you going? Where will you stay when you get there? How long will you go for? Can you afford it? Did you ask your boss for the time off? Did you shut off the oven?

To start, figure out what you want the benefits of your website to be. Forget about the bells and whistles required to make it happen; that's the job of your web designer. Establish what you want your website do for your business. Some examples: generate leads, sell your products/services right on the website, reduce administrative tasks, brand your company, pre-qualify prospects, recruit employees – the things a website can do for your company are virtually limitless. Establish your objectives and ensure that you and your web designer understand them fully.

2. Ignoring your customers

We're talking about your messaging here. It's so easy to write your content from an internal perspective. What you want to say, what you think is compelling, what you think matters. What about your customers? Don't forget that you need to convince them to do business with you. The key to writing good, customer content is to understand the "why". Why should your customers buy from you? You might think you know, but a good dose of objective research will uncover the truth. Capitalize on your unique selling proposition from the perspective of how it benefits your customers.

You will also need to use proper web style in your writing. Your content should be well organized, highly scan-able, easy to digest, and to the point. If you can organize it in a "pyramid" style, even better. This is where the most important, compelling information is presented first, and deeper information follows (such as technical specifications). Depending on your strengths this may be difficult for you to produce, so you may consider hiring a professional writer or copywriter.

3. Forgetting the marketing

There is an old Kevin Costner baseball movie that has an analogy that is so cliched I simply cannot bring myself to repeat it. In the realm of baseball and the afterlife it may be true, but in the world of the web, it sure isn't. When your website is built, it is an island; and a deserted one at that. Your customers don't know about it and neither do the search engines. You need to tell them. You need to market your website. Getting your website noticed by the right people is key. You're not actually marketing to search engines here. Search engines are simply a means to an end. You need to market to your customers. You must understand that your customers use different online methods to find what you sell; and this most likely includes search engines.

You may also consider newsletter advertising, email advertising, PR campaigns, social networking, etc. The exact approach you need to take depends on your objectives, how your target audience looks for what you sell, your budget, your industry, etc.

4. Not measuring the results

So, how did you do? You built a great web site and marketed the heck out of it. How many people came to your site? How many became leads? How many leads did you turn into customers? How much were they worth? What content did your visitors like and not like? {Insert your own redundant questions here}

Just like any marketing venture, you must measure the results in order to find out if it was successful. I'm talking about things like:

A tracking plan. Your leads might call you instead of buying online or using your contact form. You need a plan to track them, and how they found you. If you're running offline marketing campaigns, setup a separate domain name, create a unique web page, or use a separate 800 number. Online forms specific to a marketing campaign can be really useful as well Statistics and reporting. Good statistics can tell you a lot about how people use your website. Google Analytics is a wonderful package, easy to install, and totally free. More than this, you need to understand the numbers, and draw conclusions. This takes quite a lot of practice and understanding. A professional web design or marketing company can help you with this. Adapt. Use your results, don't just read them. This will invariably require consulting with an expert again, but you need to act on your results to improve them. This is an on-going process forever.

5. Getting Paralyzed

A lot of web design projects never see the light of day because they get mired down in perpetual planning. There comes a time when you need to act. You won't get it perfect the first time out (or ever), but you've got to move. If you aim, re-aim and re-aim forever, you'll never actually get off a shot Aim – shoot – repeat.

A quick caveat: I'm not telling you to put up a poorly written and poorly constructed web site just to have something; that can be very dangerous. A bad website can turn customers away and, even worse, have them poison your business through negative word of mouth. What I am telling you to do is to not get paralyzed trying to perfect your plan. Hiring the right team of experts can get you on track, and get things moving.

Hopefully this article helps steer you away from the most common (and dangerous) pitfalls of web design. Whether you hire a professional, create your site internally, or do it on your own from start to finish, keep these tips in mind.

By avoiding these five common mistakes you can ensure that your website has a fighting chance. Let this article serve as a map so you can avoid, at a minimum, some of the bigger and more costly detours.

Thanks and regards, Guruji Softwares 

[gotodigitalguy]

What is a Sales Funnel and How Does it Work?

Hun, You're Speaking Greek To Me... My wife has an extensive computer and I. T. background, and she's fairly attracted to web site design and HTML code. Before she took on the full time job of being mom, and heck, even now, your lady talks computer language that I simply don't understand. It just never clicked with me. I'd always tell her I saw it no clue to what she was talking about when she and another computer tech would get together. Well, today, here I am as an internet marketer, and of course we have lingo that we use that most people have NO CLUE about. There are even a few internet marketers that have no clue as to what certain lingo actually means. I know I didn't when first started off this internet entrepreneur path. I remember reading Mike Dillards "Magnetic Sponsoring" almost two years ago and asking average joe "What the hell is a funded proposal? " And "How do you make a sales funnel? " I had virtually no clue at all what those terms meant. Fast forward 2 years and here I sit now instructing some others on what "Funded Proposal" and "Sales Funnel" actually mean. In reality they are truly simple concepts. Let's tackle gross sales funnel first, because as we get into what a sales funnel is, it becomes apparent what a funded proposal is usually. Sales Funnel - As I Was Taught A sales funnel is typically seen with an attraction marketing system. (I've supplied a diagram here at the bottom of the article since some people are more visual learners). It all starts off with the marketing techniques you're using. That's essentially the opening of the funnel. You have your marketing resources catching people's attention and attracting them into the funnel. They enter the funnel once they fill out the form on your PERSONAL lead capture page. My partner and i say "personal" because no one is going to opt in on your business lead capture page. They want to join a standard, not a business. The lead capture page is the entrance into the funnel - when they click that "Sign In place Now" or "Enter Here" button, they enter a whole new concept in network marketing. The best part is quite possibly qualifying themselves to do it. It is their decision. You've sold them nothing, other than yourself as a leader, some mentor, and as someone that can show them how to get more leads and more cash into their business. At this point when you start marketing properly, there should be a large number of leads pouring into the sale funnel from your social networking sites (Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, etc . ), flag ads, forums, and blogs. The number of leads will be even larger if you're using Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising - nevertheless that's a different topic for a different time. All of these leads have clicked on an ad, seen your lead seize page, and filled out the form. What happens now? Well, they immediately start receiving e-mail messages from your auto-responder enjoy clockwork on auto-pilot. Building Your List You have probably heard over and over, the money is in your list - ones list of contacts and prospects. Or maybe "monetize your list"? Does that sound familiar? If so, your list is simply that leads that have opted into your personal lead capture page. That's it! The more leads that opt in, the bigger your list grows. I only wanted to clarify this because some people still seem confused as to what a "list" actually means. The Auto-Responder What's in the messages? Well there are different things you want to have in there. First off, a greet message greeting your leads into your site and setting the tone of what to expect in the coming days to weeks, weeks, or months (depending on the number and scheduling of your messages). There are several things you can be offering to most people via the auto-responder. Things to help build your rapport with the lead - like links to valuable options, information about you (your background or your story), who you are, and what you're all about. Essentially ways for any lead to learn more about who you are. Of course one other way to get to know your leads, and vice versa, is to actually telephone them. Crazy concept I know! If a lead includes their number on the form, give them a call! It is a great immeasurable way to build that relationship with your lead and for them to get to know you. There are a METRIC TON of entrepreneurs out there that NEVER do this. Imagine how you will stand out from the crowd just because you took 5-10 minutes to help you call a new lead. They'll love you for it! You can also include an initial boot-camp or training camp scenario as a result of messages and video links that include the training information that you may have offered on your lead capture page. This is another smart way to promote you as a leader because you're giving away your valuable information for free. Back to the auto-responders. Now, don't forget, you're not slamming them with your business right off the bat. You introduce them to that later on down the road. You use the auto-responders so that you can simply tell them about you, help build your relationship, and put in your affiliate links to your affiliate web pages that you use to market yourself. That way, when they click on the links that you offer them, and they purchase something from which site, you get a commission from that sale. This can happen many times or just once. This is how you can get paid more and more even when your leads never join you in your primary business! Remember the Funded Proposal I was hinting about? Well this is the best place to introduce it because it ties in with your affiliate links. The Funded Idea The funded proposal is a vital part to your sales funnel. A funded proposal is the process of the providing of an inexpensive but very useful product to cover the costs of your business, then introducing your actual business later on when your leads have gotten to know you. What it does is fund your business long enough with immediate sales so you can advertise more which brings you more leads, meaning you can sponsor more leads into your primary online business. If done correctly, your expenses should equal $0, or you can actually be making a profit. Examples could be sales from the affiliate links you provide in your auto-responder messages. The resources for affiliate commissions are endless. To mention a few there is Mike Dillard's Magnetic Sponsoring course and all of those products, Ann Sieg's Renegade Marketer course, Perry Marshall's Definitive Guide to Google Adwords, list builders, auto-responders, social networks, e-books, etc . The list can really end up endless. The primary reason for a funded proposal is what I've just gone over - the sales of your low-cost products to fund your business. But there are other reasons as well. 1 . When you have someone that purchases products from your affiliate marketing links or buys your e-books, you have an existing customer as well as their contact information. They are a lead! It can be much easier to introduce them to your affiliate links and products later on rather than a "cold" prospect you've not produced a relationship with. This is how the REAL money is made in network marketing! 2 . Because of the help you've already provided by way of your valuable information in the e-books, you've positioned yourself as a leader, not a salesman. You've offered them simple solution, your advice, your help, and a system. 3. The information they've already bought from you via your online links or your written material is educating & training them. If they choose to become a part of your business along with downline, they're already trained. Your work is darn near complete. 4. The biggest problem with anyone joining your network marketing business is that it can take FOREVER before they feel any sort of positive cash flow. The funded proposal eliminates this issue. Your leads and downline get into positive cashflow quickly and this eliminates burnout or dropout, instead, it encourages confidence and momentum. If you use a funded proposal system, it means positive cash flow for you, endless leads for you, and then a monetary source for more advertising, and even more leads. This is the system that the top income earners are using. They may not be selling their biz opportunity upfront. They sell and promote everything BUT their primary business. The financed proposal drops money into their business and attracts more network marketers to them. Attraction Marketing! Back to the Sales Route Up to this point your leads are getting the e-mails from your auto-responder. They are learning valuable information, techniques, strategies, and even what it takes to become successful in this industry. They're also learning some information about you and the leader that you are. But, We one thing I always do is provide more of who I am. More of me so that my leads not to mention prospects get a better idea of who I am. I simply compose one message and add it into my auto-responder to send out to my leads. That message contains all of the links to my social networking sites - your blog, Face Book, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Better Networker. com, etc . All of those sites contain videos, photos, options, thoughts, tips, and strategies that I give away for free. This way, whatever I post in those sites, my potential customers can get updates about me instantly. Plus they get to look at what I'm up to at any given point and also realize that I'm just a regular Joe. I'm not doing anything special. I just figured out the method to get this to figure for me, so I teach others how to do it as well. Pay it forward! The leads that have made it this very far into the sales funnel are highly qualified leads. They've gone to my lead capture page, they've received a messages via the auto responder, and I've talked with them personally over the phone. They're attending the training phones or webinars. Some leads I even get to meet locally or at conferences. They've visited my web site, seen my profiles on Twitter or Face Book, and subscribed to my newsletters. I've been building a connection with them all. When a lead has made it this far, they are very qualified! The next step is the end of the sales route - the introduction of my primary business. This is where you hope to drive ALL of your leads to. It do not ever happens because some leads fall out of the funnel along the way. And that's o. k.! Fall out will happen no matter what sales funnel process you're using. But the ones that make it this far are introduced to my primary business. They are introduced because of several different avenues. First is through my auto-responder messages. A message containing the links to my primary internet business lead capture page is sent out and introduces the lead to what I do. Another route is through our blog site or Facebook. I simply send them a message when the timing is right, or they click on my the flag ads, or they are directed there by a message I leave, or they attend a training webinar and are unveiled that way. When I've done a good enough job with providing training for my leads and built this relationship with them, they will join my business because they see what I and my business can bring them. Truly, That's it! A sales funnel explained from top to bottom.

[webhosting167-blog]

Client Care and Corporate Culture: How Does Your Web Host Treat You?

Web Based Business - Your Web Hosting Provider

You're thinking about taking that leap of faith and building a web-based business, joining the other 125 million entrepreneurs that populate today's web. So you talk to some friends, you do a little research on site designers and maybe you even call one. Click here Web hosting

Baby steps. No need to jump in head first, right? Right. But at some point, you're going to go shopping for a web host. Now, whether you're a total noobie at this HTML stuff, or you just want to migrate your existing site to a host that puts you first, choosing the right host ain't all that easy.

There are thousands of them. Then there are re-sellers who rent a big chunk of disk space at wholesale and sell it, bit by byte at retail. You don't have a clue who these re-sellers are, but you can be sure of one thing. They're in it for the money. Client care may be totally non-existent. And you may not know it until it's too late. Your site designer has built your site on a host server, location unknown. Heck, it could be server in some college dorm room for all you know. So, host resellers should be crossed off the list before you even start shopping around.

So, what do you look for? Client care. You want it built into the corporate culture of the web host. You want every person who works at the hosting company to have your best interests at heart - from the cleaning crew to the high-tech geeks who keep those racks of servers up and running - 100% of the time.

The question then becomes, how do you recognize a host that emphasizes client care? Well, there are a couple of "tells" that'll tip you off. Note them as you shop for your web host, comparing low costs, lots of features, customer specials, hand-holding and infinite patience. That's a host you want on your team. And indeed, your web host IS a member of your on-line business team.

So here are a few things to look for before you sign on the dotted line and get locked into a 12-month contract that sinks under the weight of its own legalese boilerplate.

1. Check the web site.

If the website text is all about the web host, that web host ain't all about you. You don't want to read a bunch of features. All quality hosts provide the same features so who cares.

Instead, read the site text to see what it has to say about you - the client. What steps does the host make to help you on your digital road to success? Can you call a rep any time, day or night? And will that rep pour herself a strong cup of coffee and spend two hours explaining how to install a secure checkout?

Read all about it on the web site. Is the focus on the host, or is it on you? Client care is all about you. And if client care is a core principle of the web host, you come first - even if that rep has to slam down four cups of Kona to get your shopping cart functioning as it should.

2. How many ways can you get help?

Oh, this is a definite "tell" when it comes to how a host company treats its clients.

Some hosts only allow you to contact them by email. That's not good when your site has disappeared from web radar. You want to get your site back on line like NOW, man!

The more ways you can contact your web host, or better still, the more ways they can contact you, shows the importance of client care as part of the corporate culture of your web host.

At the very least, you want a toll-free telephone number.

You want access to the right person when you need it - even at 3:00 AM and you can't sleep and you have a question and need an answer - NOW. A toll-free number is very comforting, especially for noobs with a list of questions that's longer than that week's shopping list.

Some web hosts will call you, avoiding that annoying "Please hold, your call is important to us" time. Yeah, well if it's so important, why have I been waiting 20 minutes to talk to a rep?

Some web hosts offer a call back feature so you aren't stuck on the phone "waiting for the next available representative." Click the "Call Me" link, enter your telephone number and you'll get a call back - usually within minutes.

Good tip: Write down your questions so you can get the answers you need ASAP. A good rep is a caring rep but he's not a mind reader so know what needs to be addressed.

[stuffsites]

Strong Message: Designing Unique Web Experiences

Presently digital connectivity is at a high level and is growing. Thanks to people using various computing devices to access digital platforms, businesses can reach their customers hands down. And how about presenting your business portal elegantly. Indeed, aesthetics does play a vital role in grabbing eyeballs. At the same time navigating through your website has to be smooth. The ease of access and unique web page design can bring loads of traffic to your internet site. It increases your chance of boosting your business.

Uniqueness Grabs Attention

Yes, today, many people prefer online shopping portals to buy their stuff. Also, availing of services digitally has become the in-thing now.  Most of the customers may stick to their preferred sites to buy what they need. However, using the same shopping sites may bore them to the core. They need some novelty, and occasionally they do surf the net just for the heck of it. And when they sight something exclusive, they cannot stop themselves from visiting the site. How about having a web designer create a unique website that attracts the attention of the visitors. And mind you, technology has progressed a lot. It has enabled the designers to include some advances into the website, thereby augmenting the user experience.

Essential To Make It Enticing

Offering an appealing web experience to browsers makes them return to your site. It can turn out to be their preferred site to shop too. What is more, these visitors will spread the word of their unique feeling about your portal. There can be a drastic increase in the number of visitors to the site then. Yes, this success will hinge on a few key factors like

How visitors perceive it

Is it pleasant to use the website

Does it give them value- among others.

And all this gets perceived in a split second.

Create Usable and Enjoyable Website

So, it is essential to concentrate on the UX design whereby it can gratify the user who gets improved usability, efficiency, and accessibility while interacting on the website.  When the visitors get a rewarding user experience, nothing can stop them from using it for their benefit. It is necessary to concentrate on improving web design. Using the original ideas and images can do the trick of catching the fancy of the users. At https://www.stuffsites.com/ professional designers use these tips while making a new website or to make improvements to your existing website. You can see the difference these changes make within a few days.